So Damn Lucky (And I'll Savour Every Moment Of This)

I am writing this a few days later than I had planned because every time I sat down to write it I just couldn't bring myself to. Writing this, my last post, means my adventure is over and I just can't stand that thought. But seeing as I packed up almost all my things today I figured it was time.
Lets start with the happy stuff.
Last week started out with our last Popular Culture class which finished with a bang as we watched one of my favourite Studio Ghibli movies, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. On Tuesday, Sasaki-sensei took us to the Toyota car factory in the city of Toyota (the name came from the car company not vice-versa). We took a tour of the factories and saw a robot play a trumpet, the Toyota assembly line complete with robotic arms welding things and such and saw the 'car of the future' (looks more like a futuristic wheelchair/lazyboy). It was actually pretty interesting to see all the steps that it takes to build a car and how precise Toyota is with their building process. Afterward Sasaki-sensei took us for lunch at a rather nice restaurant near school and I ate probably the most beautiful meal I have ever seen. It was like a work of art. I also ate blowfish: the fish that is infamous for being deadly if prepared the wrong way. Apparently, if you are served the wrong part of the fish, you die in 24 hours (seeing as I am writing this, mine was luckily prepared correctly). It was a cool experience. Kind of like extreme eating. Also, it was delicious. It you don't mind gambling with your life, I recommend it. And after all that excitement, I had to go to school to write my final Japanese language exam which I horribly failed. In my defense, everyone thought it was impossible, not just me. I feel like I did learn a lot of useful everyday Japanese even if all the grammar and new vocabulary didn't stick.
Thursday was a little graduation ceremony for the three of us. All of our teachers, the president of the university, the secretaries and some of our friends came. We gave speeches to thank them for hosting us and they gave us some gifts followed by some little snacks and a few goodbyes. Later that night we had a farewell party with some of our closer friends which involved making nabe (Japanese hotpot) and video games (this is Japan after all). Leave it to the Canadians to bring the drinks. ;) It was also a bit of a send off for each other as it was the last day we would spend together in Japan.
I spent Saturday with my host mother because her priest friend who brought us to Koya-san invited us to attend the Goma Fire Ceremony at a small temple in Nagoya. It is a ceremony that is exclusive to one sect of Buddhism (the same sect that resides on Mt. Koya). I was able to take part in the ceremony and was taught to chant in Japanese which was very hard as the musical notation was completely foreign to me. Afterwards, I was invited to take a closer look at the room in which the ceremony was performed and the monks let me try out some of the things that they did during the ceremony which included playing with one of the 600 texts that Kobo Daishi (the founder of the Shingon sect) wrote. During the ceremony the monks open the texts (all 600!) and, because the pages are all linked together like a fan, let them fall while they chanted “Yoooooooooo.” It was very funny and they let me try. I was awful at it. (see photo) Sometimes it really pays to be the foreigner.

I paid my last visit to Nagoya on Monday and the city thanked me by getting me completely lost in the maze of underground malls for a few hours. I may be a bit of an expert on ground-level downtown Nagoya but underground is a completely different story. Seeing as it was snowing outside, I was thankful that I was lost somewhere warm (and I found some really cool shops).
And now I am packing up (and nearly having a panic attack about how heavy my bags are!! Immense excess baggage charges, here I come). I am literally just trying to memorize everything around me in an effort to cement Japan into my mind forever. I savour every sound, every smell, every bite of authentic Japanese cooking and every minute with my host family. I even caught myself trying to memorize what the floor of the trains look like. But then I stopped because I realized that I don't really care about the floor of a train...
This really is just the most interesting and unique country in the world. Even after four months here I feel as though I haven't learned enough and haven't experienced enough and it just kills me that I don't know if I will ever be back. This country has been so friendly and hospitable to me, everyone has really gone out of their way to make sure the three of us have had an amazing time and I just don't even think I can put into words how eternally grateful I am for this experience. I have experienced a side of Japan that foreigners don't often see and I will never forget any of it. The beautiful cities, the amazing people, the delicious and sometimes strange foods, the interesting festivals and holidays, the fantastic shopping, the raucous nightlife, the peaceful religion: I have experienced it all. Japan is a country with a culture so shocking that culture shock doesn't even begin to describe the feeling you get here. It so immaculately blends its perfectly preserved history and traditions with its modern ambitions that are so far ahead of the rest of the world that it is indescribable by the English language. It is Japan: outgoing, reserved, modern, traditional, strange, simple, confusing, convenient, unique, westernized, delicious, disgusting, quiet, loud, hot, cold, friendly, funny, beautiful!

