On the Brighter Side

This last week has been really nice. It felt as though it took forever, lasting as long as it could, but as the first week of classes start it is to be expected I guess. Last week was 'window shopping' for classes, so I tried to check out most of them just so I knew which ones were enjoyable or not. I think I've settled on a class about Pop Culture in Japan, Osaka-Ben (Osakan accent as the people of Osaka are known to have a unique dialect), and this week I will pop in to see if the Fine Arts class is any good but if not then I'll be taking Internet and Networking. Many of the classes were interesting, but they lacked something or required extra books.

My host mom took me to a ceramic art class on Saturday. It was my first time doing anything clay related and was a lot funner than I had ever anticipated. When it comes to art, I mostly just draw. I don't know how to paint or to do pottery (or anything 3D for that matter), and I kind of lack in the coloring department. But this will be a great, new thing to learn as I guess my host mom goes every Saturday or so and asked if I'd like to join her.

After doing some art, we went to Kobe to meet up with her daughter and a previous host-stay who was from Italy. We went to an Italian restaurant, had good beer and wine, maybe drank a little much (98% of the time I've ever been buzzed or drunk was with host families or parents ... I'm not really a drinker anyway, definitely not a partier), and ate delicious food. Had some sashimi, tempura, and cheese. The worst part of the night was being on the train, where the guy in front of us started puking all over himself. For some reason it was kind of traumatizing to me. He just sat there, head bent over while he puked on the floor and his bag. His glasses fell off and he swayed back and forth from the movement of the train. As we continued on I tried my best to find interest in anything else besides him, so I stared at the guy next to him who was sleeping. Eventually I saw him open his eyes and I glanced away, but then the other guy began vomiting more, onto his glasses and the man next to him, in slow motion, squished himself against the wall, his eyes widening. My host mom and the Italian saw what was happening and we bolted into the next car over. I wondered how the man would feel in the morning, if he would feel disgusted at himself for puking in front of a bunch of people on the train or if he'd shrug it off. Would he tell the story to his coworkers and boss as they go out for drinks the next coming work day (very common in Japan for after-work to become a social gathering of the boss and coworkers as they go out and drink)?

Well, besides that horrid experience, the rest of the Saturday was great and Sunday I had volunteered to help make food for an open house at the university for high school students coming in. It was great fun and I really enjoyed it. I walked home at the beginning of a typhoon and was drenched by the time I returned. The night was long as the wind pounded at my balcony door and windows. The typhoon lasted all night long, keeping me awake and tired in the morning.

And of course, today is Monday, National Respect for the Aged Day. I did absolutely nothing besides skype and play SimCity.

I have no rants for today. Well, I did. It was about shaky camera for films and television and how stupid I think it is. I guess I'll briefly say that I detest shaky camera. As a kid I never used to have motion sickness, I could read in the car, go on scary rides, and watch flashy cartoons. At some point Mario Galaxy came out and I found that I couldn't handle that game. It would make the room spin. Then the whole shaky camera movies started coming out with Cloverfield and more. I can barely get five minutes through a movie like that without the world dancing and the floor looking soft and welcoming. Apparently Doom (the old first-person shooter game) in HD does the same thing to me. I think it is the quick moving camera movements that does it, since I can play video games that are in 3D and HD as long as the camera moves slowly and smoothly. I do hope they decide to ditch the shaky camera though. It makes for some disappointment while watching movies and television.

To wrap things up, here are a few things noticed in Japan!

1. People have a very unique sense of fashion here - which reminds me - I was going to talk about fashion. Perhaps I will talk about that next time.
2. Tattoos are apparently not very popular here. A lot of establishments won't allow you in, especially onsen (hot springs), but I've heard or restaurants and other places not letting people with tattoos in.
3. I've begun to notice that a lot of clocks are ahead by several minutes.
4. I once noted how the Japanese were loud people, to which I had several Americans tell me how wrong I am because so-and-so went to Japan and the Japanese people are quiet. In reality, they are both. Sometimes they are quiet and reserved, but at other times, especially at events or in groups, they are really loud. Individually, no. Not loud. Together? Yes. Sometimes obnoxiously loud. This street vendor about scared the pants off me as she screamed at people to buy cream puffs.
5. Sometimes there are these loud announcements that I have no idea where they come from, but they talk about personal safety and other things.
6. Japan is one of the safest places in the world: http://jnto.org.au/japan-one-of-the-worlds-safest-countries/
7. Pretty sure there are monsters living in the lotus pond by my house.
8. After watching a few comedy shows, even though my Japanese is not good enough to really understand, I've come to realize that at least a part of their humor is slap-stick. They also seem to find something about cross-dressing terribly hilarious.
9. I have already seen enough of people driving here. I've seen bikers almost creamed more often than I did in France, cars speeding down skinny little streets and slamming on the breaks as a schoolgirl walks down that same street that they should have seen when they turned the corner, but decided last minute brake slamming was more acceptable, and ... just ... the more I see people drive on this planet the more I can't wait until we find a more affordable and less dangerous alternative. Like transporters.
10. I cannot believe that people wear pants and sweaters when it is 90F/32C outside.

Until next time~