today i had such a wonderful day. although i am coming to enjoy my work with the kiddies, i still love a good day off to explore, learn, be alone, and be quiet. (this last element being quite important now that i'm a preschool teacher.) highlights from the day:
-i slept in until 9 AM!!! this is huge for me. between jet-lag and work, i haven't slept past 630 yet. so, 9 was awesome. (although it did require me staying up until midnight to do so...)
- i went for a run in the beautiful sunny weather and discovered a new route. i decided i shouldn't try to find new routes during the week, because if i get lost, i'll be late for work. so today, i had a great time exploring. and listening to lupe fiasco while i did it. what more could i ask for?
- after some cleaning/organizing/communicating, i set out for the city art museum. it was a beautiful walk. the museum was very cool, but everything was in japanese, so i really had no context. this included the main exhibit, which was a historical tour through a certain type of narrative art in japan. it was awesome to look at the paintings, but i had little to no idea about timeframe/artist background/etc. there were some modern pieces that were absolutely stunning though.
- i peed in a hole in the ground. i didn't notice the difference between the "japanese style" and regular stalls in the bathroom, and once i was in, i felt really weird going out and back in line (at the museum). so, i went for it. it didn't go well. i won't go into more detail... but seriously, why do they still have those? any country that can use the type of toilet in my apt with more buttons than a remote should have no use for hole-in-the-ground toilets.
- i found a baseball game!!! this was, without a doubt, the top highlight of the day. it could have been high school, but i think it was more like an adult city league or something. they had very nice uniforms, but the game seemed pretty informal. maybe it was just a practice game or something.
- i tried some sweet potato ice cream. well, i think it was. but since it was in japanese, i'm not really sure. it was good, but nothing too amazing or different.
- i sat at a great little cafe, had a beer from a local brewery, and read a book. so lovely.
- i stopped in a shop on the way home called 'kaldi coffee bar.' it was amazing. anybody who's lived abroad knows that when you do so, it is vital to find some places that just make you feel comfortable. i've mentioned starbucks before. this place overtakes that. except it's a store, so i can't just hang out there. but, they have surprisingly inexpensive things from all over the world there, including a lot from latin america. and i think the theme is supposed to be primarily latino, because they were playing salsa and tango music! i was totally salsa dancing in the aisles, hoping someone would ask me (in spanish, ideally) if i'd like to go salsa dancing sometime at some nearby bar! didn't happen, but i won't give up... the store also had--popcorn, cheap wine, chips and salsa, and graham crackers! it was pretty great. oh! and the girl at the register spoke english to me! as someone who really didn't like it when people spoke english to me in latin america, i realllllly appreciate it here. at least for now.
- on the last leg home, as i was walking, totally stoked from an awesome day, a teenaged girl kind of jumped out from her group of friends, in front of me, smiled, and said, "herrow!" (i feel i can make fun of the accent because it's completely legit. and it makes sense, because they don't have a difference between Ls and Rs in japanese.) i was caught off guard but i laughed and said, "hello!" they thought it was pretty funny.
- i went to a department store and found a huge music store, including a room of pianos and many walls of guitars! after a bike, i think a guitar will be coming.
- and now, i'm sitting in my apartment, listening to lauryn hill, drinking red wine, writing, and reading. it's kind of awesome.
one kind of weird thing i really noticed today is that i have a tendency to feel a bit sea-sick in my apartment, because there have been aftershocks almost every day for the past 5 or 6 days. so, i'm constantly thinking that the place is moving, even when it's not. it's really weird. i can't imagine how people live like this all the time. especially if you've been traumatized by an earthquake in the past.
i just bought and read a collection of stories by one of my new favorite authors, haruki murakami, called 'after the quake' that he wrote in the 1990s after the huge kobe earthquake. it's really interesting to read within my current context.
i hope you are all well. please email me updates/anecdotes/pictures/etc.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
discovering more.
rilke in a letter to a friend:
Oh, the joys of travel! To feel the excitement of sudden departure, not always knowing whither. Surely you and I are in agreement about that. How often did my life seem concentrated in that single moment of departure. To travel far, far—and that first morning's awakening under a new sky! And to find oneself in it—no, to discover more of oneself there. To experience there, too, where one has never been before, one's own continuity of being and, at the same time, to feel that something in your heart, somehow indigenous to this new land, is coming to life from the moment of your arrival. You feel your blood infused with some new intelligence, wondrously nourished by things you had no way of knowing.
