aza aza faiting!

Photo...dump!

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:12:23 GMT

Woo.
Okays, just a brief update and a photo dump.
Life is awesome. Ive found myself swamped with amazing friends, good times and so much fun its painful these days. Keeping busy with the parties and the studying. Also, I may or may not have found myself a little someone out here. We'll see how that goes. He's smart, funny, gorgeous and we have all of the same interests it seems. lol. Unfortunately he lives a little way aways but Im all giddy and stuffs =) He's... I dunno. Perfect. I guess. I only understand half of what he says (if that... ahem) cause hes Japanese but hey. Uh ohs. Ill update on that at some point, lol.

Kyoto =)

My favourite shrine in Japan.

Hee pretties

Christmas Caaaake

Golden Pavillion

A bad shot of Kyomizudera

Ise Shrine

Dude, Japan... in the middle of winter. Awesome.

Meoto Iwa =)

Osaka, my favourite city in the worlds.

China Town in Kobe. =)

Part of the Kobe Earthquake memorial

My Dearest Jess. Lolz

Oh Arisu, you shouldnt make that face in public. XD

And to finish, really cute Japanese graffiti

It loosely translates into "You can do it (cause you're you)" but it`s real cute and random and was on a banister in Kobe, lol. Yay.

Hisashiburi

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:03:38 GMT

Weeeeells its been a while again.

Christmas and new years were fab. Moved into dorms happily. =) All settled back into a studenty life. Looking back on my strange homestay experience its hard to tell how much of the discomfort was through my own not being able to cope with living under someone else's roof, or through the host mum being a bit on the weird side. Just thinking about the woman makes me angry so I guess theres at least a small element of the latter.

But we're not gonna talk too much about that.

My friendship groups have changed a little, and for the better methinks.
I miss my mummy lots this week. ^-^~ But its not all that long until I get home.

Also, my Japanese teacher pointed out the fact that language learning works up slowly and gradually for a little while and then suddenly shoots up a whole lot so you look back on last week and this week and can obviously see the improvement.
Lately I've had several instances of that. I've come to be able to chatter away with my Japanese friends quite comfortably now. Friday night I surprised one of my friends I hadn't seen for a while and she even went so far as to say it was like chatting with one of her Japanese friends. I was flattered. Aw Mami-chan, I'm gonna miss her a lot.

I'm still writing lots, the little story is slowly developing almost by its own accord now. I do like it when things take a life of their own, sprout legs and wander about without giving me a headache trying to come up with ideas.

Also, I am uhming and ahhing about doing my own FCS. Now that Charlies wee one has turned up (which by the way Charlie dear I will post out today or wednesday, O.o: Suddenly have a pile of homework and little tests to get done but don't worry, he's all safe and perfectly as you ordered =) )

What else... kanji is still kicking my ass. I cant write an essay for shite. But! I can speak Japanese relatively well now. Even shiny keigo is not as hard as it used to be. Phew. So! Maybe I oughta try interpreting after all... or take some translation classes when I get back because I'm really enjoying reading Japanese so long as I have a dictionary at hand, hehe.

Right, Plans for the break in like a week. Kyoto again, Nara, Osaka, Kobe and maybe or maybe not Hiroshima. Or. Tokyo. The latter scares me, lol.

Bai bai!!

Kyoto Baby!!

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 08:44:11 GMT

Dudes and Dudettes. I is in Kyoto for Christmas and it's beautiful.

I am with my Shelly-woo, and will be with more friends soon.

A very very Merry Christmas to you all!! =)

Lotsa loves

Charlie

xxxxxx

Clever Sleazoid

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:44:41 GMT

Weeeeeell!

An update is in due order.

I am sick to the back teeth of my hostfamily and it has been decided that I shall move. Whether it will be into some accomodation of my own or another homestay I don't know yet but anything has to be better than how I feel right now. I am currently being held personally responsible for the whole household having a cold right now, even though I only see one member more than once a week. WTF? That is only this mornings gripe. I shan't whine too much because I have happier things to talk about.

OMFG I went to see Dir en Grey last night. (I'm currently wearing the tshirt, hehe) and they were amazing. I am more of a fan than ever now (oh dear) and currently still basking in a kind of post orgasmic after glow type...thing. They were awesome live. Kyo's voice made me drool, only outweighed by his lovely abs and those sexy hip lines because he so generously removed his shirt after the first song and didn't put it back on.

Aside from the leadsinger's very sexy little body... they were ALIVE musically. I love the Marrow of a Bone album as it is, and to hear it live was perfect. They also played a couple of tracks from other albums as it's a kinda of ten year anniversary. They opened with Dead Tree which happens to be one of my favourites of all their more recent stuff. They also gave us Merciless Cult from the Withering to Death album, and Child Prey in the encore. And half way through they played the full version of Macabre. Good times. The crowd was kinda odd. Apparently very normal of a Japanese crowd but not what I'm used to at all. They were so still and quiet before the band came out, and in the slower songs like Concieved Sorrow they stood mostly just watching. But then during the harder songs (of which there are many in Dir en Grey's discography), they leapt to life and moshed/head banged in near perfect unision. Ever so slightly spooky.

Bonus of being four inches taller than the average Japanese though? Being able to see properly at exciting concerts such as this, lol.

I had a brilliant time and it was just what I needed to perk up. =) My neck still aches and I feel hung over even though I didn't drink more than the one beer. Marks of a good gig, methinks.

Now that I have raved enough about Diru...

The stuff I oughta do ~ Language improvement (?)

Keigo hates me. I hate keigo more than it hates me.

I'm just about to finish my finals for this semester. Listening exam was fine. Speaking was like taking a nose dive off the high board into an empty pool? (Maybe I exagerate...) Reading was okay today, a bit tough as I forgot half the kanji but YAY context leads the way. And the stupid one yesterday which was vocab and kanji and stuff seemed an utter waste of my brain space, but I think I did okay despite some blanks on the page. Grammar next week then I'm done and soon offto Kyoto. Honestly I feel like I've not retained anything from this last half a semester. Everything was in one ear out the other, cramming the night before to pass the quizzes and using the text book to complete the homework. Nothing seems to be staying in so I guess I oughta do some real revision during the break if I'm gonna be able to keep up with the next level of Japanese in the new year.

