Monkeys in the street

Today, they finally measured me for my kendo gear. Which means I'll have everything in a week, hopefully. I have two shinais, a nice case, a bag for my uniform, at least one uniform and who knows what else. I couldn't talk to the guy. Haha. I'm not paying for it either. Rotary is. Cool, eh?

I've already torn through a shinai, which I feel terrible about, but I think the one they gave me to use was really old anyways and nobody else was ever going to use it. Thankfully. They gave me a newer one and told me not be so hard on them. I better figure out how to not be so hard on them before I get my own. And I don't want to damage this one that I'm using.

I saw monkeys in the street the other day. I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. My host family thought it was funny that I was so excited. I wanted to go out and interact with them. My host family said absolutely not. *sigh*

bi bi kyu

Today, I went to a barbeque with Nakai Sensei and his church. It was very very good and incredibly fun. There was one girl there who was 16 and a few college students. I also went with David, so there was no lack of people to talk to. It was a successful day for me for several reasons. I had no problems mingling with everyone. I always have problems mingling. Why not here, in Japan? I did not take up the stupid, I-don't-know-what's-going-on role (another thing I did fairly regularly in the U.S. but not here) and I spoke and I understood and they understood me. I could follow pretty much everything said to me. A few people didn't make any effort to slow down or use really easy words either (at least I don't think). In fact, a few times, they would address their questions to a translator and I would answer them before the translator would get the chance to translate. Yeah, I'm so cool. It felt really good when Nakai Sensei (who is absolutely fluent in English) came by to see if I needed any linguistic help and saw me participating in a conversation. Also, I enjoy answering questions about America. I can. I am an authority on American culture. That's wierd. But I like it a lot. I like being listened to and I think it's exciting to be able to share my culture with these people. And it helps me find my own cultural identity to hear their questions.

I chased little kids who didn't even know I couldn't speak their language and talked to me with the expectation that they would be understood. Score for me. I participated in an outdoor tea ceremony and I think I butchered every aspect of it, but it was mecha interesting. And I kicked hard core butt in a tug of war contest. Even when a big strong man went to the other side to help them. I totally beat him and all his manliness. The whole church group stopped what they were doing to be impressed with me. Haha, I love it. This much attention and praise for one person can't be healthy.

I have fallen in love with communicating. I love it when people talk to me. I love talking to other people. I love being expected to be able. More than able. I am what I wanted to be when I was little looking at the big 18 year-olds. I am what I wanted to be when I was 17 looking at the big 18 year-olds.

Before I left, I heard that the common amount of time it takes an exchange student to be able to communicate effectively is three months. But I also heard that this deadline doesn't apply to Asian countries because the language is so incredibly different (I can vouch for that). I expected not to understand anything until maybe the fifth or sixth month. I'm two months into the exchange and I can communicate fairly easily. Of course, I couldn't fool anyone (well, unless the anyone is 3 or 4 years old...) into thinking I'm a native speaker, but I can fool people into thinking I've been studying for years. Today, many people asked me how long I've been studying Japanese. Surely I've been taking in high school for a few years, right? Haha! I'm so cool I can hardly handle it.

And then, to complete my successful day, I read an adevertisment all in kanji for a tire shop. Yeah! I read kanji all by myself!

The only thing wrong with today is that I got a little bit more cocky. I've become so full of myself that I'm only serving to support the idea that Americans are uhm, I can't remember the word that means full of yourself. Arrogant! Yeah, I've become arrogant and it feels so good I don't care.

Wooo!!!

Tomorrow, I work out in kendo with real live (not REALLY live) kendo gear! Woo! That means they're going to want me to keep up with everyone. That means people will be swinging shinais at me! That means I get to work out the whole class, maybe. I still don't have any head gear, so nobody is allowed to hit my head yet (can't say I'm too disappointed), but I'm really excited. Today, Sakai Sensei worked with me a little bit and it actually tired me. I miss being physically exhausted. I love it. It might be the first day I've been really tired from kendo. I've been really sore and I've had little bursts of sweat, but I haven't actually been tired yet. Except for today. I ran and ran and swung my heart out then ran some more. Magnificent. I love participating. I don't mind sitting in the back and watching, or working out with whoever can be spared, but I'm greatly looking forward to participating tomorrow. Oh man, I don't know Japanese!

Physical Symptoms of Japan

My face breaks out and clears up and breaks out and clears back up pretty arbitrarily. My face has been the worst it's ever been here in Japan, and for a week or so, I was seriously worried that it'd go way out of control. The next week, my face was clear as a summer afternoon in California. Now it's back to normal - one or two zits, but nothing crazy.

