Thursday, October 30

I just added some photos to various blog entries starting from Sunday, October 11 through more recent posts. Enjoy!

Today I completed my second hour of tutoring Konan University students in English. Last week about six students showed up, but this week only one student came, so I was surprised. I practiced English conversation with her for half and hour, and then I quizzed her on vocabulary words by saying them out loud so she could repeat them with the correct pronunciation. She then wrote down the words to make sure she knew how to spell them.

I also had an adventure today with another foreign exchange student friend named Emma as we went to the Kobe City Immigration Office to obtain work visas. Since I have a part-time job, my current visa, which gives me a student status, is not sufficient. So Emma and I walked through a new part of town that I hadn't previously been to the immigration office, and I now have a work visa!

All that talk about the different stages in the study abroad program, the honeymoon period, the culture shock period, and the depression period, I was hoping it was all baloney, but it seems to be turning out to be true. I feel so unhappy right now. Not about anything in particular. Well, maybe all these things seem to be piling up, and then I just end up feeling like I want to cry sometimes. And today I actually did cry in the middle of Japanese class.

It's not even that I'm crying about something that's worth crying over, I just became easily frustrated today when I couldn't write a kanji correctly. When I talked to one of my friends after class, he said to relax because he's studied Japanese for five or six years, so why should I compare myself to him when I have studied for a much shorter time? All my friends from E class were worried about me yesterday, and they said I just drew more attention to myself by leaving class, so next time I should just stay in class, even if I'm upset. But when I left, a stranger came up to me and asked me if I was okay, and we had a really fun conversation about Japan. He didn't ask me for a name or phone number, he just talked with me and distracted me from my own thoughts, and it was really nice of him.

At least I'm getting along well with Yoko now. We walked to the local movie and CD store, Tsutaya, which seems to be a chain store in the area, and looked for Miley Cyrus music (she really likes Hannah Montana) and then watched Confessions of a Shopaholic late into the night. Of course I felt really guilty the entire time because I knew I should be studying and I would just be tired and grumpy the next day from lack of sleep, but at the same time, I need some bonding time with Yoko, and I had a lot of fun.

International Friendship Festival and Kendo Lessons in Himeji City

This weekend was filled with fun. I ate dinner at an Italian restaurant in Sannomiya (the downtown center of Kobe) on Friday night with Joey, Garrity, and Kenken. Joey is from Maui, Garrity is another U of I student, and Kenken is from Wakayama prefecture (about an hour from Kobe by train) here in Japan. His real name is Norihito, but he has this adorable knickname Kenken.

On Saturday morning I returned to Sannomiya to buy myself some socks. Half the pairs of socks I brought from home have holes in them, so I bought about six new pairs.

In the afternoon I went over to Kevin (my fellow foreign exchange student)'s host family's house and attended a dinner party there. His host mother is Peruvian, and I enjoy speaking Spanish with her. I met her friend Cati, who is from La Repùblica Dominicana, so I was able to speak a little Spanish with Cati as well. I also met one of Mr. Okamura (Kevin's host father)'s younger coworkers, Yusuke. We all enjoyed a delicious dinner composed primarily of Peruvian dishes. There was fried meat, roast chicken (I got to carve one, Kevin taught me how), and a special sauce that had a name in Quechua, so I'm having trouble remembering the name now. We also ate two cakes, one cake with whipped vanilla frosting and covered in fruit that the Okamura family bought at a store, and an apple cake that I made with Okaasan at home and brought over as a gift.

Today I went to Himeji city. It is well-known for Himeji Castle, and even though I could see the castle from where I spent the day, I did not have time to go see it. But I will return soon to visit the castle, and in the meantime, I enjoyed myself immensely today in Himeji. I went to an International Friendship Festival with my Japanese pen-pal friend Saki and Maddy, another exchange student from Konan University. We saw dances from many different cultures, such as hula dance and hip hop, we ate food from various countries such as Malaysian friend banana balls and Brazilian sweet cake, and Maddy and I received a kendo (the way of the sword) lesson from this nice high school boy who studies kendo in Himeji city. He and his father, who is a kendo master, did some demonstrations at the fair. Maddy and I learned the kendo moves with foam swords so we wouldn't do any damage to ourselves. I now have a certificate confirming my completion of a "play sport" course in kendo!

