Friday, August 9, 2013
Home safely!
Just wanted to let everyone know I made it home safely, and then collapsed and slept for 13.5 hours. But now I'm back in the States! Shall be seeing some of you very soon!
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
帰国
Tuesday! We had our final presentations, which went fine (probably my favorite was about the Tiger Conquering Brigade, which was a bunch of Japanese guys who went around Korea just randomly shooting tigers and trying to look manly during the colonial period). That evening Yailett (who is another student from Harvard) came down to Yokohama to meet with me and hang out. It was so nice to see her, and we walked along the pier at night, which I highly recommend. Yokohama is actually really beautiful at night, especially in the Minato Mirai/Yamashita Kouen area.
Wednesday we had out exit interviews, which also went fine, because apparently I am a decent student with a very good memory for vocabulary. We had a goodbye party afterward, where we received our completion certificates, and I got to meet a new incoming RSEA student. Yesssssss. So that was awesome.
Also, I have gotten Yuting hooked on Welcome to Night Vale. *maniacal laughter*
A group of us from IUC wound up going on a hugely rambling adventure across Yokohama in the middle of the night that involved hamburg nabe* (significantly more delicious than I was expecting), Hello Kitty fireworks, ice cream (well, beer for everyone else and ice cream for me), and harmonicas. Unfortunately, it meant that I got back to my apartment around 2 a.m., and then my brain decided it would be a good idea to wake me up at 6:30 a.m. So today is going to be excitiiiiiiiing.
Speaking of, I'm going to be leaving Yokohama and on a plane back to the States in just a few hours. (Well, actually, I'll be leaving Yokohama in a few hours and will be on a plane back to the states in about 7 hours.) To all of you back in the States, I'll see you soon!
*Nabe is kind of like hot pot. Hamburg is like the paddy part of the hamburger.
Wednesday we had out exit interviews, which also went fine, because apparently I am a decent student with a very good memory for vocabulary. We had a goodbye party afterward, where we received our completion certificates, and I got to meet a new incoming RSEA student. Yesssssss. So that was awesome.
Also, I have gotten Yuting hooked on Welcome to Night Vale. *maniacal laughter*
A group of us from IUC wound up going on a hugely rambling adventure across Yokohama in the middle of the night that involved hamburg nabe* (significantly more delicious than I was expecting), Hello Kitty fireworks, ice cream (well, beer for everyone else and ice cream for me), and harmonicas. Unfortunately, it meant that I got back to my apartment around 2 a.m., and then my brain decided it would be a good idea to wake me up at 6:30 a.m. So today is going to be excitiiiiiiiing.
Speaking of, I'm going to be leaving Yokohama and on a plane back to the States in just a few hours. (Well, actually, I'll be leaving Yokohama in a few hours and will be on a plane back to the states in about 7 hours.) To all of you back in the States, I'll see you soon!
*Nabe is kind of like hot pot. Hamburg is like the paddy part of the hamburger.
Monday, August 5, 2013
In which my lungs are slightly crushed but it's okay
Hello, readers.
I am making a conscious effort to not write this entire post in the style of Welcome to Night Vale, because, although it would undoubtedly be amusing to me, most of you would probably find it confusing and alarming.
...this is actually harder than it sounds because I am currently reading everything in Cecil's voice, which may be a sign that I have overdosed on Night Vale.
OH WELL. ANYWAY.
Picking up where we left off last time, on Sunday, Lee (the only undergrad in our kobun and kanbun classes, who we all love dearly) came to visit Yokohama!* He and Danica and I went to the amusement park by IUC, which we had been eyeing forever. They have a very famous rollercoaster called Diving Coaster: VANISH!, and, yes, the name is written like that. Anyway, we rode on that, which was an exciting experience! To begin with, it had one of those over-the-head harness/restraint things, which, it turned out, kind of wanted to crush all of our chests. Additionally, the roller coaster goes REALLY REALLY FAST and I think that that was the most G's I have ever experienced in my life???? And I think I forgot to breathe for most of the ride. Which was probably good, because as we were going around the last few curves, the harness decided that it would be a good idea to get even tighter, and so as we pulled up to the unloading area, Lee remarked that he thought he had about 25% of his lung capacity. In other words, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT, especially if you're riding with people who are likely to scream comically.
