October is already halfway over??

Hm, since last time I wrote I have

1. Seen the Phantom of the Opera in Japanese

2. Experienced true izakaya-style yakitori dining (this included chicken heart, which is tastier than it sounds)

3. Attempted to understand my host-grandmother's Nagoya-ben (Nagoya dialect)

4. Made homemade pizza for a friend's host family (and getting to play a legit shakuhachi flute!)

5. Made Nicaraguan food for my okaasan

6. Traveled to Ise--location of the Ise-jingu, one of Japan's most prominent Shinto shrines (http://www.google.com/images?num=10&hl=en&q=ise+jingu&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=649)

7. Crossed the entire city of Nagoya on bicycle with my okaasan to see the Nagoya matsuri (Nagoya's 400-year anniversary festival), in which we saw Nagoya castle, a parade with traditional Japanese dances and puppets, the geisha look-alikes parading Oosukannon Buddhist temple, weaving in and out of kimono shops, getting interviewed for an English online news-blog, eating delicious festival food...

8. Saw a Noh play called Hagoromo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagoromo_(play)) with okaasan at the local Buddhist temple. The beginning was Buddhist chants followed by setting fire to a huge stack of wood while the taiko drums and shinobue flutes were played. The sticks people wrote their hopes on were thrown into the fire (in hopes that they'll be answered!), then the play began. I didn't understand it, and nothing much happens on stage but the actors singing to each other to the beat of 2 types of ceremonial drums (not quite sure of the significance of the drums) . Then at the end more hope-sticks are thrown in the fire to taiko and shinobue music. Then we ate delicious octopus, yakisoba, and some sort of shrimp-cracker-egg-mayonnaise thing.

The days are always packed. Japanese classes still continue to provide me with constant homework, and I've been part of the first round of presentations in my other classes, so the load is bigger than usual. But it's all truly interesting, I love all my classes!

Here are some favorite pictures:

Exploring a little

This weekend was time for Katie to play tourist! I am so lucky to have the host-family situation that I do, I was only able to do all of this with the help of my okaasan's family!

Last week, my host sister Hiromi and her husband Tadasuke was visiting from the Numadu area near Shizuoka. That's the area where Mt. Fuji (Fujisan) is. So after we spent the week hanging out together (I made homemade tortillas and huevos rancheros for everybody!), okaasan and I hitched a ride back with them to Shizuoka and we did some sight-seeing on the way there. We first stopped at a huge shrine in Fujioka where I saw the biggest tori (holy gates) and clearest spring waters in my life. Then we went to see a basin where waterfalls gushed from all sides, where we sat at the top of the falls to eat the specialty of the area, yakisoba. In the afternoon, we drove halfway up Mt. Fuji, where we climbed a little bit (not far :P), and marveled at the view of the cloud-tops--so high up that it was almost like looking out from an airplane! Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries for all of this, so you will just have to use your imagination to see this all...



The next day okaasan's sister, sister's daughter, mother, and father all came to visit! Then Tadasuke's mom, dad, grandpa, and younger brother showed up, and they all sat on the living room floor meeting and greeting for a couple of hours...it was rather taxing on my energy, especially since I didn't understand the dialects of the more elderly participants. We all watched Hiromi and Tadasuke's wedding video (they were married in the Great Barrier Reef Chapel in Austrailia!), and headed off to lunch at the harbor. I got to try sea urchin for the first time, which has a flavor that is a cross between plastic and Expo Markers. Needless to say, my okaasan got to finish the rest of my urchin. Afterward, we all went to an outdoor statue museum/garden hybrid and wandered around (goro-goro shita, in Japanese...I love Japanese onomatopoeia words!) for an hour or so before getting ice cream and heading back home. The trip there and back was about 3.5 hours each way, but okaasan and I were so lucky to have rides both way! I only spent $8 the whole time on my museum pass, the rest was a treat from okaasan's family. They are all such sweet people, I'm so lucky to hang out with them!

