A little brightness on a cold and cloudy day

This morning, it was drizzling and the sky was a opaque grey. It was also so cold that my breath looked like a thick white cloud. When I got to the train station, all that was running was the local and thus slowest train, and even that was crowded. I'm really so sick of Tokyo trains. I'm sick of getting pushed in by the other people getting on the train. I'm sick of being pressed up against people I don't know. I'm sick of having to use all my body strength just to keep myself from falling onto the people sitting down. And even if it's not true, I'm sick of feeling like people are staring at me because I'm foreign.

But just as I was feeling all this this morning, I get my speech grade and class feedback in my Japanese class. I recited my speech on Wednesday and I worked for 4 days straight to get it memorized so I felt that I did pretty well.

Yesterday, I got an email from my Japanese teacher, Watanabe sensei, who wasn't there to see me in class, but she listened to my recorded speech. She said that I spoke very clearly and it was very easy to understand. She saw that I tried very hard and was very proud of me!

My presentation grade was an A-. The teacher who graded it, Ikeda sensei, wrote that, although there were some issues with my accent: "This was a very difficult theme, but you spoke about it in a very easy to understand way. You also explained things very well."

My classmates wrote (translated from Japanese):

"This was the best speech I heard. The content was very interesting and easy to understand, and she explained things very well. I want to hear Kenia-san's speech again sometime!"

"This was a very interesting speech. It was like a textbook :) Maybe she should speak a bit faster, though."
(It took all I had to speak at the speed I did. For now, I think it's fine to speak slowly, but gradually I hope to be able to speak faster.)

"She spoke so beautifully! The tempo was very good and her pronunciation was very nice, too. The theme was very interesting and her explanations were very easy to understand. It was a very fun speech to listen to."

"It was the first time hearing many of the things she talked about so it was really interesting."

"Finally Kenia-san's treasure box enigma has been solved."
(I have no idea what this means lol...I think this was probably written by Miharu though...)

"This was a very good speech. The topic was interesting and the content was very well explained. She also responded well to the questions that were asked."

"This speech was called "What kind of person am I?". It was really interesting! I'm really jealous of Kenia-san! Actually, I've studied Spanish since I was a kid, but I've forgotten all of it :("

"This was a really interesting speech. She said that English was easier for her than Spanish."

Ahh the positive responses to my speech make me soo happy! So happy! Next Tuesday, I'm going to perform the speech again in front of my conversation club during the xmas party. I have it all memorized, so I can recite it easily. I hope they all like it too!

Roppongi

Konbanwa~ Good evening~

I just came back from the 21x21 Design Museum. It was a quite interesting artistic dialogue exibit between famous American photographer for Vogue magazine, Irving Penn, and Japanese fashion designer, Issey Miyake. From the appearance of their designs, it really seems like artists live in a completely different world.

It's nighttime, so this photo didn't really turn out very well, but this is the museum from the outside:

 Also, Tokyo's illuminations are really so beautiful. During Christmas seson, there are special places in Tokyo's cities that are famous for their Christmas light shows at night. Roppongi is one of them. The museum was in Roppongi's Tokyo Midtown--a really classy place. I guess it's kind of similar to downtown Rockville...maybe a little more high class. I took pictures of the light show. It was sooo pretty!:

Christmas is coming~~ The weather has suddenly gotten really cold. It finally feels like winter.

Ikebukuro

Happy December 1st!

December came so fast. It also means that I've now been in Japan for about 3 months and now entering my 4th month. I suppose I've learned a lot so far, but I still feel like I have a lot to learn. I keep having dreams that I leave Japan already, but it's probably for the best that I'm staying for a year.

Today, I'll be uploading the pictures that I've taken recently. They include my trip with Stephanie to Ikebukuro during the break and the personification of inatimate objects.

First, my trip to Ikebukuro. I wanted to go there because it's the setting of an anime I saw called "Drrrr!!". From the anime, I heard of some famous places that were in Ikebukuro, so I wanted to see them in real life. Ikebukuro is a really nice town. It's a city, but not nearly as big and bustling as Shibuya. There was also a really nice bakery in the train station where Stephanie and I stopped by for lunch.