Speaking of screaming comically, there was a flue ride with a scream-o-meter, and we scored really low and it was embarrassing.
Also there was this shooting game (imagine Astro Blasters) called Cave of Echidnas, and all I can say is, wow, Japan, your echidnas are kind of weird, and also look like they should be really scary Pokemon. This is an echidna. This is some kind of hellish beast.There is probably a Night Vale joke to be made here.
After that we walked around Yokohama, which is to say that we walked from one end of the Minato Mirai line to the other. We wound up in a cafe with mattresses (???) that was projecting Across the Universe on a big screen and also Chinatown. It was an exciting evening.
Monday, Valerie, another one of our classmates, was in town, so all four of us met up for purikura, karaoke, and dinner. Purikura was hilarious as usual, and I must say that I look significantly better with a mustache than Lee does.
Also, true facts about karaoke: visual-kei = bad idea; just don't do it, okay
DINNER:
It was delicious.
Look at these fabulous people. (Left to right: Lee, Danica, me, Val)
Note that this is 4/7ths of our kobun class.
(Picture callously stolen from Danica.)
(This picture was also callously stolen from Danica.)
So that was fun!
Val came back to spend the evening with us again on Wednesday, but other than that, it hasn't been all that exciting over here. It is still too hot for living. Today was our final, and tomorrow we have final presentations. I am starting to pack stuff up, in preparation to fly back to the States on Thursday. I need to buy omiyage, which will probably happen tomorrow. At some point I should probably go on that danged ferris wheel that everyone goes on in Yokohama, just to say that I did it. And then I should go on Diving Coaster: VANISH! again, because you've never lived until your lungs have been slightly crushed.
Good night, Night Vale, good night.
(Shhh, I tried; don't judge me.)
EDIT: So a huge chunk of this blog's traffic is coming from what is very clearly a PUA blog. This is curious, because if you try to PUA** me I will probably start puking feminist blog posts on you. True facts about me! So, uh, dear PUA who keeps somehow redirecting traffic from his blog to mine, I am not interested in your tricks for seducing women by observing their unique psychology (????), because strangely enough I think women are people are not objects (WHAT???? BLASPHEMY!!!!), so, in summary, no, no, no, NOPE, NOPE, NOPE, NO THANK YOU, BYE.
**I have made an executive decision that it is a verb now.
I am making a conscious effort to not write this entire post in the style of Welcome to Night Vale, because, although it would undoubtedly be amusing to me, most of you would probably find it confusing and alarming.
...this is actually harder than it sounds because I am currently reading everything in Cecil's voice, which may be a sign that I have overdosed on Night Vale.
OH WELL. ANYWAY.
Picking up where we left off last time, on Sunday, Lee (the only undergrad in our kobun and kanbun classes, who we all love dearly) came to visit Yokohama!* He and Danica and I went to the amusement park by IUC, which we had been eyeing forever. They have a very famous rollercoaster called Diving Coaster: VANISH!, and, yes, the name is written like that. Anyway, we rode on that, which was an exciting experience! To begin with, it had one of those over-the-head harness/restraint things, which, it turned out, kind of wanted to crush all of our chests. Additionally, the roller coaster goes REALLY REALLY FAST and I think that that was the most G's I have ever experienced in my life???? And I think I forgot to breathe for most of the ride. Which was probably good, because as we were going around the last few curves, the harness decided that it would be a good idea to get even tighter, and so as we pulled up to the unloading area, Lee remarked that he thought he had about 25% of his lung capacity. In other words, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT, especially if you're riding with people who are likely to scream comically.
Speaking of screaming comically, there was a flue ride with a scream-o-meter, and we scored really low and it was embarrassing.
