Carly's Year in China and Japan

http://carlyinthehomeland.blogspot.com/

TRANSITION OFFICIALLY MADE. See ya there~!

WAIT -- ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

How is it that I have been rolling with ghetto webs.com for this long?

They threatened me with decreased bandwidth, so I'm saying: peace out, webs.com!

VISIT MY NEW, EVEN COOLER BLOG VERSION AT http://carlyinthehomeland.blogspot.com/

A little of what I actually do everyday here...  Japanese language:

So, I have REALLY been missing my family lately, and the Convention of Cousins last weekend (along with the flurry of e-mails leading up to it and the post-mortem of facebook pictures and blog posts) made me miss my cousins in Virginia SO much.  All of my awesome Brown cousins got together for a day of Brunswick Stew eating (just like old times) with a new twist of bike-riding and running around the family farm.  My cousin Jake added a post to his blog about it: http://justafuntime.blogspot.com/ and, from what I understand, he was the one who put together the plan and orchestrated the activities.  I am not surprised, because you should see this guy at work planning our route around Busch Gardens.

The Brown cousins and significant others (aka the "Amoeba"):

Anyway, the Cousins were on my mind last week, so I wrote about our old game days for one of my grammar homework pieces.  Here it is:

私は二人兄弟ですが、従兄をいつも兄、姉、弟としてみなしていたので、従兄を含めて、実は私は六人兄弟だと思います。私が子供の時、毎週の週末のように、両親と一緒に父が育った農場に行って、そこに住んでいる従兄と遊んだりしていました。ゲームで競争している時、チームはいつも同じでした。　兄、次女の従兄、私は三人で「ブレーブス」で、他の三人は「ペパーミントパティーズ」と言われました。アメフトでも、かくれんぼ、鬼ごっこでも、皆の一番好きなキックボールでも、毎回勝ったのはブレーブスでした。 パティーズはいつもどうにか勝つのが狙いとみられていて、頑張ったのに、勝つことは今までも一回もなかったです。　毎週集まって、決めたチームを変えることを強いられそうでしたが、そのチームは私のとても若い頃から決めているままで続いてきたので、変更する不可能を感じて、毎回ゲーム始めるところで、結局チームを同じにしました。　六人で一緒に面白いゲームを考え出していて、ゲームで議論がよく起してきたので、ある日、コンピューターの周りに集まて、細かいルールブックを一緒に書きました。　例えば、そのルールブックによると、キックボールで、ボールを塀越しに飛ばしたら、蹴り出した選手は即時に「三振を奪った」ということになりました。その点について、背が高くて強い兄は「その規則に反対だから、そんなことはお構いなしである」と言って、あえてボールを塀越しに飛ばしてしまいました。一番年上の従兄は今三十歳で、皆は子供を産むようになっていながら、私たちはまだブレーブスまたはペパーミントパティーズを大声で応援しています。

And a very rough translation:

I grew up in a family of two kids, but since I always felt that my cousins were my extra brothers and sisters, it's probably more accurate to say that I grew up in a family of 6 siblings.  Almost every other weekend when I was little, I would go to the farm where my dad had grown up, and I'd get to play with my cousins who still lived there.  When we played games, the teams were always the same.  My brother, second oldest girl cousin, and I were the "Braves," and the other three cousins called themselves the "Peppermint Patties."  Football, hide-and-seek, tag, and (everyone's favorite) kickball: each time the Braves were the victors.  With each game, the Patties tried their hardest to get that elusive win, but they never had a single victory.  It seemed that every time we gathered together to start the games, a suggestion about changing the teams around would surface, but those teams had been in place since I was a little kid, and I think we all felt that it was somehow impossible to change them, so we always ended up leaving the teams as they were.  The six of us thought up some interesting games, and of course, the occasional dispute arose, so one day we got together around the computer and drew up a detailed rulebook.  For example, according to the rulebook, in kickball, if the ball went over the fence, the one who kicked it was automatically out.  My tall, burly brother used to declare that the rule was ridulous, and in protest he'd just kick the ball over the fence anyway. Today, the oldest cousin is going on thirty, and our cousin group has started to have children of our own, but to this day, we still harken back to the old cheers of the Patties and Braves.

Haha it sounds way better in Japanese, I promise.

xoxo to the Amoeba.

AND NOW FOR ANOTHER UPDATE:

The tree has been unveiled!!!  Bust out the Josh Groban!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 9:32 PM

I have a "final" in both classes tomorrow, and I'm not looking forward to short-term-memorizing all 10 texts from the _Formal Expressions_ textbook, so what better way to procrastinate than a blog post!?

This one will be is mostly pictures... because they take a nice, long time to upload.

Garrett was in town last weekend, and I had signed up for a free tour of Kamakura (an ancient city that was a headquarters of the bakufu back in THA day) from a volunteer group that gives guided tours there once a year.  Garrett and I were there at the station exit by 10... but the group wasn't.  So, I called the phone number I had written down from the information sheet and got a hold of Umeshita-san... who informed me: "A-NA-TA GA MA-CHI-GA-I-MA-SHI-TA."  (aka: "YOU MADE A MISTAKE.")  I had confused the days and had gotten there 24 hours early...

We decided to stay and see the sights of Kamakura anyway, since we had already done the whole train ride there.

We first visited Shokozan-Tokeiji, a really peaceful temple and former nunnery founded in 1285.

The gardens there were just a touch wild-looking and had a mystical quality.  Mama would have loved them.