We first stopped by Sunshine City, which is pretty much a big mall. There are lots of stores, food places, and there's even an observatory and aquarium somewhere inside. It was fun looking around but we didn't buy anything. I've pretty much given up on Japanese clothes. They are too expensive. It's quite depressing when all the dresses you like are all around the $80 price range.

 This was a Hello Kitty store along the main road. There are lots of stores like this--the Disney store too--that make you feel like you're stepping into a fairytale world.

 The main road of Ikebukuro. There are a lot of game centers, shopping, restaurants, etc. It has a really nice atmosphere.

 This is a famous dessert place. The desserts are so amazing looking. But, when you're hungry, you want something more substantial than chocolate and cream...

 Stephanie and I spent a really long time looking for West Gate Park, which is this famous park in Ikebukuro known for the novel and drama that take place there. Unfortunately, we gave up by the time it was getting dark and cold. This was a pretty park though on the other side of Sunshine City. I really like these kind of trees.

 Ikebukuro Station

 Me with the Ike-fukuro. This is an iconic statue which can be found in Ikebukuro station. It places on the name Ikebukuro, which combines the characters for lake and handkerchief/bundle, replacing the second character with the character for "owl" that sounds similar. It then becomes "lake owl".

When there's something iconic, the Japanese have to create souvenirs. Here, they were selling Ike-fukuro shaped pastries with different fillings.

Mother and Daddy--you were talking the other day about how you saw a tv show where they were talking about how the Japanese personify inatimate objects. Apparently, this demonstrates a naivite and a love for cute things, as well as deeply ingrained Shinto beliefs that everything has a spirit and is somehow alive. Inspired by that, I noticed two examples in the station the other day:

 Here the ticket dispenser for commuter passes and fare tickets has a face and legs.

 Here is something specific that mother mentioned--the personified lightbulb to encourage saving electricity. I have seen the posters with smiling lightbulbs as well, but this is the poster that I've seen around the stations the most. A sleeping lightbulb. Oh, I didn't mention this before, but there are signs like this everywhere to encourage saving electricity. In bathrooms, hand dryers will be out of order, elevators will sometimes be out of order, and ticket buying machines will be out of order to save electricity. As many probably know, as a result of the earthquake/tsunami incident, the nuclear plant was seriously damaged. Thus, many people were afraid that there wouldn't be enough electricity to run Japan. To prevent this from happening, the whole country went into an electricity saving mode. In the train, I also see several advertisements for electricity saving refridgerators and heaters. One encouraged families to not be spread out while they're in the house, but rather gather in the same room and play non-electronic games like board games together. This restricts the use of electricity in the house and also works to strengthen family bonds. It's quite an interesting campaign.

Anyways, today is Thursday so I have class in the evening--composition and art. For art, we're going to a museum in Roppongi, which is a really chic part of Japan. I have to get there by myself, so I hope I don't get lost...

Happy Thanksgiving~

I compromised with my mom by having fried chicken AND sushi.
I spent the day alone today, but I met two people I knew and I got to see my family on skype. Good enough.

Mita Festival

Good morning! I have just come back from the Mita Festival! There was food and entertainment and discussion seminars...Not that I experienced much of it...These three pictures are the only material proof I have that I went to the Mita Festival and I took them in the morning before anything started, so it's not much. 

 These were the food stalls where different clubs or circles sold food for club funds. I decided to try lots of different festival food so over the span of two days, I had a cinnamon churro (I usually don't like churros, but this was so good), a chocolate banana, a chocolate banana crepe (not so good...they're better in Shibuya or Harajuku), fried ice cream (I've always thought this sounded gross but this was actually delicious), and a hot green tea milk bubble tea (okay but I mostly just bought it because I was freezing my hands off--lately it's gotten really cold!).

This was the stage where bands and other performances were held.