Oh, the joys of travel! To feel the excitement of sudden departure, not always knowing whither. Surely you and I are in agreement about that. How often did my life seem concentrated in that single moment of departure. To travel far, far—and that first morning's awakening under a new sky! And to find oneself in it—no, to discover more of oneself there. To experience there, too, where one has never been before, one's own continuity of being and, at the same time, to feel that something in your heart, somehow indigenous to this new land, is coming to life from the moment of your arrival. You feel your blood infused with some new intelligence, wondrously nourished by things you had no way of knowing.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
first pictures.
check them out on facebook! or here, if you don't have an account.
i hope this gives some slight idea!
i hope this gives some slight idea!
Monday, April 18, 2011
a world of fascinating.
konichiwa! i have officially been here in japan for 4 whole days. it’s really hard to believe that it’s only been 4 days. i’m not sure if this will make the majority of you happy or sad, but i already feel really comfortable here. not in a “i look anything like anyone here” sort of way, but in a “i could see myself having a really nice life here for a while” way. (sorry, mom.) and i’m sure that this will wane, as these types of feelings always do. but, since it’s such a different situation from my other times abroad, in that i’m super independent from the start (although, thank god for my coworkers who have already helped me a ton. there are so many ways i would have been screwed had they not been willing to help), i’m working full-time right away, i know NONE of the language, and i’m committed to at least a year from the start. with all those things in consideration, it’s really comforting to have even a moment of feeling like i could be comfortable here for at least a year.
some things i think might be contributing to that:
--the independence. i’ve loved all the people who cared for me in my past living situations abroad, but it also feels great to be able to create my own life here from the start. i have SO much to learn, and that’s a bit harder without a “host” family, but being able to come home to my apartment after a long day, have a beer made from sweet potatoes (really!) or a glass of santory whiskey (thinking of bill murray, of course) and read a book is a great, great feeling.
--feeling a bit ignored in public. i know, it seems crazy since i do, of course, stick out. yet, i feel like people are definitely used to seeing white people (although there aren’t many around right now). so, i’m not such a spectacle like i was in sri lanka. and so far, the men aren’t nearly as forward as latin America (or Chicago, for that matter), so sometimes i really do feel nearly ignored when i walk down the street. people look, but then look away as if bored. i kind of love it. i feel like i finally get to be a bit of a fly on the wall, rather than the freak that everyone is staring at. i wonder if perhaps this also has to do with the general state of the country right now, post-disaster. i’m not sure if it’s a huge factor, but i wonder if people are just generally somewhat preoccupied with that.
--my job and my coworkers. although it was a bit overwhelming to be with a bunch of kids speaking a different language the two days immediately after i landed, i think i am going to really love my work at the ymca here. the kids were really sweet and fun, and my coworkers are amazing. i really think i am going to like it there. and after a couple days off (Sunday and Monday are my days off), including some lesson planning and lots of japanese studying, i’m really looking forward to the beginning of my week!
some things i’m a bit nervous/hesitant about:
--japanese is hard! i’m LOVING studying it so far, but it’s really really tough and different. and there is way less English here than i was imagining. including signs, food, etc. as a vegetarian, it’s tough to buy food because i have no idea what’s in it! at least in sri lanka, a lot of labels were in English too. (and someone was cooking my food for me, i guess…). but today, i learned of a Japanese class for foreigners at a community center, and the flyer was in Spanish! so i’m hoping i’ll be able to learn Japanese and meet latinos!
--granted i only looked briefly at one little beauty shop/pharmacy, but they had NO red hair dye. HUGE uh-oh. why would a country of people with black and dark brown hair need a wall full of black and dark brown hair dye?!?!