I hate feeling both under-prepared and in over my head even if I WAS prepared.

Maybe I'm just lazy.

Anywho. I have pictures for you guys at long last. Sadly, I haven't brought up the pictures of Mt Fuji yet, I went there last weekend. They're still on my camera. But here are some highlights from the past few months in Japan.

Off to the Volks store for the first time. Sorry its sidewards (if it is) for some reason Photobucket is not cooperating. -_-

Part of Osu shopping mall. It's an indoors\outdoors affair with loadsa quirky shops. My favourite part of Nagoya without a doubt.

The roof of part of Osu mall.

Oasis 21. It's also a shopping centre, with restaurants and part of the bus station. But it's also like..the centre of events in Nagoya. It has events on every weekend, from local arts and crafts and things to free concerts and world dance etc and so on. It's really interesting.

It's also home of the teeny Nagoya Studio Ghibli store. I want that giant Totoro.

Nagoya TV Tower. Been up that, but forgot my camera, lol. Could see the city for miles in all directions. You uh.. couldn't see the end of the city, lol. This shot was taken from the roof of Oasis 21

Artsy shot of the London Eye ripoff, lol.

Bridge to the Nagoya Aquarium which was also awesome. =) And which I also forgot to take my camera too, lol.

Nagoya Port... beautiful place! =)

Accidentally made this one smaller... tis of the ferris wheel I went on.

The Italian Village, by night, lol. This place is so cheezy, but the food is good. =)

Tatami room where I was a part of a tea ceremony.

The first Torii I ever saw.

A pathway in a temple in Gifu prefecture

Some amazing, gigantic Ikebana (flower arrangement), as part of a temporary gallery in the Matzuzakaya (very expensive department store, lol)... The Teacher of the school that were presenting this particular show saw us looking lost downstairs and gave us free tickets. It was really nice. I have lotsa pictures of that, but this particular arrangement was my favourite.

Aaaand thassit for now. That's only a sample XD And I'll get the shots of Fuji up soon I promise.

updatery stuffs

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 09:40:39 GMT

Aka: Ups and downs.

Last few weeks have been absolutely crazy. Lotta ups and a lotta downs. It's been one of those few weeks were I've had to be really careful about how I let myself think and how I let myself behave which has been hard. I guess you could say I've been pretty down. Lots of wanting to go home. Lots of wishing that there were real friends here to give me a proper hug and tell me things were gonna be alright. Lots of being sick of certain customs and attitudes that Japan as a general public has. And lots of craving cheese. Still with the cheese thing I know. But hey, what can I say... I like cheese!

Aside from that crazy bullshit and really not wanting to let myself topple into a crazy place I really dun wanna be going... I've made lots of amazing plans for the Christmas break and have been trying to study hard when in fact been procrastinating. Somethings never change.

I am going to go to Kyoto for the christmas break, or a good part of it..and meet up with a friend (possibly friends) from home and have as close to a proper christmas as I can manage with Japan celebrating the festive season because its oh so cool, lol. Christmas here is a dating holiday rather than a home and family one.

Speaking of home and families, kinda wishing I'd only done one semester of homestay. My host family are wonderful people but they're just not..augh..how do I say it... They're all really busy people, and while I'm far from wanting to be the centre of anyone's attention, I'd like to have been able to spend more time with my hostfamily and actually build a slightly better relationship with them. My host mum specifically builds the relationship on all her terms and I'm sort of tired of that.

Language wise, I started reading Japanese manga. Probably not the most academic way to nuture my Japanese skills but it does help - kanji abound and all that. Reading a particularly good one right now called Shocking Pink. Believe it's based on a novel. Also I am sharing reading that with a Japanese friend so that's really nice. Also, one can't forget the manporn which I am having to hide under my bed. =D Well....

Also, I have noticed that I have almost entirely lost the ability to write extensively in English and write well. I am turning Engrish. Not Japanese for I am entirely too white to ever be Japanese. But I am the MASTER at Engrish, or Japanglish.

That aside, I am writing writing. As in pencil on paper story writing. There is a whole plot line waiting in the back of my mind (and in chicken scratch notes somewhere on my desk) waiting to be unravelled. Having a slight dilemna as to the gender of a particular character but that doesn't need resolving right now.

Hmm. More generally, I'm still loving karaoke. Last Friday I sang in Japanese again. Yay for Go!Go!7188! and for Janne da Arc whom I shouldn't like but do, lol. Also, yay for Dir en Grey tickets. I managed to defeat the evil keigo infested automatic ticket hotline after the third attempt and have tickets to go and see them on Dec 12th. Yaaaay.
What else is nice and shiny...I went to most amazing aquarium I ever saw on the Saturday. Plus I got my lip pierced recently. Looks hot if you don't mind my boasting so.

Kay I think at that, I've probably rambled enough. It's 6:30 at night and I am still at school typing this. So yeah, definately time to make that hour trek home... mostly because I have grammar homework due in for tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!

Wow, two updats in two days...shock shock horror horror

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 04:52:19 GMT

XD

Yeah so I`m procrastinating...go figure!

I have a short essay to be writing as we speak, but somehow typing another entry here seems much more appetising.

Just found out that my two favourite Japanese bands are touring at the same time. And are going to be here in Nagoya in the same freaking week. I`m not sure I can quite justify spending out the money to go and see both. Also... I have no idea how to buy the tickets. There are machines in the convenience stores here but I am more or less certain that the Dir en Grey tickets I wanna buy can`t be bought on that machine. There`s some big red font that says something to that effect in Japanese when I look up the gig.
I printed off some info so it`s gonna be a case of chatting to my host family I guess. Hopefully I won`t have missed out already... fingers crossed - I`ll be sad if I can`t go.