My stomach can't handle the food. I love just about everything I've tried, but I really just can't eat it sometimes. Sometimes it's a loss of appetite, and sometimes it's physical pain from the previous meal. I hope this will be gone within a few weeks.

I've become a morning person, ridiculously happy every morning.

When I come home, I will be a master at pictionary and charades. I've honed my miming skills greatly.

I wake up every morning at 7:00 without an alarm clock. Sometimes I get nine hours of sleep. And yet, I am still exhausted by the time school gets out around 3:15. This pattern wavers though. I'm always more tired than I was in the States, but sometimes I can make it all the way past kendo practice and sometimes I can hardly make it to school without wearing myself out.

I am getting very strong and losing a lot of flexibility. It's wierd.

I've lost all reserve. If I have a word for someting, you can bet I'm going to darn well use it. I dance whenever there is music playing. I sing if it's in English. I am Karaoke Queen. I say hello to every single person I know in school. I make jokes and go out on conversational limbs.

I have a permanent smile glued to my face. I have this theory that if people see me smiling, they'll think I know what's going on and include me in whatever they're talking about.

I love to go out on weekends.

I'm paranoid about little things, like tying my tie just so and getting all the wrinkles out of my sheet before I place the blankets on my bed. But I'm lax about other things I used to be really uptight about, like being punctual and never missing a karate class. Who cares about homework? I attempt what I can, but I don't stress nearly as much as I used to. If I can't finish something, than I can't finish it. I'm certainly not getting any grades here.

I've become very proud of my pale skin. Oh yeah, and I made my little host sister feel good about having dark skin. I told her that in the States, everyone wants a nice tan and that white skin isn't especially beautiful. The next time someone commented on her dark skin (the Japanese are very liberal with their comments on physical imperfections), I overheard her proudly proclaim that she is in fact lucky because in America, only the really pretty people have skin as dark as hers. I felt really good to know I helped make her feel beautiful.

Interestingly, I haven't gained or lost an ounce of wieght, though I'm surprised because I'm a lot stronger now than I was in the States.

And there are many many more physical signs that I'm not in Kansas anymore. Those are probably the most dramatic though.

Have a lovely day,
Heather

Mashed Potatoes = Luv

Some days, I can't believe how amazingly lucky I am. I'm freaking in Japan for one. For two, I'm in the best district in Japan. The weather doesn't get too too bad (though I hear the summers get a lot worse than what I saw) here and it's beautiful and it's close enough to Osaka if I have any shopping needs. It's not too far from the beach, not too terribly far from Tokyo, not too terribly far from anything, real. And then, I'm the luckiest of all the kids in my district because I'm the only one actually in Kyoto City. The Amazing Kyoto City, full of history and culture and beauty. The one every Japanese exchange student yearns to visit.

And then, I ended up in Toba High School, with really supportive teachers, namely Nakai Sensei. I also got a great AET (the English teacher from America that every high school has) who is really friendly and a wonderful all-around person. And then, I landed the Watada's, who are absolutely amazing. My first week here, Okaasan asked me what my favorite foods are, and I mentioned mashed potatoes. She said she didn't know them, so I told her I'd make them for her some day. That was two months ago. Today, I walked in the door and was met by a large helping of the best mashed potatoes in the world. I wanted to cry or hug or her or scream how incredibly nice she is, but instead, I ate the mashed potatoes. I can't believe this lady. She made me mashed potatoes! They were different than I've ever tasted, but probably the best mashed potatoes I'll ever eat. How did I get so lucky? And how will I ever repay this woman her kindness?

I'm also doing great with the language. My sister read me a story today, and I almost could follow the whole thing! Haha, I read it back, and she was cracking up over how slow I was. I don't think I'll ever be comfortable with their alphabets. Of course, I learned them before I left the States, but it takes me forever to read. And most things aren't even written in the two alphabets I learned. Most things are written in kanji, which is the one character per word thing everyone's heard of. It's a mess. My calligraphy class is really great though because I get to practice kanji, learn a new word, and surprise, learn calligraphy all at once. I've learned invaluable phrases from the calligraphy class such as "Heather! Not like that!" "Don't do that!"
"Slowly!" "Please practice more." and "STOP!" Haha, I love it here. I can seriously say all that in Japanese. Who knew calligraphy would teach me all that?

