Kyudo

A lot of things has been happening this week and luckily, I have got some time to write them down as well. First off I am in dire need of some real bread and a red onion. As both things seems to be impossible to find here. With that said I can move on to a more interesting thing. 

Although I wasn’t able to take any pictures today.  Zannen dakedo.. 

I have started Kyudo.

Finally my hunger for martial arts will be fed. And how wonderfully hard it is:)

(For you people who don’t know what Kyudo is, look it up. It is filed under Japanese archery.)

I am really looking forward to the next practice. Although I didn’t get to shoot for real today, I got help with the elementary stuff which, yeah yeah, I know to well from other arts. But, and that’s a big one. When it comes to the art of archery, the real art of drawing the bow. The forms and basics are not as easy. I learned how to draw the bow and release and practiced that for three hours. Gradually getting better. But this is not easy. I hope next time I will get the chance to try for real but for now I need to practice the form. And I would not say that it is done in 1,2,3.

I think I am going to stick with Kyudo for a while and try Aikido at a later stage. and perhaps join the Kendo club at the other campus. 

I so can’t wait til I get my Hakama and Gi. And my own bow:)

I am so happy:D

Oh… Tomorrow we have our first big test as a summary of what we have been doing these first three weeks. hm.. Kantan desuka.. Soukamoshiremasen...

Gake no Ue no Ponyo

Today I went seeing Studio Ghibli’s and Hayao Miyazaki’s new masterwork, Gaki no Ue no Ponyo or Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea. Although my Japanese is poor I actually understood  the whole text in the movie with the exception of some words. The movie was amazing and to this date one of Hayao Miyazaki’s better movies. The movie is loosely based upon H.C. Andersens “The Little Mermaid”. You can see the relationship with the novel but the movie is far off from being a screen adaption. Every background in the movie is painted entirely with colorsticks something which gives it a really nice appearance.

Throughout the movie you will also meet many of the figures from Hayao Miyazaki’s universe. When the movie comes to your country you’d have nothing to do but run to the cinema and watch it!!

Ponyo trailer

O-Matsuri

About two weeks ago I was at a Matsuri (festival). In downtown Nagoya, Sakae, The festival is one of the most popular ones in Nagoya and also one of the festivals Nagoya is known for. 

The festival is known as Do-matsuri. It is a celebration with traditional dancing. From every corner in Japan schools come to compete about having the best dance. In the streets there are parades and on a scene in the Sakae area the competition is held. The plus about this years festival was that it was a 10th year anniversary, the downside was that I when I was down to watch it, it was raining as hell. The rain was quite irritating although it didn’t destroy my experience. I had an altogether good time with my classmates at the festival. I even managed to buy an expensive crepe, 500 yen.

The dancers were really skilled and the parades where a lot of fun. This was my second festival since I’ve been here. And I am most certainly going to visit more soon.

A normal day?

I wonder, have I finally settled?!. It has been two days now. I have almost done nothing. I am not in need of doing anything so I am just wandering around randomly. 

There are a lot of things I should do. Lots I haven’t done. But still I don’t feel like doing any.

That’s part of why I am writing now. In spite of having anything better to do.

Oh well I guess I am just tired. I’ll sleep it off, there’s school tomorrow and I need to get my  inkan finished, seal. Soon I will be spending a lot of money on transport, phone and so on. By the end of this week I will probably have spent about a 2000 $. That’s a lot… I think I need to take a month of where I neither eat nor travel..

Help...

Homework...

I am sorry I have not written as much as I would like on my blog. And you probably think that the excuse would be homework, why else the title. But it isn't only shukudai which has kept me from writing. Actually the annoying fact that I have to drag my whole computer rig to the library down the hallway and re-rig it before I take it down and back again, all that just to get an internet connection, has kept me from being able to post things too often.  I would be more inspired to write with wi-fi...

Anyway the reason for this post isn't excusing myself. I want to show you what I actually do in my spare time, except for watching anime, going to the store and being with friends. My homerwork actually takes me up til three hours each day. And I will show you why. Watch this; (The music was not intended).

That was 15 pages of handwritten Japanese. Or what is called half a week of homework. I have to notebooks which I alternate between each day. One for homework monday, deliver homework on tuesday and do homework for wednesday in the other book. Together they make up 29 pages of written Japanese... No wonder I have much to do. And I am only attending the first level of Japanese. What we call basics. and this was my first week of homework.. Fun!!

Out clubbing

We had planned actually going out the day before, but people at the dorm wanted to go the day after instead. John was

 also available and we decided to go together. 

Earlier that day we had been at the welcome party for

 the foreign students, it felt more like a display of foreign students for all the “international com. students”. Anyway it was enjoyable and we played, Bingo, not kidding. After the welcome party a larger part of my fellow students went shopping, I played table tennis with a japanese boy and girl.

Later on the evening while I was getting dressed up, John came as agreed. We finished dressing up and went to the kitchen to steam some nikumans to eat. What I found out then was that everyone had backed out and that nobody were going out tonight. I then went down to ask Jo' what was happening, she knew that people weren't going because everyone was tired from shopping. Jo on the other hand was also sorry about people not going out and came with us. 

After taking the subway to downtown Sakae we went to St. James Gate, an irish pub at where John's girlfriend works at. I was supposed to meet her for the first time and I had to thank for the gift I had gotten from her. A frog-purse or a purse-frog. It's

 called Naruto no saifu. Or in other languages, Naruto's wallet.

After visiting St. James Gate and drinking some extremely cheap beers, 300 yen per beer, thanks to John having a half th

e price discount at the pub, we went do

wn the street walking where our feet would take us. Although eventually we managed to end up at the place we had planned to go. Club JB and Rush.

There was a 2500 yen entrance fee and drinking coupons cost a thousand yen, two drinks for 1000 yen. The club had, name

ly Club JB, had a live band playing as a warm-up for the night. And at the entrance we got a copy of the session CD. The club was quite crowdy but manageable. We went up to buy some drinks and sat down at a table close to the bar. 

Upon finishing our drinks we left for the dance

 floor and it is here my memories of that night starts fades into shimmering lights.. No

t from alcohol though. (*)

Haircut

Today I cut my hair:) I did it at a Biyouin, (beauty saloon), called Details.bis. There were mainly men working there, which is a really good thing. Men are in my opinion often better than women at cutting hair. Anyway the man who cut me was a young guy with a really unhealthy look and long hair. Longer than my hair, before I cut it. He spoke just a little english. And the whole time me and Josefina had been standing outside the biyouin waiting for Asuka, the one who had booked the hairdresser, he was staring at me. (Man that was a long and hard sentence). 

Anyway I wanted a Visual Kei haircut. And thus he did make one as well as style it:) It came out something like this. 

Or rather the weather destroyed most of the styling on my way back home. I will upload a better picture of it styled once I find the time to style it:) 

My first day of school

Today was my first day of school. I had two classes today. Thanks to some missing information. I and two others managed to come too early to school. What a waste of time. One hour of missed sleep. The good part though was that I got some time to order some concert tickets for the PS Company's 10th Anniversary. That means if I am a bit lucky I am going to see both THE GazettE, Miyavi, and Alice Nine live at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo the 3rd of January 2009!! Man I can't wait...

Anyway. First class was okay. A lot better than I expected actually and A lot more relaxed than I had ever imagined. This is nothing like attending high school. We started weirdly enough with learning adjectives and prepositions. I took this as more of a review of what I already have learned. We even got homework. For thursday we are supposed to write a whole lot of ajectives.

Now excuse me I'll have to eat I'll continue this later..