Today I had such a humbling experience, courtesy of a boy named Yusuke, whom I met only earlier today, and whom I may never see again. I completed my first hour of my new part time job, English tutoring, today from 2:45 to 3:45. During the hour, six Japanese students came, and together we had a conversation in English. One girl, Noriko, asked me if I knew anything about メイドきっさ(meido kissa), or maid cafes. I told her I had heard of them and knew the general idea behind the running of a maid cafe. Then Yusuke asked me if I considered maid cafes to be a part of Japanese culture, and I replied, "yes." Yusuke then said, "I am sorry to hear that."

I immediately felt that I had offended him. I said, "Well, I do not consider maid cafes to be part of traditional Japanese culture, but they originated in Japan, and there are not, to my knowledge, maid cafes in other parts of the world." But I felt that the damage had been done, and now I'm wondering if some boy whom I barely know has this image of me as a thoughtless foreigner who holds incorrect stereotypes about various aspects of Japanese society. I don't see myself in that way, and I would be ashamed if anyone did.

After dinner tonight, I told Okaasan and Otousan about the exchange Yusuke and I had earlier today. Okaasan and Otousan both said that if they heard me say that I consider maid cafes to be a part of Japanese culture, they would have the same reaction Yusuke did. I asked why, explaining again that I don't consider maid cafes to be traditional, but since they are unique to Japan, I would consider them to be a part of Japanese culture. After I mentioned this, an intense discussion ensued, most of which was over my head due to the fact that Otousan uses sophisticated vocabulary and speaks quickly. But with my two years of study of Japanese and my will to learn, I was able to catch some of what Otousan was saying, helped by slowly spoken elaborations from Okaasan. Otousan said that maid cafes are not culture, they are a specific lifestyle for a select group of people (including both patrons and employees). Maid cafes are too specific of a phenomenon to characterize as culture. Furthermore, maid cafes and those who work/patronize maid cafes are not highly regarded by those who do not partake of those activities, and it may be insulting for such an undesirable phenomenon to be considered culture, because culture is generic term that applies to a majority of people. For those reasons, my earlier statement was most likely offensive or disappointing to Yusuke, Okaasan, and Otousan.

One thought I took away from this whole experience is that I must rethink my definition of culture. This comes as a shock to me, for I always considered myself to be a culturally aware and culturally sensitive person. But a seemingly harmless statement can still offend anyone, and I suppose since I made such a generalization, I do not truly understand the definition of the word culture.

This afternoon I came home from school with a heavy heart knowing that I had hours of studying ahead of me. Not only do I have two projects, a group project and an individual project, due tomorrow for my Business and Management class, but I also have a kanji test and a reading test in Japanese class tomorrow. The teachers sure know how to pile on the work all at the same time! So I see my host father doing some gardening in the backyard. I explained to him how I wanted to go out to karaoke with some friends, but instead I had to come home early so I could study. I was hoping to elicit some sympathy from him, but instead all he said was 勉強しなさい (benkyo shinasai), which is a quite informal command form for "so go study," said by someone who is clearly a superior to someone who is younger. Maybe Otousan responded this way because he is a teacher himself...? I'm not mad, though, I thought his response was funny. Speaking of Otousan, he is always out in the backyard doing some kind of gardening whenever he has free time during the day and he's at home. My host family's home is unusual in that they have a backyard, which is more than many people in Japan can say, even though it is quite small compared to my family's backyard at home. I would like to ask Otousan about what he does all day in the backyard, but somehow I don't feel like I can. Maybe that means I'm not as comfortable with my host family as I thought...? But I don't think I could ever ask to help him out there, it's like the garden is his own private turf. Whereas I feel comfortable asking Okaasan to help her cook dinner even though the kitchen definitely is her turf. Anyway, I've actually learned a lot in accounting class. I didn't know a thing about balance sheets and profit and loss statements in the U.S., but now I know the important figures to look at when reading those sheets. I know how to calculate certain ratios, such as the current ratio and the equity ratio, and I know which figures to use in order to calculate those ratios. I also know how to use the information I've found to draw certain conclusions about whether a company is at risk or is safe. I'm quite glad I've learned a little about accounting. As I'm typing this post, there is a car driving by my window that is blaring a loud message through megaphones. Many cars have been doing that lately. If I am just sitting in my room, I occasionally hear cars go by that are blaring loud announcements. I'm not sure for what purpose people are making announcements because I haven't asked a Japanese person yet, but I'm guessing the cars and announcements may be for the upcoming municipal elections in Kobe. I've heard that there will be an election soon, but I'm not sure when. Anyway, it's another interesting cultural difference!