A Fabulous Weekend

Yesterday (Sat.), I mascotted for Toba High School as their real live, geniune foreigner. They had prospective middle school kids come and tour the school and the kendo club volunteered (or maybe the coach volunteered us? Or maybe we didn't volunteer at all, now that I think about it) to hand out information packets to the younguns. I, however, stood on the side and smiled and made curt little bows while the kids gawked at my actual, factual blond hair. I have a secret. I relish the attention. I do. I absolutely love that random people stop me in the halls and ask to feel my hair. Okay, that's a little wierd, but I do love that everyone in the whole school says good morning to me and I love that my eyes are so blue and my freckles so obvious. I love it. I should have made more of an effort to be popular in high school. It's so much fun.

Anyways, I participated in a sample english class for the middle school students, then snuck out while the kendo club wasn't looking and went out to eat with a friend.

Here's the scoop with the friend. I'd never met her before Saturday. I didn't know her name. I had no idea where we were going. She isn't a Toba High School student. She doesn't live anywhere near me or my high school. Her father is a gym teacher at Toba (not my gym teacher, mind you) and she is intersted in English. So he asked me if I could spend a day with her. It was a lot fun. We went out to eat and then to a puricura booth. We spent the majority of the four hours in the restaurant, getting acquainted and figuring out how to communicate (neither of us where sure which language to speak in). She's a really nice girl who's dream is to travel around the world and learn at least three or four different languages. She also didn't ask me if I needed a spoon and a forku (which is like a slap in the face) when we ate, so she got extra points for that.

Today, I went to a really big festival in Kyoto, which might rival Macy's Day Parade. It was cool, though I don't understand the purpose. If I were a really good exchange student, I would look it up. Alas, I am a mediocre exchange student and I might get around to asking someone tomorrow. Afterwards, we went to my very first karaoke bar, which was a wierd experience. The room was small and a little dark. The table and the chairs took up most of the room, and only one group went in at a time. I was picturing a big room with lots of open space and maybe a stage with a small television and lots of people. Duh, I'm in JapanLand now. It was small and we were alone. We took turns picking songs, and I sang such songs as "Let it Be," "Heartache Tonight," "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," "Country Roads," and "A Thousand Miles." They sang such songs as "Blah blah blah," "Ukiwakisaki," and other stuff.

We went out to eat and I had possibly the best food ever, though I couldn't tell you the name of it if my life depended on it. It was good though. It was also cooked on the table, which was like a giant pan. A little like that restraunt in WV with a name I can't remember. Oh yeah, Hibachi or something. Except every table had it's own little grill and there were no really cool servers tossing shrimp into your mouth. Japanese food is nothing like Hibachi's, by the way.

We biked/jogged home (there were four of us and three bikes...), Asukachan practiced her piano, we took our baths, and here I am. Tired. Very snug with my favorite teddy bear and cuddly laptop. Oh, I don't think Japanese children sleep with teddy bears. My family thought it was a pillow. Haha.

Okay, I'm exhausted. Oyasumi. Good night.

Important

I am capable.

Tomorrow is sports day. I don't know exactly what I'll be doing, but I expect it to be fun. I'm meeting some friends at the big station and we're taking a train together to Somewhere, where we'll play basketball (which I hate) and do a giant jump rope contest with our whole homeroom. It should be a splendid day.

I feel particularly good today for several reasons. First thing this morning, Tanaka Sensei (one of my Japanese teachers) and I spent an hour talking. I understood almost everything and was able to reply in Japanese. He said there was significant improvement since our last meeting and that he was really impressed. I tried to be Japanese and shook my head and denied it. He told me that it was stupid to deny it because it's true. I really did get better. And I know I got betters so I stopped denying it and thanked him. Being "modest" (that's what they call denying compliments. Personally, I don't think saying "thank you" makes a person any less modest, just from a different culture) is harder than it sounds. I never know when to deny compliments and when to accept them. The nice thing is that the Japanese know this and expect it, so pretty much anything I say is okay. I hope.

I read an advertisement today for an ear, nose, and something else clinic. That was awesome. I wanted someone to ask me what it said so I could let them know I knew, but it was in the middle of the subway station and nobody really cared if I could read the ad.

I had a really nice walk home around 7:30-ish. The weather was just what it should have been - a little breezy a little warm. And dark.

Dinner was one of my favorites: soba and some weird chicken thing and rice and salad. Dessert was absolute great. Pears and something that reminded me a little bit of turkish delight, except not even half as sweet.

Today in kendo, I got to participate with everyone in the beginning, during the warm ups. Finally. I still haven't gotten any gear yet and I'm really in no rush. I have a lot to learn about how to swing the shinai before I actually do anything. They're so patient with me and I love learning so much. New concepts are fabulous. Exhilarating.

