Osaka and the Case of the Missing Sun

Well the last week or so has been thoroughly ruined by the worst cold I have ever had and an endless bout of rain that is taking a toll on my wallet. Riding my bike to school in the rain was okay for the first 3 days but no more, resulting in about 8 dollars a day to go to and from school! Also, the rain has scared me from bringing my camera anwhere so no pictures.

Basically, all last saturday was spent sleeping and watching disney movies with a fever and a nose that wouldn't quit but don't worry, I brought enough DayQuil here to cure an army (It happens that the stuff is illegal here, who knew? Certainly not customs.)

Sunday I decided to get out and travel to Kyoto station with my friend Sarah. No, we did not go to Kyoto, we stayed in the dry, warm Kyoto train station and discovered the many wonders they have hidden underground such as endless rows of food stores with free samples!

Tuesday night I made up for a wasted weekend when my friend Kon wanted to throw his best buddy Hana a going away party and Sarah and I attended as the token Americans. We went to a popular izakaya (a drinking establishment with food and drink you order like Tapas but cheaper). There I met Emika, Chiaki, Yumi, and Nao. Most exciting of all was meeting Nao, a girl with endless energy and the thickest Osaka accent (called kansai-ben) I have ever heard. Once the drinks started coming I found myself practicing my "kansai-ben" and it was emabarrassing to say the least. Everybody thought it was hystarical when I used the accent either because foriegners such as myself always speak in super-polite form that our textbooks teach us or because I was actually doing it wrong and sounded like an idiot. Points for trying I guess!

That's it for now, Sarah took a few pictures of last night so I might get those from her and put them up here later. Hope everybody is well. Once the rain stops you can count on me to be out and about with my camera. Bye for now~

Foundation Day and The Busiest Day of My Life

I had a wonderful Tuesday day off last week in honor of Foundation Day. The day celebrates the date that the first emperor of Japan was crowned and the divine lineage of the emperor. It is a much-debated day in the country but most just use it as an excuse to go shopping. In my case I went on a hunt for nature! Thus: Takayama. About a 3 dollar train ride away, My friend Scott and I boldly set out to attempt to find the trail head. Along the way we discovered some Marin-worthy housing.

A shinto-style cemetery next to the street to Takayama.

The hike was amazing, I will be going again to atempt to find a secret mountain village.

Saturday , Valentines Day was destroyed by rain and thunder but I absolutely made up fo it on Sunday. I started the day off by going to Taiko. The group is Wadaiko and I have already noticed an improvement in my playing.

Wadaiko on a break.

Immediately after Taiko ended I rushed to the train on headed for Downtown Osaka to meet my friends. There about 6 of us headed to the Osaka Aquarium. Among some of the features they boast is a baby seal and A Whale shark (sadly, no beluga whales though).

These things were massive!
The crab tank was the point were the group unanimously agreed
we need to go eat sushi when we were done.

The entire time in the aquarium I couldn't quite get my
camera settings right but once we hit the jellyfish room
I found the magic jellyfish setting. Who knew?

After the fish adventure we headed off to Namba for cheap sushi and mind-boggling madness. Didn't manage to get a picture of Namba but I can attempt to describe it; food, shops, billboards, hip clothing, "America Town," music, people giving out free hugs. The most eventful part of the namba experience for me was of course dinner. We managed to find the only Mexican restaurant in Japan. WOO~

It was delicious, I went to bed dreaming of refriend beans and enchaladas.

Sunday was without a doubt one of the most tiring days of my life. I woke up at 7:30am and made it home at 11pm. It was fabulous. As for things I miss: good food (my host Mom can't make a meal if her life depended on it), family that loves and laughs together (not the same degree here), trees, the sun, root beer.

Wish me luck! Next weekend looks like it will be just as busy. Look forward to bowling, more hiking, and Namba revisted.

Friday Saturday Sunday, oh my!

First official weekend in Japan!  And boy was it seriously full of amazing things.  First, on Friday I decided it was time for me to cook dinner (to be honest, the mother can't really cook anything super tasty) so in true american fashion I made burgers for the fam.  And let me tell you: mushrooms, onions, garlic, soy sauce mixed into a quarter pound of beef for each of us = magic.  I had to improvise a bun out of the texas toast they had but they still were impressed.

Then, of course, what other game do we start playing than Taiko Master.  It's like they knew I was coming or something...

On Saturday, my friends and I decided to head to the shopping district of Osaka called Umeda.  The huge building you see below entertained all of us for about 5 hours of the day.