Also... hrm, oh sorry for the bad spelling last time! It was early morning and I wasn`t quite awake yet.

Hrrrmmmss...oh yeah. =) I don`t think Japan is where my future career is at.

That`s a really bad thing to say when I`m half way through a very expensive degree programme. xD!!!

I`m slowly coming to the realisation that I could probably never live in Japan in the long term. It might just be a home sick thing, but honestly I feel it`s running a little bit deeper than that. Oddly enough, however, this isn`t at all hindering my being here. I`m loving learning the language and culture and history still. Japan still fascinates me. I just don`t think I could live here on a permanent basis. I definately want to finish my degree and definately want to come back here in the future, but I`m just not certain that Japan is where I`m gonna be spending my days. Maybe I`ll do translation but really I find myself assuming that I`ll be teaching..

Who knows, right?

I`m only 20, after all. I`ve got time to plan out the rest of my life yet. Although I probably won`t.. I`ve gotten into this drifting mode right now. And oddly enough a nest building mode. I think a big part of that is living in someone elses house though. Homestay is cool and all, but I have NO space of my own. And for christsake I get told to tidy my bedroom -_- Not even my real mother makes me do that. I miss you Marmie. Thank you for letting me know what true independence feels like, with a safety net of your support being there in case I get all scared. I`m not sure you realise how much the weekly phone calls mean to me. Or maybe you do, I wake up at 6am for them =P

Right. I have to write my essay.
Write the essay Charlie.
Go and do it.
Now.

Bai bai.

xxxx

Another updatey update

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:34:50 GMT

Sooooo... XD It`s been a while.

Lord am I keeping busy though. I got my midterm results back. They were evil exams. Two oral tests, one Q&A one unseen roleplay. Then the usual grammer test, which included kanji, vocab, sentence completion and other joyous things. Thankfully though, no composition. I hate doing compositions under exam conditions. Also we had a listening test which was a doddle. All in all I got a shiny 83% or so, I`m pretty pleased with myself still.

Still working on making Japanese friends. Last friday went shopping and for karaoke and stuff. Stupidly cheap all you can drink karaoke is where it`s at. I even sang in Japanese a little. Truely international karaoke it was two. Three American girlies, my little English self, two Japanese guys, a Finnish guy and two Chinese guys. Made for an interesting experience. XD

What else have I been up to....

Mostly being horny. All this eye candy is not good for the brain I can tell you! So I got my lip pierced. I`m not sure how that adds up but something tells me that putting a hole in my lip was some bizarre result of sexual frustration.

Or something like that.

It turns out that Yuka-chan, my friend over in Hiroshima is gonna be buggering off to India to work at the start of next year. That makes me a touch sad because I really wanted to go and visit her while I`m here. Hopefully we can meet at a half-way point between where I live and where she lives before she goes.

At the moment we`re learning how to express your opinion in Japanese classes. The only problem is... that Japanese people don`t really quite go about it the same way that us English speaking heathens do. Japanese don`t know how to get to the point... and that`s pretty frustratating too. Okay so I`m exagerating but... hrms... most of the time Japanese conversation really does go all around the houses with a lot of nodding and polite smiling when it comes to chatting with us gaijin and I`m starting to realise it`s less of a language barrier so much as a cultural one. Being gaijin in Japan really does kinda suck. You could live here for 60 years and so long as yer as foreign as the day you were born you`re always going to be stuck with the stigmata of being and `outside person`.

Aside from that, the staring in the subway/restaurants/library/coffee shops/malls...(just about everywhere XD!) doesn`t wear off you but you do start to not notice it after a while. And when Japanese decide they wanna befriend you, it`s much easier than visa versa. (I`m sure I`ve already whined about this a lot, but it`s my one pet peeve with Japan right now....)

Also randomly enough..having too much time ..(or rather, needing a means of procrastination without a computer at my convenience...) I`ve taken up a cross stich project, as well as some other little artsy crafty things. Feels good to just sit and listen to music and use my hands like that. The last time I did cross stitch was when I was like...ten or something, so it`s been a while to say the least.

Right, well I think that`s me done for a while. Consider your lovely selves all updated. Ja ne!

Kabuki ^~^

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:27:02 GMT

Yesterday I went to a Kabuki performance.

It was freaking amazing. XD

I didn`t understand a word because it`s all in Japanese but it was so so beautiful. For those that don`t know, Kabuki is really old theatre. It was originally the poor man`s version of Noh. Pretty contraversial as it was born in the red light disctrict of the time, by prostitutes. It was immediately popular (too popular..) but soon got a bad reputation for being seedy and sort of degenerated into an ornate strip show. Women got completely banned from playing any parts. So even today, the entire cast is made up of men. Usually with one very awesome pretty younger man playing the role of the leading female.

It`s an awesome mixture of breath-taking costuming, traditional very simple Japanese music, song and beautiful dance. The stories are usually anti-establishment (that is anti-religion... the priests always are at the butt of the joke, a lot like Ben Jonson did in many of his plays written at roughly the same time. XD)

I was captivated. I wanna go agaaaain but it`s so expensive to see live. My uni here arranged a special price for us as a culteral exchange and we even got to go back stage and see the mechanics of the lifts and the revolving stage.

The theatre was full and the atmosphere was really fun.. strange, but fun. I`ve never really experienced anything quite like it....hence this big long rant about it. XD

I didn`t think I`d be one for traditional Japanese arts... but I`m not sure why I thought that because I LOVE the arts. I`m now very very curious about Japanese traditional dance as well.

Well, that`s my silly rant for the day over. I have class soon. XD

Quick updatey date

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:39:47 GMT

General Updatery
`lo dudes and dudettes ~

Another really quick update ^~^

Off to Kabuki wednesday ~ er, tomorrow..and went to a Matsuri (seasonal...festival, type affair) on Saturday. Was awesome, but forgot my camera because I am a bit of a retard XD!

