Oh hey, I forgot about that...

Today is the first official day of winter vacation at Keio, and I must confess I have spent the entire day online watching movies. Huzzah!

But tomorrow, the studying begins. Oh yes! Though we've two weeks of holiday, none of us exchange students can forget that very soon after we return, final exams begin. So from tomorrow onward, I will be reviewing material, praying that my brain retains enough knowledge to get me through the exams. I also have to complete my research project on culture shock. Good thing I'm already an expert on the subject.

I remembered yesterday that I have yet to post about the Keio school festival, called Mitasai, which was held in late October. It's two months late, but better late than never, right?

School festivals in Japan are a huge affair, especially at a prestigious university like Keio. High schools also have fairs, though I haven't been to any myself. The school grounds are transformed by a veritable maze of food stalls erected by student organizations selling everything from chocolate bananas, crepes, and waffles, to okonomiyaki, noodles, and beer. It's a great way to sample native foods. I myself took a walk on the adventurous side and tried takoyaki, or fried octopus (shown on the left). I couldn't really taste anything except fried goodness, so it was okay. Don't think I'll make it a habit, though.

In one area there was a stage where music and dance organizations performed. My friends and I stopped to watch this group perform a traditional song and dance routine of Okinawa. The guys with the big drums onstage banged away enthusiastically while the girls in front of the stage preformed hand movements. Both groups chanted in time with the musicians playing the sanshin, a three-stringed banjo native to Okinawa.

Clubs also took over the classrooms of several buildings. There were many student-erected bars, including one where I challenged a friend to a soccer match on a PS2 that was projected onto a large screen. Mark and I had our fortunes told by a tarot reader, and the lot of us enjoyed a traditional tea ceremony performed by a sado (tea ceremony) club.

Though it was a lot of fun, it was also somewhat exhausting. You have to constantly fend off swarms of students trying to drag customers to their booths. There was one stall that was especially enthusiastic: the egg stall. I think they were just selling boiled eggs, but my god were they excited about it. Their stall was at the end of a long narrow alley, so anytime someone approached the end, a group of about seven male students would crowd around them shouting, "Tamago! Tamago!", except in our case it was "Egg! Egg!". I ended up going past them at least four times, and they did it to me every. single. time. I'll give them points for persistence, but jeez.

So yeah, sorry it's so late, but I was pretty dead in November. Merry Christmas everyone!

Gods Bless Us, Everyone!

Guess what I'm doing?

I am sipping strawberry tea, snacking on my mother's homemade banana bread (world's best), and enjoying my shiny new iPod Nano. Christmas is usually on the 25th of December, but for me it's today because I got my winter box from my mom!

In addition to my winter clothing, she sent me my Christmas present (the iPod), a badly-needed computer game, a 4GB flash drive, and waaaaay too many baked goods. I asked for banana bread, and instead, she sent me the bread, a huge tin of peanut butter cookies and another giant tin of brownies. Why? I've no idea! But at least I have something tasty to share with my dormmates. Food shared with friends tastes better.

I used the promise of food to bribe one of my girlfriends to help me carry the box up the stairs (another good use for baked goods). She is trying to persuade her own mother to send her a package from America. Out of everyone in the dorm, I probably get the biggest boxes from home, but I know I'm not the only one that gets them. Packages from the home country are necessary for survival, especially if you're on medication. But when my friend asked her dad to mail her medicine from home, he said, "Can't you just go to Walgreens and get it there?" Uh, no!!

Not only are there no Walgreens here, but medicine is different in Japan. They of course have different brands, but more importantly, the strength of Japanese medicine is much less than Western medicine. It's also more expensive here. So when I had a cold in October, instead of going to the pharmacy and paying too much for weak medicine, I just weathered through it and had my mom ship an assortment of American meds for the rest of winter. Someone also told me that it's best to ship toothpaste from home as well; apparently, they don't put fluoride in Japanese toothpaste. I don't know if that's true, but I'm not taking any chances.

I also always have her include a jar of organic peanut butter and my favorite preserves. Not essential, I know, but we all have those comfort foods that we can't live without, and natural peanut butter is mine. Spread some on an apple slice with a sprinkling of cinnamon: it will become your favorite snack ever, promise!

On Tuesdays, I meet up with my Japanese conversation partner, Shoko, and some other girls for lunch at school. It's a great opportunity to chat with students my own age and improve my casual Japanese. We usually bring our own lunches, and today I brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich and a pear. Pretty normal American lunch, right? But Shoko had never heard of a pb&j sandwhich before! Her friend, who usually eats with us, knew what it was on sight, so together we explained what was in it and how popular it is in the US. Everyone was especially impressed that the ingrediants had been shipped over from the States by my mom ^^. They thought it was so strange and cute that I brought such a foreign lunch with me, they made me pose with the sandwhich and pear for pictures!