Leaving my host family is the hardest part. I have bought them all gifts and written them a card (and a separate card just for my host mother) but I don't think it's enough to truly thank them for how unbelievably kind they have been to me. My host mother asked me to give her a list of suggestions for things to change before their next host student and I thought long and hard about it and couldn't come up with a single thing! They are the most fantastic host family that an exchange student could hope for and I will miss them so much. My host mother gave me going away presents tonight and they were so thoughtful that I got a little teary-eyed when she gave them to me (I am a cry-baby). I don't think there is any way that I can possibly express my gratitude to them enough. I dread tomorrow when I give them their gifts and especially Thursday when I say my final goodbyes. I really hope they will be comfortable with my crying because I don't think I'll be able to help it. (Now if only I could say all of that in Japanese...)

Final thank yous to everyone who made this possible and helped me along the way: Capilano Exchange Committee, Dorinda Neave, Nick Collins, Yvonne Leung, Lindsay Stoker, Nishio-sensei, Aoyoama-sensei, Sasaki-sensei, Yamaguchi-sensei, Mito-sensei, Mom, Dad, Towser Jones, Ann Mitchell, Jennifer Lee, Sean, John, Mae Nakano, all the friends I made in Japan, my friends at home for listening to me whine, and my Japanese host family! (It's kind of like an Oscar speech because probably no one is reading this part. Most of these people don't even read this blog anyway...)

All my love to Japan and all my love to everyone here and back at home!

Now it's off to the snow festival in Sapporo and Chinese New Year in Hong Kong! (Oh yeah..travels aren't officially over yet.)

See you soon!!

Britt♥♥


I miss my cats.

I Don't Want To Miss A Thing (But Time's A Wastin')

One week down, 17 to go. No wait, that's not right.
17 weeks already! Only one to go! I can't believe how long it's been. I feel like it was only a week ago that I arrived in Japan, only a week ago that I was at a complete loss as to how to use trains and was so excited and anxious about what to expect from Japan. I thought back to my first day in Nagoya today as I was walking around downtown. I remembered how John, Sean and I were so overwhelmed by the city that we barely ventured two blocks away from the train station, and even that two block radius had us completely blown away. I remembered how we used to have to follow my guide book everywhere or risk getting lost and having to (gasp!) use Japanese to ask for directions. But as I walked through downtown Nagoya with the kind of directional confidence I have when walking around Vancouver, I suddenly felt very sad. Four months is a very awkward length of time to be in one place. You are not quite a tourist anymore and you are just beginning to settle. My time in Japan is almost at an end and it will surely feel like Vancouver has changed. I am anticipating that nowhere will feel like home for quite some time...
That being said, I am making the most of my time here. We had New Year's/goodbye parties with almost all of our friends last week almost always followed by lots and lots of karaoke. Karaoke in Japan is a dream come true. It's all box-karaoke which means you get a private room complete with two microphones, a list of songs the size of a phone book (english songs too!),tambourines and cups. Why cups? Because karaoke is all-you-can-drink. I really wish that there was all-you-can-drink in Canada, but after much discussion on the subject, we agreed it wouldn't work. Bars would go out of business seeing as Canadians would abuse the system far more than the Japanese do. (It's nice to dream of a perfect world though...)
That's all there is to tell, really. My days are now filled with homework (8 page essay on Japanese history...ugh), spending time with friends and my host family, organizing my post-school travels and tying up loose ends.
I feel like these posts have gotten less and less interesting and at first it felt a bit pathetic comparing this post to my first few. But now that I think about it, it just proves that I am no longer a tourist here and that is kind of cool. I can almost see myself belonging here (I can at least. Japanese people still stare at me everywhere, everyday. I guess I still stick out like a sore thumb.). And now that I am beginning to feel attached to Japan, it will be torn away from me and I'll have to go back to the reality of work and school. Oh, what an awful thought...