The return of Tourist Garrett (now that I gave him a camera)

Embracing giant moss wall... this moss was awesome!  It looks like it was rock-texture, but it was squishy like a stress ball!

GORGEOUS!  (The scenery's not bad either)

Made me miss you, Spidah.

Delish green curry lunch with the freshest veggies ever

And then it must have been Adorable Day at the shrine, because all around, there were precious little kids dressed in fancy kimono get-ups.  The cutest one by far was this little pinky on the right. 

The whole place was crawling with fancy little munchkins, and I ventured to ask a random old man passerby what the occasion was, but he turned out to be a smart aleck who answered me in "English" with hazy explanation about Shich-Go-San Day... which I thought was in November.

Then we saw a Shinto wedding ceremony!

And then a cool bonsai exhibit.  Garrett was pumped and said: "Hey!  Take a picture like this!" and put his hands into little paws... When he saw the result, he was bummed and insisted that I "didn't get it."  No, Garrett, I didn't.  Cute paws, though.

Spirits lifted by the candy apple

And now for the late October birthday wishes!!!  Happy (late) birthday to Dran!

Birthday girl Dran at the old jail in Franklin, KY back in 2008

And Happy (one day early) birthday to my Sissie-in-Law, Josephine Christian Oldham Brown!!!

Chillin on the Tokyo metro with Jos back in August

Ohhhhh kay.  It's study time. After one Modern Family.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 4:56 PM

Last week was pretty long and tiresome, but four interesting, blog-worthy things happened.

The first was that I have found a new sense of awe and respect for my city, Yokohama, because of a bold move made here last week.  I feel compelled to tip my hat to the city and give it a big “touche, my friend.”  

They have one-upped even ME on starting the yuletide season.

Many of you know that my Christmas fanaticism when I was little, I used to bring out the carols and movies (It’s a Wonderful Life, Muppet Christmas Carol, other version of A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott, and on and on) so early that my Mom had to create a rule that there would be NO Christmas movies allowed until Thanksgiving day.  

Garrett has made me maintain that rule, although he has let me slide on the carols part which, now, I am permitted to start listening to after Halloween.

Well, maybe Yokohama could use a little Paula Brown or Garrett Buxton rule-making of their own, because on my walk to class last Wednesday, here’s what I saw:  

Granted, it hasn’t been “revealed” yet, but we all know what’s under that white tent.

Well, maybe it's not THAT obvious, but I saw them stringing the lights on it on a day I didn't have my camera, so I KNOW.

I cannot wait to kick this Christmas season into gear, but I can’t help but feel like a fanatic shamed by Yokohama’s EARLY-OCTOBER one-up here.  

The second item of interest was that I went to a festival by the water here (which actually turned out to be a pretty lame festival), but take a look at this:

It was an international food festival, so people were getting lots of things to eat, but everything was put onto REAL plates, which the patrons then washed on their own and handed back in.  I wonder how that system would go over in the US... laughable, almost.

A highlight of the week was my trip to Costco with my friend Chris Bovbjerg-san.  Chris is a fellow history PhD friend of mine here (he’s at Berkeley), and I immediately took to him, probably because he’s from the Mid-Atlantic and reminds me of lots of my buddies from college.  He also likes a good time, as do I.

He kindly let me know last week that he was going to JAPANESE COSTCO sometime over the weekend, and that if I wanted to go, I could drop in with him under his membership.  AWESOME!

We went on Sunday, and I truly felt like I was going to walk out the front door and be steps away from my mom’s car in Richmond, VA.  It was almost EXACTLY the same!  Even the books on the book table were in English.  

They had samples, too.

One sample option caught us by surprise:

My stupid napkin is covering it, but it's a tequila shot.  Sure beats the chicken bake samples in Richmond.

Tequila shots with lime--at noon on Sunday afternoon.

Who could refuse?  We both agreed that it lifted our spirits substantially.

They had a cafe, too, just like at home, so we got some pizza and enjoyed.

I got a few things (apples, garlic in a jar, some snacks), but it was more about the experience than the purchases.  Thanks, BOVBJERG-SAN!

The fourth item of interest last week occurred on the walk home from my station after the Costo excursion.  I saw four sumo wrestlers thundering down the street.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 7:49 PM

Well, I’ve come to the end of another weekend, and it’s been a great start to this October.

Garrett was in town last weekend, and we had a great time in Yokohama.  He got in on Friday night and met me at an isakaya where I was hanging out with some friends.  We went to the ampm and got some treats and drinks and hung out on an overpass for a while.  It’s interesting: here in Japan, isakaya bars often charge sitting fees and/or expect you to order food; karaoke is a good way to spend an evening, but it’s expensive.  It’s pretty challenging to find the equivalent of an average bar where you can hang out with your buds.  I’m definitely missing Cambridge Common...  On the other hand, there is no “open container” law in Japan, so while the weather is good, we’re generally just finding a nice place to have a seat with our drinks while we create our own little outdoor bar atmosphere.

On Saturday, we spent the day in Kawasaki, exploring by the river.  That evening, we went down to floors to Kendra’s apartment, where Kendra, her husband Greg, and their adorable daughter Emma Ruth hosted us (and fellow IUC Toriumi Haimu-er Daniel) to a temaki sushi dinner.  It was great, and Emma Ruth is PRECIOUS.

On Sunday, Garrett and I went a few stops on the Tokyuu to the International Students’ Dormitory, where we helped out my friend Alex with his Fall Festival. 