--although people don’t seem too phased about it, i do feel like a giant in this country. a pale, red-headed (although that might change) giant. it’s nice that a lot of girls wear really high heels, which genuinely makes me not feel that tall. but that doesn’t do anything for the size of my ass.
as for other notables, i found myself thinking the other day, “how do i write about the interesting things i’ve seen, when EVERYTHING is interesting?” no exaggeration, everything here is different and fascinating! literally, if i made a note of everything, like i’d like to, i would be writing CONSTANTLY. i’ll try to pick out some biggies below. the others will, i’m sure, come up in future posts.
--i would describe the neighborhood i live in (for you Chicagoans, at least) as a mixture of wicker park and Lincoln park, with a little boystown thrown in. there is a lot of super hipster style. a lot of young people. but it’s much cleaner and prettier than wicker park. and there’s some pretty gender-bending styles as well. and some (actually, a LOT of) super short skirts. often paired with long socks. today i saw a super hipster little family, both young parents with really funky clothes, hair, shoes, and glasses, and a double stroller! it took all my strength not to get out my camera.
--there are also salons and coffee shops EVERYWHERE in my neighborhood. the coffee shops i like, of course. (aside (if i were david foster Wallace, this would be an awesome footnote): as i began in chile, i will continue to defend the starbucks business model. throughout the world, i have ALWAYS been made to feel more welcomed and cared for at startbucks than any other business. i’m not even ashamed to say that i’ve already gone a couple times here, and will continue to do so.)
--bikes! i love that people ride them everywhere, and i’m planning to get one myself within the next month or two. but the CRAZY thing is that they don’t lock them up!!! it’s literally almost too much for me to comprehend. today, when i was walking around with my friend/coworker yuko, i kept saying, “but, really? they just leave them there? i don’t get it? why don’t they get stolen???” she replied, “i guess they do, sometimes. but not like America. when i lived in America, i had 2 bikes stolen!” mmm…home sweet home.
--aftershocks. i’ve already felt a couple, and it’s pretty crazy. but, nothing scary at all, actually. i wrote in my journal the other day:
it’s so strange to be constantly aware of the movement of the earth—of the world around me, actually. as i sit in bed and read, with my back against the wall, i can’t tell if the movement i feel is the earth moving or my own heart beating. it sounds a bit terrifying, but it’s also an incredible feeling of connection with the earth.
it sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s really such a unique feeling. some of you may know what i’m talking about.
--the food is really, really good. it’s very different, but good. i will talk more about that when i can put pictures up on facebook. i’ll make sure to put the link here, just in case. (everyone who reads this is on facebook, right? if not, stop reading this and make a facebook account.)
--there really are vending machines everywhere! i’m so glad i don’t have to walk ONE block (no exaggeration, i bet there’s at least one on every block) without a soda, water, coffee, or juice of some sort!
i could probably go on forever, so i will stop for now. this post is already pretty crazy long. but, at least i was able to give the first run-down of my life here. thank you so much for checking in on me. i am doing well. i am happy. if you would like to send me anything (why yes, i love mail and care packages!) my address is:
7-16 Sugawara-Cho #402
Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan 350-0046
i will hopefully be posting pictures on fb soon. (check to the right for a picture of where i live. the pic was taken from my apt window.) and updating here at least once a week. please do send me an email when you get a chance to let me know what is going on with you, how you are doing, and some interesting things you have experienced lately. (and don’t you dare say nothing. even an apple is a swirling mix of protons, neutrons and electrons—so interesting. and delicious.) i would love to hear from you, especially if you’ve taken the time to read all this.
domo arigato. sayonara.
some things i think might be contributing to that:
--the independence. i’ve loved all the people who cared for me in my past living situations abroad, but it also feels great to be able to create my own life here from the start. i have SO much to learn, and that’s a bit harder without a “host” family, but being able to come home to my apartment after a long day, have a beer made from sweet potatoes (really!) or a glass of santory whiskey (thinking of bill murray, of course) and read a book is a great, great feeling.