Oh did I mention that it snowed?! Finally!! It snowed for 2 days, melted and disappeared...and I think that's probably it for the snow this year. Until I get to Sapporo that is...

Stay tuned for the final chapter next week.

Britt


I miss paychecks.

Slow Night, So Long (Mama, I'm Coming Home)

Compared to my last post, this will not be very interesting. But, I made a promise to myself and many of you that I would keep up with this thing so here it goes.
I could probably sum up my entire week in one go: hockey, movies, music, meals, showers.

....

Oh dear. I've run out of things to write about.

Okay, well I guess I did one fun thing. Last week John and I went back to Nagoya (the 20 minute train ride is very convenient when you are bored) and went to the Osu district. There is a rather large, beautiful, Buddhist temple there called Osu Kannon (I'm not sure which was named after which) and seeing as it was right after New Year's, there were huge crowds. I guess New Year's Eve is not the only night people that pray for the New Year. I assume it's kind of like Boxing Day. The day itself has all the hype but really, the sales go on for a week. We didn't line up (it would have taken hours!) but we did browse the food stalls set up all around the temple...sort of like a fair. Later we ate pizza from a restaurant in Osu that is famous for it's pizza. The owner and chef of this little pizza restaurant has actually won multiple awards in Italy for his pizza so you know you're paying for the best. And even though he is rich and famous, he is still the guy in the kitchen cooking the pizzas. I liked that. And, yes, the pizza was delicious. Osu is also known for being one of the best shopping districts in Nagoya and I've already found my favourite store there and make a point of visiting it every time I am in Osu. I've already bought boots, a sweater, a necklace and a purse! They were cheap but my overweight baggage charges will make up the difference I'm sure ;). We have quickly become quite the experts on Nagoya and have no trouble finding things to do there. Not to mention, we are experts at finding great, cheap and (most importantly) delicious izakaya restaurants. I am really going to miss izakayas. At an izakaya in Tokyo, the menu was all on a touch-screen, wireless computer. And at the izakaya in Nagoya that we went to last week, you order with a sort of electronic pen (it was very complicated). The useless yet wonderful technology in this country will never fail to astound me.
For the rest of the week I really just procrastinated and watched a lot of great hockey games. Shame about that Canada vs. Russia game. And shame that the Canucks broke their winning streak but I have to say, I am really impressed with our playing and I think we have a real chance at the playoffs! (Fingers crossed...toes crossed...eyes crossed..)

Oh yeah, I'm in Japan...

After another seemingly random holiday on Monday, I was back to school on Tuesday only to realize how soon this is all coming to an end. One of our classes finished for good this week. We gave little speeches on our experiences in Japan and that was it. Now we are organizing when our exam and graduation-esque ceremony will be. It's sad to think that in two weeks from today, Japanese school will be finished. And I didn't even get to wear a uniform!
On the bright side, we have a ton of end-of-year parties to attend. We've already had one (which included karaoke!!) and are booked for three more! Gosh, it's nice to be an exchange student- everyone wants you at their parties!

Now that home is on the horizon though, the end couldn't come any sooner. Time seems to have slowed to a crawl though. But that might have just been last week when I was very bored and days seemed to go on forever. It didn't seem like it would be before I left, but four months is a long time! There are so many things that I still want to see in Japan but I am also just exhausted (especially after the terrible time I've had this week trying to book flights for my post-school traveling)!!

What's the first thing I'm going to do when I get home? Sleep in my own bed.

Oh that sounds nice.

Counting the days,
Britt


I miss the smell of my laundry detergent.

Bullet to Tokyo (The Wild, Wild East)

I have done FAR too much in the past two weeks to possibly write about it all. I could write the length of a textbook about all that I saw but, since I don't have that kind of time and you don't have that kind of attention span, here is a very brief synopsis of my winter holiday:

