But what is Setsubun, you may ask, and why are you celebrating it?
Setsubun is the celebration of the changing of the seasons—from winter to spring. Of course, this is according to the lunar calendar and not the weather outside. February is supposed to be the coldest season in Kansai, so I’m bundling up!
During setsubun, people dress up as oni (devils) and have beans thrown at them while children shout 『鬼は外、福は内！』a traditional phrase that translates, “Devils out, good luck in!” as the devils are drummed out of the house.
To celebrate, the whole dorm got together and folded paper boxes which we then filled with peanuts. Traditionally, soybeans are used but to save money, we used peanuts which we then ate after. It was really fun. One of the oni took our RA as hostage—though that did not stop the flow of peanuts. They got everywhere.
Oh no! An oni!
HE'S GOT MI-CHAN!
A little blurry, but the best photo I've got of the peanut fury!
After that, I went and hung out with Paulina and she did my nails. Aren’t they pretty?!
So today was the first day of Orientation week and I got everything I needed to done. I’ve filled out my forms, signed my papers, and paid my fees—I’m ready for the semester to start! After this was done, I took a bus down to downtown Hirakata and met up with Okaasan for some sushi. Okaasan has just come back from Thailand, and we had all of our “girl-time chat” like we usually did. It was really nice to see Okaasan again, and I hope we can keep in touch better than I did during winter break—but it’s been kinda a busy winter for me, so I’m sure I’ll have more time now! So, we went out for sushi, I gave Okaasan a sumi-e that I had done for her, she gave me some omiyage from Thailand, we gossiped, and then I headed back to the dorms where I celebrated getting everything done in one day.
After that, I went out to dinner with LA (one of my friends from Beloit who’s here for the spring semester) and one of my new friends from the dorm, Beth. We went to a nearby restaurant with lots of delicious, cheap food.
I don’t learn who my new host family is until Thursday (>.<), but I’m really excited. While I had a great time with Okaasan, it was a little lonely being the only other person in the house. I’ve requested kids this time and I’m really looking forward to this!
So today I got stressed. And for those of you who don’t know me, when I get stressed I bake. I bake a lot. This is slightly problematic in Japan, where there are no ovens. Instead, they have microwaves with oven features.
I found this cool recipe for teabag cookies and I decided that I would make them. These cookies are basically shortbread cut into a teabag shape and then dipped in chocolate. I decided to spice things up and add some cinnamon to half of the dough.
Here are the results:
They were a hit in the dorm and all residents agree: these cookies are tasty!
So today I attempted to navigate a Japanese electronics website to buy a new lens for my camera.
...only to find out after jumping through all the hoops it had, that they didn't accept credit or debit cards.
Actually, Japan in general doesn't use credit cards that much. But it still kinda stung--I mean, here I was, willing to spend money, and the website wouldn't let me!! What made it worse was the fact that the type of Japanese bank account I have won't let me transfer money out of it because I'm not a Japanese national.
Fortunately, I had Hiromi (one of the R.A.s here in the dorms). Like me, she also has a very nice Nikon DSLR (digital single lens reflex) and we have bonded over cameras. ^_^ Hiromi helped me out by using her bank account to buy the lens and having me pay her in cash. Yaaaay! I'll be getting my camera by Wednesday next week at the latest!
Nothing much has been happening--I'm keeping kinda slow this week. I was going to go to Toji today, but the weather made me turn back. Happily, though, I'm heading to another one on the 25th, and going museum exploring in Kyoto with my friend Abby who just came back from her big trip in Kyushu!
So, today was the public holiday: Seijin no Hi--the Coming of Age Day.
This day is for all who turned 20 years old last year (or recently this year), because 20 is the age of majority in Japan. It's basically a ceremony with many speeches from bigwigs who encourage the "new adults" (my bad translation) to continue to help and become good Japanese.
However, seijinshiki (the ceremony itself) is more known for the colorful furisode (long-sleeved kimono) the the new women wear--the colors and patterns along with their elaborately tied obi (the sash that holds the entire ensemble together) make them look like giant beautiful butterflies.
