An Interesting Couple of Days

Maybe I gave the warning a little too early that things would die down . . . this weekend so far has been quite eventful. Sorry for the length!!

We had our unit quiz on Thursday. I didn’t know everything perfectly, but I’m sure I did well enough to pass, which is all that really matters in this course. We luckily got her to agree to spread the unit quizzes out over each day so there is less to memorize per day, so that will hopefully be pretty helpful. Thursday was pretty uneventful and after a day at class, we went to a ramen store. Ramen in Japan is so much better than the instant ramen we make at home. It normally has some type of meat and veggies along with it, and the broth tastes a lot better. The best part is that I can get a big bowl of ramen that always fills me up for only 185 yen (less than $2).

Afterwards, I headed back to my room because I had gotten into the climax of 1984 and I felt that I had to finish reading it. Comments on the book – I liked it all the way through, but I could care less for the ending. After finishing 1984, I went to the lounge where the SGE students and my fellow students were watching some type of Japanese old samurai movie. It was really funny. I came late to it though, so I have no idea what its name is.

Friday, I woke up and packed for our trip to Anamizu. We had a short culture class in the morning and then we got on a bus to spend an overnight stay in Anamizu. Kanazawa is on the edge of a fairly large peninsula, and Anamizu is a town that is farther up on the island area of the peninsula. KIT has a training facility there. (Don’t ask me what they use it to train for at an institute of technology, but who knows?!?)

We first rode the bus to Daijo-ji, a Buddhist temple in Kanazawa. It was over 300 years old with ornate Japanese architecture. It was beautiful. The monks of the temple gave us a tour around the temple, and showed us their Buddha house which is a national treasure or something. It was beautiful. After the tour, we had a tutoring session with the head monk on how to perform “sanzen” (a type of meditation).

Every part of the meditation had certain rules on how to do it. There was a certain way to get up onto the raised platform of tatami where the sanzen was performed. Also there was bowing a turning and hopping and all sorts of fun stuff. The proper way to sit for meditation is where you are cross-legged with your feet over your thighs. While we meditated, we were supposed to essentially not pay any heed to the world and let the sounds go in one ear and out the other.

It was a really neat experience. The monks really tried to have us achieve a good idea of what the life was like there, and it was really neat how they gave up their lives to be as they were. They start sanzen every morning at 4 am. There is no closing of eyes in sanzen either, so sleeping is strictly forbidden. They actually have a monk that walks around with a stick in case you fall asleep. We only did it for about 5-10 minutes, but you really got a taste of it.

Next, we got back on the charter bus to head to Anamizu until we stopped about an hour later at Nanao Fisherman’s wharf. It was basically a Japanese style mall with a fish market on the first floor. I got a ramune bottle, which makes me happy. The place reeked of fish, which doesn’t particularly strike my fancy, but it was a nice break from the bus ride.

After getting on the bus again and riding for another hour or so, we arrived at the compound. The rodes were so interesting, because these islands are made out of volcanoes and therefore there is no beach, it goes from mountain right into the sea. There’s no coast and no flat area for roads. The whole ride was with a mountain on one side and the sea on the other – very pretty.

We arrived at Anamizu and bowed ourselves in. This place is so traditional Japanese. Once we came inside, we took off our shoes and placed them in cubby holes and traded them with slippers to use inside. In our room, there were 3 bunk beds, 6 lockers, and a 3-matt tatami floor. The toilets were all Japanese style – a hole in the ground with flushing capabilities, practically. And when you entered the toilet room (because it’s not really a bathroom or a restroom), you had to change into different slippers.

Once we partially moved in, we had a welcoming meeting, where we were told of our responsibilities while being there. Because the compound has a small staff, we would clean everything ourselves. Everything down to folding the blankets and making our beds was very regimental. After the meeting, we had free time in which my group just sat around on the tatami and talked.

Once the SGE students came, the fun began. We helped them move quickly, and then we moved down to the sea edge to have a “barbeque”. It was very Japanese style – so much seafood that I’d never even consider eating, but there was also some good stuff for us. BEEF – gosh, there’s no beef in this country, I swear, but gosh, did it taste good off the grill. As well as corn and chicken and unions. Yummy. I spent the whole time grilling just because I enjoyed it, and I like the small chat you get to talk to while you’re busy. I don’t like the awkward silences we get when trying to talk to the Japanese students, and if you’re both busy or giving out food or something, it’s much more easy to relax and have a good time.

The barbeque was really fun, and in the Japanese style, we cleaned up after ourselves afterward. You have no idea how fast things can get done until you ask a group of Japanese students to clean up. They’ve been cleaning up after themselves for their whole lives and you can tell. Right from elementary school, they begin help cleaning the school every day. I’ve never seen an area cleaned up so quickly.

