I only have one week left before school starts back up again. I have been trying to do as much as I can: visiting lots of temples and areas of Kyoto that I don't know very well. The other day I went to Chion-in, a temple not far from my school. I was lucky enough to come on the day they were practicing the New Years bell-ringing. They will be ringing the biggest bell in Japan 108 times on New Years to scare off the unlucky spirits. It takes a lot of effort to do this: approximately 12 monks. And they had to practice in order to get it to ring loudly. It was pretty cool. I took lots of pictures, which will be up later when I get my ethernet access back!
Until then, I am going to wander some more places and see some more random things.
Happy New Year!

For Christmas I went to a festival/fair/flea market at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. It happens every 3rd Wednesday of the month, which happened to be Christmas this year. There were lots of old things like kimono, and dishes, and coins. There was lots of food like pototoes, okonomiyaki, anpan, and other goodies. It was lots of fun, especially because I was wandering with my friends, and afterwards we had a party. Good times.

Christmas in Japan: a secular holiday, not a national holiday, a 'date' holiday. Christmas music, Christmas decorations, a running race where everyone is required to wear a Santa suit, pimps in reindeer outfits, Christmas trees with Hello Kitty shaped lights, Christmas cakes (they think it is an American tradition, I don't know where it came from), no Christmas cookies, no snow, no Christmas movies, Kobe's Illumination-the biggest display of Christmas lights I have ever seen, and there's more, but I don't have time to write it. Merry Christmas!!

I don't know how I forgot to mention this, but I did. My koto lessons are given free by the nice Japanese lady. She, however, is involved in what is called a New Religion. Americans might call this a cult, but that might be a little harsh. A few weeks ago, she invited the three of us taking lessons from her to a little video session put on by her religion. Because we were getting free lessons, we felt obligated to go. So she took us to this building near Kyoto Station, and we went upstairs and watched a 1.5 hour long sermon by the "savior" of the religion. Then we sat and talked about it. The religion is based in Buddhism, with a belief in reincarnation and a goal toward uniting with the supreme god. But it also incorporates aspects from Christianity, Judeaism, and other world religions. I don't think that the religious notions themselves were all that wierd or new, it was just the presentation of them that was a bit intimidating. That and the fact that their savior's previous incarnations had been Siddharta Gautama (the historical Buddha), Hermes, the King of Atlantis, and some others. Interesting stuff, however, I don't think I'll be converting any time soon.

Two of my friends decided to go hitch hiking from Kobe to Hiroshima this week. They packed up their bags, made some signs, and starting walking on the highway. Four rides, multiple restaraunts, and 2 days later they were halfway there. 1 ride later, they were stranded in the middle of Okayama Prefecture walking along a highway in the middle of the night. After walking for 6 hours, they gave up and took the train the rest of the way to Hiroshima. After making up for the sleep they couldn't get in a bus hut, convenience store, and video arcade, they saw the A-bomb museum and took a train back to Kyoto. And where to go since they couldn't get into their housing yet? Of course, my lovely apartment. I am being reimbursed with a pancake dinner-a fair trade for two nights of floor space, I think.

I highly respect the Japanese tradition and social rule of taking off your shoes before entering the house, doctor's office, and sometimes places like libraries and restaurants. It keeps things cleaner, and makes you feel more relaxed. However, I decided to take advantage of the Kyoto University weight room this morning, and once again realized the number one reason I did not like going there: you have to take off your shoes. Now, please tell me how many sweaty people walk across this floor in their socks and leave odors and dirty foot things behind? And this phenomenon occurs throughout the gymansium building. Only if you are going to play basketball do you put your shoes back on when you get to the courts. It wouldn't be so bad if the building was new and kept up well, but it is old and emits a horrible stench of decades of sweaty bodies and the piles of equipment sitting in the hallways. I think that next time I go, I am going to bring an extra pair of socks, just for protection.

As I was walking along the Teramachi shopping street today, I was priveleged to finally see one of the trademarks of the Japanese Christmas season. It was Colonol Sanders all dressed up in a Santa Claus suit. In the US, even the presence of a Colonol Sanders slightly-larger-than-lifesize-statue would be cause for a double-take, but in Japan they are in front of 95% of all Kentucky Fried Chicken Stores. In addition, the Christmas holiday is the chain's biggest season; it provides Christmas dinner for a majority of Japanese families.
And so, as a recognition of all things Japanese and Christmas, I have placed a picture of the Santa Colonol in the corner of this page. If you click on him, you can see him more clearly in larger form.