Unfortunately I do not have a furisode that fits me properly, so I wore Western clothes. I almost wish I hadn't gone. I stood out like a sore thumb--the only person in Western clothes, the only foreigner, the only one frantically tracing kanji in her electric dictionary as she tried to understand the brochure...
And then the actual ceremony started. But, it started with some middle school aged girl orchestra/band playing this:
I almost died containing my laughter.
Surprisingly, when we were asked to stand for the National Anthem and the City Anthem, no one actually sang, which surprised me. What also surprised me was how all the important speakers (the Mayor of the City, an important local businessman, etc.) were all video recordings.
But what surprised me the most was the reactions of everyone who was in the room along with me. I have noted before that Japanese women tend to flock, but before now, I have never equivocated them to starlings.
Now I do; during the entire ceremony, all the women were basically chatting to each other and completely ignoring what was going on before them. It was kinda distressing--I mean, this is a huge ceremony and most of the participants were flat-out ignoring what the city had been putting on for them. Basically, I was reminded of the chattering of starlings.
But, despite this, I feel it put on a good show--even if I felt like a crow in a flock of peacocks.
There were some girls in my dorm who did dress up:
They went to professionals to have their furisode done--but they did the hair themselves!
Also, I have finally finished my SUPAH SEKRET CRAFTY PROJECT
Here it is!
Hand stitched and actually mostly done for the better part of last week, but I needed to find his eyes...
Who is he?
He's a plushie of a character from one of my favorite movies: How to Train Your Dragon.
So yes, I did go to a delicious Chinese restaurant with my dear friend Machi. We had a blast eating the cuisine and talking about various children's books from our childhoods. Then we stopped on the way back to pick up some potatoes and onions for the latkes I will be eventually making sometime this week.
Today I made my way from Okaasan's to the dorms of Seminar House Two. Surprisingly, despite shipping a fair amount of stuff back home, I still came out with more luggage than I started with. -_-;; Ugh. I wish I didn't collect stuff like a snowball, but I love what I have!
Surprisingly, Okaasan sent me off with a big bang--she packed me lunch and dinner along with a whole box of edible goodies!
All of this is edible and to be used in a kitchen--I'm practically set for a week!
Here's dinner--yakisoba and delicious!
And that's not including the haori and scarf (pictures finally taken!) that she got for me!
Details of the shibori
I'm all settled in now and I'm glad after the hecticness of the day. :)
Hi! Yeah, it's me. I'm alive and (finally) done with midterms! I feel that I did pretty well on my two language tests and here's to hoping my anthro is just as well! I have to admit, midterms really took it out of me and I'm glad they're over.
Things are going pretty mellow here, the temperature has finally dropped into something looking like fall (it's currently in the 40s at night...and the 70s in the day, so maybe not...) and I'm hoping against all hope! Some of the leaves have started to change color, so I'm hoping hard! :)
It's hard to believe I've been here for half a semester already. It seems like so much shorter than that! I only have a month and two weeks or so of school left. Scary!
Anyways, I have to get up early in the morning tomorrow, so g'night to you all! Now that midterms are over, I think I'll be coming back to my regularly scheduled updates, so do not fear!
Today I slept in until about 9am, despite the sunlight that blazed through the windows (Seminar House 4 has ineffective curtains, unfortunately.) But today was a holiday (the autumn equinox), so it was a-okay.
As most vacation days are, it was a pretty lazy day. I read some, I sketched some, I cleaned some. Nothing too important. Then after dinner, I watched a fun Japanese movie called “Handsome Suit.” It’s about a fat guy who learns the meaning of happiness. It was really fun to watch! Tomorrow, I'm going to Kyoto with Mita to meet Mackenzie. We're all from the same college, so we're meeting up. I'm not really sure where we're going, but one of the places is the Geisha District, Gion! I'm so excited!
