I recently went to Aoyama Gakuin's graduation on Saturday. My tutor Yuri, who's not only been a very helpful and supportive but a great and sweet friend, graduated along with some other friends of mine.
When I met Yuri's mother, she surprised both Yuri and I by saying "Hello, nice to meet you!" :D I also met Yuri's sister and they were having a ball taking pictures of Yuri (and sometimes with me in them). I felt really special to be part of her graduation memories, even though I've only known Yuri for a respectively short time.
Here are the pictures I took:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033379&id=1230390045&l=1ef4d8c9bd
I ended up not staying for the actual ceremony. I had to take care of some things (like write a message in the card that I bought for Yuri!) so I decided to skip on that. I also figured I wouldn't get much out of it honestly. I ended up staying with my friend Charlie on campus watching graduates gush, laugh, take pictures, and chat with their friends and families. I saw a few guys take their female friends and throw them up into the air. It was quite the scene. I felt like a tourist taking pictures of the great spectacle of girls in their traditional kimono or hakama, but I felt more legit when my graduate friends came back. I'm happy I got to celebrate with them.
(The guys wear suits to their graduation, so it's not as interesting with them. However, I did spot a few of them wearing traditional wear and it was very exciting. I couldn't get pictures though. There's something incredibly attractive about men in hakama. Or it could have just been them. Or the combination....Anyway!!)
It was very nice, the whole day. The weather was even nice!
On April 1st, I'll be attending my first real hanami with the old and new exchange students and Japanese students of Aoyama Gakuin. I will have to remember to take my allergy medication. As much as I like flowers, I don't like flowers at the same time, if you know what I mean.
And school starts (finally) in a two weeks! *gasp!* I need to step up my game (a.k.a. study Japanese a.k.a. stop pretending that I'm learning from watching anime - don't worry, I don't actually believe that. However, it is good listening practice. And it gets me in the mood. While I was home in America, I managed to watch 43 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood in Japanese...for the rest of my time at home, I couldn't stop thinking in Japanese. Effective? I think so.)
(You know what's not effective? My labels/tags for my posts, they're all so random and I have no consistency. I'm sorry)
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Baby, The Sun Shines Bright
I have been taking it easy since coming back from America.
This isn't much of an update, but there are pictures involved. :)
I went with my friends to the river that we always pass on our way to school on the Den-en-toshi Line. The stop is Futako-shinchi and it's the most beautiful when it's a bright and sunny day - like it was when we decided to have a picnic. At first, it was just three of us, my friends Sam, Wonnie and I, but it was incredible. More friends came and we had an even more wonderful time.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032913&id=1230390045&l=c561cbf4f8
The dorm has been very quiet...well, from other girls anyway. There has been tons of maintenance work going on lately. It's awkward because there are a lot of strange men wandering around. I feel like this wouldn't surprise me so much if guys actually lived in the dorm in the first place and it wouldn't be as odd to see someone of the opposite gender in the dorm.
I met the new RAs...unfortunately, it was around 11:00 pm and my brain wasn't really on correctly then. My Japanese was pretty rough. But they liked my Obama shirt my friend Carrie bought for me from Ireland so it was all smiles and nods...it would have been that way without the shirt, but it made things funnier.
Nothing else really going on that I can think of - ever since I've been back in Japan, I've been kicking myself for only now realizing more of the things I should have brought home that I'm not using very much. Oh well.
This isn't much of an update, but there are pictures involved. :)
I went with my friends to the river that we always pass on our way to school on the Den-en-toshi Line. The stop is Futako-shinchi and it's the most beautiful when it's a bright and sunny day - like it was when we decided to have a picnic. At first, it was just three of us, my friends Sam, Wonnie and I, but it was incredible. More friends came and we had an even more wonderful time.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032913&id=1230390045&l=c561cbf4f8
The dorm has been very quiet...well, from other girls anyway. There has been tons of maintenance work going on lately. It's awkward because there are a lot of strange men wandering around. I feel like this wouldn't surprise me so much if guys actually lived in the dorm in the first place and it wouldn't be as odd to see someone of the opposite gender in the dorm.
I met the new RAs...unfortunately, it was around 11:00 pm and my brain wasn't really on correctly then. My Japanese was pretty rough. But they liked my Obama shirt my friend Carrie bought for me from Ireland so it was all smiles and nods...it would have been that way without the shirt, but it made things funnier.
Nothing else really going on that I can think of - ever since I've been back in Japan, I've been kicking myself for only now realizing more of the things I should have brought home that I'm not using very much. Oh well.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Guess Who's Back? <- Have I Used That Line Before?