Also there was this shooting game (imagine Astro Blasters) called Cave of Echidnas, and all I can say is, wow, Japan, your echidnas are kind of weird, and also look like they should be really scary Pokemon. This is an echidna. This is some kind of hellish beast.
After that we walked around Yokohama, which is to say that we walked from one end of the Minato Mirai line to the other. We wound up in a cafe with mattresses (???) that was projecting Across the Universe on a big screen and also Chinatown. It was an exciting evening.
Monday, Valerie, another one of our classmates, was in town, so all four of us met up for purikura, karaoke, and dinner. Purikura was hilarious as usual, and I must say that I look significantly better with a mustache than Lee does.
Also, true facts about karaoke: visual-kei = bad idea; just don't do it, okay
DINNER:
It was delicious.
Look at these fabulous people. (Left to right: Lee, Danica, me, Val)
Note that this is 4/7ths of our kobun class.
(Picture callously stolen from Danica.)
(This picture was also callously stolen from Danica.)
So that was fun!
Val came back to spend the evening with us again on Wednesday, but other than that, it hasn't been all that exciting over here. It is still too hot for living. Today was our final, and tomorrow we have final presentations. I am starting to pack stuff up, in preparation to fly back to the States on Thursday. I need to buy omiyage, which will probably happen tomorrow. At some point I should probably go on that danged ferris wheel that everyone goes on in Yokohama, just to say that I did it. And then I should go on Diving Coaster: VANISH! again, because you've never lived until your lungs have been slightly crushed.
EDIT: So a huge chunk of this blog's traffic is coming from what is very clearly a PUA blog. This is curious, because if you try to PUA** me I will probably start puking feminist blog posts on you. True facts about me! So, uh, dear PUA who keeps somehow redirecting traffic from his blog to mine, I am not interested in your tricks for seducing women by observing their unique psychology (????), because strangely enough I think women are people are not objects (WHAT???? BLASPHEMY!!!!), so, in summary, no, no, no, NOPE, NOPE, NOPE, NO THANK YOU, BYE.
**I have made an executive decision that it is a verb now.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Best Buddhist statues and Musashi-Koganei's matsuri
Greeings from the Land of Ew Lemme Get You a Bucket for All That Sweat.
Our cruise this evening was cancelled because of thunderstorms (laaaame), so you folks get a post instead. Huzzah! (I guess. If you like posts. This post is mostly pictures because I am tired and don't want to type anymore things today.)
FLASHBACK TIME:
On Friday we once again had pick-your-own-course field trips, and I wound up going to the Tokyo National Museum, because I love the TNM.
NEWSFLASH: These are still my favorite Buddhist statues ever.
SO MUCH ATTITUDE.
Afterwards I went out to dinner with some of my classmates. First we went to a super sketchy izakaya that was basically the biggest rip-off ever (also, they had a "sashimi" section on their menu, but the only sashimi they actually had was horse and chicken WHAT EVEN), and then everyone realized what a spectacular bad idea the izakaya was and instead went to get okonomiyaki, which was an excellent idea.
Saturday! A couple of us went to a festival in Musashi-Koganei, which is a suburb of Tokyo.
It was a dancing festival, which meant that there were lots of groups parading through the street and dancing the "awaodori," which is literally "the bubble dance."
The combination of low light + rain + fast-moving people meant that a lot of my pictures turned out kind of like this.
P.S. Yes, it was raining. Thank you, weather. You're so helpful. I, of course, forgot my umbrella, because the weather forecast said it wouldn't rain.
The best part of any summer matsuri is the inevitable small children in yukata.
I think this was about the point that the thunder and lightning started.
These people are dancing IN THE RAIN. I hope you are impressed.
It started raining so hard that I had to cross to the other side of the street and stand under an overhang.
I crossed about ten minutes after all my other classmates, because they care a lot more about getting wet than I do, and also I was so busy taking pictures that I didn't notice that it was pouring rain.
Meanwhile, still lightning-ing and thundering.
And then lightning came crashing down directly over our heads (seriously, I think it hit a building in the vicinity) and the festival came to a screeching halt and everyone fled.
So that was the end of that.
OH WELL.