Wheelchair dog outside the festival cracked me up^

We wore little outfits and taught children about Halloween while handing out candy and ginger ale.  The plate out on the table had Snickers, Crunch bars, Peanut bars, M&Ms, and bright green or red Japanese lollipops. I was chagrinned to observe that the nasty-looking lollipops were by far the #1 choice.  They were flying off the table while Snickers bars got mere sneers and M&Ms got the occasional curious pluck with a question of: “Is this... chocolate?”

We had a great time, though, and it was fun to teach the kids how to say “trick or treat.”  Garrett was also a good sport about being there all day, just nodding and smiling in a silly hat and humoring a couple of old men who wanted to use their English.

Garrett and Hei-chan at the festival.  Belles, Hei-chan (Haitham) was a DUKESMAN when we sang with them on Fall Roll '06!

During the week I made some AWESOME pumpkin.

They sell this cooked pumpkin dish in little chunkles here at the store, but it’s prohibitively expensive: around 3 dollars for about 8 bites of pumpkin.  I had been buying it occasionally as a special treat, but then I found a recipe for it in my Japanese cookbook.  I will share the recipe here, because it’s also very easy.

1/4 of a kabocha (Japanese pumpkin)

2 c water

2 packets dashi powder (or chicken or veggie broth powder)

1 T soy sauce

1 T sake

just shy of 1 T white sugar

Heat the water in the microwave enough to make the dashi powder dissolve into it well.  Put it into a pot on the stove (no flame yet) and add the water: the dashi powder, the soy sauce, the sake, and the sugar.  Stir until it looks pretty well dissolved.

Remove pumpkin seeds and cut off the pumpkin rind (or if you want, you can just leave it, because it gets tender).  Cut the pumpkin into approximately 1 inch by 1 inch chunks.  Put into the pot and cover pot with a little aluminum foil hat.

Bring to a boil and then reduce flame to low.  Leave on low for 10 minutes.  Turn off flame.  Let it sit for 5 minutes before straining it.  

Delish cold or warm.  Healthy, too!!

As for this past weekend, we had the day off from school on Friday for “Yokohama Day,” where we had the option of 4 field trips: hiking, history museums, maritime museums, or visit to homeless shelter.  I opted for the hiking... ps: the homeless shelter visit was held a couple of blocks away from my apartment.  Two teachers led us on a hike through the forest not far from Yokohama, and it was great.  For some reason, the classmates who chose the hiking group were all a bunch of jokesters, and they were cracking me up all day with witticisms and the occasional Kermit the Frog impression.

This picture was DEFINITELY a close-up of a scary spider in his web, but upon "development," he has disappeared, leaving me to believe that he was a magical spider.

From the highest point in Yokohama with Ender and Carrie ^

We happened upon several gardens and small farms, featuring a few critically awesome scarecrows ^

This backyard garden apparatus made me miss my dad and brother big-time.  Y'all would have been so jealous of the netting they had all around it (including across the top).  They had peppers, bitter cukes, salad, and some adorable little eggplants. ^

After the hike, I hopped on the Shinkansen to Kyoto and spent the weekend with Garrett.  Highlights were a rainy day walk and adorable shop viewing on Saturday--I couldn’t resist and even started my Christmas shopping; and, on Sunday we rode bikes by the river and spent the evening baking a cake in a rice cooker.

I wish I could claim that this was the cake we made.  It wasn't.  We got this one (green tea-cocoa layer cake) on Saturday at the department store where we got sketching supplies (and we spent the rest of the afternoon sketching)

I came back on the Shinkansen today... no, I’m not okane-mochi (big-bucks); there is a special going on now where if you order Shinkansen tickets ahead of time through JR Tokai tours, the price for Kodama is just 9600 yen each way (which is just 1500 more than the decent bus).  

It’s been a great start to the fall here, and I’m excited for the weeks ahead.  

Tomorrow, I start calligraphy classes.

Happy (late) birthday, Uncle Lee!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ORRAN LEE!

Orran Lee is 28 today!  I called him at 1:00 pm here (12 midnight Richmond time) from an actual phone, and even though we only got to talk for a few seconds, it was great just to be able to say hi.  Yay, bruvy!  28!

So, I know that I usually update around the start of the week, but I'm just now getting around to it.  My b.

Last week was a good time.  We had a holiday on Monday and again on Thursday, so it was pretty relaxed.  Then, on Friday, several of the students excused ourselves from afternoon classes to attend a conference in Roppongi (Tokyo) on American Studies (by Japanese students).  So, basically we were listening to research presentations from the inverse students of ourselves; whereas we are Americans who are obsessed with Japan, all of the presenters last Friday were Japanese students obsessed with America.  There were some very interesting research topics, and I was surprised to hear one girl's presentation which pinpointed the Daughters of the American Revolution as an "elitist, totalitarian, violence-oriented" secret society... thereby making my family monstrous warmongers... yeeeah.  I advised the girl that she may be making a bit of a stretch there.  It certainly made me think about the readiness with which I will make judgment calls about Japanese historical collective mentality.

After the conference, I went out with some new friends to dinner in Shibuya.  At Shibuya Crossing, we happened upon a big, anti-Chinese rally, which was pretty fascinating to hear.

Anti-Chinese rally at Shibuya Crossing... despite my distaste for Chinese train stations, I did not participate ^

My friend Wilson (from Stanford) led the way to a Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki restaurant, and we all enjoyed the delish fare.

Wilson-san is awesome^

Alex-san is going to town on the okonomiyaki^

Afterwards, we went to do some karaoke, but DANG, those Tokyo karaoke prices are ridiculous.  We spent 1660 yen per person for one hour (that's around 19 bucks).  Some of the best crowd pleasers were "Defying Gravity" from Wicked and "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas.