I swear.. you make one Japanese friend and you`re suddenly surrounded. It`s pretty awesome. Suddenly I`m a girl in International demand. Plus, I have discovered the fact that I really, really can actually speak Japanese. I don`t have enough vocab, something I need to work on while I`m here.... but I can hold conversations for a good hour, without inducing TOO much of a headache. Yay!

I`m feeling a bit better this week - especially as I got a packet from home yesterday with some piano sheet music in it. Yay! Thank you Marmie, love you lots and lots.

I actually have mid-terms this week and I`m trying not to suck but people keep mailing me on my phone and I keep finding 101 better things to do than study. I am shit. XD

More and more I`m speaking less English..and English and Japanese are starting to mush together. I forget who I speak Japanese with and who English... kinda confusing when I look back on examples such as this dorm party I went to on Friday night. I genuinly can`t remember whether I spoke Japanese or English and it`s not because I was drunk (although I kinda was...) but because I`m starting to think properly in Japanese and not have to translate all the time.

It`s an amazing feeling to have made this much progress in a year.

whaaa!

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:34:52 GMT

Very quick update =)

Life is still good, if hectic. Class is tough. Real tough. I ended up taking Japanese Literature. I get to study Haruki Murakami`s books Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the Shore in the original Japanese with English alongside but it`s hard going. Fricken kanji.

Aside from this, I`m getting okay scores on the short quizes, half term is coming up. But! I am speaking Japanese more and more and more.

This weekend, I managed to spark good conversations with three different strangers completely in Japanese and at three different age ranges. One of which is the vocalist of a band who were doing a mini live set near one of the shopping centres in the middle of Nagoya. She and the rest of the band are amazing, really, really talented! I heard them yesterday and now today I bump　into her on campus.. I`m like `where the hell did I see you?` but exchanged phone numbers anyway. =) Hopefully, I will finally start making Japanese friends!

Talking is good. Understanding is awesome. Kanji still sucks. I don`t think I will ever find it in my heart to love kanji like I love the language as a whole. XD!

Anywho, lotsa things to talk about and no time. And still a shite load of photos to post up but no time.

On the sad note.. my dear kitty died TT_TT really that`s like the anti-icing on the cake for life back at home right now. It makes me real sad that I can do so little to help at all. My poor family, and my poor poor kitty. T_T I miss her already.

楽しかったよ！

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 05:32:32 GMT

General Updatery
Whaaa what a crazy few weeks! I seem to be `living` none stop right now. Already I`ve done karaoke, a tea ceremony, visited temples in the Gifu mountains, seen major sights of Nagoya city and have plans in the makings for visiting Kyoto over the Christmas break. I won`t linger on all this too much though because I have a looooad of photos which I will give commentary with.

I visited the Volks shop. It was lovely to see all the dollies and buy clothes off the shelves. I want another doll already though... which is bad because I really can`t afford one!

I`m trying to keep in touch with things and people back home but I have very limited internet access - if you don`t mind a very slow reply, email away at ML06CJN(at)leeds(dot)ac(dot)uk I like the emails =)

Life back home with the family, it seems, is rather hectic. I miss home quite a lot. But I am loving it here in Japan. =) The food... oh my gosh the food. It`s all so yummy. And the heat and all the walking is so good for me. I feel better than I have done in..well..years!

I can`t wait to show you guys all the pictures...

Important Educational(ish) Updatery
I swear I`m thinking more and more in Japanese by the day. I come out with exclaimations in Japanese when I`m shocked and already saying `itadakimasu` before Japanese style meals and `itte kimasu`etc upon leaving and returning to the house are natural. This is awesome!

I find that I can at least catch the jist of almost every conversation I`m audience to, but really really struggle to actually construct sentences quickly enough to properly interact yet. I need Japanese friends. Real bad.

I don`t at all regret staying in a host family situation. It means that even if I chat in English at school I`m forced to think and respond to Japanese when I get home.

Also, for class, it seems as though they`re going to let me stay in 400 class. O.o` I`ve not been told otherwise, so I guess I`m good enough to stay put. It`s pretty tough work but I need that kind of intensive course to learn as much as I can this year =)

It`s all exciting stuff, and the classes are conducted all in Japanese. It means I come home absolutely knackered but I feel as though I learn something new everyday.

I much prefer the Intensive Japanese books to Minna no nihongo... but there we go =)

nihongo de douzo...

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:12:25 GMT

General Updatery
Can`t help but find it ironic that I`m having more trouble typing in Japanese on a Japanese computer than I did at home. Hrmph!

But! It`s been an awesome few days since my last update! I did well enough on my second placement test to observe the higher class for a week and see how I go. Fingers crossed I can stay in it. I hope so. Sooo much to do for tomorrow though. I am going to post this entry and then go home and study study study!

So yeah, moved up a class and quickly making friends.

Yesterday seven of us skipped over to Sakae which is the central area of Nagoya city. This place is so huge it scares me. But we shopped a bit. Shelly-woo will be proud to hear that the first CD I bought in Japan was a Go!Go! one. Yaaaay. Not the new on yet, I`m waiting on that coming out. Then after a spot of shopping we stopped at a sushi bar for a bite to eat. Was tasty! And then - my first drop of booze since I`ve been in Japan. We found the most amazing little Japanese bar... there wasn`t a gaijin (foreigner) in sight! (Aside from us). We had a lot of fun and I feel like I`m finding firm friends very quickly.

Karaoke friday! Looking forwards to that. Also, my host family have asked me to go along to one of Jail Bait`s concerts on Sunday, and there seems to be some kind of gathering going on afterwards at the house. Should be.. interesting.. being as the longest conversation I`ve held fully in Japanese so far is not very long. Not like a whole evening. Wish me luck!

Oh, and I already know exactly how to get to the Volks store. Uh oh. XD I am going to take Mouse along either at the weekend, or next week during a break of mine. Soooo exciting.

As ever, a peek of Japan under the cut.

Artsy shot of the train-line I get home

Less artsy shot

The sunsets here are pretty striking. But I haven`t seen the moon at all yet! Just one star.

