Well done Miss Granger!

For the past two years I’ve been growing my hair (though only consciously for a year) and it’s been a real mendokusai (pain in the ass). Being naturally possessed of curly Irish hair, it’s a little unmanageable. I grew steadily more weary of its likeness to the gorse bush springing from Emma Watson’s scalp in the first Harry Potter movie. Potter-heads (such as myself) will rage against how ‘stylish’ Hermione’s hair became throughout the films. But now I sympathise.

So, last week I went to Kawaramachi-dori and tamed the wild beast.

Ok, enough of that. The real reason I'm writing is because I haven't or so long and may not be able to for the next few days because I'M GOING TO TOKYO!!!!

This past week has been quite hectic. For one thing, I had my first meeting with the volunteer circle I joined. We cycled to a children's after school playgroup ( where the only kids still there after 5 were the ones whose mums were still working .. aww =( ) and helped them make parachutes.

I got what I should have interpreted as a Japanese-style Warning before the reached the playgroup. One of the guys said "These kids are the most genki I have ever met". "Genki" as in "Ogenki desu ka?" (How are you?) means energy, healthy, vitality, vigour.

Oh god were these kids genki. If genki was a drug (and sometimes in Japan I suspect that it is ... it can't be natural to be so cheerful all the time!) they were high on it. But they were so adorable, if a little bit like 3 foot yakuza bosses trying to beat up the older male members of the circle.

There favourite word, as amply impressed upon me during those 2 hours, was "unko". Turd. They said it all the time and to every one, and drew it on every available surface so I guess it's the Japanese equivalent to "poopy face". Oh and "buta" (pig) that was another thing they called a lot of the guys.

Thankfully, I didn't get called any names (not that I picked up on anyway) but did have an amusing encounter with a tough-faced little cutie in the hall.

*Boy staring at me*

Boy: Dare? Dare? Dare? (Who?)

Ella: Era desu. (I'm Ella)

Boy: Dare?

Ella: E-ra de-su.

Boy: Nande Era? (Why Ella?)

Ella: Ousutorariajin desu kara. (Reader, you can work that one out for yourself. Japanese 101!)

After that he laughed hysterically and ran away. Then I had some kids mill around me and yell Eigo shabete! (Talk in English!). I did and they too laughed hysterically and ran away.

I was really surprised to find this kind of student group in existence, to be honest. A university club that plays with kids? That would never go in Australia. All the members would have to undergo police checks to make sure they're not pedophiles. There are even apartment blocks RIGHT ABOVE the playgroup. Oh no, what if someone living there is a pedophile and touches himself while watching the children play on the swings!!!

I tried to explain this to some Japanese people about the Australian media/society paranoia about pedophilia, to general bemusement. Another exchange student explained to me that "In Japan, children are seen as belonging to everybod, so people look out for them." That also explains the existence of the TV show "Hajimete no otsukai" (First errand) where kids of the ages of 2 and older are sent out on their own (ok, they do have a TV crew following them obviously, but still) to do errands, sometimes catching buses by themselves.

Haha, what a wuss. His 2yrold sister had to tell him "Mamotte ageru" (I'll protect you).

Tomorrow evening, I'll catch the shinkansen to Tokyo Station and stay with my friend Megumi. I've known her from CHS days, when she came to the schools with the Suginami rugby team to play our team.

Other things I play to do while in Tokyo:

＊Meet up with Dani and and other Japanese friend called Megumi and go around Omotesando, Daikanyama and the Park Hyatt

＊Ueno Park and Tokyo National Museum

＊Mori Art Gallery

＊Yasukuni shrine, where the souls of numerous Japanese war criminals are "housed". Favourite hangout of Japanese neo-nationalists and a symbol of Japan's struggle with its history. Look forward to a thought-provoking entry about that one.

＊Finally meet Alex and Beb from Learn Japanese Pod!

＊The unmissable districts of Ginza, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Asakusa, Harajuku and Akihabara (in order to bring back a robot for Sel)

＊Tokyo Tower

＊Go to Yokohama, Japan's historic international port

＊Eat some whale

I'm sure I won't have the time to do absolutely everything here but I will do my best!

Will update on it all when I come back - probably over a number of posts.

Ki wo tsukete ne.

Take care of yourselves.

Boku, I can't wait that long

I only became aware last month of what Haruki Murakami's newest book is called: 1Q84 (ichi-kyuu-hachi-yon). It was in the interview for the placement test when I told the examiners that I wasn't so into manga/anime (which shocked them) and that I liked Murakami. They asked me if I'd read this yet, and told me that it comes in 3 volumes:

The latest piece of Murakami fiction that has been translated into English is, I think, 'Afuta Daaku' (After Dark) published in 2004; the English translation was completed in 2007.