Sunday evening I tasted Kobe beef for the first time! Unfortunately, it may also be the last time due to the price, but it was so delicious! It really did melt in my mouth! I went to a restaurant in Hotel Okura, the same hotel at which I stayed during my orientation during the first few days of this study abroad trip, with four other foreign exchange students from my program, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the meal. We were also served grilled vegetables, soup, and rice, with apple sorbet for dessert. The meat was accompanied by a creamy miso sauce and a salty soy-type sauce. There was also spicy mustard and salt for the meat. My only criticism of the meal was that the food and sauces were slightly salty for my taste. But Japanese cuisine uses a lot of salt, and I think it's believed to be good for the body by people living here in Japan. At this restaurant the meat was grilled in front of our eyes, so we could see the server cook it. She was very friendly and quite complimentary of our Japanese language speaking ability. When I returned home from the hotel on Sunday evening, I was informed by my host family that I am no longer allowed to climb up Mount Maya to do pull-ups by myself. They said it's simply not safe because there are not a lot of people on the mountain, so if I were to encounter someone, I could easily be assaulted. They are trying to prevent anything bad from happening to me, and I understand where they are coming from and appreciate their protection, so I'm not too disappointed. Besides, I have other foreign exchange student friends who want to do pull-ups with me, so I won't have trouble finding people to accompany me. In fact, I will be going up to the mountain shortly to exercise, so I must be off!

This weekend included a lot of shopping. I'm lacking warm clothes, and Kobe became cold more quickly than I originally anticipated, so I decided to brave the crowds and check out the stores in downtown Kobe. On Saturday afternoon I went shopping with Yoko, and that was an interesting experience. She took me to a bunch of stores that sold cute clothes with intricate patterns and designs, and I while I admire Japanese women for wearing their fashion sense, I could never picture myself wearing the same style. So I didn't feel like buying anything at those stores, and we ended up at a karaoke store instead, singing the afternoon away (me in English and Yoko in Japanese). Today I went shopping with an elementary school friend of Ryosuke's whose name is Yuri (her name means "lily" in English). She is about my age, so she took me to stores with sophisticated yet still cute and modest clothes. I wasn't too interested in those types of clothes, but when she took me to a different shopping area that had simply designed yet form-fitting clothes, I perked up. I found out some interesting rules about clothes shopping in Japan today. One must remove her shoes before entering the dressing room, and if one is wearing makeup, she must place a disposable gauze net over head while putting on or removing the store's clothes to avoid rubbing facial makeup on the clothing. I felt so silly standing in the dressing room with a huge gauze net over my head. But I purchased one shirt today, so I guess in that sense today's shopping trip was slightly more successful than yesterday's.

I took another test in Japanese class today. Japanese is still difficult, and it's a favorite question for Japanese people to ask me: "Is Japanese language difficult to learn?" I always answer yes, but if people compliment me on my language skills I feel happy because it's nice to receive some positive feedback.

My Business and Management in Japan class has become challenging for me. Our current unit is an overview of accounting, for which I have no background. However, I am working on a group project with three very kind classmates, one of whom is a fellow U of I student who majored in accounting, and the other two are studying abroad in conjunction with the Cologne Business School, so I am in very good hands. They are all very patient and help me out as I try to get the hang of the current ratio and equity ratio and other such equations that are completely foreign to me but apparently second-hand to those studying business.