--feeling a bit ignored in public. i know, it seems crazy since i do, of course, stick out. yet, i feel like people are definitely used to seeing white people (although there aren’t many around right now). so, i’m not such a spectacle like i was in sri lanka. and so far, the men aren’t nearly as forward as latin America (or Chicago, for that matter), so sometimes i really do feel nearly ignored when i walk down the street. people look, but then look away as if bored. i kind of love it. i feel like i finally get to be a bit of a fly on the wall, rather than the freak that everyone is staring at. i wonder if perhaps this also has to do with the general state of the country right now, post-disaster. i’m not sure if it’s a huge factor, but i wonder if people are just generally somewhat preoccupied with that.
--my job and my coworkers. although it was a bit overwhelming to be with a bunch of kids speaking a different language the two days immediately after i landed, i think i am going to really love my work at the ymca here. the kids were really sweet and fun, and my coworkers are amazing. i really think i am going to like it there. and after a couple days off (Sunday and Monday are my days off), including some lesson planning and lots of japanese studying, i’m really looking forward to the beginning of my week!
some things i’m a bit nervous/hesitant about:
--japanese is hard! i’m LOVING studying it so far, but it’s really really tough and different. and there is way less English here than i was imagining. including signs, food, etc. as a vegetarian, it’s tough to buy food because i have no idea what’s in it! at least in sri lanka, a lot of labels were in English too. (and someone was cooking my food for me, i guess…). but today, i learned of a Japanese class for foreigners at a community center, and the flyer was in Spanish! so i’m hoping i’ll be able to learn Japanese and meet latinos!
--granted i only looked briefly at one little beauty shop/pharmacy, but they had NO red hair dye. HUGE uh-oh. why would a country of people with black and dark brown hair need a wall full of black and dark brown hair dye?!?!
--although people don’t seem too phased about it, i do feel like a giant in this country. a pale, red-headed (although that might change) giant. it’s nice that a lot of girls wear really high heels, which genuinely makes me not feel that tall. but that doesn’t do anything for the size of my ass.
as for other notables, i found myself thinking the other day, “how do i write about the interesting things i’ve seen, when EVERYTHING is interesting?” no exaggeration, everything here is different and fascinating! literally, if i made a note of everything, like i’d like to, i would be writing CONSTANTLY. i’ll try to pick out some biggies below. the others will, i’m sure, come up in future posts.
--i would describe the neighborhood i live in (for you Chicagoans, at least) as a mixture of wicker park and Lincoln park, with a little boystown thrown in. there is a lot of super hipster style. a lot of young people. but it’s much cleaner and prettier than wicker park. and there’s some pretty gender-bending styles as well. and some (actually, a LOT of) super short skirts. often paired with long socks. today i saw a super hipster little family, both young parents with really funky clothes, hair, shoes, and glasses, and a double stroller! it took all my strength not to get out my camera.
--there are also salons and coffee shops EVERYWHERE in my neighborhood. the coffee shops i like, of course. (aside (if i were david foster Wallace, this would be an awesome footnote): as i began in chile, i will continue to defend the starbucks business model. throughout the world, i have ALWAYS been made to feel more welcomed and cared for at startbucks than any other business. i’m not even ashamed to say that i’ve already gone a couple times here, and will continue to do so.)
--bikes! i love that people ride them everywhere, and i’m planning to get one myself within the next month or two. but the CRAZY thing is that they don’t lock them up!!! it’s literally almost too much for me to comprehend. today, when i was walking around with my friend/coworker yuko, i kept saying, “but, really? they just leave them there? i don’t get it? why don’t they get stolen???” she replied, “i guess they do, sometimes. but not like America. when i lived in America, i had 2 bikes stolen!” mmm…home sweet home.
--aftershocks. i’ve already felt a couple, and it’s pretty crazy. but, nothing scary at all, actually. i wrote in my journal the other day:
it’s so strange to be constantly aware of the movement of the earth—of the world around me, actually. as i sit in bed and read, with my back against the wall, i can’t tell if the movement i feel is the earth moving or my own heart beating. it sounds a bit terrifying, but it’s also an incredible feeling of connection with the earth.
it sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s really such a unique feeling. some of you may know what i’m talking about.