I've made a comprehensive list (not in order) of things I have missed/not missed about being in Japan upon returning from a brief visit to America for three weeks (which was WONDERFUL by the way. I was super jet-lagged the whole time, but in return, I'm not so jet-lagged in Japan. Woot!)
Anyway, to my lists:
Missed
1. The fashion - not all of it makes sense to me but it's so creative with layers upon layers, accessories, the variety of colors/patterns and what not.
2. Cute boys and pretty men - I'm human, don't judge me for this one!
3. Hearing Japanese around me - I enjoy it. I don't know why, but I just do.
4. Cute(r) babies - Now, I'm a sucker for babies of any race/ethnicity/whatever, but Japanese babies are just so cuuuuute! And their little voices in Japanese are so adorable!
5. Mascots - Japan has a mascot for everything and it's precious. Or scary.
6. Politeness - Everyone is so nice. I can feel it.
7. Vending Machines - Delicious juice, tea and coffee for only about $1.10 (rough estimate there) at any street corner, establishment, building, etc.
8.The ability to use my Japanese phone. I originally started documenting this list on my phone in its notepad. This phone is so much cooler than my American one.
9. Engrish - a usually funny attempt at using English. It's everywhere and it makes me smile.
10. The unreasonable amount of small dogs (leaving the airport, I saw a woman with SIX pomeranians...it was the strangest thing. They were all on leashes, but the woman wasn't holding on to any of them. They were just parading after her. I couldn't stop giggling.)
11. Commercials - once you see them, you know what I mean.
12. The use of the word "GET!" in advertisements.
13. ONIGIRI (rice balls, but triangle-shaped) - I had three of them for lunch the first full day I was back; one with salmon, the other with tuna & mayonaise and the last one with shrimp & mayonaise. These fillings are in the middle with dried seaweed on the outside. The Japanese equivalent to a sandwich I've heard people say. So scrumptious.
14. The ability to travel without the main dependence of a car.
15. Being able to walk around at night without a slight worry of being mugged or something along those lines.
Not Missed
1. Asian toilets - I've tried people, but I just can't get into squatting over a whole in the ground. Sorry.
2. The vans/trucks that blast music/announcements (that I don't understand) as they drive around the town/city - they either startle me, wake me up, or annoy me in general.
3. The lack of Mexian food in this country (I made several trips to Chiptole while I was home)
4. Suicide as a common cause for a delay in train schedule
5. My friends and family from home not being here. It was so relaxing to have them so close.
That's about all I can think of - as the days go by, I probably will come up with more for both things.
Anyway, to my lists:
Missed
1. The fashion - not all of it makes sense to me but it's so creative with layers upon layers, accessories, the variety of colors/patterns and what not.
2. Cute boys and pretty men - I'm human, don't judge me for this one!
3. Hearing Japanese around me - I enjoy it. I don't know why, but I just do.
4. Cute(r) babies - Now, I'm a sucker for babies of any race/ethnicity/whatever, but Japanese babies are just so cuuuuute! And their little voices in Japanese are so adorable!
5. Mascots - Japan has a mascot for everything and it's precious. Or scary.
6. Politeness - Everyone is so nice. I can feel it.
7. Vending Machines - Delicious juice, tea and coffee for only about $1.10 (rough estimate there) at any street corner, establishment, building, etc.
8.The ability to use my Japanese phone. I originally started documenting this list on my phone in its notepad. This phone is so much cooler than my American one.
9. Engrish - a usually funny attempt at using English. It's everywhere and it makes me smile.
10. The unreasonable amount of small dogs (leaving the airport, I saw a woman with SIX pomeranians...it was the strangest thing. They were all on leashes, but the woman wasn't holding on to any of them. They were just parading after her. I couldn't stop giggling.)
11. Commercials - once you see them, you know what I mean.
12. The use of the word "GET!" in advertisements.
13. ONIGIRI (rice balls, but triangle-shaped) - I had three of them for lunch the first full day I was back; one with salmon, the other with tuna & mayonaise and the last one with shrimp & mayonaise. These fillings are in the middle with dried seaweed on the outside. The Japanese equivalent to a sandwich I've heard people say. So scrumptious.
14. The ability to travel without the main dependence of a car.
15. Being able to walk around at night without a slight worry of being mugged or something along those lines.
Not Missed
1. Asian toilets - I've tried people, but I just can't get into squatting over a whole in the ground. Sorry.
2. The vans/trucks that blast music/announcements (that I don't understand) as they drive around the town/city - they either startle me, wake me up, or annoy me in general.
3. The lack of Mexian food in this country (I made several trips to Chiptole while I was home)
4. Suicide as a common cause for a delay in train schedule
5. My friends and family from home not being here. It was so relaxing to have them so close.
That's about all I can think of - as the days go by, I probably will come up with more for both things.
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