Haruki Murakami (a quote of whom from 'Kafka on the Shore' is, incidentally, just under the header for this blog) is my favourite writer in the whole world. He has three main translators - Jay Rubin, Alfred Birnbaum and Philip Gabriel. Of them all, I prefer Rubin's translation style, and I'm pleased that he is translating the first two volumes of 1Q84. But I guess translating this marvellous stuff takes time because the English translations won't be published until 2011!

I enjoyed After Dark, but it didn't come close to how much I loved 'Nejimaki-dori Kuronikuru' (The Wind Up Bird Chronicles). Armas and Anya, you should know what I'm talking about! But - and this is the cause for my excitement - I have had it from a very reputable source that Ichi-kyuu-hachi-yon might be the best Murakami work so far. So of course I decided I couldn't wait till 2011 (damn you Jay Rubin, you brilliant man! I might be doing my honours thesis on Murakami in 2011, I need it now!) and bought it today for ￥１８００.

Since it would take me about a year to read a book in Japanese anyway ...

Might buy the next two before I leave for home.

Oh, what a baka I am. I just noticed the pun in the title - kyuu means 9 in Japanese. So 1984. Another "I'm an unemployed Japanese 30-something male who is disaffected with the dreams of the youthful past (1960s student movement) and disgusted with the materialism of the present (1980s' big chill)" Murakami book? Or some connection with Orwell's novel? Both I hope.

I also bought a cute nōto to aid the process:

I had great fun today explaining what 'Japlish' is to my new Japanese tutor, Sayaka. Sayaka is a first year student studying Italian, French and English. She's also 19, so technically my junior, but she still calls me Era-chan ^-^ For those of you who've had the fortune to never hang around with pretentious Japan-loving gaijin (like me) 'chan' is an affectionate diminutive. To add it to someone's name, you need to pitch your voice 10 octaves higher and scrunch up your face so that it looks something like this:

Sayaka is awesome and currently helping me read 'Kitsune' by Niimi Nankichi, the Hans Christian Andersen of Japan. On the forum of a site I use to learn kanji, I found a page giving links to free audiobooks in Japanese to aid listening. One of these is Kitsune. But, the English translation I found of the tale is quite different. Might try my own translation once I've read it.

RANDOM PHOTOS TIME

Ninna-ji - one of the temples I pass on my way to school.

Learning about radicals in Japanese Studies. The teacher is so adorably crazy.

My marigold. It now has a little stick insect living on it (he's still there).

In response to requests to see a part of me other than my legs:

And that's the front of my head.

"Seven days" .... "Sorry, can you spell that?" Ah, high school memories.

Incidentally, I found out two really interesting facts about the effects produced in the J-Horror classics in Ringu (The Ring) and Ju-on (The Grudge). The scariest thing about Ringu for me is Sadako's messed-up walk (you know, like every bone in her body has been broken and every joint wrench out of its socket because she's been in a well for 100 years, but she's so damn pissed about it she can still somehow walk)? So they employed the Kabuki actress Rie Ino'o. Kabuki theatre employs exaggerated, jerking movements to demonstrate emotion. They filmed Rie walking backwards into a well. And then rewound the tape. See here at 1.25.

Second fun fact - I'm sure you're all also familiar with Kayako Saeki, "the Grudge lady" who so scared me at the age of 17 I took to sleeping with something heavy against the door - not much use as she can come through the wall - and the sound she makes. That sound was created by dragging a fine-toothed comb against the microphone, and then slowing down the speed. Listen here.

Well, I'm off now to do some homework so that I can actually have a fun weekend!

On Sunday I'll be visiting Kinkakuji - The Golden Pavilion.

It's funny to think, I was already something of a workaholic.

But the classes at Ritsumeikan have taught me the real meaning of hard work.

Shoes and Schoolbooks and Stupid Politicians

Shopping again this Saturday! And I haven't even seen Kinkakuji or Nijo-jo yet. The Japanese consumer urge is too much for me.

A random church next to the bus stop.

For linguistics nerds: The word for Jesus in Japanese is Iesu and is a katakana transcription of the Portuguese word for Jesus: Jesu (J is pronounced as a Y), as in Pie Jesu. I'm guessing this is because Portuguese Catholic missionaries were the first to introduce Christianity to the Japanese in 1549. According to this theory, though, Christianity in the form of Nestorianism, existed in Japan even before Buddhism.

Tonight, since I've been studying all day, I decided not to review for the listening test I have tomorrow and to upload some pictures of Saturdays shopping trip to Kawaramachi-dori instead.