A Good Feeling

So of course, I did kendo again today. Today I actually did break a sweat and it felt good. Really good. If you don't know anything about martial arts, I advise you to skip this post, as you'll probably find it boring. I'm not really writing to entertain as much as I am to inform anyone who's curious about what's going on in my life, and right now, it's kendo.

Two days and I am already completely in love with the sport. There are so many similarities that sometimes I think it's just karate with a different name. Interestingly, I also think there is absolutely nothing the same about this sport. They taught me how to travel a little today; the front foot moves straight forward and then the back foot follows so that you end up directly in front of where you started. I started out okay, but ended up doing revised stepping front stances (which travel at angles instead of straight back and forth). There were many many times I felt comfortable doing something, only to learn I was doing it completely wrong. But then there were other times when even the things I was doing wrong were the same things I always do wrong. Keep your shoulders back, they told me. Relax them. Draw your power from your center. God. How many times have I been told to keep my shoulders back? A hundred? Every freaking day of my life for the past six years? Maybe. And now, half a world away, they're telling me the same thing. Sensei Hartzell will be pleased. And when I come back, gosh darnit, I will have a straight back.

Today was more difficult than yesterday. When I got home, I couldn't lift my chopsticks without shaking. It was the hardest meal I might have ever eaten. Scratch that. After my green belt test might have been the hardest meal I've ever eaten. But today rivals. I have blisters on my hands and feet. I am sore. And I feel great. I can't wait to go back tomorrow and asatte and ever day. I like that it's semi-easy to disguise that I'm the foriegner during kendo practice (until someone tries to talk to me =)) and I like how familiar the atmosphere feels. How my role as a student is completely the same as it was in the States and my Sensei here treats me very much like my Sensei at home does.

In other news, I'm coming down with some kind of throat thing. No good. I hope I'll sweat it out tomorrow or something. The worst is just a nasty, deep cough, and I hope that'll be gone by tomorrow morning. I don't want to get sick.

Kendo Again

So today, I actually tried a little bit of kendo. Not anything really fancy and I certainly didn't break a sweat, but they went over some uber basics with me.

I was wrong about karate not being an advantage. They told me how to move my hands and where to make contact and then left me to try it out. It felt great. My body already knows how to lock when I strike. It knows where to curl and where to straighten and how to direct energy and power through the weapon. It was incredibly familiar and felt awesome. I'm sure my technique is all wrong and the rules are different and I'm going to blister all over by the end of the week, but I still cherish the feel of making contact and striking and tensing and breathing and locking everything just the right way. Also, I understood a lot of the benefits of the stances and movements right away, though I've never seen them before and certainly never done them. It took me years to figure that out in karate. Of course, I'm missing a lot and I'm far far far from good, but it was comfortable.

I also can relate a little more to the kids I used to teach. How frustrating it is to be told to do something from a right front stance if you don't remember what a right front stance is. How annoying it is to be told to keep your left heel up if you don't know which side is your left and you don't know which part of your foot is the heel.

Oh yeah, and I'm going to be from learning katas like dancing dragon and bassai dai to learning katas like eagle bow. Sweet. I'm totally the lowest rank in the club. Sweet again. I love it. Everything I do is wrong. Actually, it's completely different from when I was the lowest rank at White Eagle. Now I know how to concentrate and learn (I actually have a method I use when learning new katas and new other things, which I found I still use in kendo) and really try. That's like, what I spent the first third of all those years learning.

I had the slightest doubt after watching that first class and seeing nothing familiar, but all doubt has vanished and I am completely excited to learn this new art. How could I have seen nothing familiar? The technique is all different, but the how and the why is pretty much the same. You still exhale when you make contact, you still lock everything just so, you still have to be uber precise. The body is the same. That's so cool.

My Intro to Kendo

Wow. Wow. I saw a kendo practice today. Wow. It's intense. And like nothing I've ever done before. I thought "Oh good, kendo. I know a bit of karate, kung fu, judo, and aikido. Surely that'll give me some background in kendo." Yeah, I was wrong. I didn't see a think that made me think, oh I can do this. Actually, I thought that after the practise was over, but not because I knew anything. How would I explain a front punch to someone who doesn't speak my language? It would be a challenge. This is going to be a challenge. I love challenges.

Guility, I have been showing my little host sis a few things, like an outside chest block and backfist. We rough house sometimes and I was getting tired of her swatting my hands away when a good block would do the trick much better, so I showed her a good block. She was excited to learn and it felt good to teach again.