So, why didn't I experience much of it? Why have I done none of the traveling and studying that I thought I would do during this week break?

Because I was drawing portraits at the manga club booth for three days. And that's realistic portraits, not anime style...Englehardt would be so proud. Not only was it more popular than I thought it would be, but it was unexpectedly a tiring job, too. Even though I was pretty much just sitting, I was there from 9am-7pm each day with little to no break. I was exhausted at the end of each day, but I feel like it was a really interesting and unique experience. I got to see lots of different faces, talk to lots of different people, and have the priviledge of giving those people a memory of the festival.

It was awkward at first to draw people, because as the artist, you're kind of getting intimate with that other person as you familiarize yourself with their face. I like including the tiny details in each person's face--especially the tiny moles or freckles--which means that I had to look the person straight in the eye and examine the person's face, see the way their face is formed and their mouth curves. This is especially embarrassing when the person is a guy and/or is attractive. Normally, people aren't supposed to stare, so being given the priviledge to stare at pretty people and take in all their features was fun. Actually, the guys I drew were probably the most embarrassed. They would get so tense or look really cool and nonchalant until I talked to them and they would smile really bashfully. It was kind of funny.

Then, it was the best feeling when people were super happy with their potrait. There was this one girl who's face was flecked with moles, so it was so much fun to draw her face. She was so happy with the picture, that she gave me a pastry from her bag as a thanks. Then there was this maybe 10 year old boy who, when his mom said to make sure the portrait was cool, sat in front of me so composed and wasn't afraid to look me in the eye as I drew him. He was so cute and the perfect model. When his mom checked up on him, she complimented how well he was sitting, and he got this super proud and happy face on. He was really so cute. They were both really happy with the final portrait, too, and gave me a vanilla candy♪

Today, I met this old man who kind of flirted with me...Maybe it was just in a nice way, but anyways...He was apparently in love with Kyoto, so he wrote a list of places I should go there. Then, there were these two guys from Tokyo University (known for smart students, Harvard level uni). They were really fun to talk to. The one I was drawing was pretty good looking and his friend who was drawn by the girl next to me was apparently ranked top 10 of his class. At one point, the girl next to me, asked the guy she was drawing if he had a girlfriend (she's so bold...) so I thought it would be okay and asked the guy I had if he had a girlfriend. He said no and then asked me if I had a boyfriend (yes! my first time I've been asked! haha). I said no but told him I didn't know why he didn't have a girlfriend, since he's good looking and he got embarrassed tehe♪

Also, the manga members were all so nice to me. They kept checking up on me to see if I was okay, and they brought me drinks, and they noticed when my friends came today and asked me about it. I also met two new girl members who were really nice, too--Kei-san and Sei-san. As today was the last day, we went to celebrate at an izakaya (japanese bar) in Akihabara which was lots of food plus all you can drink for two hours for 2000yen! Super cheap. I pretty much talked to the guy who's pretty been my texting buddy since I don't have any of the other club member's mail address--Niizuma-san--the whole time. He drank lots of beer and got really talkative. I was so happy to be talked to haha...my little happinesses. He was also really considerate of me and when someone said a word, he would ask me if I knew what it meant, and if I didn't, he would explain it to me. I love the manga club! They're all so nice! I'm the only foreigner in the club so it's kind of a weird experience, but it's really nice to be excepted by so many people, not to mention that it's a real immersion experience.

Anyways, this whole experience was so much fun. In a way, even without picture proof, I feel like in these past 3 days I've experienced something so unique, I've left a precious part of me in Japan, and I've made great memories!

Cultural activities

Hello~ It's been a while! I haven't had the time to upload my pictures lately, (I've been feeling a cold coming and freaking out, taking as much vitamin c as possible so I don't catch anything, etc etc...) so I'll do that briefly now.

2 weeks ago, I went to a cultural event sponsored by Keio University where a small group got together and got to see how soba noodles are made. For those who don't know, soba noodles are made out of buckwheat and are very healthy. I asked how the flour is different from pasta noodles for example. Apparently, they're very different. Soba flour is very light and actually slightly sticky. It is first sifted into a bowl and mixed with water.