This evening to celebrate the end of the week, students wanted to get together on the beach and grill some barbecue meat. We bought vegetables and packages of meat and brought them to the beach, but shortly after we arrived, beach security came over and told us we couldn't grill on the beach! We were so disappointed, but the grandfather of one of the Japanese students in the group happened to own a restaurant a few train stops away from the beach, and the student said we could bring our food there and the people in the restaurant would cook it for us! So we were still able to eat grilled meat and spend quality time with our friends.

We had an earthquake drill in class today, hence the picture of students crouching under desks. I also rode my friend Toru's motorcycle today! Don't worry, I wore a helmet while riding the motorcycle!

A few things I've learned about Japanese beliefs since I arrived here almost a month and a half ago...

Do not whistle at night time while walking outside. It is believed that the sound of whistling will attract thieves or people who may try to harm you.

It is considered bad luck to kill spiders if you find one inside your home because spiders are said to help keep homes clean. Instead, one should try to relocate the spider to an outdoor area.

Japanese people believe in the phenomenon of shokuyoku, or a big appetite, occurring each autumn. It is said that once the weather becomes cool (which, unfortunately, it has), appetites increase, and people are not going outdoors as much and thus not expending as many calories as they do during the summer.

Maybe this explains why I have been feeling the urge to eat a lot lately. However, I'm trying to combat the imminent weight gain by getting out and enjoying the surrounding mountains. Today a friend and I walked twenty minutes up the path on Mount Maya near my host family's home and found some pull-up bars. We did pull-ups and chin-ups and then walked back down the mountain.

Just as I thought, I did not do as well on yesterdays' test as I would have liked. However, I have another test in Japanese class this Friday and then three midterm examinations for Japanese class next week, so I have plenty of chances to boost my grade.

Today citizens all across Japan celebrated 秋まつり (aki matsuri, or Autumn Festival). My friend Saki kindly invited me to celebrate with her in her hometown area, which is a two-hour train ride from Kobe. I enjoyed the trip out to the countryside, and the celebrations were immensely fun to watch. I feel as though I had a true cultural experience today.

I met up with Saki and with Maddie, another foreign exchange student, at the train station in downtown Kobe around 9:30 A.M. We then rode the train for two hours to a town called Fukusaki. Saki herself is from Shinmachi, a smaller town near Fukusaki. Fukusaki is a sort of centrally located area between many small towns in that area of Hyogo Prefecture. To celebrate the autumn festival, each local ward brings out a yatai, which supposedly weighs 1,400 kilograms, and ideally is held up by seventy men. The yatai is difficult for me to describe because I can't find an exact definition for it. It is a type of cart, stand, or framework made out of bamboo. On top of the stand is a gilded structure covered in brocade and rich fabric, elaborately adorned with tassels, lanterns, and other designs and objects. It looks like a one-room house, and inside are four taiko, or drums, and four boys, ages 10-12, play the taiko as the (ideally) seventy men carry the yatai through the town streets toward the shrine where they will pray for three hours to ask for a fruitful harvest. Fukusaki is famous for celebrating the autumn festival because twelve yatai from twelve surrounding ward areas are brought to Fukusaki, and then together in one huge procession the twelve yatai are carried to a nearby shrine area and the three hours of prayer commence.

I enjoyed the atmosphere, which was full of excitement and merriment. Only men carry the yatai, and only boys play the taiko. Women and girls enjoy the festivities through watching. The men carry the yatai many kilometers through the countryside (or through the city if they celebrate in an urban area), and it is very heavy. So to help ease the burden, men wake up very early (before seven) on the morning of the autumn festival and commence drinking at about seven in the morning. They drink for a few hours (or until sufficiently drunk), and then carry the yatai to the shrine. Thus there were many drunk, energetic men (anywhere from ages 18 to ~70) running through the streets today, and I saw some very surprising behavior (men chugging beer and dancing on the sidewalks) and heard some funny comments (things people normally would not say if sober). The yatai looked extremely heavy to carry, however, so everyone was grunting and sweating as they bore the yatai up the road toward the shrine. Groups from local wards were always conscious of their wa, group harmony, and energy, so the groups had to work as a team and always appear energetic while bearing the yatai.

I was so happy at the end of the day to have partaken in such a festival. I feel as though I experienced a unique part of Japan and that I learned a lot about Japanese culture today.