I didn’t notice until we went back inside how much I reeked of fish. I hadn’t noticed it by the grill and I didn’t eat any fish, but the cooking of the fish definitely showed on my clothes and me. I was ready for a shower. One problem – in this compound, everything is Japanese style, including the baths, which means they are public! At least there was no mixing of genders, but I definitely felt a little uncomfortable for a while. The bath felt nice though – like a hot tub.

Afterwards, we went over to someone else’s room for games a Japanese snacks. One of my SGE roommates had brought Japanese snacks to share and we played “batsu” (punishment) games. If you lost and you were a guy, we got to paint your fingernails, and if you were a girl, you had to eat some really hot snacks. I got lucky and never lost, but I painted a few fingernails, hehe. Tried a few yummy Japanese snacks as well, so it was a good night.

We were woken up at 630 by a PA announcement that was one of the longest I’ve heard ever. I swear the music lasted at least 5 minutes. I guess there’s no snooze button at the compound. We headed down to the gym at 7 for a traditional morning meeting. We did “rajio taiso” (morning exercises) as a group, which was essentially a series of stretches that most Japanese do at their school or office to start off their day. I hadn’t done it since Mrs. Semba’s class in high school, and it was a nice little exercise.

After rajio taiso, it was time for our cleaning chores. Each room was assigned to a specific area to clean. Our room got the “ofuro” or bathroom, so we got to spray it down and squiji (sp?) it clean. Afterwards, we went up to our room to fold our blankets properly for inspection.

Finally it was time for breakfast, and luckily there was some bread besides the traditional Japanese breakfast, which normally involves some kind of soup, salad, fish or eggs. I got to make some toast, which was excellent. Then it was time to head for our culture class for the day (yes, it is a Saturday and we did have to have class because we’re in Japan). The class was on religion in Japan, and I had a lot of trouble staying awake, but so did the SGE students as well, so it was quite humorous.

After the lecture was finally over, we got to head back down by the sea for a bay cruise. We took lots of pictures, and the boat was very nice. It was like any other bay cruise of the liking, and the scenery was very close to any other cruise along a not so populated area. We saw two different bridges, which they made sure to point out because one of our projects is to make a bridge with a Japanese partner that we’ve been paired up with.

Then it was time for lunch after we got back. Of course, it was curry, which I don’t really like so I had a large lunch of rice for a meal. Sometimes I’m too picky for my own good, but I’m getting better, and it was just the spiciness that got me this time. I ate a little, but then my mouth was burning and I had to go buy a drink.

Soon it was time to head back to KIT. We had only one bus on the way here because the SGE students had to come up later, but this time we had two buses to take us back, and we could ride either, mixing the students. We ended up on the Japanese bus because Americans all save their seats really early. It was really fun on the way back. We played a card game with them that I’m sure I’ve played before in the states, but I don’t know what it’s called, but in following with all my card training, I did pretty well at shocking the Japanese students with my playing skills.

In the middle of the bus ride, we stopped at a rest stop, where I got the type of ice cream that I had gotten the time the bird stole it, and it was very good, in its entirety this time. We then got back on the bus and Robyn and I decided to do a bit of studying. The Japanese students had fun trying to help us on elementary shapes and terms, and they teased us about the dialogue that we had to practice. They were a lot of fun.

After we arrived back at KIT, it was time to head out for the Hyakumangoku festival, a historical annual festival in Kanazawa. There was supposed to be a parade with Odori dancers, but because it was rainy, it was canceled, but of course, we didn’t find this out until we had already spent the 330 yen to get to downtown Kanazawa. We decided to go down the roads and roads of food tents that were set up for the events and grab supper. It was like the midway, with lots of yummy foods that are for fair-like things. It was really fun going down the sidewalks and ordering random foods from the vendors.

We were hoping to head to karaoke after grabbing dinner but the leaders of the group decided not to because it was too expensive because it was a holiday weekend. Hopefully, we’ll have another chance. While most of the group headed back to campus, Robyn and I wandered around for a little through the stores. There was one store that was solely devotes to selling socks! Nothing else – just socks. It was amazing, and we had walked by it before, but this was our first chance to go in. I bought the cutest socks ever, and you’ll have to ask me to see them sometime! We found out that on a Saturday night in Kanazawa, everything closes at 8 so we were kind of forced to head back around then.

We took a bus back to campus, but it didn’t really go all the way back to campus, and we were lucky to have found campus from where we were, but we did it. I think Robyn and I are getting pretty good at getting around Japan together. Knowing more the spoken and written language definitely helps, and it really encourages us to keep up our studying!

Well, off to more events of the night . . . maybe, sleep!

I miss you all!!