On Saturday, Chris Bobvjerg-san invited the students to his apartment a few stops on the Tokyuu line from the Minato-mirai station.  Woods-san and Feig-san also helped with the hosting, because they all live in the same apartment complex.  It was really fun.  We all sat around and enjoyed the potluck-style drinks and food.  Then the landlord came by around 9:30... on a Saturday... to ask us to quiet down.  Ahhh, such is the life of a foreigner in Japan, I guess.

Feig-san, 私, and Woods-san ^

This is how we do in Japan... tatami-mat sitting cocktail party--beats standing for 5 hours^

This week at class really flew by.  We had to do an interview (20 minutes with a teacher, using keigo honorific speech) and then present our findings in a speech on Thursday, but other than that, it was a pretty normal week. 

Kendra from downstairs just visited with her adorable little 18-month-old Emma Ruth, and now I'm going to finish getting the apt. ready for Garrett's arrival (in T minus 40 minutes).  YAY for the weekend.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 5:54 PM

A week in review!

So, I moved into my new place on the 4th, and since then, I’ve been exploring all of the wonderful things there are to see in Yokohama.

Plus class.  Ahh, I’ll devote an entry to that later.

Another random dinner; this one was good at first, but then I had it for 5 meals in a row to save money... and I now get sick at the thought of it ^

For now, I’ll recap some of the FUN stuff I’ve done...

I walked through the Yamate region (the mountain district, where the fancy old diplomats lived after Yokohama opened as a port city in the 1800s).  It’s free to tour some of the old houses there, so I went into two of them.  It was such a strange feeling to look down at my feet as I climbed wide, mahogany stairs in one of the houses.  It struck me that it was the first time I’d climbed domestic-style, wooden stairs since I’d left the States.  I almost expected to look up and see that I was climbing up to the second floor of my dad’s house.  It’s strange how little nuances like that can contribute to a general current of culture shock.

Baller Yamate house ^

On a park bench, contemplating my awesome Yamate walk; self-taken, emo-style^

The rest of the week was devoted to class and one new, AWESOME venture I have started here: HOT YOGA.  Ever since Garrett went to a hot yoga class in Richmond with Joe last summer, he’s been telling me that it’s right up my alley.  During the first week of classes, I noticed that I would not be able to get into an exercise routine resembling the usual jogging/cycling system I rock in the States.  I get some good exercise with the (cumulative) 1.5 hour walking commute to and from class, but I thought that I wanted something a little more... cardiovascular.  Back in China, I ran stairs a bunch, but my building here isn’t tall enough for that.  Anyway, I walked by a couple of gyms (which here are mostly lame, boxing-style studios), and I had almost decided against joining anything when, yaaaattto!  I happened upon the Yoga-Lava studio, right by my house.  They were running a special for the entry meeting, PLUS their monthly fee is lower than any of the other gyms I’ve seen around, so, I tried, and, immediately after my first experience, I joined up!  It’s awesome.  I’ve been going just about everyday.

This weekend has been great, because my Gar has been in town.  He rode the night bus from Kyoto on Friday night, and he’s here through Monday, because the official holiday of “respect the elderly day” has made this a 3-day weekend.  He got in around 6:30 Saturday morning, and I met him at Ishikawa-cho.  We spent the day seeing Yokohama!!  It was tons of fun.  I took him to the Isezaki mall shopping area, and then we walked by the port and saw my class building while enjoying little treats like coffees.

We also happened upon a random anime convention.

Starting out the morning with a walk near my house ^

Gar, loving on the Yokohama skyline ^

Waterside coffee fun ^

Odd anime convention ^

Last night, I made curry-rice (from scratch), and today, we went to a Yokohama Bay Stars baseball game!  It was so much fun, even though the Bay Stars lost.  The stadium is only about 800 meters from my house, so I always hear the games going on, and I’d really been wanting to go.  We bought the cheapest ticket possible, which turned out to be perfect, because it was in the cheering section.  We had a ton of fun singing along with the Japanese people, pretending like we knew how the cheers went.

Mid-cheer ^

Most popular snack at the stadium--ice with mandarin oranges on top ^

A few differences from baseball in the US: (a) they swing at just about EVERYTHING here.  Even when the balls were practically in the dirt, they were going for it; (b) baseball has cheerleaders (doing stunts and pom-pom dances and the works); (c) when a new player comes on, he is brought out to the field in a car; (d) cheering is an organized affair, and there are designated crowd leaders with whistles who guide the crowd through cheers and songs that last--NON-STOP--through the whole at-bat.

It was awesome.  Ok, now we’re off to Chinatown for dinner.  

I love you, Dran, Grandmommy, Grandaddy, and Aunt Peggy and Aunt Virginia. I’ll be thinking of y’all tomorrow for Respect the Elderly Day!

Yay -- now I can start writing about my life in my real homeland, Japan!

After the family left on Friday, Aug. 27, I started to settle into my life in Japan. I spent the whole week with Garrett at his cool apartment in Kyoto.  It’s in Matsugasaki, a suburb-like area that’s the second-to-last stop on the northern end of one of Kyoto’s two main subway lines.  Since the walk from his place to the subway station is only around 15 minutes, it’s a relatively convenient place to live.

On Friday night, Garrett and I took the money Mom, O, and Chris had given us for “Hotel Garrett” and went to a really fancy restaurant called “Organic Kitchen” which is within walking distance from his house.  We had a delish dinner including my first glass of red wine since I left Chicago.