You may be wondering what they, the Japanese girls, bring for their lunch. Sometimes they buy premade salads, sandwiches (like egg salad), or onigiri (rice balls) from the University co-op. But they often bring homemade bento, their term for boxed lunch. It's usually half rice, some fish or cooked meat, and pickled vegetables. I've also seen them bring homemade salads. In contrast, I've brought homemade stew, steamed veggies, pb&j, but also onigiri and always a piece of fruit. When Mina came to visit, she bought me a bento bag with containers to take to school with me (shown here). She thought it would help me fit in better with my Japanese friends ^_^. She always encourages me to spend more time with natives.

I'm off to play with my iPod. Cheers!

"Happy Merry Christmas"

It's everyone's favorite time of year again, and even in Japan, lights adorn trees, seasonal signs are hung from department store buildings, and obscenely large amounts of people crowd every shopping center in the city.

But unlike America, where gift-giving is as sacred as Christmas Day itself, in Japan Christmas is more of a couples' holiday, a time to spend with that special someone, not your distant relatives. Gifts may be exchanged between couples on Christmas, but not between family members.

It's New Years that the Japanese really get excited about. New Years is the most important holiday in Japan, and people exchange gifts for the sake of the new year, not Christmas. Children receive money from their parents, and adults give gifts to people to whom they feel socially indebted, like their boss or a neighbor.

I had heard from a friend that Ginza had some especially lovely seasonal decorations up, so I decided to take a short day trip to explore the area. Ginza, often referred to as Tokyo's Fifth Avenue, is one of the premier shopping centers in the world. I saw Gucci, Prada, Dior, Armani, and countless other designer stores. The most iconic building in Ginza is the Waco department store, which sits at the main intersection above Ginza Sation.

Because it was a Saturday, the main shopping streets were closed to the traffic and totally packed with pedestrians. I didn't really do any shopping (as if I could afford Dior), but instead went around taking pictures of the decorations. Many other Japanese were taking pictures as well, so I didn't feel so much a tourist.

And though it has nothing to do with the holiday season, I have to include this: as I was walking to the nearby Hibiya Park, I spotted a Japanese man standing near the entrance of a building dressed head to toe in cowboy gear. Now, I never go up to people and ask to take their picture, but this was waaaaay too good to resist! I explained that he looked like he was from Texas, and I really was from Texas, so could I take a picture. He agreed, and a nearby man who overheard offered to take one of both of us. So behold: a real Texan and a wannabe Texan! Can you tell which is which?

Payback

I was surfing around the net the other day and came upon a blog written by another Texan (woohoo!) in Japan, and he had a list up on things he liked and disliked about living here. I think that's a great idea. Here's how my list looks right now:

Dislike (let's start with the bad stuff):

1) People who stare (see previous, lengthy post)

2) Food I can't identify is cheap and food I can identify is expensive

3) Not understanding the majority of what I hear/read. Or when in Shibuya, what I see.

4) Everything is sooooo much more expensive here than in the US! Especially with the horrid exchange rate.

5) Some (not all) Japanese girls. Seriously, do they eat at all? I mean, I see them in restaurants, but do they actually order food? No wonder they think all Americans are fat! Giselle Bundchen looks fat in comparison to some of these girls! Seriously, eat something.

Like:

1) I can eat sushi/tempura without going broke

2) There are adorable dogs EVERYWHERE and their owners dress them up

3) I have to walk everywhere. Most people wouldn't agree with me here, but I love to walk. It's probably the thing I always miss most when I go home to Texas- you can't walk there without frying, unless it's inside a mall.

4) Unlike many humanities & social science majors, I actually use my major every day. Haha.

5) The people that will actually interact with you are almost always ridiculously nice. Like, I mean, take-the-kimono-off-my-back nice. I think there's something in the rice. (oh god, did that rhyme?)

Things I Love/Hate (it's not cheating!):

1) Saleswomen. Everyone knows that Japanese people are generally kind, hospitable, and make excellent tourists. But what you don't know is that they save the very nicest people, usually women, for department store sales representatives. In America, I love to just go window shopping to look at all the lovely things I will buy when I one day have money. I have none now, so I don't buy. But my god, the saleswomen here are so nice, and give you ridiculous amounts of tastes/samples, I no longer window shop for fear of what I might buy. I have already been roped into buying stupidly priced items I didn't really need twice. And even after you buy something, they don't just drop you- they keep giving you free stuff. Seriously people: be afraid. Be very afraid.