Oddly enough, my first experience shopping at Costco was in Japan, not the United States, and it occurred this morning. I went to Costco in Kobe with Okaasan and one of Okaasan's friends, Naito-san ("san" is an honorific term which means Mr., Mrs. or Miss), who is a host mother for another student from U of I who is on the Year-in-Japan program. Naito-san actually has the membership with Costco, so thanks to her I was able to go. The quantities sure are large, and I hope that I can finish all the snacks and use up all the toiletries I purchased there within the next eight months! I was explaining to Naito-san why I decided to purchase a variety pack of Pepperidge Farm cookies (Milano cookies were included, how could I resist?), and an older woman who was strolling by with her cart stopped and just started looking at the cookie box. I could tell she was listening in on my conversation, but I wasn't sure why. After I finished explaining to Naito-san why I was going to purchase those cookies, the woman walked away, and I asked Naito-san why the lady had listened in on our conversation. Naito-san explained that many of the brands and products found at Costco are new to Japanese people, but if a Japanese person knows that I come from the United States, they think that I'll be familiar with the brands and products and thus be able to provide trustworthy recommendations as to which products are worth purchasing. Maybe I should look for part-time work at Costco...?

Friday, October 9

Today in Culture and Education in Japan, we discussed the concept of Orientalism. Kouji sensei (sensei means teacher) asked us to come to class with examples of Orientalism. Another student from U of I brought up The Mikado, a nineteenth-century operetta composed by Gilbert and Sullivan of England. The only time I have seen this operetta was in the summer of the year 2000, when I was an eleven-year-old going into sixth grade. I loved the operetta at the time, but haven't given it much thought since. But yesterday in class, my classmate discussed how it is an example of Orientalism because it portrays Japan based on views held by westerners that are offensive to some Japanese. As soon as he said that, my mind immediately jumped to the female lead's name, which is Yum-Yum. My classmate said that the operetta became hugely popular in England upon release; however, when a member of the Japanese royal family came to visit Japan in the late 1800s, all performances were temporarily suspended because society knew that the production would offend him. I am now curious to see the operetta again and reevaluate my opinion based on what I learned in class yesterday.

Last night Otousan pulled out the wind-up battery-powered radio/alarm, and we all took turns winding it up around the dinner table as we watched the evening news for the latest typhoon updates. We wouldn't know for sure if school was going to be cancelled or not until this morning, but we watched the projected path of the typhoon on the television screen, and it looked as though it could come toward Kobe.

After dinner I was sitting at the table doing homework when I noticed that the wind had become really strong. I started feeling a little nervous, so I told Okaasan and Otousan that I would head back into my room in my separate area of the house for the night so I could get in safely before the storm hit. Otousan handed me a huge, red flashlight and told me to take it to my room for safety. He also cautioned me to take a shower sooner rather than later because no one knew if or when we would lose power. The imminent storm draws closer, yet one of the most pressing matters in people's minds is cleanliness. I told Otousan that if we lost power and I still hadn't taken a shower, I would just go stand outside for a minute.

The wind was howling away last night, and as it was coming from the north and the east, my windows were rattling especially loudly. The wind would blow very strongly for a while, then stop, then pick up a short while later. I still heard cars and motorbikes from the street outside my window, though, so there were a few daredevils out last night. The rain was coming down pretty hard, but not so much so that it completely obstructed one's vision. I had trouble falling asleep, though because the wind was quite loud.

This morning I woke up early to the sound of a gentle rain falling outside. By nine thirty or so, the rain had stopped, and an hour later the sun was shining brightly overhead. So the typhoon is all gone from the Kansai region, but now it's in the Kantou area, near Tokyo, and also hitting Nagano prefecture. I heard Otousan's mother lost power in her home in Nagano.

Morning lessons were cancelled for me, and Otousan and Yoko have the entire day off of school. I, however, must report to university for my fifth period class this afternoon. So ends my first typhoon experience.

I did not feel very well on Monday, and yesterday I just got caught up in living life in Japan (I had a wonderfully normal day), so I have not posted a blog entry since Sunday.

On Sunday evening I did not sleep very much, and then I ate a huge bag of doughnuts on Monday afternoon, so my tiredness and the energy crash I experienced about an hour after eating the doughnuts left me with a big headache. I went to sleep early on Monday evening and felt refreshed on Tuesday when I woke up.