On Saturday, Garrett gave me his belated anniversary gift--paper for the first year of marriage.  I can’t imagine a piece of paper I could have been more excited about: TICKETS TO WICKED--IN JAPANESE!  So, we took the JR train to Osaka (only about 45 minutes away) and had a lovely evening watching Wicked and then having tea, champagne, and sweets in a fancy, high-rise restaurant.  It was great!

On Sunday, Garrett and I did the “Philosophers’ Walk” in Kyoto.  You can read all about it on his blog.  I forgot my camera.  http://garrettbuxton.blogspot.com/

I spent the rest of the week killing time during the day while Garrett was at work (reviewing Japanese for the IUC placement test, exploring Kyoto, going on runs by the Takano river...), and in the evenings Garrett and I did fun stuff like grocery shopping, watching Mad Men episodes and movies, and going on evening walks.  On Thursday night, we went to Garrett’s fellow JET Jessie’s house for a group dinner, and I got to meet a bunch of Garrett’s JET friends.  We contributed a cocktail of Calpis Zero and Gin, which turned out to be pretty darn good.

Reunited and it feels so gooooood

I had considered taking the night bus to Tokyo the next day, but I had so much stuff to carry and was worried about meeting my landlord on time, so I decided to take the Shinkansen.  Garrett took me to Kyoto Station on Saturday morning, and I was on the 8:16 Nozomi in plenty of time.

I arrived in Shin-Yokohama and then changed trains twice to get to my station, Ishikawa-cho.  Mercifully, the landlord had sent very specific directions so that I would be able to find the place (because Mom and I couldn’t when we tried a few weeks ago).  It’s only about 5 minutes from the station, and it’s right near Yokohama’s Chinatown (the biggest Chinatown in Japan, I think).

I got in and immediately unpacked all of my stuff.  I’ve been living out of a suitcase for so long, it seems, so it was great to be able to have a place of my own to fix up just the way I like.

MY ADDRESS IS:

Anne Buxton

〒 231-0026

Yokohama-shi, Naka-ku

Kotobuki-cho 2-6-4

Toriumi Haimu 501

JAPAN

HERE’S MY PLACE!

It’s really spacious and totes Japanese!!  Even though the appliances are old and people complain about the building from time to time, I really like it here!

Kitchen area

Living room

Bedroom (and my futon)

Entryway -- no shoes allowed past this point!

Skinny tub

We had our first IUC meeting on Monday: orientation, placement oral test, and group photo.  The group has 56 students, and they range from recent college graduates to upper-level Ph.D.’s.  It’s a little hard to make friends, because we are required to speak only in Japanese at the center, and people are for the most part more reserved than they’d normally be (for me, at least, that’s true).

Life here has been going pretty well, especially now that I have my phone and have been able to talk to Garrett.  I’ll get internet (supposedly) this Sunday, and then I’ll be set.  On the first few days, I went to the store and bought a few random items that looked familiar in the aisles... but I quickly realized that I won’t be able to last a year on a nightly goulash of tofu, eggs, and veggies.  SOOO, I’m very excited to say that I found at the bookstore a cookbook called _Basic Dishes for Single Life_ --it’s perfect!  This way I’ll be able to navigate the grocery store, taste legitimate Japanese dishes, and learn a bunch of random grocery vocab.  I had my first attempt last night, and it was a success~!

The cookbook ^ 

I fixed the one in the top photo.  Looks pretty darn close to me!!  Review of taste: ummmm decent.

I received an e-mail response from an IUC alum who lived in my building a few years ago.  He gave me some great advice which I’ll paste at the bottom of this entry in case someone else in the future is frantically searching for information on Toriumi Haimu or IUC’s opening days. But first, advice from me:

ADVICE FOR PEOPLE WHO COME TO IUC (ESPECIALLY TORIUMI HAIMU KOTOBUKI-CHO)

Don’t waste your money on a map, because

If you need any household stuff, go to the 100-yen shop on the second floor of the big Certa department store behind Kannai station OR (even better) the Daisou on the top three floors of the Uniqlo building on the big shopping street, Isezaki mall (just south of Kannai station)

Go to the Naka ward office as soon as possible (it’s behind the baseball stadium) to get your foreigner registration card.  Go to the second floor and take a ticket from machine number 22. Be sure to get the 300-yen proof of registration so that you can get a phone

To get a phone: there’s a SoftBank by the McDonald’s on the walk to Kannai station (on the left).  Everyone I’ve talked to so far has gotten SoftBank, and most of us got the pre-paid plan, which is around 13900 for a phone, charger, and first 60 days.

To fix up the internet, call the English-speaking line at NTT at 0120-565-950.  They’ll help you figure out the set-up and such.  Apparently, in Japan, you pay NTT for the internet AND a provider for the connection.  Ocn was their recommended provider, because they have the option of English customer support.  To register for someone from NTT to come to my house, I called 0120-565-950 and then faxed the stuff they requested (copy of passport, visa, foreigner registration proof) at a nearby convenience store.

Be sure to send in the Electricity and Water registration stuff that is hanging in the entryway when you move in.  I still am not sure completely what the whole thing says, but my landlord seemed alarmed that I had not yet sent it in.

Ok, now the advice from Jeff-san:

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=35.439764%2C139.639693&spn=0%2C0.002411&z=19&layer=c&cbll=35.439833%2C139.639747&panoid=5C3sRUXk0aPOhOYuVEuJ9Q&cbp=12%2C324.67%2C%2C0%2C0.29

- The taxi drivers in Yokohama are quite bad. If you can handle your luggage I'd say just take the train to Ishikawacho eki and walk from there.