Inside, we discovered the Sweets Museum (I trip I am saving for another day) and the food floor, something like a football field of delicious restaurants.  After a little searching we decided that we would split up because everybody but Sebastian and I were too cheap to pay 20$ for the most amazing chinese all-you-can-eat Dim Sum of their lives.

When night hit everybody but Sara (a late arriver) and I headed home and while they went back for a quite dinner we hit "Hep 5" a building known for its trendy teen fashions and the massive ferris wheel on top of it.

Of course they had a hip wedding store inside and just to give you a taste:

The next day I woke up early, went for a jog next to the river, then hopped on my bike to go meet some friends for a takoyaki party.  On the way, the street I normally take to school, quite and cold, had suddenly become a farmers market full of handmade crafts and homegrown food.  I was tempted to stop and shop a little but restrained myself until I rode by this:

MOCHI MAKING.  Mochi is gluttonous rice pounded into sticky dough and filled with sweet red bean paste.  When I broke out my camera the commotion started (the maker was more than slightly embarrassed) and after much persuading, they finally convinced my to give it a try.

That was definitely the best thins I did all weekend.  The street festival happens every second sunday of each month I have already made plans to go back with massive groups of people.  After that adventure I headed off to the takoyaki party.  Takoyaki is delicious fried batter balls with bits of octopus in them.  Although I have tasted (and loved!) them before I never have tried to make them myself.  But while we were waited for the pans to heat, the Japanese students convinced my to try natto, wierd nasty-smelling beans. I have been avoiding.

The texture was not appealing, the smell was revolting and what do you know;
How anybody eats the stuff I don't know.  Obviously somebody's bean crop went bad back in the day because of pollutants and mutant farmers but before they threw the beans into the dark abyss they should have, they sold them as health food and people loved it.  The takoyaki definitely made up for it though.  MMMMMMM.

The weekend was so full of food, fun and friends I wanted just one more day to actually rest and do homework, but honestly...who wants to do that?  Coming soon (like the next 4 months):  Japanese Valentines Day, Hiroshima, Osaka Castle, etc.

~A SPECIAL NOTE~

Happy Birthday Grandma Little!

I wish I could have been there for the party that looked so great!

None of the ladies here even compare to you.  You are the most accomplished woman I know.

I hope your birthday was nothing short of fantastic!

DisOrientation

WELL.  Orientation went smoothly (sort of).  Let me introduce you to some of my friends:

This is Scott.  Scott is from University of Colorado at Boulder.  He wears pink slippers and drinks mango beer.  We love Scott.

This is Sarah.  Sarah likes her vending machines.  Sarah and I went on adventure to find towels and got lost.  We love Sarah.

This is Alice.  Alice dubs herself a "Blonde Asian."  She has probably gotten lost here in the past week more times than most of us will get lost in our lives.  We love Alice.

 

This past week we (plus a few others) have explored the area around the school.  There is the Kansai Gaidai Campus, the train station, the bus to the train station, the streets that all look the same, and of course McDonalds.

Feels like home....

So after taking a whole bunch of tests and going to a whole mess of orientation programs Scott, Alice, Sarah and myself all got to meet our homestays!  I moved in on the 31st into the Hiramatsu residence.  There is "Mama-san" and "Papa-san" as well as "Momo-chan."

Papa-san and Mama-san are extremely accommodating.  They are even putting in wireless internet for me although it's been proving to be more difficult than they thought.  Mama-san is a little crazy.  She speaks in a way only extremely "cute" middle school girls would would speak but is in her upper 40's.  I'm no expert but I don't think that is normal.  Papa-san is a chef so I was surprised when I didn't get fabulous homemade meals in the house but I guess it seems to be his work and not something he wants to do at home.  On the one hand, I am being introduced to the little-know best spots to eat in the city.

This is Momo-chan.  Momo hates me and probably thinks I am some kind of monster.  Every time I walk into the room he hisses and/or runs away and/or freezes like a deer and has a staring contest with me (see picture above).  I had to use my zoom lens to get that picture...

SO  I am liking my classes so far, two language classes (Speaking as well as Reading & Writing) and two classes that both focus on gender and sexuality.  I can't wait to get to know my host family a little better (the cat will soon be sleeping in my lap, I swear).  This weekend I plan to go to the shopping district of Osaka!  Wooo~  I'll let you all know how it goes.

Bye for now!