-rode the Bullet train to Kyoto (feels like being in an airplane)
-saw Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavillion)
-walked through the gardens of Heian Shrine and saw the biggest torii gate in Japan
-saw 1000 Buddha statues in Sanjusangendo
-drank beer and listened to Christmas music on the steps in Kyoto Station
-walked through the rows upon rows of red torii gates of Fushimi-Inari all over a mountainside in the dark (and told ghost stories the whole way through because it was so unbelievably creepy)
-returned to Nara and it's thousands of deer
-ventured a little farther away from Nara Park and saw some other temples
-rode the Bullet train to Hiroshima
-ate Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki (it was absolutely delicious but I think I prefer Osaka's)
-celebrated Christmas Eve at an izakaya
-visited the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack while snow fell peacefully on the skeletal remains of one of the only buildings that remained standing after the blast
-visited the Hiroshima Victims Museum and saw the faces of so many people who suffered one of the worst deaths in world history and read the horrifying accounts of survivors (...merry christmas...)
-visited the Hiroshima Peace Museum and saw the Peace Flame
-took a ferry to Miyajima Island and saw the famous torii gate in the ocean
-hiked to the top of Mt. Misen for a 360° view of southwest Honshu (in the snow!)
-saw the Eternal Flame lit by Kobo Daishi (remember Koya-san?) that has been burning for 1200 years
-rode the Bullet train one last time from Hiroshima to Nagoya
-rode 6 hours of local trains from Nagoya to Tokyo (right along the base of Mt. Fuji)
-went to my very first Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland!
-visited almost every district of Tokyo (Asakusa, Akehabara, Omotesando, Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ueno, Ikebukuro and Roppongi)
-saw the Tokyo Tower
-crossed the famous, giant, insanely busy crosswalk in Shibuya
-saw the infamous Maid Cafes in Akehabara
-shopped in Harajuku
-saw what little of the Imperial Palace is actually visible
-went to Kamakura and saw very historic temples and the second largest Buddha statue in Japan
-went to Yokohama (which I dubbed Far East Vancouver for it's uncanny similarities) and saw the famous Ferris wheel
-found a cat AND bunny cafe (No, you don't eat them, you just play with them. 'Cafe' is a bit misleading I understand...)
-ate ramen from one of the 9 best ramen shops in Japan in the Yokohama ramen museum (the world's first food theme park)
-browsed shops in Yokohama Chinatown and walked along the port to the man-made island that houses the Ferris wheel
-slept in a capsule hotel (definitely something one has to experience in Japan but I don't think I would do it again)
-rode Tokyo's brand new (and very expensive) monorail to see the Rainbow Bridge (wasn't worth it)
-rode 6 hours worth of local trains back home again (ahh, Mt. Fuji...)
-went to my host grandmother's house for traditional Japanese New Year's Eve (possibly the coldest house on the planet. I think a house is too cold if you can see your breath inside. Apparently the Japanese do not agree...)
-ate tradition Japanese New Year's Eve dinner (...not my favourite meal in Japan to be sure)
-watched the Japanese version of Rockin' New Year's Eve complete with all the J-Pop you can stand (which isn't a lot)
-headed out in the freezing cold to the local temple at midnight to pray for the New Year (and I was given sake and dried squid!! Yum, yum but that sake was not nearly enough to thaw me.)
-went to another local shrine where we prayed again (and I was given red bean mochi soup and mandarin oranges!)
-woke up the next morning to more traditional New Year's food (...) and watched sumo wrestling
-came home later that night to a very much needed hot shower and good night's sleep.

I told you I did a lot. I am still catching up on sleep but I think the memories that I have made it all worth it. I have to say, Hiroshima was one of the most amazing places I have ever been. I will never forget the image I have of the burnt, broken remains of the atomic bomb dome surrounded by the green grass, perched beside a peacefully flowing river while snowflakes fell innocently from the sky. It is the most beautifully sad thing I have ever seen. As cliché as it may sound, I hope the world never forgets what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Reading and studying the effects of the bombing and the aftermath of the bombing do not do enough to convince the world powers that nuclear weapons should never be an option. Actually being there, standing right where the bomb fell and reading the heart-wrenching stories from people who witnessed the living hell that was unleashed on earth is enough to make you sick to your stomach and so unbelievably scared of the power that we have developed to destroy ourselves. If you ever have the chance to go to Japan I encourage you, above everything else, to visit Hiroshima. The feeling it will leave you with is not one that is easily forgotten. (And that's my little 1970's Ban the Bomb speech for you. Sorry.)

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, successful New Year!

Akemashite omedetou! (if you can sound it out, you know how to say 'Happy New Year' in Japanese!)

Britt


I really miss a warm house.