Sami bought me some flowers! =) Sami is a guy who went to uni back home with me too. He`s out here being crazy in Japan also. (For those who don`t know, lol) We wind each other up a lot and both can be quite sharp. One day last week I teased him that he should buy me flowers to make up for how `mean` he is to me. And he did! The sweet guy.

Purdy Deathnote book that I bought. I uhmed and ahhed about buying it but I`m so glad I did.

Real bad shot of Sakae and some of my new friends. But! I forgot I`d left the exposure down real low, lol

A rather dull shot after I remembered. XD

HMV... I wasn`t expecting to see them here, somehow.

Where we went for sushi. It was in a mall somewhere.

Last but definately not least...the view from my train station in the morning. So pretty! And so `Japanese`.

There are peektures here XD

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:25:24 GMT

Yeees... but they are awful pictures!! They`re so bad, but I was so tired and the weather and light was akward. I am showing anyway because I don`t have any others yet. I will hopefully take some more, pretty, pictures tomorrow and things =) I am going to start just...carrying my camera around. Like a tourist, maybe? Or maybe just a budding photographer, bwaha. Yeah right.

Anywho! Before we go onto the eye-sore photos which I`m sure you`ll all appreciate anyway =D I have now enroled on my courses. I am going to study Japanese language, obviously.. a module on Japanese culture and art... also I am going to do a module on teaching and learning foreign languages...and then lastly I am going to study traditional calligraphy. I wanted to do Chinese black ink painting but it clashed with the culture and art on the timetable and I can do the black ink painting next semester =)

Now! Peektures. With nifty commentary.

Mai room!

Mercedes stands there by my desk. I knew I was right to bring her. My host-sister loves her and the lolita style! She even has some beautiful lolita dresses herself. Amazing

Where my stuff lives... =)

My precious resin boy heehee

Mouse`s perch and also my photoalbum is being used as a photoframe I can change about =) At the moment I have some shots of my home town up.

The view from my window. Really, I`m not so keen on being here in the urban sprawl. I must be a country girl through and through after all. (Oooh..that rhymed!)

The entrance hall and `concert` room.

Dining room and sitting room.

My favourite place - the garden. I`ve gotten quite into the habit of slipping out to sit out here at dusk, have a cigarette and watch the bats waking up. They`re so cuuuute in theyr wobbly swirly flight.

And the view from one of the cafeterias here at Nanzan. Soon, I will take proper photos of the campus because it`s glorious! ^-^`

Thassit for now!

I think I`m turning Japanese?

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:25:07 GMT

~~Not So~~ General Updatery

Yes, yes I am in Japan! I made it safe, and almost sound.
It`s been a very, very long week. The flight itself was mostly fine, if long, but saying good bye to my home country and all the people in it was hard. Especially when I didn`t really know what I was coming into.

Emirates, my flight operator, managed to misplace my bags in Dubai. So I have been wearing the same pair of jeans for the last 5 days. They have had a quick wash, but still...gross. Thankfully, my host family took me shopping to buy some tshirts and underwear. I have never been more grateful for clean underwear in my life. lol.

Nanzan, the university, is lovely. The campus is so green! And oh my goodness has it been hot and humid. Between that, the sweating induced by the heat and humidity, and let`s not forget the steep hills the campus is set in, I am going to be about half the size I am now by the time I go back O.o`

Last night was beautiful, you could practically taste the ozone of the storm coming, the sun set deep orange and red, and there were little bats flying over my head as I walked home. Also! This morning, I saw giant butterflies, which made me instantly happy.

My hostfamily are really lovely, Reona doesn`t talk very much, but Maria is really sweet. Yurichan, the host mother is wonderful, but I get the impression that she may well have exchange students because her own children are so seldom home! Yurichan does not speak very good english, but between her limited knowledge, and my scrapings of japanese, we get by just fine.

Also, there is not one, but FIVE pianos in the house... so I`ll not have to miss playing one after all. The whole family are musicians... on the one hand it`s brilliant, but also very daunting as I am only a humble self-taught pianist and really not a very good one at that.

I have done my placement test, and am royally miffed that I`m in the 300 level, not the 400... I was incredibly jet lagged,and there is still chance to move up a class, fortunately. I really, really want to be in 400 because there is the chance to study some of Haruki Murakami`s works in the original form, with English translations. I have already read both books (Kafka on the Shore and Norweigan Wood) and would really really love the opportunity to study the original texts. I am also considering taking Sumie - or Chinese black ink painting =) We`ll see.

All in all I`m doing well, very busy, very tired. Oh! But the food is amazing. So intricate and tasty and...wow. Already I have been treated to kara-age (sort of..Japanese style fried chicken)... fish teriyaki, some kind of stew thing..proper onigiri (rice cakes)...erm.. yeah! Lots of beautiful food, and Yurichan is an awesome cook. Yesterday I sat with her while she made dinner - perhaps when I am a bit more settled, and my Japanese is a bit stronger, I will ask her to teach me to make proper sushi and things.

Speaking of food, it is lunch time =D And! I have probably written enough for one entry. Expect more, and pictures very soon!

~That's All~

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:29:24 GMT

General Updatery
That's all... c'est tout.. 終り
I am officially now ready to leave for Japan.
I have done everything on my list.
And I am shit scared.

Excited.

But shit scared.

Kanji I know: 274

Sorry to those that are on both my f-lists. I accidentally posted over on rogue_dreams and once it was up, thought it should stay up =)

~Touching base~

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:02:50 GMT

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!
*ahem*
I touched base with my host-family at long last. n_n'
I've been having some trouble getting in touch because the email that Nanzan, my uni in Japan, had wasn't working. I sent letters but now I'm paranoid they didn't get there too. Shaking footing to start on, but today I received and email from Maria-san saying hello. Her English is very good, but obviously not her first language which makes me happy. I can help her with her English and she me with my poor Japanese.

Also, my Visa is going to be redelivered tomorrow (missed the post today).

AND! My little brother passed his exams and is off to college! Makes me feel old.

All in all.

Good day.

Kanji I can read: A few under 240!