--the food is really, really good. it’s very different, but good. i will talk more about that when i can put pictures up on facebook. i’ll make sure to put the link here, just in case. (everyone who reads this is on facebook, right? if not, stop reading this and make a facebook account.)
--there really are vending machines everywhere! i’m so glad i don’t have to walk ONE block (no exaggeration, i bet there’s at least one on every block) without a soda, water, coffee, or juice of some sort!
i could probably go on forever, so i will stop for now. this post is already pretty crazy long. but, at least i was able to give the first run-down of my life here. thank you so much for checking in on me. i am doing well. i am happy. if you would like to send me anything (why yes, i love mail and care packages!) my address is:
7-16 Sugawara-Cho #402
Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan 350-0046
i will hopefully be posting pictures on fb soon. (check to the right for a picture of where i live. the pic was taken from my apt window.) and updating here at least once a week. please do send me an email when you get a chance to let me know what is going on with you, how you are doing, and some interesting things you have experienced lately. (and don’t you dare say nothing. even an apple is a swirling mix of protons, neutrons and electrons—so interesting. and delicious.) i would love to hear from you, especially if you’ve taken the time to read all this.
domo arigato. sayonara.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
arrived!
not much time to write now, but i have arrived! i will hopefully be able to write more soon!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
and i'm off.
tomorrow i will officially be heading off to japan! check in here from time to time if you'd like to know what i'm up to (assuming i have somewhere to use the internet). and please email me to let me know what you are all up to! even if it's short, and even if i don't get back to you right away (or ever, let's be honest), i would love to hear from you!
in the meantime, enjoy this little piece of joy:
if the kids i work with are half this cute, i might be dangerously happy.
in the meantime, enjoy this little piece of joy:
if the kids i work with are half this cute, i might be dangerously happy.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
japanese music.
here are two videos that are getting me excited for my upcoming move. the first one has been called the "sufjan stevens" of japan. say no more. and the second was an ultimate fighter before doing music. i'm not super crazy about the song, but the video is awesome.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
mystical and nocturnal.
i recently came across these words from rilke. they perfectly depict why i am so happy to think about 7 days from now, when i will be in a place that i literally cannot even imagine right now. (i fly out april 13th!) it is so lovely to think about whose "world of sound" i will be incorporated into. and who will become part of mine.
"How delicious it is to wake up in a place where no one, no one in the world, guesses where you are. Sometimes I have stopped spontaneously in towns along my way only to taste the delight that no living being can imagine me there. How much that added to the lightness of my soul!
I remember certain days in Cordova where I lived as if transparent, because I was completely unknown. The sweetness of staying in a little Spanish town, if only to relate to certain dogs and a blind beggar—more dangerous, that blind man, because he can read you. But three days later, if he hears you come back toward his church at the same hour, he counts you now as someone who henceforth exists, and he incorporates you into his world of sound.
And there you are, destined to new birth, mystical and nocturnal."
Letter to a friend
February 3, 1923
"How delicious it is to wake up in a place where no one, no one in the world, guesses where you are. Sometimes I have stopped spontaneously in towns along my way only to taste the delight that no living being can imagine me there. How much that added to the lightness of my soul!
I remember certain days in Cordova where I lived as if transparent, because I was completely unknown. The sweetness of staying in a little Spanish town, if only to relate to certain dogs and a blind beggar—more dangerous, that blind man, because he can read you. But three days later, if he hears you come back toward his church at the same hour, he counts you now as someone who henceforth exists, and he incorporates you into his world of sound.
And there you are, destined to new birth, mystical and nocturnal."
Letter to a friend
February 3, 1923
Sunday, April 3, 2011
transitions and salinger
things are definitely moving! i am currently in chicago, saying some final goodbyes and getting my visa. i am hoping to fly out next week, sometime around the 13th of april. things have been (and continue to be) pretty random, unplanned, and sporadic, but so is life, right? i had a friend ask the other day about my being relatively calm and seemingly relaxed about everything, especially as i was waiting for some paperwork from japan to come. my answer? salinger. i find a lot of peace from franny and zooey, but i've been re-reading 'seymour--an introduction' the last couple days, and it's been great, as always. so, here are some excerpts below. i was going to give some context for each quote, but i think i prefer not to. you should read it. overall, the (fictional) author, buddy glass, is writing an essay about his older brother, seymour, who committed suicide at age 31. i hope you enjoy.