- The Haimu itself is quite spacious by Japanese standards, if run down and dirty. You might have to clean and dust a bit when you move in.

- You might have to hook up the internet, or it may have already been hooked up by a previous occupant. If you have to do it yourself, it will probably take 2 weeks to a month

- There are a few internet cafes around the Yokohama station area, and the Center of course has a lot of computers with internet access.

- On the plus side, Chinatown is also quite close (too expensive to eat there really - it's more of a tourist trap), and is just north of the train tracks.

- The baseball park is literally within earshot, so definitely go see a game or two.

- The Center is a 15min. bike ride, so I highly recommend getting a bicycle. You can also take the train but it's still a half mile walk anyway, so I pretty much only took the train when there was a typhoon.

- As for local shopping, there is (or was) a supermarket right by the Ishikawacho-ekion the north side. I often went there right before closing time, when they put the prepared foods they hadn't sold yet (like fried chicken and such) on sale.

- You can get most of your housing goods at the local Daisou (100 en for the win!). Another long link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=35.444097%2C139.632478&spn=0.001707%2C0.002411&z=19

- That street, which is called something like Isezaki mall or shotengai orsomething, has a lot of shops on it. I think there's a department store, and I know there's a Book Off and a few cell phone shops as well.

- You should be able to find almost everything you need on that street when you first arrive, unless it's electronics, and for those, go to the Yodobashi camera right next to Yokohama station.

- As for places in andaround Yokohama, definitely explore a lot on your own. I liked to run around Yamashita koen, down by the water, or up the bluff (the big hill to the southeast) into the old foreigners district. On a clear day youcan see Mt. Fuji, actually.

- The Yokohama bijutsukan is right next to the Center, and check out the Yokohama chuuou toshokan out in Hinodecho as well. Kannai is the big night life area. There's a bunch of local history that's quite fascinating if you poke around a bit. Here's onelast link, an article about kotobukicho:

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100706zg.html

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18: On to Xian!

We were all four surprised at the power of Simply Sleep.  I expected to find three unhappy campers in the train car with me when my alarm went off at seven, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear that everyone had slept comfortably!  What a relief!  So, looking back, I definitely recommend the Z19 sleeper train from Beijing to Xian, if you can stomach the Beijing train station.

The Xian train station was even worse!  I am so glad that we didn’t have to spend much time there.  It was also incredibly confusing.  I had the address of our hotel in hand, but I had just assumed there would be some sort of taxi stand line: no such luck!  At the Xian station, you walk out into a sea of humanity filled with what seems like five hundred different taxi stands “organized” (that’s a stretch) by general area destination.  I had no idea what to do, but I had to keep calm so that Mom, O, and Chris would still think all was going along according to plan.  I stopped briefly to look at a map, and within 20 seconds, a Chinese lady had approached me (speaking English), asking if we wanted her taxi to take us to our hotel.  It seemed very suspect, but I showed her the hotel address and she knew it, and we agreed on the price of 20 kuai ($3) which I figured was worth a try.  I was really hoping that she wasn’t gonna scam us (I wrote down the decided price, on my Beijing roommate Kealey’s advice after her own Xian trip), and as we followed her through the Xian streets to her driver, Orran was asking me, “Um, can we just give her 20 kuai to leave us alone?”  I held out the faith, though, and sure enough, she got us there directly.  

We found out why she does this: she works for a tour company which markets to English and Italian speakers.  She offered to serve as our English-speaking tour guide at the terra cotta warriors exhibit, and we told her we’d think about it and give her a call if we wanted to do it.  No pressure.  It was fine!

We got into the Golden Throne hotel and were able to check in right away.  The workers there were a lot nicer than the front desk people at Botai in Beijing.  We unpacked and freshened up a little bit, and then after a little powwow, we decided to take up the girl on her offer.  

We left for the Terra Cotta Warriors in the afternoon after lunch at a KFC--the first Chinese fast food Orran Lee proclaimed edible.  We first went to a government-sponsored tourist shop which recreates the warriors and also sells lacquer furniture.  This was the fourth “government” tourist shop we’d seen (after the weavers, the jade, and the silk), and it was getting a little old, but this was the best of them all.  Orran Lee got a cool mini-warrior for his desk.

We spent the rest of the afternoon seeing the warriors.  There are three pavilions of them, and it is very impressive. In Pavilion One, we were amazed to see archaeologists at work restoring even more soldiers.  We took lots of pictures, saw the museum, and peaced.

O and Chris with the warriors

Orran Lee took this pic and then got frightened by it. ^  It's the huge warrior marionette that pranced across the rim of the Bird's Nest for the 2008 Olympic opening ceremony.

That evening, we were trying to find some dinner and went to a Chinese food court.  I wanted the fam to try hot pot, but Mom refused.  So, instead, we went to a sad little corner of the food court called “Pizza 19” which had illegally ripped off the cook character from “Rattatouie” as their logo.  

Completely done-zo at "Pizza 19" ^

We spent the evening walking through the Muslim quarter, which was great fun!  It was a night market (mostly food), and although we didn’t buy anything to eat, we all really enjoyed seeing the various treats available.  

We also saw people getting pick-pocketed, which was scary!