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Monday, December 16

Because there is very little parking in Kyoto, the best way to get somewhere quickly and cheaply is to ride your bike. Hence, there are thousands of bikes everywhere. The City of Kyoto constantly has teams of people driving around in trucks picking up illegally parked bicycles and taking them to a far corner of the city. This is easily done, because in Japan, you don't lock your bike to anything, you only lock your wheels so that they don't move. I recently bought a bike from my friend who was returning to the US at the end of this semester. I told her she could still use it until she left. Sadly, it got towed last weekend, and in order to get "my" bike back, I had to venture to the outskirts of the city where no bus goes to pick a bike I had only seen once out of approximately 4000 towed bikes in a huge parking lot. The only saving factor was the New York Mets sticker on the back of the bike. But I guess that despite having to pay 2300yen ($20ish) for the bike, and having to ride an hour and a half back home, the future convenience far outweighs the prior experience.

Last night I went out with a bunch of my friends to celebrate the end of the semester, and to say goodbye to those leaving. We had a nice Italian dinner and then headed off to do some serious partying. This involved a lovely place called a nomihodai. Approximately literally translated, this means 'the way to drink a lot'. You pay about $10, and for 2 hours it is all you can drink. We followed this up by a small bar, and then spent the rest of the night going from one 24 hour coffee shop to another. The first train in the morning is at 5:01am. Just for future reference.

Owatta!! It's over!! The semester is done. I have taken all of my tests, turned in all of my papers, and thrown away all of the notes I will never need again. Tonight I go out to celebrate with my friends, two of whom will sadly be leaving and not returning next semester. And after that...free!! Tomorrow I move into my apartment and learn to use a rice cooker. Sunday I begin my half-marathon training schedule, and Monday..well, we'll see when Monday comes around. Yay for Winter Break!

Apparently, it snowed yesterday. I however, was oblivious to this weather, as I was holed up in a classroom memorizing names and dates for my Arts of Japan final. But I guess it didn't last, because when I left last night there was no snow anywhere, and no sign that there had even been a flake.
This morning on TV "Eigo de Paturiku," an American named Patrick who goes out on the streets and has random Japanese people try to translate a phrase from Japanese into English, was talking about the first snow of the season. But he was holding an obviously fake large snowball, so I really don't know what's going on with the snow situation here.

My school is located in what is considered the "cultural district" of Kyoto. We are only two blocks from Okazaki Park which is the home of approximately 6 museums, the Kyoto Handicrafts Center, and the Heian Shrine. We are also right next door to the Zoo. The Kyoto City Zoo is a sad place. It is 2 blocks long and 2 blocks wide, surrounded by a 7 foot tall cement wall. I look in the gate when I pass, and it looks like a run down kiddie land with a few tired animals. Occasionally we can hear the music from the ferris wheel during class, and after it rains, the smell of manure wafts across the wall. There is a break in the cement wall across the canal on one corner and sometimes I see an emu or two, but more often we just hear the barking of a seal or the roar of some feline. I keep hoping that some animal will escape and make its way into our parking lot or garden, but as of yet, I've had no such luck.

When walking down the street in Kyoto, it is fairly rare to see another gaijin (foreigner). Occasionally you may pass one in the shopping arcade, or if you are near a famous temple, but generally, they seem scarce. However, this is not the case on a Friday or Saturday night in the entertainment district. Walking along Kiyamachi with bars and love hotels on either side, there are masses of gaijin business men and tourists. My policy is to try not to stand out as much as possible. While this is slightly unrealistic, I feel that being surrounded by ten other foreigners just makes it that much worst. So when my friends took me to "The Hub" I was slightly taken aback by the fact that there were more foreigners in this bar than there were Japanese. Somehow, I would like to separate myself from the random tourists, and I think that going to gaijin bars is not the best way to be doing it.

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Sunday, December 8

Today was "clean up the street" day in my neighborhood. Everyone got up at 8:30am to wash out their section of the water drainage canal that runs under every street. In America we have huge drainage pipes whose presence we only notice by the grates on the corners that the water runs into. In Japan, there are small square canals covered by movable sections of concrete and grates that run along both sides of every street. Today everyone made sure that the section in front of their house was not blocked by leaves or mud, so that all the water would move easily. It was an organized effort, and everyone was back in their houses for breakfast a half an hour later at 9am.