"However contradictory the coroner's report--whether he pronounces Consumption, Loneliness, or Suicide to be the cause of death--isn't it plain to see how the true artist-seer dies? I say that the true artist-seer, the heavenly fool who can and does produce beauty, is mainly dazzled to death by his own scruples, the blinding shapes and colors of his own sacred human conscience."
"Surely he was all REAL things to us: our blue-striped unicorn, our double-lensed burning glass, our consultant genius, our portable conscience, our supercargo, and our one full poet, and, inevitably,...i think, he was also our rather notorious 'mystic' and 'unbalanced type.'"
"...there is evidently one rather terrible hallmark common to all persons who look for God, and apparently with enormous success, in the queerest imaginable places--e.g., in radio announcers, in newspapers, in taxicabs with crooked meters, literally everywhere. (My brother, for the record, had a distracting habit, most of his adult life, of investigating loaded ashtrays with his index finger, clearing all the cigarette ends to the sides--smiling from ear to ear as he did it--as if he expected to see Christ himself curled up cherubically in the middle, and he never looked disappointed.)... The hallmark most commonly identifying this person is that he very frequently behaves like a fool, even an imbecile."
"No, no, I can't stop now. It seems to me, in my Condition, that I'm no longer merely asserting my brother's position as a poet; I feel I'm removing, at least for a minute or two, all the detonators from all the bombs in this bloody world--a very tiny, purely temporary public courtesy, no doubt, but mine own."
"For the faithful, the patient, the hermetically pure, all the important things in this world--not life and death, perhaps, which are merely words, but the important things--work out rather beautifully."
"Were most of your stars out?"
"They may shine with the misinformation of the ages, but they shine."
"all we do our whole lives is go from one little piece of Holy Ground to the next."
"However contradictory the coroner's report--whether he pronounces Consumption, Loneliness, or Suicide to be the cause of death--isn't it plain to see how the true artist-seer dies? I say that the true artist-seer, the heavenly fool who can and does produce beauty, is mainly dazzled to death by his own scruples, the blinding shapes and colors of his own sacred human conscience."
"Surely he was all REAL things to us: our blue-striped unicorn, our double-lensed burning glass, our consultant genius, our portable conscience, our supercargo, and our one full poet, and, inevitably,...i think, he was also our rather notorious 'mystic' and 'unbalanced type.'"
"...there is evidently one rather terrible hallmark common to all persons who look for God, and apparently with enormous success, in the queerest imaginable places--e.g., in radio announcers, in newspapers, in taxicabs with crooked meters, literally everywhere. (My brother, for the record, had a distracting habit, most of his adult life, of investigating loaded ashtrays with his index finger, clearing all the cigarette ends to the sides--smiling from ear to ear as he did it--as if he expected to see Christ himself curled up cherubically in the middle, and he never looked disappointed.)... The hallmark most commonly identifying this person is that he very frequently behaves like a fool, even an imbecile."
"No, no, I can't stop now. It seems to me, in my Condition, that I'm no longer merely asserting my brother's position as a poet; I feel I'm removing, at least for a minute or two, all the detonators from all the bombs in this bloody world--a very tiny, purely temporary public courtesy, no doubt, but mine own."
"For the faithful, the patient, the hermetically pure, all the important things in this world--not life and death, perhaps, which are merely words, but the important things--work out rather beautifully."
"Were most of your stars out?"
"They may shine with the misinformation of the ages, but they shine."
"all we do our whole lives is go from one little piece of Holy Ground to the next."
Saturday, April 2, 2011
why we travel.
here is another interesting article, along the lines of my last post. the author discusses the fact that travel is about more than just relaxation and "getting away" (for some). Sometimes it's dangerous. But it (almost) always pays off.
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