After a restful night at the Golden Throne, we woke up on THURSDAY, AUGUST 19 and had breakfast at the hotel (included in the price).  We played it pretty safe with mostly sweet potatoes, tofu, rice, and bread.  After that, we went to the giant supermarket across the street so that Orran Lee and Chris could see what Chinese supermarkets are like (Mom had already been with me the day before).  All were amazed to see cheerleaders in one section of the store performing a pom-pom dance on behalf of one of the products for sale--potato chips, I think.

Yaaay for chips!

We then took a taxi to the Xian airport; a warning: Xian city taxis are not required to drive that far, so they will offer you a flat rate.  Kealey told me that the going rate is around 150 kuai, and that’s what we were offered.  Again: write it down after you agree on it so that they don’t try to change it on you later!

The rest of the day was a downer: our plane from Xian to Guangzhou was delayed for so long that we weren’t able to do any of the cool stuff that my old Harvard buddy Michael had recommended (based on his summer of living there as a summer associate).  I was very bummed about that.  It was also very confusing to navigate 4 delays and 1 gate change (to a different floor of the airport) in a different language.

We didn’t get into Guangzhou until dark.

And that’s when I hit my low of the trip.  We were in a taxi taking us from the airport to hour hotel... and although the driver could understand my Mandarin, I absolutely could NOT understand his.  I think that must have been how Anne Marie Ozioli felt when she took her Connecticut accent to the depths of Blue Ridge Mountains and had dinner with my grandparents.  I could tell that the driver was speaking Mandarin (and NOT Canto), but I truly could not understand.  Then, he couldn’t find the hotel.  So, we called the number on the itinerary, and I couldn’t understand THEM, either!  We were sitting in a stopped cab, and I was repeating, flustered, into the cell phone borrowed from the cabbie: I do not understand you.  I do not understand you.  I do not know what to do.  After several minutes of this, they put on a worker who knew minimal English who told me that the hotel was “inside the subway station” and that I only need look for the “yellow pillow” near the exit.  So, we got out--luggage and all--thanked the driver for his help, and started trudging through the subway station.  The place has at least 30 exits.  I asked about 20 people, and finally, one nice fella took us to the door.  There was no “yellow pillow” in sight.  

It was bedtime by the time we got there, and I was spent.

On FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, we woke up and went down to give the (included) breakfast a try.  Unfortunately, it consisted of four giant bowls of hot, spicy noodles, which none of us could face at 7 in the morning.  We literally left the bowls steaming on the table and walked across the sidewalk to 7-11 for yogurts.

Mom decides against taking a bite ^

The only unplanned transit level of our itinerary still lay ahead of me: how to get from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.  Our hotel, fortunately, was right next to a train station.  I went to the “long distances” window, and they told me that Hong Kong qualified as “short distance,” so we found that one upstairs.  We all bought tickets for the next train to Hong Kong (got in right before they stopped selling them!), and we were rushed through customs and China departure.  I hadn’t expected that Hong Kong would be treated so completely as a different country (since it was officially handed back to China in 1997), but let me tell you: it felt awesome to hand in that China departure card.  Peace out, CHINA!

Instantly, we felt like we were being transported into a nicer land.  It felt like a clean, clean dream.  The train was comfortable and cool, and little train ladies carted by with quiet offerings of snacks and drinks.

First time in 2 months that I am not dreaming of bathing in a vat of Purell ^

In the time it took to reach Hong Kong, taxi to our hotel, and check in, we had all four fallen in love with the city.  

I can’t stop raving about Hong Kong.  Maybe it’s because it came as such an unexpected surprise after the terror of 2+ months in  dirty, busy, hot China, but even free from that comparison, I am sure that Hong Kong shines.  I had only added it to our itinerary, really, to claim that I had been there, and our schedule only allowed 24 hours there.  I had heard that Hong Kong was “great for shopping,” and since shopping is pretty low on my list of to-do’s, my interest in the city was not too piqued, but WOW. I cannot wait to go back.

We started the visit with a ride on the Star Ferry, which only costs 2 HKD, and we rode it directly to the old Victorian clock tower area. 

Loving the Hong Kong Ferry Tale ^

View from ferry ^

Pretty Mama ^

We walked straight to an old imperial-era hotel mom had heard about, the 1881 Heritage on Canton Road, and sat down on the plantation-style front porch for high tea.  And there we stayed.  We spent the next several hours shooting the breeze with port, tea, Carlsberg, and Cosmos as ceiling fans purred above us, guests lounged and laughed in the mahogany bar area, and calm maitres d’s in crisp, long white aprons encouraged us to relax with more refreshments.  It was heavenly.

For dinner, we went to Jimmy’s Kitchen, a famous restaurant which has been around for a long time.  We could hardly believe that we were able to indulge in FRESH SALAD and WATER FROM A PITCHER (to no-no’s in China).  We also enjoyed such show-stoppers as Fish and Chips (Orran Lee), Beef Wellington (Mom and Chris), and Mulligatawny soup (CB).  What a day!

On SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, we split up early in the morning, because I had a 2-legged flight, and they only had one afternoon flight.  The Hong Kong airport is not very easy to figure out, so I was glad that I allowed plenty of time.  I walked around, started by blog (Beijing entry), and killed time.  My first plane was delayed, and I was terrified that I would miss my connection in Shanghai and have no way to tell O, Mo, and Chris (who would be waiting in Japan), but fortunately, that flight had a delay, too.  One good thing about China Eastern Airlines: although they have a (clearly) pathetic delay thing going on, they DO give you a legitimate meal on every flight.

We reunited in Narita airport’s Terminal 2 arrivals area.  It was late, and the Narita Express had already closed for the day, so we caught the JR line 1 to Ueno, where we then changed to the Tokyo subway and got to Asakusa.  We found our hotel for the night--the Asakusa Riverside (a capsule hotel!!) directly.