Things to do before I go to Japan
Register with my Uni here
Get travel insurance
Go to London to pick up my visa
Sort out my tuition fee loan with LEA
Buy plug adaptor thingy for Japanese electrical sockets
Get together documentation such as ID, bank statements, passport, birth certificate and passport photos
Revise grammatical points and structure.
Buy presents for host family
Start taking photos to show to host family and friends and get them printed out.
Write and send postcard to host family
Email host family
Buy toiletries such as shampoo and a new toothbrush, also extra underwear n_n
Send Travel Insurance details to Uni! - letter in a stamped envelope waiting to go
Buy rechargable AAA batteries for mp3 player
Start organising what clothes I'm definately taking
Do a 'test' pack - see what will fit in my suitcase and decide what I might have to leave behind.
Get a few more photos of my family
~~Register creditcard~~

Getting there! ^o^ Woo!

~London... how I loathe thee~ T_T

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 19:39:22 GMT

General Updatery

Well! I've now recovered enough from my whirlwind trip to London to do an update about it. =) All in all, it was a good day..though travelling that far for a five minute stop in the Embassy felt a bit silly. I got to see some friends and had tasty and very reasonably priced sushi and spent several hours just lolling in a park. The weather was really funky..muggy and hot one minute and then really cold another. The tube was shit and one of the stations was closed or something so we had to run across London to try and get to somewhere else and I lost my ticket and then my train home was cancelled and it was all a bit mad. XD But aside from that chaos that made me quite certain that I absolutely loathe London, it was a nice day - and having Jan for company on the train was awesome - she's such a dear and I was rather pissed on white wine by the time I landed back home, lol. Today, I gutted my bedroom so I have space to leave my suitcase open and start 'packing'. I have toiletries, brand new pretty clothes and presents packed so far. Can't believe it's only two weeks until I go. Just got off the phone to Sami - the guy I'm off to Japan with... and we said goodbye with 'See you in Japan'... it all feels a bit surreal at the moment.

Kanji I can read on sight: About 190

Things to do before I go to Japan
Register with my Uni here
Get travel insurance
Go to London to pick up my visa Just gotta wait for it to be posted back
Sort out my tuition fee loan with LEA
Buy plug adaptor thingy for Japanese electrical sockets
Get together documentation such as ID, bank statements, passport, birth certificate and passport photos This needs to be more important ¬_¬...
Revise grammatical points and structure.
Buy presents for host family
Start taking photos to show to host family and friends and get them printed out.
Write and send postcard to host family
Email host family - the email address doesn't work so I will send another letter
~~Buy toiletries such as shampoo and a new toothbrush, also extra underwear n_n~~
Send Travel Insurance details to Uni!! Again - really need to do this one!
Buy rechargable AAA batteries for mp3 player
Start organising what clothes I'm definately taking
Do a 'test' pack - see what will fit in my suitcase and decide what I might have to leave behind.
Get a few more photos of my family
Register creditcard

PS: I hate Green Tea flavoured Pocky. Blehgk.

~On the brink of being legal~

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:44:46 GMT

General Updatery
Hullo hullo! =) Today I did very little. I discovered I know 180 kanji for definate and that Hotel Chocolat is actually the tastiest thing a girl could ever ask for, hehe.
I had chicken and chips for dinner too ~ washed down with rum and coke. Not the classiest tea in the world but it sure was yummy.
Apparently, today, food is going to be the highlight!

Off to London tomorrow - I have to be up and out the house for 9am people. I have to see the MORNING! *hiss*
I'm quite excited though, I'll get to see some friends, and probably go to the Japan centre - which I've never been to before. I shall be guarding my wallet from myself.

I am shortly going to email my host family too. 'Bout time I did that!

Suddenly.. I am also inspired to watch another Korean drama series or film...anybody have any recommendations???

Things to take to London tomorrow
CoE
Photocopy of CoE
Passport
Passport Photo
Visa Application form
Self-addressed recorded delivery envelope
Kanji cards to practise on the train
Camera + extra batteries
Purse
Keys
Brain

Things to do before I go to Japan list
Register with my Uni here
Get travel insurance
Go to London to pick up my visa - off tmoorrow!
Sort out my tuition fee loan with LEA
Buy plug adaptor thingy for Japanese electrical sockets
Get together documentation such as ID, bank statements, passport, birth certificate and passport photos - Getting there slowly
Revise grammatical points and structure.
~~Buy presents for host family~~ - I bought pretty presents for the ladies of the house yesterday =)
~~Start taking photos to show to host family and friends~~ and get them printed out.
~~Write and send postcard to host family~~
Email host family
Start buying toiletries such as shampoo and a new toothbrush, also extra underwear xD
Send Travel Insurance details to Uni!! This one's important T_T
Buy rechargable AAA batteries for mp3 player
Start organising what clothes I'm definately taking
Do a 'test' pack - see what will fit in my suitcase and decide what I might have to leave behind.

My list got longer.. T_T

~Komaki-huh? o.O'~

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:06:59 GMT

General Updatery
Today I went into town to meet two friends of mine, Charlie and Jane for some shopping and lunch (- yummy Italian! I'm making the most of European food while I can!) and much gossip. =) It was really awesome to see them both again and I had a wonderful afternoon (despite the rain!) So thank you to you two sweet people for the lovely company and the tasty chocolates...which of course didn't last to eat on my flight as I have already tucked in and had one, hehe.

Also, today it occured to me (mostly due to Charlie's organisation of her own trip out to Japan for Christmas... ) that I didn't even know where it was I was staying in Japan properly. I googled part of my Japan address today and found out that Komaki is a relatively small city, about 15km/9miles from Nagoya itself. It looks pretty, from the very few pictures that I can actually see of it - plus... it is the (in)famous place where a certain festival is held. It's a festival to pray to a kami for prosperity and safe birth and children and stuff. But it's famous all over the world for the giant phallic sculptures that are housed on portable shrines and carried about the city. Should be interesting to see! For anyone interested ~ Komaki has a website: http://www.city.komaki.aichi.jp/english/index.html

I found some pictures of Komaki but not very many.

