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Published: August 27th 2007
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Calligraphy Class
I am not nearly zen enough for this activity. Mine's easy to find. It's got my name on it (in japanese). Not sure what relevance that title has to my blog today. Perhaps it relates to the karaoke? Perhaps it is the beauty of a flower quivering in the wind. Perhaps it relates to the ever changing nature of a given stanza's meaning, giving some kind of abstract momentum to static words on yellowing pages.
I'd like some pizza. Think of your favorite kind of pizza, and explain how it relates to the phrase "Poetry in Motion". Write a well-developed paragraph in your journal. Use examples from history, literature, or your own life to back up your thesis.
This week was relatively quiet. Wednesday I had the little speech that I wrote about last week. Normally, those are pretty tough, but since I wrote about fencing, it was pretty easy to remember. Its the same explanation I've given a million times, just with different-type words. There's a little video of the very end of it for those of you interested in how strange I sound when I speak Japanese.
In EXCELLENT news, I have found a fencing club near me (I think)! Yamanashi Club is the name, and it is in my prefecture. I have found out that they
Inside the Tento
I wish there was a Karaoke Tento in San Diego. This guy would have to run it for sure. exist, but can't find where/when they practice. Anyone have any tips? I'm hoping the train fare is under $10...
As well, I visited my host family again on Wednesday. In a little twist, my host family's mom asked me to help her teach a couple of her english classes (Oh sweet irony)! She teaches English out of her home - pretty interesting. She does a pretty good job, but there are some odd mistakes that slip through the cracks. For some reason an English textbook written by Japanese people doesn't make very much sense to me, but I'm not sure the flip side is necessarily any better. Anyway, anytime I speak English for too long with anyone except the other ryugakusei, I feel like I'm cheating since I'm here to learn Japanese and all, so the class was fun, but a little odd for me.
Friday was karaoke night! We got our voices all warmed up and then headed over to the "Karaoke Tento". Yeah. They almost had "tent" right. It is a Karaoke place with a 'wild west' theme. It does not resemble a tent. It resembles a building with a corrugated aluminum facade and some kind
You Betta Belize it
Yeah. Karaoke in Japan is THAT much fun. of "wild west" color scheme. I regaled my japanese friends with such classics as "White Christmas" and "La Mer (Beyond the Sea)". Of course I chose strange songs to sing basically because they had them, but there was an interesting little twist to "La Mer". It is a tune I am familiar with... In English. For some reason the song was half in Japanese the other half in French! I wowed them none the less, of course. I think we concluded the evening with rousing renditions of "Bohemian Rhapsody", "White Wedding", and "Any Way You Want It". Journey MAY have gone unappreciated. I don't know how big into classic rock these people are........
Saturday I took the Denshya To The Danger Zone (the train to Tokyo). Me and two other buddies went intending on shopping, fencing (just me), going to the Go Institute (Go is a japanese form of chess basically - and that was just Jon), and to see the new Pokemon Movie (Just Xander), and at the end of the evening go clubbing. So we split up in the evening, and I went to fencing practice - OR SO i THOUGHT. Turns out the club is on
Asakusa Samba!
There was a random parade in Asakusa, a city w/in Tokyo, where the fencing club (and infamous senso-ji) is. Scantily clad women dancing down the street to samba. Who could complain? a break right now, so I lugged around my frickin heavy fencing gear all day in my backpack for nada. Oh well.
Xander and Jon ended up buying tickets for the movie (which is very expensive in Japan - like $20 for a movie!) for a 9:30 show. After they'd bought the tickets, they were informed it was a 9:30 AM show. There's only one showing. At 9:30. Am. So we decided the train schedule be damned and we'd stay the night partying in Tokyo (the trains stop running at midnight).
I believe the bits I remember were fun. Let's leave it at that.
I am always mildly paranoid that the people around us on trains and subways understand what we're saying, as english is a fairly popular language. However, we realized that if we speak quickly and use slang, there's no way any japanese person is going to know what we are saying. We have been abusing this newfound discovery. I have yet to delve into my well of old-timey '20s slang, though I have seen a few chicks that look like they might be carpet-baggers.
Today was the Himatsuri, which is a big festival
in Fujiyoshida, at the base of good ol' Fuji-san. "Hi" (pronounced hee) in japanese means "fire", and they celebrate by moving a 2 ton shrine into the community center, having a taiko group play, and lighting giant stacks of wood on fire, which is always nice in the middle of summer. A street full of giant fires.
Despite the heat it was very interesting to watch - though I'm sure it will pale in comparison to the stunning display that will be put on next Sunday by this Polish Samurai. The Polish Samurai is rare, but they are feared throughout the land. If you can locate their Dojo, hidden deep within the mountains of Japan you must pass a series of tests. The first test is screwing in a light bulb. If you need help, then you are accepted - as you are obviously Polish. You are then forced to eat sausage and rice every day. From there on there's an elaborate series of tasks based on dated and mildly racist jokes.
As well, we have hiking up Mt. Fuji this Thursday to look forward to. That should be very interesting. Or should I say velly interesting. Once
Cell Phone Building!
It had been a long day, and things are a bit quiet in Tsuru, so I got to thinking for a little bit that they had in fact stopped, but then this building reminded me of the single incontrovertible fact..
the wonders of the orient NEVER cease! more I will go toe to toe with a volcano. I anticipate a spirited bout, with the volcano ultimately succumbing to my awesomeness. Hopefully no new scars will be acquired.
Its coming on 1 am, so I'm going to leave you with this thought:
Who wears a forest ranger's hat and carries a can of kerosene?
Answer: Stanislaus the Fire Prevention Bear of the Polish National Forest Service.
thank you polishjoke.com. I hear the original owner of that domain name sold it for a quick 5 mil. That's foresight for ya.
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Joe
non-member comment
... you were still drunk when you wrote this, weren't you. (notice the lack of a question mark at the end of that) Yamanashi Club? The no-mountain club? I can't tell without the kanji! Anyway, sounds like you're having a lot of fun. And your spoken Japanese is improving. Much smoother! I'm jealous.