These shoes were so cute ...

(Hark! Malvolio!)

...I had to get a second pair.

The two looks that typify my vision of Japanese fashion: classy and crazy. Hopefully now I have a foot in the door of both. Warau.

Other than the shoes and stockings though, I didn't find much in OPA - the eight-floor department store I spent roughly 5 hours in - to suit my taste. Japanese women do two fashions really well - coathanger catwalk-model and kawaii kitsch. Having a little more T&A than suits the former and not enough liking for pink frills for the latter, I'm kind of stuck.

Okay, so maybe I did try on some of the frilly skirts. But only because the changing room doors were so damn ... well, kawaii.

I love how Japanese clothes store attendants always say "Otsukaresama deshita" when you emerge from the changing rooms. "Otsukaresama deshita" is an honorific expression, often translated as "You must be tired after working so hard", and is a polite thing for members of a social or work group to say to each other as a kind of goodbye, but with a nice twist. I feel like replying, yes, I am honourably tired, and you know why? Because you make me take my shoes off every time I step in the change room. If I had known that I wouldn't have come shopping in converse high tops.

Slow going with the books today. You people learning European languages don't know how easy you have it. Must be nice to be able to at least pronounce something as soon as you see it. Reminiscing about my Deutsch days, how carefree I was ... Not that I hate kanji, but characters are really what make Chinese and Japanese two of the most difficult languages in the world to learn.

Yeah, Alexander Downer. Try to learn this in two months. Moron.

Speaking of showing off, I'm getting a bit faster at smsing in Japanese, though I still probably sound very foppy (Fresh Off the Plane). For your amusement - a text I sent when I hadn't gotten back to a missed call & text for over 24 hours:

"So so so sorry am ready to kill myself with shame! (Not literally but to my knowledge there's no more sincere version of I'm Sorry than "Moushiwakegozaimasen deshita"). When you called, didn't notice. When received the last mail, completely understand-didnot. Until now have had no 'translation time'. Forgiveness please?"

You get the idea.

P.S. I want to be a translator ;)

Mou akan - yamemasu! (It's no good, I give up!)

How I love my bike! That is one thing I am going to be really sad to come back without. Going to school takes 15 minutes and I am no longer at the mercy of public transport.

You get such a feeling of freedom on a bike. Last week, a bunch of us rode across to the other side of the city to an all-you-can eat sweets restaurant. Whizzing through side streets and down highways, swerving to avoid pedestrians and weaving between cars, I thought, this is the closest I am ever going to get to flying. I may have fantasised at various points that my chari was a Firebolt and we were a Quidditch team. And yes, I do seem to remember calling out "Fifty points to Gryffindor!" at regular and appropriate intervals.

A great many Japanese are lamenting the Falling of the Sakura. But I think it's just as beautiful lying in pink-white heaps on the ground as on the trees.

I'm almost a month into my exchange, and I've done everything I told myself I would do to make the most of this semester. I'm studying during the week, always listening in class, but making the most of the weekends to explore. I joined a saakuru and now I've found myself a Japanese tutor, a fellow student. So why do I still feel so frustrated with my inability to operate in Japanese at a more sophisticated level?

(Kill me now...)

Classes are still hard, but they're getting easier. I'm understanding now maybe 20% of what the teacher says. It's helped by the fact that today I got permission from the Head of Japanese Studies at usyd to not take any of the English-language Japan and World Perspectives classes *shudder* Don't ask, or I'll have to be non-diplomatic and non-Japanese and answer. So I have 12 hours of Japanese a week to concentrate on.

Putting yourself in an educational environment that operates completely in a different language is really, really hard. I never walk out of a class not feeling some degree of depression and wanting to give up.

But, as Khatzumoto says, "Language learning is a process of sucking. You just suck less each day."

And it's been easy to find humour in everything. Something a friend in my dorm said to me made me laugh the other day:

"It's funny - I spent my whole high school/teenage life trying to fit in. And then I came to Japan."

In her book 'Biting the Wax Tadpole', Elizabeth Little includes high school on her list of "special hells" for "those of us afflicted with the wallflower gene." Being in Japan is a lot like going back to high school. Oh how fondly (not) do I remember those years.

Are people looking at me? Do I look stupid?

And now I've come to Japan, where, as a (white) foreigner:

(a) people are always looking at you, and

(b) yes, you probably do look stupid

There's nothing for it - as in the case of my Japanese classes - except to suck it up and get on with things as best you can. I've adopted the philosophy of simply letting go when I step in the classroom. Doing some mind exercises help. I'm a sponge, and the Japanese language that's roaring around me is a waterfall. Just suck it up. Take in everything that you can and more - you're not going to have this opportunity again.