Being a college student means scrimping and saving every cent you can. Especially when you're in a country where the yen is rising to the dollar. -_-
For those types of college students, here is a bit of advice: the conbini and hyakuen stores are your friends. Hyakuen means 100 yen, so they are equivalent to our dollar stores, but so much better. You can get a decent-sized onigiri (rice ball with filling) for 100 yen, and that takes care of your lunch. For dinner, you can stop by a conbini and check out their fresh food in the refrigerated isle for about 300 yen. For breakfast, you can stop by a vending machine and grab some orange juice for a maximum of 150 yen or go to a conbini or supaa and grab some melon pan. It’s not a great way to survive, but you can do it if you really need to save money. Another good idea is to go to a conbini or supaa (supermarket) at the end of the week and stock up on cup ramen and such. Throughout the week, buy some fresh food from the supaa or the conbini to go with your starchy cup noodles as well. Also, the supaa Fresco has the cheapest fresh food around, but you want to go to the Sanko conbini for the cheapest cup ramen.
In other news, it really cooled down today; usually it’s been in the 90s, but today was more in the 70s. I also noticed that one of my favorite skirts was hanging a little lower than usual. I went to the gym to confirm: without doing any extra exercise (I like only walk 15 min a day), I have dropped 7 pounds. O.O Jeeze louise! I’ve only been here for less than a month. Hopefully I can regain my “weight” with muscle. I plan to work out with Marian (if we can ever get our schedules to fit together…)!
In Wisconsin, every student awaits with bated breath for the radio announcements of snowdays after a blizzard. However, in Japan, there are Typhoon Days.
Today class was canceled due the typhoon. Apparently there was a big storm warning. Looking out my window, this morning, I couldn’t see anything, but I fully admit that I’m no expert on tropical storms. Today was a very lazy day, and I enjoyed it. Last weekend was a 3 day weekend, and now today is a holiday as well. I’d also like to mention that Friday is a holiday too (the autumn equinox), so my last day of school for the week is tomorrow.
I went out with a couple of other dorm students, braving the mist and wind to go shopping. We also stopped by a cafe where I had omurice. I bought lots of cup ramen to last me through the week and some other snacks that will be appreciated.
My room in Seminar House 4 is not what I’d call prime real estate. It’s close to the road, so I always hear a variety of siren noises while falling asleep. There’s also the point that it doesn’t have a balcony, so I have to use the inefficient dryers on the lower level to dry my laundry. Not a high point for me there. The windows have no screens, but thankfully the typhoon has cooled off the air so much, that I don’t need them open. I also have a sneaking suspicion that this is the big party dorm, but I’m not quite sure yet. But, my room is locked by key card, so it always feels like I’m living in some sort of high-class hotel. Also, I manage to keep it pretty clean. So that’s nice. There’s a reason that the words for “clean” and “pretty” are the same in Japanese.
Today is a national holiday. It’s called “Respect for the Aged Day,” so no school today. It was pretty quiet; I sewed and studied, Okaasan went out to talk to friends.
It was a pretty lazy day and then, after dinner, I moved back into the Seminar Houses (#4 this time), because Okaasan is going to Tokyo for the birth of her grandchild. Moving into the Seminar House was way less stressful than I thought it was going to be. Okaasan gave me many presents of food before we left (including the infamous cup ramen along with doughnuts of all things…) and we were off. Surprisingly enough, even though it was very early twilight, there were dozens of bats swooping around the rice paddies. I love bats, even though the rest of the world doesn’t, and Okaasan is always surprised by this.
The Seminar House is nice; so far I haven’t really ventured outside of my room, but I’m the only occupant in a two-person room and I don’t have to pay for it. Now if I could only figure out where the bathroom is….
Witness my poor decorating skills!
Also for dinner I had some sort of pork veggie wrap. I got to help decorate, but Okaasan took one look at my “decorating” and said she’d teach me when she gets back from Tokyo. Oh well…
And now for some fun stats!
Weirdest thing I’ve done in Japan so far: eaten corn on the cob with chopsticks
Weirdest thing I’ve eaten in Japan so far: breakfast toast heaped with cheese, onions, ham, and mushrooms, slathered in Tabasco sauce.