It is almost Christmas vacation. One week left before I am free to do whatever I want in Japan. Because my room and board only pays for housing and food during the semester, it was necessary for me to find alternative housing during the break. I am going to be staying in an apartment, training for a half marathon, and biking all over the Kansai area for winter break. It will be great! However, the apartment where I will be living does not have a mailbox, and my school is closed from December 20 to January 4. So, if anyone is planning on sending me anything, you should get it done soon, or know that I probably won't get it until January. Also, during this time, I will have minimal internet access, i.e. if I can find an Internet cafe. But feel free to send me little emails on my cell phone (keitai) (address is on the side of this page).
Consequently, I will be sending out New Years cards soon, and if anyone wants a card, but doesn't think I have their address, tell me so I can send you something, eh?

Thirsty? No worries. In Japan there are vending machines selling your favorite beverages on at least every corner, and most of the time more frequently. The selection is wider than you can imagine: there is always something you want. For instance, in a Coca-Cola machine you can find Coca-Cola, water, milk tea, green tea, flavored juice drinks, coffees, and much more. On top of this, the beverages that you would want to be hot, are hot. The same machine that gives you an ice cold can of pop will serve your canned coffee and tea piping hot. And when your tastes are leaning toward alchohol, more than likely there is one of those machines nearby too. From cans of Chu-hi and beer to small bottles of sake and larger bottles of beer (approximately the size of a 40), there is no need to worry about the store closing, because vending machines are open 24 hours!

When I signed up to live in a homestay my two hopes for the experience were to learn about the average Japanese person's lifestyle and to drastically improve my Japanese by having to speak it all the time. Both of these expectations have been fulfilled, which is great. The funny thing is, I didn't realize how much my living with a host family would effect the family. I often tell my host mother stories of how things are done in America that are different from Japan, and we laugh at her trying to pronounce America names for vegetables and such. But the shocker came yesterday when my host mother says to me, "Recently, when I am talking to my friends, I keep messing up some little grammer points, like when to use wa and ga (easy to mess up when you aren't a native speaker). I realized that I am talking like Laura!" It is very sad when your bad usage of language influences someone else to use their own language improperly.

Last night my host mother breaks out some omiyage she brought back from Toyama. It was this cute little box with some cartoon squid on it. She says to me, "I think you will want to eat this. It is very tasty." She opens it up and inside are miniature squid marinated in salt and shoyu. She puts one on a plate and gives it to me, and then procedes to slurp a few down herself. I stare at the small sea creature lying in front of me. I note its eyes, the little fringy tentacles, and its deflated body. I pick it up with my chopsticks and wonder if I will taste its brain and intestines when I eat it. Gathering my courage, I quickly slurp it up, take one or two chews (in which I feel gritty eyeballs) and decide if I do not want to spit this back out, I better just swallow. So I did. And I did not ask for another.

A tip for future advertisers in Japan: it's all in the shopping bags. Everywhere you go in Japan, people use and reuse the nice paper shopping bags with handles. For lunches, purses, and to carry random things-they are everywhere. People save them and use them over and over. Everyday on the train I see "adverstising" for department stores, grocery stores, clothing stores, restaurants..I even participate occasionally when I take my frisbee stuff to practice in a bag from Takashimaya. Paper bags are a key item.

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Sunday, December 1

Today my friend Anna hosted a Christmas party. Yes, it is only December 1st, but her mom sent her a small Christmas tree with decorations and the makings for rice crispie treats. So we all celebrated with a little party. I made vegetarian chili cheese dip that was very yummy, altough I had to go to the Western food store to get kidney beans. You would think that with all the bean products in Japan that there would be kidney beans, but apparently not. I continued the tradition of eating large amounts of food by merrily partaking in rice crispie treats, cookies, pie, chili dip, cookie dough, chocolate, and some hot chocolate. We decorated the tree and exchanged small presents all to the sounds of a Disney Christmas CD. Good times.

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Saturday, November 30

Last night I singlehandedly disproved the notion that girls don't eat very much. The food for Thanksgiving was amazing: 4 turkeys, 1 tofu-turkey, lasagna, numerous versions of broccoli, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, apple pie, banana bread, tiramisu, rolls, pine nut bread, and stuffing. I helped myself to 3.5 plates of this wonderful feast, and afterwards was very hard put to walk without throwing up. But it was worth it.

This weekend my host family has gone north to Toyama to have a meeting with their son and the girl he is going to marry and her family. They have left me in charge of the house, and more importantly, the dog. He is an old dog, and set in his ways. He goes out three times a day. He follows the same path. I feel sorry for dogs in cities. There is no grass for them, and no interesting places to go. There are numerous dogs in this neighborhood, and everyone walks them in the same area. Consequently, there are an astounding number of corners of buildings, lightposts, and fences that are permanently stained with the urine of many a male dog who must remark his territory every time he passes. Let's just say that a half an hour walk with Shinosuke includes more stops than it does steps.