We did wind up going to Saizeriya for dinner, which is "Italian" food and is really cheap, which I guess makes up for the fact that it isn't really Italian food at all.
...the rest of the recaps will come later, when I don't have class in the morning.
HAHA, NO CLASS ON SATURDAYS? WHAT UNIVERSE DO YOU LIVE IN?
*lies on the floor dramatically*
Our cruise this evening was cancelled because of thunderstorms (laaaame), so you folks get a post instead. Huzzah! (I guess. If you like posts. This post is mostly pictures because I am tired and don't want to type anymore things today.)
FLASHBACK TIME:
On Friday we once again had pick-your-own-course field trips, and I wound up going to the Tokyo National Museum, because I love the TNM.
NEWSFLASH: These are still my favorite Buddhist statues ever.
SO MUCH ATTITUDE.
Afterwards I went out to dinner with some of my classmates. First we went to a super sketchy izakaya that was basically the biggest rip-off ever (also, they had a "sashimi" section on their menu, but the only sashimi they actually had was horse and chicken WHAT EVEN), and then everyone realized what a spectacular bad idea the izakaya was and instead went to get okonomiyaki, which was an excellent idea.
Saturday! A couple of us went to a festival in Musashi-Koganei, which is a suburb of Tokyo.
It was a dancing festival, which meant that there were lots of groups parading through the street and dancing the "awaodori," which is literally "the bubble dance."
The combination of low light + rain + fast-moving people meant that a lot of my pictures turned out kind of like this.
P.S. Yes, it was raining. Thank you, weather. You're so helpful. I, of course, forgot my umbrella, because the weather forecast said it wouldn't rain.
 |
| No, blogger, I am not going to add a caption. Shh. |
The best part of any summer matsuri is the inevitable small children in yukata.
I think this was about the point that the thunder and lightning started.
These people are dancing IN THE RAIN. I hope you are impressed.
It started raining so hard that I had to cross to the other side of the street and stand under an overhang.
I crossed about ten minutes after all my other classmates, because they care a lot more about getting wet than I do, and also I was so busy taking pictures that I didn't notice that it was pouring rain.
So that was the end of that.
OH WELL.
We did wind up going to Saizeriya for dinner, which is "Italian" food and is really cheap, which I guess makes up for the fact that it isn't really Italian food at all.
...the rest of the recaps will come later, when I don't have class in the morning.
HAHA, NO CLASS ON SATURDAYS? WHAT UNIVERSE DO YOU LIVE IN?
*lies on the floor dramatically*
Thursday, August 1, 2013
ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY GLOW CLOUD
HELLO.
I AM ALIVE.
THIS IS NOT A REAL POST.
I am going to stop typing in all caps now.
I have been busy with field trip + friends visiting + nearly getting my lungs crushed by a rollercoaster + nearly getting hit by lightning + preparations for final exams and final presentations + + 猛烈の暑さ + giving advice to random people because apparently I am adult who is qualified to give people advice about things ahahaha, whoops.
There will be an actual post
presently
but maybe not immediately
because I am going on a cruise tomorrow
and also I have class on Saturday
ew gross.
*lying dramatically on the floor*
P.S. If you don't know what the title of this post refers to, please stand in your bathtub and weep softly as you wait for the sheriff's secret police to arrive and escort you to reeducation facilities.
I AM ALIVE.
THIS IS NOT A REAL POST.
I am going to stop typing in all caps now.
I have been busy with field trip + friends visiting + nearly getting my lungs crushed by a rollercoaster + nearly getting hit by lightning + preparations for final exams and final presentations + + 猛烈の暑さ + giving advice to random people because apparently I am adult who is qualified to give people advice about things ahahaha, whoops.
There will be an actual post
presently
but maybe not immediately
because I am going on a cruise tomorrow
and also I have class on Saturday
ew gross.
*lying dramatically on the floor*
P.S. If you don't know what the title of this post refers to, please stand in your bathtub and weep softly as you wait for the sheriff's secret police to arrive and escort you to reeducation facilities.
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