“So, Sarah, you’re talking about a host family, but you also mention that you’re living in the dorms. What’s up with that?” you might ask. Well, Kansai Gaidai (the university I’m going to) does allow you to participate in a homestay program, but the first week of orientation has you living in the dorms for foreign students. These dorms are known as the “Seminar Houses,” are off campus, and are about a half hour’s walk to campus. I walk back and forth from dorm to campus at least twice a day, if I’m lucky (though this is due to personal preference. I like to walk; other students may spend more time on campus because they don’t want to walk back). This Sunday (minus any effects from the typhoon), I will be moving out of the dorm to live with my host mother.
The tatami, the closets, and Guiliana!
The dorms in the Seminar Houses (or at least mine, Seminar House 3), are pretty small (though, currently, we have 3 students in a 2 student room, so I may have a slight bias :) ), but they have three sections: a tatami section, a hard wood section, and the balcony. Tatami mats are the quintessential Japanese floor-coverings made out of woven rush straw. They’re so soft and delicate. We can’t put anything wet, heavy, or sharp on them! The tatami section is where the bedding is placed and takes up about two thirds of the room. Attached to the front wall (near the door) are two closets. Inside the closets there is a set of drawers and a higher shelf, with a large space in the middle. This large space is where your futon (instead of a bed, in Japan, people use futons), is rolled up and put away during the day. There is also a hanging rack for clothes. Also in that area is the genkan, a lowered part of the floor where you put your house slippers on; only bare and stocking-clad feet can go on the tatami!
Genkan
Please pardon the mess!
The tatami lowers into the hardwood floor area next. This is where the two desks sit with attached wall bookcases for study. It’s really, really small, but it has a frosted glass sliding door that opens into the balcony, where there are rods to dry your wet laundry (due to a lack of clothes dryers in Japan)—but be careful not to leave them out during a rainstorm! :)
Next, the balcony!
It seems like everyone has a balcony in Japan, but my balcony is special. Since I’m on the end of the building and on the second floor, my balcony has an escape ladder hatch, which is all kinds of awesome. In
The hatch for the escape ladder
addition to the escape hatch, my balcony is separated from the other dorms’ balconies by a pink “Emergency Exit” board. I find it ridiculously funny. Also on my balcony are a series of metal rods, which I believe to be for drying clothes, but I’m not sure. Underneath them is a groove, which I believe drains down into the rain gutter, so I think it’s either for dripping wet clothes, rain blown into the balcony (and after today, there’s a lot of water to be dealt with!), or both.
Rods and the "gutter"
The lounge
The kitchen
And now to outside of my room. My dorm is connected to a bigger room. This room is shared by 3 other dorms and contains a kitchen (that we as temporary guests cannot use for stuff other than boiling water and microwaving) and a lounge with a giant couch and TV. There's also a bathroom, but I've heard that suite bathrooms are unique to Seminar House 3 alone, which is why people pay more to live in it.
But now to the part you all were wondering the most about: the bathroom!
Okay, I’ve heard a lot about all the weird things in a Japanese bathroom (especially the toilets). Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), my dorm in Kansai Gaidai does not have most of the odd things on toilets, except for a spigot where you can wash your hands after you flush the toilet, on top of the toilet. It’s pretty cool in the fact that the water that you wash your hands with goes into the tank and becomes the water which the next person flushes with, but the coolness is slightly negated by the fact that there is no towel to dry your hands in there.
Outside of the shower
However, the showers here are awesome. There are two dials, one for water temperature (and it’s done so that if you want over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), you have to press a button) and one for pressure. There are also two clips where you can put the removable shower head. This means you can have a high shower, low shower, or shower
Inside the shower
yourself. It’s really good for saving water. Also they don’t use paper towels, instead they have a hand air dryer, much like the Dyson Air Blade that the Aldo Leopold Nature Center’s in their new bathrooms.
Close-up of the shower controls
Well, that's all for now, folks! I hope you have a better understanding of what I'm going through. :D