I decided on Sunday evening after staying up really late finishing homework and studying kanji that the Japanese class in which I currently study is too difficult for me. I do not even know all the concepts or kanji the students in the second highest class study, so why am I in the highest class? Then on Monday morning I received my grade for my second test, and I was quite pleased. I still think that the Japanese class is very hard, but I'll take this next test two days from today and see how I do on that test. If I do well again, maybe my current class is doable with a lot of work on my part.

Yesterday evening Okaasan taught me how to make okonomiyaki. It is literally a meat, seafood, and vegetable pancake, and the batter is made of egg and flour. I believe okonomiyaki may be a sort of style of cooking as well, because you can incorporate many types of vegetables and meats into the pancake to cater to one's own liking, and there are many okonomiyaki restaurants across the country. But back to last night, I was beginning to feel a little antsy while preparing dinner because Okaasan was doing most of the cooking and I was just watching. I know it's her kitchen, and she's probably used to doing things her way, so she may feel that she does not need help in preparing dinner, but I want to experience Japanese cooking in a hands-on sort of way. But after watching her cook four of the pancakes (one is similar in size to a buttermilk pancake, but thicker), she said she needed to pick up Otousan at the train station, and she handed me the bamboo spatula. I was able to cook two by myself while she was out of the house. She still won't let me use the gas stove if no one is home, but it was fine for me to use this iron pan because it plugs into the wall. I did a good job cooking the okonomiyaki, according to Okaasan, so I was happy to have that opportunity.

There's supposed to be a typhoon coming in tomorrow morning, and accompanying the typhoon will be extremely strong winds. School may be cancelled tomorrow, but I'm not sure yet. I'll watch the news tonight and find out for sure tomorrow morning. I've never experienced a typhoon before, so I'm feeling slightly anxious right now.

I've been spending a lot of time with Okaasan lately. Yesterday evening she allowed me to cook niku jaga with her. It's a type of beef stew, but maybe the liquid isn't as thick as stew. It includes carrots. potatoes, and onions. The sauce is made from osake, mirin (a sweet, cooking alcohol), soy sauce, and sugar (not white sugar, not brown sugar, but something in between). It doesn't seem too difficult to cook, but I don't have a recipe yet, and I have cooked it only one time, so I don't know if I'll be able to reproduce the recipe upon return to the U.S. Okaasan also taught me how to grill whole eggplants and then skin and season them. I happen to not care for the scent after the eggplant is grilled, however, so even though it's easy to cook and season the eggplant, I doubt I'll reproduce that dish too often.

Tonight Otousan and Yoko were horseback riding at the barn during dinner time, so Okaasan and I ate together. We discussed the population problem in Japan. I told her what I learned last year in class about women not wanting to put children through the strict, stressful education system, and about women not wanting to marry a man only to rarely see him because he works such long hours with a company. Okaasan said in the past, it was socially acceptable and encouraged to get married, and it was even better for a woman's social position if she married and raised children. Now, however, it is also socially fashionable to be a single, working woman who can provide for herself with her own salary. This concept, coupled with the slow but steady push for gender equality in the workplace, is surely making it more desirable for women to have their own jobs. That, in addition to the points I mentioned that I learned at U of I last year, have probably contributed a fair amount to the population decrease.

Okaasan doesn't feel very confident in the new government's ability to ameliorate the population problem. She feels that it's too early to form an opinion, but she senses that some voters may have chosen Hatoyama based on promises he made during his campaign. These promises could provide temporary relief, but they will not solve the long-term problem. For example, the new government declared that it will give each family a certain number of yen for each child in the family who is of elementary or middle school age. Okaasan thinks that many citizens voted for Hatoyama based on policies such as this. Those voters may see the immediate benefits of such a course of action, but they are failing to look at long term issues or ways that the money could be better spent. Okaasan said that families of elementary school and middle school children may not need the money as much as families with university-aged children do, because university tuition is quite expensive. Instead of using that money to fund their children's educations, families may use the money for vacations, or other sorts of expenses. Okaasan also said that the money could be used on other issues, such as too-large classes in schools. There are currently classes with forty students and one teacher, but the money going to families with young children could instead be used to divide those large classes into two classes of twenty students per every teacher. Maybe a Japanese person's opinion depends upon his or her personal situation, but this is what I have heard thus far, and I find it interesting.