Monday and Tuesday were just classes, impromptu yoga class with friends, random adventures to Vietnamese food and a (cheap!) izakaya. Today after classes ended I went to ramen with a group of friends from my America as a Foreign Country class--my first time getting ramen in Japan, whodathunkit--then took off on my bike to run around Nagoya. I wound my way to Higashi-Betsuin, a huge Buddhist temple that was built in the 1690. It was rather empty, and the doors to the temple were closed so I couldn't see much of the gold ornaments and tatami mats that are usually inside temples, so I just wandered around the grounds for a while, donating a few yen and paying respects by clapping and bowing. The outside was absolutely gorgeous, I plan on returning on the weekend when it will be open for ceremonies. Next I found a random temple in the area. The temple was of a Southeast Asian style, and its tall towers made it incredibly easy to spot it from the main road. It was really special to be the only visitor walking its grounds, I love the ornate decorations and the scent of tatami in the main rooms. All the pictures of the temples in the blog are of the temple.







Otherwise, I've just been having better conversations with my okaasan now that my Japanese is improving everyday. I love living here. Nagoya is a fantastic city to explore, the more and more I delve into Japanese culture the more I fall in love with it.

Until next time, jaa mata!

Oh yeah, I'm going to school

I'm now two weeks into my regular seminar courses! Since I'm in a lower level of Japanese, I am taking these in English. I doubt I could understand a lick of a teacher talking about if America as a Foreign Country, Political and Social Issues of Japan, or Japanese Religions were taught in Japanese. I am taking a hanga (woodblock printing) course in Japanese, but that requires little interaction between me and my sensei.

I am so extremely excited for my courses! America as a Foreign Country and Political and Social Issues of Japan are with the same professor, a native Japanese man who speaks perfect English teaches it, and the course is half exchange students and half Japanese students who speak English fluently (because they are British and American Studies majors). I've already made a few friends from these classes and they showed me around downtown and did yoga with me :)

The hanga course is so much fun, I've wanted to do hanga since I saw a Yoshitoshi art exibit in California (http://www.google.co.jp/images?q=yoshitoshi&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=ja&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=649). All we've done yet is a woodblock print of our names, but it was still so much fun! We carved out a piece of balsa wood, put a bit of glue and ink on it, and after we rubbed it in we stamped it on a piece of paper. I missed having art class...

Then last, my Japanese Religions class is incredibly interesting. My teacher is an Indian man educated in Britain who is working in Japan, so his perspective is fantastic. The lecture is 2 1/2 hours long once a week, but I am always interested through to the end of class. It's nice learning about these things, especially when I go to temples. You gain a new appreciation for cultural things when you know their history.

Not much else going on for me besides studying! Hopefully I'll be able to update you all more soon :)

Long time no see!

Sorry this took so long to get up! It seems like life took me by storm the past couple weeks. What I am doing is a college education and a vacation all at once.

Since I last wrote, I've begun my Japanese classes! I've had about a week and 2 days of it. I got into 300 level, and it seems like the work there is the level of difficulty that I need.

I've also been running around experiencing Japan! Kazuno has taken me shopping and bought me an adorable skirt, and okaasan took me hiking and bike riding. I've also been cooking with okaasan (logging all the recipes, of course :D), and running around with friends experiencing the area. Me and my friends Taylor, Whitney, and Melody met a girl in the film-making club, Maki, at "coffee hour", which is where exchange students can meet Japanese students. We went to one of those meetings and ran around Nagoya with Maki, Anna (Maki's friend from another school), and Takumi (another film-club student).