 It then takes a lot of strength to make a dough. This is why soba noodles are always made by men. Apparently, it takes even more strength to make udon noodles (fat japanese noodles). These are made by a combination of arm AND leg power.

 The dough then turns out like this. It's so perfect! Japanese really are perfectionists.

 The dough is then rolled out into a square.

 It actually fit onto the whole table! An amazingly perfect square!

 This square is then folded like a cloth so it turns out as you can see below. The soba dough is on top of a rectangle cutting board here.

 This is the knife used to cut soba. It's super huge! It's probably super sharp as well in order to cut precisely.

 Here the soba is being cut. A wooden board is used to cut the noodles evenly.

 And thus they turn out like this! They are nice and flimsy but still uncooked.

 This is a soup made from soba (buckwheat) seeds and mixed with tiny mushrooms. It has a very light flavor but very warm.

 And these are the final soba noodle product. They are cooked and rinsed with cool water in order to make cold noodles. Soba comes in two varieties: First, there is soup soba, which comes warm in a broth and mixed with vegetables or green onions. Second, there is cold soba, which comes just as the noodles and mixed with a fish sauce and topped with green onions. It was a really great experience to see soba made right in front of me. Something that would usually be super expensive, was only 200yen. These definitely tasted differently than regular soba from the grocery store, etc. You could really taste the texture of the buckwheat. It was great.

 After the soba making, I had a field trip with my art class to make wind chimes. This is my chime. I got to blow the glass myself even! And then, I painted the picture on the inside, which was so tough! This is so, if you put it outside, the paint won't come off. The chime place is actually a really popular place and lots of famous people had been there like Aiba Masaki from Arashi, Kinki Kids, Fujiwara Tatsuya...That was kinda cool.

 Last Friday, I walked around Shibuya and had dinner at a famous ramen place. The ramen was really salty though. I even prefer the ramen in the school cafeteria. My favorite ramen is still Aika's mom's homemade ramen.

 Last Saturday, I went to the long awaited Sukima Switch concert! It....was....amazing. At first, it was kinda lonely being all by myself...but it was fine once the concert started. I was so absorbed in Sukima Switch!♥

 First, there was an opening act by this band no one knew. They were really loud and abnoxious and the singer sounded like he was high...but one of their songs was kind of amusing. The singer said that he went out with this really cute girl in high school, but he was dumped after two weeks. Recently, they saw each other and started talking. She asked him what he was up to so he said "Oh, I'm just in this super cool band like X-Japan level" (an obvious lie...). In reply, she said she had just gotten married...to a Keio boy. And so the singer got kinda pissed and decided to make a song called "I want to be a Keio boy".

By the way, the term "Keio boy" is used for the stereotypical boy that attends Keio. Apparently, they're really popular among girls because they're supposed to be good looking, fashionable, smart, and rich on top of that. Keio is actually a really prestigious school so...there are lots of rich people as I said before. And so, it's every girl's dream to marry a Keio boy. By the way, Sukima Switch themselves brought this up during their MC portion of the concert, but there is no term "Keio girl". I don't know why...Sukima Switch made a joke and used the term "Keio gyaru" instead, which was funny because the term "gyaru" sounds like "girl" but it's actually used to describe girls with lots of make up, super skimpy clothing, dyed hair, and are usually walking around Shibuya. Like this:

Gyaru aren't usually very smart though, so I don't know if they would get into Keio...

But anyways, Sukima's concert was amazing! During the opening act, everyone remained in their seats, but as soon as Sukima Switch got on stage, everyone got to their feet and remained that way the whole concert. There were like 3000 people in the hall apparently. Also, I knew almost all of their songs, they played my favorite song even though it's kind of old (so I was so happy and got to sing along♪), their MCing was so funny, the main singer has the most amazing voice, and they made the concert really interactive getting the audience involved with singing a few times. At one point in the concert, I was so moved by their lyrics and at the same time so happy to be there to experience them live, that I cried. Lives are really something else...