Orran was in the WORST MOOD.  I couldn’t understand why he was so furious (because he’d known all along that a capsule hotel was in our itinerary), but when we got to check-in, he was very nearly refusing to stay there.  I did not have the strength to deal with that, so I just said: “ok, if you want to stay somewhere else, you take care of it” and marched off to my own capsule.

Now, I am familiar with the Riverside hotel, because it is where I spent my last night of my 2005 summer semester in Japan (after second year).  The hotel is just 3000 yen and has a fantastic (shared) bath on the top floor of the high-rise.  The view of the city from the patio by the bathrooms is spectacular, and I remember standing there after my bath back in 2005, looking out at the city and wondering when my eyes would be taking in that sight again.

And it was five years later: August 21, 2010.

In the morning (SUNDAY, AUGUST 22), I taught Mom and Chris the ropes of communal bathing in Japan, and Chris and I cemented our sisterly bond by braving it together. Mom went later.

We're close. ^

Sistah ^

The boys stay (and bathe) in different locations of the hotel, so it was at the check-out desk that we finally reunited with Orran Lee.  He was not happy and was convinced that he had caught a “capsule bug.”

We had breakfast on the curb outside a Family Mart, and then took our luggage to our “real” Tokyo hotel, the Horidome Villa. We sat drinking water and coffee in the lobby there for about half an hour so that they could let us into our rooms early.  We dropped off our stuff and headed out to the Ginza.  We shopped around the Matsuya, eyed the beautiful edible creations on the basement floor, walked by the Mikimoto pearl store, and then spent the rest of the day walking through the Imperial park, Harajuku, the Meiji Shrine complex, and Asakusa.  We had sushi for dinner at a Asakusa place, followed by delish taro soft serve.

Jos in Harajuku ^

On MONDAY, AUGUST 23, Orran Lee and Chris were not feeling well at all.  They stayed in the hotel all day while Mom and I took the JR to explore my new hometown: Yokohama!  We tried to find my new apartment (and failed), but we had a delish seafood lunch on a pier by the waterside.

The four of us reunited that evening for an excursion to the electronics district, Akihabara, where we perused the latest technology in computers and televisions (including a 3-d tv) and then had curry rice for dinner.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 24 -- REUNION WITH GARRETT DAY!  We rode the Shinkansen in the morning from Tokyo to Kyoto, and Garrett took off work to meet us outside of the Kyoto Station and then take us around.  He arrived with a bouquet of pink daisies for me!  I was so happy to see him; it had been 10 weeks!!!  That’s a LONG time.

We took our stuff to his house and he showed us his school, Rakuhoku.  We were about to eat our arms off for lunch, and every place we tried was closed, but we finally found a place around 3:30, where we had okonomiyaki.

After lunch, we took the city bus to the Golden Temple, Kinkaku-ji.

We spent the evening in the Ginza area, poking through a bunch of traditional shops and relishing some goro-goro sushi at an AWESOME restaurant Garrett recommended.

On WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, Garrett had to go to work, and the rest of us took it easy at Garretts and had lunch in an isakaya near his subway station, Matsugasaki.  It was fantastic: stir-fried veggies and shrimp for all four of us!

Next, we rode the subway down to Nijo and toured Nijo castle.

We met Garrett at Kyoto station around 5 pm and had green tea ice cream followed by dinner in Sanjo with plenty of drinks.

On AUGUST 26, we went to our final city: Nara.  We had originally planned to go to Kobe and then Nara, but the group persuaded me to change plans for the sake of our collective sanity.  Admittedly, the trip had been pretty jam-packed.

Creepy Nara mascot ^

We took the JR to Nara and found our ryokan with little difficulty.  It’s a fabulous little bed and breakfast called “Nakata” after the owner, Nakata-san, the nicest little fella in all of Japan.  He gave us a map of the area (which he warned us not to let the deer eat), and we spent the rest of the day walking around Nara, visiting temples and shrines.  The Kasuga shrine (and the walk up to it) was my favorite; it felt like magic was hanging in the trees!  The Todai-ji is of course VERY impressive, and we also enjoyed spending quality time with the friendly deer wandering around Nara.

For dinner, we had omlet-rice at a place with awesome fake-food displays out front.

Our sleep at the Nakata was very restful.  The rooms are Japanese-style with futon, and I was very glad that my family would get to have that Japanese-inn experience.

In the morning, we rode back to Kyoto station, and we had a couple of hours before the Shinkansen left to take O, Mo, and Chris back to Tokyo.  We were having lunch in a little train station cafe when two students approached Mom and asked her to check over a speech one of them had written for a speech contest (which is actually taking place in NOVEMBER--talk about preparation!)  Well, as you might imagine, Mom ATE THAT UP.  She was all over it, and within 10 minutes, word had gotten out that a real English teacher was correcting speeches, and we were slammed with about 10 of the guy’s classmates wielding speech drafts of their own.  So, Mom checked two, Chris did one, Orran Lee did one, and I did one.  Mine was about the “ambulance problem” in Japan. Orran’s was a timid, petite girl’s speech about natural odor versus perfume, and I was cracking up at the feigned interest he was able to muster up.

Before we knew it, it was time for their train to leave.  I walked them to the Shinkansen platform entrance, hugged them goodbye, and watched them go down the hallway to find their platform.  And then I stood there alone for a while, almost in disbelief that “THE TRIP” which we had been hyping up for MONTHS, was actually over.