I'm looking forwards to going very much =)

I learnt no kanji today, though. -_-

I did buy Hotel Chocolate (dear god this stuff is orgasmic chocolate), and DVDs ~ yey n_n

~Que Sera Sera~

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:30:31 GMT

I am having an off day today. I managed to make a massacre of cooking dinner - oops! It's rare for me to make a huge mess cookery wise, but my timing was completely off today so the chicken was still raw when everything else was done. Try again tomorrow!

Time seems to be dragging a bit this week. I'm very bored, and struggling to motivate myself to do anything constructive.

However, I did learn 25 kanji today! If I can keep up that rate, I'll be well and truly sorted for going to Japan. =)

I'm also listening to one song over and over today. It's from 'Take the Lead' soundtrack - a slightly cheesy movie - but hey! Antonio Banderas in all his sexiness is never a bad thing in my books. It's a really mellow, bluesy version of the already sweet song 'Que Sera Sera'

Below is the link to it!
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1XOXKS5I
Kanji I can read on sight: 165

世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 16:21:45 GMT

General Updatery

Well, today my 'studying' has thus far comprised of watching [世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ] - 'Sekai no chushin de ai wo sakebu' or in English 'Crying out love from the centre of the world'. I watched it without subtitles - and understood a great deal more than I expected to. I have only watched this movie the once a long time ago, and somehow forgot how sad it was. Even with my only partially understanding everything that was going on, I was sobbing most of the way through.
It's a beautiful, delicate story about a man's first love in high school, who died of lukemia, and him retracing his memories with her now that he is about to marry someone else. I should very much like to read the original novel, and maybe indulge in the TV series - though I think I am quite happy with just the movie on its own for now. I am downloading the OST =) Such pretty music.

I was also very good and wrote my 葉書 (post card) to my host family. I will probably also email them tonight or tomorrow depending on whether or not my brain can function in Japanese mode anymore =)

Also, I thought I'd share this cute with you =)

This is one of my kitties, Angel, fast asleep, hehe.

Kanji I can read on sight: 140

Things to do before I go to Japan list
Register with my Uni here
Get travel insurance
Go to London to pick up my visa
Sort out my tuition fee loan with LEA
Buy plug adaptor thingy for Japanese electrical sockets
Get together documentation such as ID, bank statements, passport, birth certificate and passport photos - Getting there slowly
~~Find out if I am actually doing homestay or not.~~
Learn lots of evil kanji (Chinese characters) - Finally! I started on this.
Revise grammatical points and structure.
Buy presents for host family - I still want to get them something more personal ^-^
~~Start taking photos to show to host family and friends~~ and get them printed out.
~~Write~~ and send postcard to host family

~Lazy Days~

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 18:47:52 GMT

General Updatery

I'm tired and hot today. Very tired, and very hot, and have gotten exceedingly LAZY. This simply won't do when I have soooo much that needs to be done.

On a random aside - I just watched the finale of 'America's Got Talent' - Honestly I'm a bit of a sucker for these talent tv shows ~ I was muchly impressed by the clogging again - I think I need to look more into this because I always enjoy watching that ^-^ Especially sexy (man-)boys clogging - that's always a nice bonus.

I have also come to the realisation that I really, really need to do some kanji cramming. Of the kanji I looked at today, I know at the very minimum 140 - which sounds like a lot but I need to know at least 300 to get a decent grade on the placement test when I get to Japan in three weeks. I am going to be working hard to learn kanji so I'm going to add a kanji counter here ^-^ I'm not worried as much about writing them yet, I'm really just going to work hard to be able to read them. Because when in doubt I -can- just write in Hiragana and get by, but if I can't read them I shall be screwed.

Kanji I can read on sight: 140

Things to do before I go to Japan list
Register with my Uni here
Get travel insurance - I got my police today - I am officially insured. Awesome
Go to London to pick up my visa -~~Book train tickets~~ I'm off ont he 17th Aug
~~Sort out my tuition fee loan with LEA~~
~~Buy plug adaptor thingy for Japanese electrical sockets~~
Get together documentation such as ID, bank statements, passport, birth certificate and passport photos - Getting there slowly
~~Find out if I am actually doing homestay or not.~~
Learn lots of evil kanji (Chinese characters) - Finally! I started on this.
Revise grammatical points and structure.
~~Buy presents for host family~~ - I still want to get them something more personal ^-^
~~Start taking photos to show to host family and friends~~ and get them printed out.
Send postcard to host family

I can has credit card? n_n

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:55:49 GMT

General updatery
I didn't update yesterday because I didn't do anything yesterday. ¬_¬ I played with my new dolly and faffed yesterday. Mercedes is lovely and I'm glad that she got her body in time to go to Japan!

I really, really need to stop being nocturnal, it's making me ill!

On happy happy news! My stuff for getting my visa came through today ~ so I've got a busy week up ahead. And I am definately, definately doing homestay because I have details of my family! The Yamashitas ~ I'm very much looking forwards to meeting them. There's Mum and Dad and three kids, two daughters of 22 and 19, and a son of 16 (same age as my little brother). When I got to London I think I shall pick them each up something quite nice to say thank you for having me. I'm not sure what yet though - we'll see when I get back. I wonder if they have pets.
I am going to email them either today or tomorrow to say hello. n_n I'm also quite pleased that their family name is comprised of two (of the few) characters that I am actually familiar with ~

Oooh it's all so exciting - just over 3 weeks to go now!

Oh, and on a small side note - I got my first credit card today. Somehow, that feels frighteningly like being very much an adult.