Then, this weekend we went to Kanazawa, all the way on the North side of Honshu. It was a busy couple days, and a lot of time in the bus. It's a town both on the outskirts of the Japanese Alps and close to the coast of the Sea of Japan. We wandered through the fish market, made gold leaf boxes, relaxed in the outdoor hot springs, went to a famous garden in the area, and drank matcha tea in a historical district. I got to try black sesame and tofu ice-cream. It all was wonderful. I wish I got to see more of the mountains, though. But me and my friend Chris are going to start hiking on the weekends around Nagoya, so all is well.



Otherwise, I have my final test today to keep me in 300 (which better happen, because 200 is just going over everything I've already learned...) And I got me inkan, hooray! It says Kasurin, or "singing festival bell" :)




Jaa Mata!

Lotsa Japanese....

Where to start?

Well, took the placement test, though I took the 200-level test. I thought 200-level was actually 200-level, while it turns out that it, in fact, is 100-level. Sooo I felt really stupid afterwards since we had the choice of what test to take, but apparently they'll test and re-test us during the first week of class. Lucky us. At least it means we should be in the right level!

Either way, my okaasan and Kazuno (my ane, or older sister) are great teachers, so I at least have adjusted to hearing and speaking Japanese, though I haven't even gotten to the point of understanding everyday things. This is soon to come, I hope!

Otherwise, the past couple days of orientation before the weekend was just meeting people and going over stuff in our welcome packet. So basically zone-out time, except for when we ordered our inkan for making a bank account. Kazuno helped me come up with name kanji for it, so I shall be--from now on--formally known as 歌須鈴 (Kasurin, pronounced like Kathryn), which basically means singing festival bell. Hooray! Basically, an inkan is the small stone block that has your name carved on the bottom, so you can stamp official documents with it. It's the red mark you see on a lot of asian paintings.

Also, I don't know how I forgot to mention this, but my okaasan got a brand new Panasonic electric bicycle just so we could both ride our bikes places together! It's a pretty sweet ride, cherry red with a little bell in front. It's especially sweet since I was thinking of even buying a bike while I am here! So, after orientation Thursday and Friday I rode my bike around, and went running in the morning Friday. I'd say by now I'm a little acquainted with the area, especially since okaasan, Kazuno, Kazuno's baby Yuno, and I rode the Chikatetsu (subway) around all weekend to go shopping in Sakae and to go to the Thai festival. I'm not used to cities this old, and it seems like there's a little surprise around every corner. Especially memorable was when I ran across a huge graveyard going up a hill and climbed it just in time for seeing sunset over part of Nagoya. I didn't have my camera, sorry :(



being a dork on my bike


My host family is super nice and helpful, and we've definitely been eating well. Obaasan and Obasan (Grandma and aunt) came to visit and brought cake, and ever since we've had it every day between breakfast and lunch! Okaasan made lotus root one day with a sweet sauce that was sooo good--super crunchy. Plus Saturday I made pancakes and eggs over easy with dried cherry cookies for dessert for okaasan, Kazuno, and Kazuno's husband Akashi and they loved it. I think pancakes are universally delicious. Yay for pancakes!

Otherwise, I have discovered nashi, a Japanese pear that's crunchy and big like an apple. It's the greatest thing ever.





Jaa mata!

日本語をあまりおもいおもいだしていません。。。

That first line means I don't really remember Japanese...

But! I completely lucked out on my host family, though I'll get to that in a moment. We'll do this in an orderly fashion.

When I last left off, we just went to dinner (dipped stuff in raw eggs, surprisingly delicious), then onsen, then passed out.

Went for a run before breakfast and saw a Japanese graveyard, it was gorgeous. Then breakfast, Mika party (Mika like the singer, you gotta know them!), pack, and go! We went to Nanzan University (finally), and were called one by one to our host family members. When I was called, I was instantly greeted by a hug from my host mother, Ryoko! Her daughter, Kazuno, and Kazuno's baby were with her, and they both walked with me to Ryoko's apartment. It's literally across the street from the university, how lucky am I. Some of the others got a 1 hour commute!


