Ghibli

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The last few days have been really busy, but I've managed to stay mostly on top of things, but my quiz grades are starting to suffer a little from the strain. Hopefully, after a restful Sunday, I'll be ready to start another week afresh.

Because today was Friday, we had our class trip, and this time we went to the Ghibli (Jiburi) museum in Mitaka. It was wonderful, almost like going to Disneyland, but cuter and more intellectual. I really enjoyed looking at the studios, and viewing the dozens and dozens of watercolor pictures pasted up on the walls in the "studio," they were all gorgeous. I'll have to admit, it was a Ghibli film that first got me interested in Japan. Back when I was a freshman in high school, my mom came home one day with a movie from Blockbuster called "Princess Mononoke." At first, I refused to watch it, because it was anime, and "anime is for kids." About half way through the movie, I was coming downstairs to get a snack, and saw my family watching it in the living room. I completely forgot about the snack, and watched through the rest of the movie, astounded. The quality of Ghibli films is like no other animation I had ever seen or heard of at the time, and nothing has matched it since. Disney doesn't even come close. As such, I was very happy to be able to visit the museum dedicated to the movies that captured my heart and started my interest in Japan. There were so many interesting things at the museum, I can't even begin to write them all, but there is one thing that stands out: the tickets that are distributed when you enter the museum contains bits of the actual film from the movies, all randomly chosen from different Miyazaki films, and I was elated to learn that my ticket contained a piece of film from Princess Mononoke, or Mononoke Hime, as it is known in Japan. No one else in the entire group got a Mononoke Hime ticket. Another thing that was really fun was the short movie that we viewed, exclusive to the museum itself: it was a short continuation of the characters from Ghibli's early film "Tonari no Totoro," and it was cute beyond words. It was fun to notice that about 70% of the audience in that tiny theater was made up of small children, the rest being the parents and, of course, our school group. I was just as entranced as the children were by the wonderful characters coming to life before us.

When I came home, I was able to present my host family with a souvenir from the museum, but I was outdone again, this time by my host father's mother. She arrived in Ichikawa-shi earlier today, while I was at school, and she brought a wonderful souvenir with her for me: a candle, personalized with calligraphy, and made by a very rare type of craftsman, she says there are only three of them in Japan. It was the first time meeting Obaasan (grandmother), so I was able to make a good impression of my Japanese. Too good, apparently, because she started speaking really fast to me a little later, but I couldn't understand very much of it. But that's okay, between Okaasan and Obaasan, I was able to understand it all. I didn't know that souvenirs were so... I don't know... important... in Japan. I really wish I had gotten something for Obaasan, but I don't know that I saw anything suitable at the Ghibli museum. I'll make sure to get her something when me and Okaasan go to Kamakura tomorrow for another class trip.

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