But enough politics for now. I have to take a shower and study kanji before I go to sleep.

I decided to relax today after a hectic day yesterday. I went to a Japanese-style bazaar with Okaasan this morning. Every year, there is a bazaar held at a middle school, high school, and college complex about a half hour train ride from Okaasan's home. The bazaar is usually held in May, but this year the bazaar was postponed because one high school student in Kobe came down with the swine flu, so the entire city went on lockdown. Okaasan told me that everyone wore face masks, and that the usually crowded city center in Sannomiya became empty. The scene was lively this morning, however, as many vendors brought handmade foods, crafts, and other items such as clothing and household accessories to sell at the bazaar. I didn't buy anything, but I enjoyed looking at the jewelry, stationery, household items, and sweets. I also helped Okaasan pick out a pearl necklace for herself.

In the afternoon I went to my host cousin Ayako's home. She lives right across the street from Okaasan and Otousan, and she is Okaasan's cousin. She plays piano very beautifully, and we had previously picked out four pieces to learn together. Two pieces are Japanese melodies, one traditional and one from an anime program, but the other two were Ave Maria and Csàrdàs by Monti. It was very difficult to play Ave Maria, I felt as though I was adding no emotional sensitivity or musicality to the piece.

I'll be at home for the rest of the weekend, relaxing, cleaning up my room, studying, catching up on journal entries, doing laundry, and practicing violin.

Yesterday evening I had an interesting conversation with Otousan. Otousan is a teacher, and he teaches biology at an all-boys high school in Osaka, which is about twenty minutes away from Kobe by train. I told Otousan and Okaasan that in the U.S., there is a day called "Take Your Daughter to Work Day" during which fathers occasionally bring their daughters with them to the fathers' work places. I asked my host parents if such a day existed in Japan, and they said no. I asked if I could accompany Otousan to work to view a biology lesson, and he said definitely not. I asked why, and Otousan replied that I would create a disturbance. I told him I had not attracted the attention of a single Japanese boy thus far during my stay in Japan, and Otousan said that this is not true, but I simply don't know that I'm attracting the attention of Japanese boys because they are shy and because it is not polite to simply tell a woman that she is beautiful. Otousan said that according to most Japanese boys, I fit into the biijin, or beautiful person, category. I told Otousan that in the United States I am just average looking, but Otousan said that here in Japan I would be considered a beautiful person by most Japanese boys, so if I went to Otousan's work to view a biology lesson, no lesson would take place because all the boys would be distracted by my presence since I am a foreigner. I exclaimed that this is the students' fault for considering me good-looking, and Otousan responded that it is my fault for being good-looking. What an interesting conversation...

Today I took my second Japanese language test within my language class. This test was harder than the last, and it took me a long time to complete compared to the previous test. I think that this class is too hard for me. I've been studying a lot, and I'm still not receiving the grades I desire. But I want to be in this high-level class, so as long as the studying doesn't kill me, I should stick with it and devote as much time as possible to studying while still maintaing a social life. After all, I did come to Japan to learn Japanese.

Also, my Japanese teacher told our class today about a recent undertaking of hers. She and another Japanese teacher, who lives in Osaka, are creating a website for learning advanced Japanese. This use of this website does not include tuition fees, and thus my teacher hopes it will gain popularity. She is hoping that this website will be useful for people in African and Asian countries where citizens may have had an opportunity to study basic Japanese, but they cannot afford a study abroad trip in Japan and must continue their language studies in some other way. My teacher hopes that this website will also be useful for students who wish to study Japanese but are too busy with other primary majors in school. My teacher created a website with Japanese stories, and the stories are accompanied by furigana, the written hiragana, or Japanese alphabet, translations for kanji, as well as the English meaning for kanji. This will help students improve their Japanese comprehension without studying in a classroom setting. I feel proud to have a teacher who is involved in such a project. I hope her website will be a success.