2) Japanese cakes. I have never been to France, and I no longer have any desire to go. If the Japanese are merely imitating French pastries, I do not want to go anywhere near the real thing. They wouldn't be able to fit me back onto the plane. I have never seen such amazingly creative or delicious cakes in my life. And it gets better/worse: they have cake buffets! I have been to two and my god, I never want to know how many calories I ingested on those nights. It's very popular amongst Japanese girls, which serves to further my agitation: how do these girls stay so skinny!?!

So these are a few of my favorite/least favorite/ambivalent things.

Oh, and speaking of the staring thing, I've come up with a new game: Make the Staring Japanese Feel Uncomfortable. Before, I simply ignored everyone around me and stared into space. But today, I decided it would be so much more fun to catch people staring at me, stare back, and try to make them as uncomfortable as possible. I did it to two people on the train home, and I was right- it is fun. If you can't join them, beat them at their own game.

Ode to a British Mate

My homies and I are very upset at the moment because one of our own, Mark, is leaving us tomorrow and will not be returning. His granny died last week, so he has to go home to Britain for the funeral. However, because of all the absences he will accrue, he wouldn't be able to take the final exam for our class, which actually doesn't count towards his home university program anyway. Plus, he is going to Belgium in the spring, and it makes more sense for him to save the money it would cost to return to Japan and put it towards Belgium (he's a French major).

So we're all very cut up about it, especially him, but there's really nothing that can be done. We had a wee going away party last night at our favorite British pub (yeah, they have those in Japan). We did alright, but things got a bit teary when saying goodbye at the train station.

Who will be the glue that holds our bizarre, diverse group together? Who's going to force us to pull all-nighters at karaoke? Who is going to tell me funny stories about the British, thereby reaffirming my American sense of superiority? (j/k on that last)

But even though we shall miss him terribly, as he shall miss us, at least he gets to spend a lovely Christmas with his family in Rugby while the rest of us pay $40 for something possibly resembling a Western Christmas spread in Tokyo. If said spread includes sashimi or soybeans, I may hit someone.

Does anyone know how to mail a Christmas ham across the Pacific??? >_<

What!? You're not dead!?

No, I am alive, I just had a really, really awful month!

Seriously, November was the month of death for me, both emotionally and, in some ways, literally. However, I am feeling much better now and my karma seems to have gone back to normal. Interestingly, I figured out what was wrong with me emotionally a few days ago in my Intercultural Communication class. The subject: cross-cultural adjustment curves. Apparently, when a person travels to a foreign country, they experience sort of an adjustment cycle; their mood goes up at first 'cause everything is very exciting and new and "I'm so cool for being an international!". And then they dive. Like, flat out Deep Dive (shout out to my KH homies). But then they eventually rise up again, peek in happiness, and the cycles goes on over and over until they return to their home country. However, subsequent dives in mood and rises in stress become less and less extreme as time goes on. The first dive is called Culture Shock *dum dum DUM*.

But ya see, no one told me about the Deep Dive. When people said, "Watch out for that culture shock!", I assumed they meant I would be extremely surprised and put off by the cultural differences WHEN I GOT THERE. Not TWO MONTHS LATER. No one told me, "By the way, about halfway through the semester, you, and all your fellow exchange students for that matter, are going to feel like HELL and will want to come home IMMEDIATELY. But don't worry, it will pass."

No, no one, in all the orientations I went to, all the packets I read, told me that a couple months down the road, I would get emotionally totalled, I mean WREAKED, by the Deep Dive/Culture Shock. And since I'm a nice person, I'm warning all you prospective exchange students out there: a month or two into your delightful study abroad experience, you will get tired. Tired of having to deal with new surprises everyday, tired of struggling to do the simplest tasks like grocery shopping, tired of having people constantly staring at you (especially if you're a white girl in Japan). The newness will have worn off and the homesickness will set in: yeah, foreign food is great for a while, but you always eventually go back to burgers and fries, right? But when the burgers and fries are made by people who can't pronounce "French fries" (not their fault, but true), it's just not the same! So homesickness, fatigue, and stress from your increasing school load and living situation will build and build until you wonder, "Why the hell did I ever want to come to this stupid country or even study this ridiculous language? Get me outta here!!!" This is the Deep Dive.

But do not despair!!! For I tell you honestly, as someone who just survived it (and is now studying it for a midterm research paper), it passes! For me, it was about a month long. And yeah, that's how I really felt, but definitely not anymore. I have had to make some major adjustments in my life, and I still miss my mom's cooking and real hamburgers, but I do not regret coming to Japan. This year abroad is going to be an amazing experience, and even though I know there are still more dives ahead, now that I've gotten through the first big one, I know I can handle them. I'm going to be a much more resilient and adaptable person after this year.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to a lamb grill. Not what I'd eat at home, but hey, red meat!