Then, today, I had plans to visit Ikebukuro with Stephanie, but it was raining, so we decided to go to somewhere indoors. We went to this huge mall which really made me feel at home because it was the first U.S.-like mall that I had been to in a while. Rather than a shopping center, it was really like Tyson's Mall if I had to compare it to anything. Stephanie and I ate at a Chinese restaurant, and then walked around. I've kind of given up on buying clothes in Japan, though. They're way too expensive. But, I had to buy this magazine from the most famous bookstore in Japan--Kinokuniya--because it had...this folder that came with it...Niina! (dies) I'm really so pathetic...

Anyways, tomorrow, I participate in my school festival, which as a result, there is a week off from school. During this break, my horoscope recommends that I study a lot because my mind is open for knowledge! Of course, I have planned to do that, but I also want to go around Tokyo some to see lots of things. That's part of studying as well, right?

Wouldn't it be better if you did this maybe probably I think?

Ok second entry of the day, just because I thought this was an interesting topic as well. In my conversation A class, we got into a bit of the topic of "Japanese indirectness".

Japanese people are famous for being indirect, but it's really hard to follow their lead as a foreigner who's used to always being direct. That's the way we're taught. Sure, we have passive voice in English, but our English teachers say that it makes us sound weak, so don't ever use it in essays. We're taught never to put "I think" in essays, because it's already implied that what we write is our opinion. Adding "I think" is unnecessary and gives the writer a weak voice. Japanese is just the opposite. You HAVE to add things like "I think" and "probably" or else, the writer's voice sounds a) Too supposing and sure. You don't necessarily KNOW that it's true so you can't sound like that. Otherwise will think "What? I don't think that's true" and you will get in trouble or b) Too direct and strong. The writer is not supposed to sound like he knows everything. He has to soften his speech or else Japanese people will feel like they're being attacked.

One way to be indirect is to not say the antonym of a word (bad-good [warui-ii], ugly-pretty[minikui-kirei]), but rather the negative form of the positive word. For example, instead of saying, "Your style today is bad [Kyou no fashion wa warui ne]", in order to be more polite and generous to the listener, people will say "Your style today is not -so- good [Kyou no fashion ha -anmari- yoku nai ne]". Instead of "This soup tastes horrible [Kono suupu wa mazui ne]", they will say "This soup doesn't taste very good [Kono suupu ha oishikunai ne]".

Second, you can add words like I did unconciously--"anmari" [not so] and "ne". "Ne" doesn't really have a specific translation that can be used in English, but it works in this case to soften the sentence.

Third, you take a direct sentence like "Go home" and make it super long like so:

Kaette [girl's speech] or Kaere [guy's speech]--Go home.
Kaetta hou ga ii (yo)--It would be best if you go home.
Kaetta hou ga ii n ja nai--Wouldn't it be best if you go home?
Kaetta hou ga ii n ja nai kana/darou ka--Wouldn't it probably be best if you go home?
Kaetta hou ga ii n ja nai darou ka to omoimasu-- Wouldn't it probably be best if you go home I think?
Kaetta hou ga ii n ja nai darou ka to omoimasu kedo...--Wouldn't it probably be best if you go home I think, but...?

As you can see, the more indirect you are, the softer your sentence, the longer your sentence, and the weirder it becomes in English. My teacher explained it as such:

Kaetta= verb (past tense)
hou ga ii= you should
And all the rest pretty much means nothing. It's just there to make your voice more indirect, more passive, and thus sound softer/nicer to the listener.

In the end, you're saying "You need to go home" but you have to add a probably, a maybe, and a "oh but that's just what I think...I'm not necessarily in anyway 100% correct in saying this so you don't have to feel pressured to agree in any shape or form!" More words add more formality, but also more implied meaning.
Such is the Japanese indirect voice.

Maybe.

Probably.

I think.