My meal with my okaasan


Me n' okaasan!


my room

We dropped off my stuff in my room, and Ryoko (from now on I'll call her Okaasan, because that's what she wants me to call her :) It means mother) sat me down and wrote down the things I will and will not eat. Then we took a taxi to a traditional and exceedingly fancy restaurant, where you sit on the floor and the area below the table is built lower for your feet. We ate the best meal I've had yet here, a smorgasbord of sashimi, kabocha soup, seaweed, custard, you name it. Then we finished with ice cream and ooh was it good. Afterward, we went to register me as an alien resident, which was an adventure in my Japanese skills, but Okaasan was really helpful and helped me fill everything out. Then they took me to the Hyakuken (100 yen or 1 dollar store) where I bought pretty stationary, and afterwards to the grocery store to buy food for dinner. We kept using the subway, so it was good practice, and they were quite patient with my awful Japanese, helping me out when they knew the English words for things. Their English is pretty good, they've travelled a bit in Austrailia, so I'm assuming that helped. When we went home, I put everything away and studied Japanese. My host mom is so warm and my room is so cozy, this place really feels like home!

Tomorrow is the Japanese placement test, wish me luck! Jaa mata :)

Japan...whaat?

Hey all!

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, it's because I was packing up and moving to JAPAN!

That's right, 日本, land of wonderful delicious food, toilets that clean you (so you don't have to...?), tatami rooms...you dream it, it is part of the Japanese fairytale.

When I first got here, I didn't do much but go to my super posh hotel room and get a rental phone. The next day, though, I woke up looking for someone to hang out with before breakfast (since it was quite early). No one was around, so I went out for a walk. As I am obviously gaijin (foreign), my new friend Tooru came up and just started speaking English to me! He's a Nagoya native, and started telling me about the area. He showed me around a Buddhist shrine, and then drove me around Nagoya Castle--all before breakfast! My first Japanese meal was quite good, especially the fried noodle/shrimp things and the hojicha (Japanese morning tea). Also, all the people in our IES Abroad group are just really motivated and warm, too. I feel like everyone just wants to be friends right off the bat, there's been none or very little of the awkward "getting-to-know-you" time. We all packed onto a bus to Inuyama, and that is where I have been.

Our traditional Japanese inn (Ryokan) is right off the banks of the Japanese Rhine, and our rooms inside are traditional tatami ones with the rice paper screens, a sitting area, and toilets that will spray your behind (no joke...I don't think I'll try it more than once). We get tea and tea snacks every day :) The first day we did orientation, some Japanese lessons, then had some of free time in which we explored shrines close to where we are staying. We followed this by a super delicious traditional Japanese dinner, a dip in the onsen (Japanese hot spring) that is part of the ryokan, and tea time with the roommates.

The second day, we had Japanese classes in the morning after breakfast. For lunch, we trekked to the nearest conbini (convenience store) to grab lunch. Then we went to Inuyama-Jou (Inuyama castle) to hear about the history and tour it. It is a 400+ year old castle overlooking the Japanese Rhine with simple but beautiful architecture. From there, we watched a impromptu puppet show about a drunken sprite (who changes faces from white to red through a mask hidden in his chest). The puppet-masters even let me play a ridiculously expensive drum and pull the puppet strings! Then we went to a traditional tea ceremony. I was absolutely not able to sit on my feet the whole time, or understand all the instructions. But basically, we washed our hands Buddhist-style, bowed to the guest's sumi-e pictures, then took our seats. Then we were served a little snack, which we ate rather ceremoniously from a pretty piece of paper. Then we watched the tea master make the tea and drank it (3 gulps, then you turn the clean cup over to admire the craftsmanship). We got to make our own cup of tea to serve to the staff...my drinker was ridiculously nice and kept telling me how good it was. Then we toured a history museum and hung out around the ryokan for an hour or so.