It's just a question of attitude.

But right now, it's the weekend. Our dorm are going out to nomi-hodai (all you can drink) karaoke tonight, and this weekend we plan to return to Kawaramachi for some serious spring shopping. I definitely need some more coloured tights ... perhaps mustard yellow and lime green?

Last week, I went to Kyoto Imperial Gardens with Saimonme, my saakuru, and made some new friends. Was also greatly amused to see this in the toilets of the Gardens.

Yes, good luck, stupid gaijin. Try not to pee on yourself, you barbarian.

The nature in the gardens was staggeringly beautiful (as it is everywhere in Kyoto):

Last, but not least, the requisite life-diary photo of my greening sakura:

Oh, and by the way ... at the end of this month ... during Golden Week ... I'll be going to Tokyo!!!

学校の最初日 - Gakkou no saisho-bi - First day of school

The sakura have bloomed and are already falling. It's stunning. I wish I had the mindset to sit in zazen under one and contemplate the transience of existence as the petals swirl like snow around me and settle in my hair ... but I am way way too busy because the Japanese Spring semester has officially started at Ritsumeikan Daigaku.

I walked out of a hour-long class today to see the previously bare pavement covered with pink-white petals. There's this one tree on campus - I think it's a sakura, but its blossoms are especially pink ... maybe a plum blossom - which is especially beautiful. It puts the one in my backyard (above) to shame:

The Intensive Japanese Language Track which I'm enrolled in had its placement test last week. To my surprise, I made it into C class (Intermediate). Yatta! So for the the whole of today I've been talked at in Japanese and understood maybe 5% of what's been said to me - and only then because 5% of Japanese conversation is made up of the phrases 'Sou desu ka' (Is that so?) and 'Sou desu ne' (That's so, isn't it).

To cheer myself up (because you can never cry when you're eating something as delicious as matcha mochi!) I bought a Japanese sweet and took it home. I thought I would warm it up for half a minute in the microwave to simulate the delicious hot mochi I bought from a vendor in Teramachidori last week.

The end result:

Do you know how hard this sticky crap is to scrape off of stuff? Yummy though.

The cute inu next door was totally eyeing the gooey goodness too.

Now that the Japanese Spring semester has officially started, the one thing I am excited about is joining a saakuru.

In Japanese universities, student extra-curricular organisations can be divided into two kinds - clubs (部/bu) and circles (サークル/saakuru). The club members are the ones you will see practising their thing - whether it be soccer, kendo, or jumprope - several hours a day, six days a week. They are 'sugoku kibishii' (super strict) and competitive and don't really want people to join who can't make the time commitment or, say, will only be here for half a year. At least, that's the impression I got when I asked the kyudo (Japanese archery club) members (in Japanese) if they let foreign students join. There was enough diplomatic silence and awkward smiling to answer my question. If I hadn't thanked them graciously at that moment and left with one of their fliers, they might even have said "chotto..." and my cultural rejection experience would have been complete.*

Instead, I turned to the more inclusive, beginner-friendly saakuru. Some of them are really keen for foreigners to join. Like the men's soccer and badminton clubs, who were "manager recruiting" and said they wanted me and the other female exchange students to try out for that prized position. I told them i didn't know or care anything about soccer or badminton, nor could any Japanese I knew, with the possible exception of "ganbatte kudasai!" (do your best!), be useful in a sports managerial position. To which they answered, It doensn't matter. After I had said "chotto" a few times - that word is really, really useful - one of the Japanese Buddies explained that these guys wanted some kind of 'glamour (i.e. Western) girl' to grab people's attention. Strange...but funny.

I ended up joining a volunteer circle which plays in a kind of big brother / big sister role with Japanese children from single-mother families. I'm also interested in a toy camera (lomography) circle (will post on that another time if I do end up joining) and a circle which aims to forge links between Japanese and exchange students. Am going to the Hanami parties (flower-viewing parties which are more like picnics ... you spread out under the sakura and drink sake) in connection with these circles & my I-House. According to one of the American co-ordinators of the SKP program, it's "super fun to watch the Japanese get absolutely wasted" and therefore an unmissable cultural experience.

Tanomishiteimasu!

* * * * *

* "Chotto" - literally, "(it's) a little...", aside from being used to indicate a small amount (chottoshita koto - trifling matters / chotto matte - wait a second), is a polite, face-saving way to reject someone who asks you on a date in Japan. It's usually 'meant'/'taken' to mean "inconvenient" as in "Saturday night is a little inconvenient for me", but you both know what you really mean.