How shocking!

Well, I'm in Japan. Obviously, I haven't updated in about a month (how typical of me). However, this blog is not really meant to be an update of my every move in Japan, it's just a place to write about really interesting experiences. Culture shock, and the like. And today, I had my first taste of it. (Literally! Haha, I'm so funny) I am going to say now that I will be adding pictures and checking my spelling at another time, so please forgive my current errors.

While in Japan, I have signed up for the Homevisit program. This means that I live in a dorm, but I have a family that I go visit at our own convenience. My family is from Shiga, which is near Lake Biwa and Kyoto, about an hour or so by train and bus, depending on the day. Yuka, my partner, (who speaks very little English... meaning that one of my goals will be met) met me at Kyoto station to make sure I made I transferred trains correctly. Which I almost didn't at Toufukuji, but that's not the point. The point is, when we arrived at Ishiyama station, near her house, the first person that passed me openly called me a gaijin. In Japan, this is a very rude word for foreigner that the old woman probably didn't think I would understand. As an obvious white person, i expected this sooner or later. However, Kansai Gaidai is a very intrical part of Hirakata, and I had not yet traveled to anywhere too rural, so I had not yet heard it. Playing my part, I promptly ignored them and kept walking.

I arrived at Yuka's house at around noon, so I shared both dinner and lunch with them. This catered to two very important sides of my personality: the cheap college student, and the foodie. I was very very excited to try authentic Japanese food. Not that I had been eating only McDonalds on campus (though I would eat an entire crate of Teriyaki burgers, if given the chance... disturbing but true), but this was real, home-cooked food. For lunch, the father (who loves to cook. I'm seeing an opportunity here) made two types of Spaghetti. One was a more typical pasta with a slightly spicy tomato sauce and steamed shellfish on top. The other was more Japanese style. Instead of sauce, it had fish eggs mixed with something creamy (probably mayonnaise) with toasted nori (seaweed) strips mixed in. I told the family that I did not like nattou (I probably will never get the courage to try the stuff, the smell is too off-putting) but I didn't have the heart to mention that I usually don't like nori, either. However, being both a good guest and attempting to follow my vow to try anything once (more on other weird foods I've tried, in another post), I tried it. It was amazing, by the way. I could probably eat that every day of my life, no joke.

After lunch, I talked to the family for a bit. It amazes me how other people see our country. For example, one of the questions that the father asked me was how much it costs to buy pot in the US, and how to obtain it. Then, they told me that they view Americans as very diligent, hard workers, as compared to Japanese business men. I feel like this is probably the opposite of how Americans view the situation, but I can see where they're coming from, since they were very surprised that Americans don't have a set summer break.

After the father left to ride his bike (in the most adorable little cycling outfit, might I add) and the brother Kenichi went to work, Yuka, her mother, and I set up their hinamatsuri setup. For Hinamatsuri, families set up a display of dolls modeled after (I believe) Heian nobility and their court. The final display is very complicated and precise, but absolutely gorgeous. I was surprised how much work the put into this, as after it was done, they simply shut the door to the side room the display was in.

For dinner, the father made sukiyaki. I have had sukiyaki before, but apparently what I was eating was not at all the real way to do it. Before I could take any meat, the family gave me a small dish and an egg. I assumed that the cooked meat would cook the egg, so I swirled it around in my dish for a bit. Then, I noticed that they were eating the meat while it was still dredged in raw egg. As someone who cooks quite regularly, I am very wary of raw eggs--usually, people say that it will make you sick. However, I tried it, and it was pretty amazing. I thought the texture would be unpalatable, but it fact, it was really delicious, and I'm very glad I had it the correct way. However, I still think that I prefer my scrambled eggs after they have been cooked.

To Do List~

I am not the best at keeping track of the things that I want to get done in any given period of time. (I make myself sound so incredibly organized, I know you are all jealous of my organizational prowess.) Thus, I decided to post a checklist of some of the things I want to experience/do/think about in Japan. That way, I can't lose it. Also, then I will be able to add things, or make sure I know what I want to do when I return, if I can't do them while abroad this semester. This is more for my own personal benefit than for the good of the blog, but what else can you expect? I haven't even left yet, silly person!

Some things that I HAVE done... I got my visa, have started my rounds of seeing all of my friends before I leave, have gotten some lovely travel books, and have begun to make a preliminary shopping list. I have yet to actually do any of the shopping (or packing for that matter), but I feel accomplished nonetheless. Besides, when have I ever done anything until right before it is due?

TO DO:

XGo shopping in Tokyo
XVisit harajuku again
XGo back to Nara and actually see the daibutsu (I went there once, but (long story) missed out on actually seeing the daibutsu)
XVisit a museum!
_Visit the famous Aquarium
_Learn how to make some sort of Japanese dessert (even though I'm not homestay, hopefully someone from homevisit can teach me)
Xeat as much takoyaki as possible (this is hard to judge, but as long as I eat a lot I will be pleased)
Xtry every interesting food that I can, and don't shy away from any new food (this probably is holding myself up to an impossible standard, though, haha)
_Find a tattoo friendly onsen and visit it
_Visit South Korea
_Visit Hong Kong
XGo to a shinto festival of some sort
XView the sakura blossoms
XSpeak with my Japanese homevisit family exclusively in Japanese (IF I get homevisit and unless they want to practice their English, as well) so I can work on my (horrible) conversation skills
XMake my conversation skills less horrid
XVisit Hiroshima
XKaraoke, of course
_Buy an obi to go with my kimono
_Decide if I would like to try to live in Japan after graduation
_learn how to practice and remember kanji more efficiently (I am very bad at remembering kanji from previous lessons, even if I study it and do well on the quizzes. I would like to fix that.)
_Buy a Murakami book in Japanese and (hopefully) read it.
_Buy as much J-Horror as I can find
_See a concert (does not have to be a Japanese band, any band I enjoy will do.)
_See Mount Fuji
XRide the shinkansen
XGo on a spontaneous trip to somewhere I have never been
XStay in a hostel

An introduction, of sorts

As a college student going abroad for the semester, I am pretty much obligated to make a travel blog (not that I have a very good track record for keeping up with blogs, but I suppose I should give it a valiant effort). As one might deduce from the title, I will be spending my spring in Japan. Kansai Gaidai University, to be precise. One might also deduce that I set my goals very high, but my determination will show all of you.

As I have previously stated, I am very bad at updating things like this regularly; I have never been able to keep a diary for more than three days, in fact. However, I will be doing a research project while in Japan (thrilling, to say the least), so I needed somewhere to keep track of my work, and also somewhere to vent my numerous (and quite witty) observations and thoughts. So, along with my research dates, I will probably be posting pictures, stories, and the like. To clarify, I don't plan on posting my actual research, I just needed something more than scraps of paper to keep track of when I do interviews. Hopefully, this blog will allow me to tag these posts accordingly, so I can sort through my thoughts more easily, and not bore anyone who bothers to read this.

So, if you are still reading and not completely offput by the mention of research (trust me, it will be more painful for me than you), enjoy any posts I actually make!