For dinner, we all climbed onto traditional Inuyama riverboats and had a huge bentou dinner with lots of fish. Thank god there were little containers to put what we didn't eat away, since that's what I had for lunch today! After we finished, we lit the lamps in the boat's ceiling and went to a resting place where we played Egyptian Rat Slap while the tables were put away in the boat. When we got back on, it was dark out, and we watched the cormorant fisher's boats. They light a huge fire in a cage that is in the front of their boats, and one person keeps 10 or so cormorant birds on leashes while they dive in the water for fish. When a bird catches one, they take the fish from its mouth and put it back in the water. I'm pretty sure we were eating some of the fish they caught. When we returned, we went to the onsen again :)

So basically, I am becoming a tea and onsen addict, and Japan seems to definitely be a dream world. Tomorrow I go to meet my host family, I can't wait to see how that will go down! Mata ne!

Welcome to KT's Travel Blog! (I'll think of a more creative name later)

As some of you may know, I am very bad about maintaining long-distance communication. So, I'd like to provide an all-encompassing account for you all to follow. Please please please email me with comments and conversations, I don't want this to be a one way thing! I'm at ktehrlich@gmail.com.

THE TRAVEL MENU:

First up: Playa Gigante, Nicaragua. June 21st-August 6th.

DU Geography Professor Matthew Taylor began this as a sister project to his work with DU in Guatemala (http://www.geography.du.edu/taylor/Site/home.html). Basically, this particular trip is a student-led project, and our group will be using DU research grants to create a fully functional and sustainable organic garden and nearby structures. The premise of the project is giving back to the local fishing community by generating produce and income. The locals paid a small fee for ownership of part of the garden, and they are to be an integral part of the formulation of our project and the work we do.

I am not sure how often I will have internet while I am there, but I will take every opportunity to communicate here and on email.

I will also be quite safe. I am with a group of DU students and graduates that I completely trust, and we are not the first group of students to work on this garden. Taylor and volunteer students have been working on this project for nearly a year now. The community knows Taylor and DU, as well as a couple students coming with us, and they are very warm and welcoming.

I expect this to be an immense learning experience for me. I will get to experience hands-on the concepts I have been learning about in classes like Ecology, Feeding the World, and Peacebuilding. I want to be able to incorporate myself into the local culture as much as possible by speaking Spanish and spending time with community residents. I think that is the part I am most excited about. Should be amazing!



Second up: Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan. August 27th-May.

My Junior/Senior year will be spent in--that's right--Japan!

Nanzan University started as a Christian Missionary school, and eventually evolved into a well-known and respected international learning institution (http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/). I will be travelling with the Institute for International Education of Students (IES Abroad). Basically, they connected me with Nanzan and help me organize all my paperwork.

This trip is particularly significant, because ever since my family hosted our first Japanese exchange student I have been in love with the country, and all aspects therein. I don't think there is any place that I have wanted to go as badly as Japan. Serendip had it that my high school taught the only public school Japanese language program in the county, so I of course took advantage of it. I learned under the fantastic guidance of my teachers Scott Harguth and Atsuko Frederick for 4 years. But in college, figuring I would without doubt study abroad in Japan, I learned Chinese and Spanish instead. And traveled many places, none of them Japan. Finally Japan is tangible, and that is in the form of Nanzan University!

I applied to a home-stay option, but I don't hear about that until August. What I do know is I will be taking intensive Japanese courses the whole time. My courses taught in Japanese will include those on Japanese literature, teaching English as a foreign language, and various art courses. My English-taught courses for my International Studies major will be Japanese Economy, Japanese Foreign Policy, Japanese Politics, Political and Social Issues of Japan, Asia and Japan in American Foreign Relations, and Japanese Religions. I want to participate in clubs, language learning partners, and volunteerism as well.

But the food. The foooood. That will certainly be one of my favorites.

Japan will be foodie heaven. You will hear much about food.


Basically as the details roll in I will write about them. Watch my blog!!

Hooray for Google Maps!