Things I have to do before I go to Japan list:
~~Register with my Uni here.~~ - also printed out my copy of the confirmation today
~~Get travel insurance~~ - I posted off the forms today and am just waiting for my copy of the policy.
Go to London to pick up my visa - I cans book train tickets now!
~~Sort out my tuition fee loan with LEA~~
~~Buy plug adaptor thingy for Japanese electrical sockets~~ My mummy bought it for me today!
Get together documentation such as ID, bank statements, passport, birth certificate and passport photos - I've started doing this now ^-^
~~Find out if I am actually doing homestay or not.~~ - yaaay n_n I has their address n everything
Get some yen to take with me
Learn lots of evil kanji (Chinese characters) ..ung.. I don't seem to be making any progress on revision at all... naughty naughty me.
Revise grammatical points and structure.
Buy presents for host family
Start taking photos to show to host family and friends and get them printed out.

Wooo the list is going down slowly but surely!

Sunny days at home.. or shopping!

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:23:47 GMT

General Updatery
Today I went shopping with the Mother-unit n_n We had lots of fun. And! My Hello Kitty purse came! I am quite smitten with it ~

And with a spiffy new outfit as my 'I'm going to Japan' - wear on the plane/be comfortable/make a nice first impression - outfit bought I'm all happy. (I'm not a shopaholic, I swear) All the time I'm getting more excited about going - yaaay! I also bought a 1MB mp3 player to keep me amused on the flight ~ as my other one died an unfortunate death on a train somewhere between Glasgow and Newark. Poor thing. RiP.

What else? Not a whole lot to report today - I spent most of the morning groggy because I stayed up ridiculously late roleplaying (a horrid vice of mine but it keeps me amused!) None the less, the day was most enjoyable ~ I love spending time with my Marmie just the two of us... I also made her an LJ account! charlies_marmie so that she can read all this while I'm in Japan ~

Mouse (my Mini-Super-Dollfie Schulze) ought to arrive any day, as should Mercedes's (Obitsu Haruka) body ~ waiting for dollies stresses me slightly.

Things I have to do before I go to Japan list:
~~Register with my Uni here.~~ <- I did it two minutes ago ~ [/procrastination]
Get travel insurance <- printer is being a pain in the tits, will fix this tomorrow when more coherant
Go to London to pick up my visa (STILL waiting for certificate of eligibality)
~~Sort out my tuition fee loan with LEA~~
Buy plug adaptor thingy for Japanese electrical sockets
Get together documentation such as ID, bank statements, passport, birth certificate and passport photos
Find out if I am actually doing homestay or not. ~~(Email year abroad secretary)~~
Get some yen to take with me
Learn lots of evil kanji (Chinese characters)
Revise grammatical points and structure.
~~Buy presents for host family~~
Start taking photos to show to host family and friends and get them printed out

Getting there slowly....

One day less to go n_n

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:18:31 GMT

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who friended me! ~ It's nice to see that people are kind of interested in my random updates from behind the camera lens and dollies ~ Makes me feel the internet warm fuzzy.

Update-y goodness
Welp, today was nice and productive. n_n' I headed into the city to buy some presents for Japanese peoples when I'm over there. The Japanese, from what i'm told, are very big on gift giving, and so I thought it would be nice to take over something exceptionally English. More specifically, I'm from Nottingham ~ and Nottingham has always been very famous for it's textiles - especially lace ~ so I bought some really lovely little samples of lace and bookmarks and things. Yay for them being light to pack and probably well appreciated over there.

It was sweltering hot, though - and while I'm not complaining for the weather being glorious... I do actually prefer it when it's a bit cooler.

The highlight of my day, of course, was not the happy sunshine, being in a bustling city again (oh civilization how I missed you!), the fast food lunch or the lovely chat I had with the two old ladies running the Lace Centre in town. No.

It was a certain little trio that I couldn't quite pass up. (Quartet if you count Mr Squirrel)

Bwaha, yay! Samurai Champloo action figures! They were such a find because they cost me a grand £1.99 each. I was convinced they were mis-marked and had to refrain a giddy squeak when I found out that they were in fact so cheap. The words "I'll just have to take all three, then," came out before I could help myself. I have a habit of doing that.. hm. Sometimes, I love you, Forbidden Planet. (Which I ought to revere the name of and not go in there so often, I nearly always come out with some kind of crap)

Y'know, I'm really liking having this proper journal for all of my random thoughts and what I get up to ~ I missed proper blogging!

The "Things I have to do before I go to Japan" update:

Well, I have my tuition fee loan all sorted now. They're giving me the amount for my fees. Lord knows why they couldn't manage that the first four times around but my LEA has managed to improve telling the difference between its arse and its elbow and I can now pay my university tuition fees without panicing!

Register with my Uni here. I shall do that tomorrow. (I really will do this tomorrow)
Get travel insurance (leaving this a bit late, I know!) <- I am now working on printing out and filling in forms. n_n woo!
Go to London to pick up my visa (waiting for certificate of eligibality)
~~Sort out my tuition fee loan with LEA (they're being wankers about this, waiting on my uni to contact them for me)~~ - Yay! Monies for Charlie sorted!
Buy plug adaptor thingy for Japanese electrical sockets
Get together documentation such as ID, bank statements, passport, birth certificate and passport photos
Find out if I am actually doing homestay or not. ~~(Email year abroad secretary)~~ <- I mailed her today!
Get some yen to take with me
Learn lots of evil kanji (Chinese characters)
Revise grammatical points and structure.
~~Buy presents for host family~~
Start taking photos to show to host family and friends and get them printed out
(Why is this list getting ever longer? TT_TT)

Randomness
You know you all wanna click below the cut and see more Champloo goodness!

I love Jin ~ the action figure face doesn't look a whole lot like him - of the three he's the least close to the actual character.. but I still love him the most because he is Jin! Grumpy samurais are were it's at. Fuu is cute too, by the way.

Mugen, with his scabbard thingy that falls off a lot and wobbly legs that don't wanna hold him up.

However, his wobbly legs are special because they are hairy. For some reason, this small detail amuses me.

That is all!

Charlie
xxx

PS: If someone could give me the HTML coding for the line through scoring out text thingy yeah.. ~~this stuff~~ I'd be eternally grateful 'cause then I can update without faffing with the DOOM that is Rich text LJ updating.

Thank you!