On the tail end of my trip to Japan, I travelled with my parents to Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, and Okinawa. It was a rather busy 2 weeks, but we certainly got to enjoy a lot of famous places. We were also treated to fantastic hospitality by our former host students, Miki and Hiroko. Plus it was quite the experience being in Japan for the New Years, because that is just like our Christmas--it's a big deal.
But now I am back in Denver, and I've been attending my classes in English again. I truly, truly miss Japan, and I wish from the bottom of my heart that I could still be there. But the fact of the matter is that I must graduate first. And not only that, Japan is rather removed from the line of work I wish to enter. It is incredibly difficult to integrate into Japanese society without having lived there for years upon years and being fluent in Japanese, and even then you are probably just teaching English (not something that particularly strikes my fancy). So, as much as I love Japan and Japanese, that will most likely always be a hobby or vacation for me. Nevertheless I am just so thankful for this opportunity to have traveled there for close to free, and all of the incredible new lessons the study abroad experience had to offer me.
Stay tuned for the next trip, but until then it's time for me to buckle up and finish my degree!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wrapping the year up...
A week until Christmas, and school is still in session for me--quite the difference from being free after Thanksgiving as I have been the past couple years. But I already finished all my finals but my Japanese test tomorrow, which hopefully will go smoothly.
All the IES trips are done, so I haven't done much travelling. Mostly I've just been moseying around Nagoya trying to get a fill of my favorite things before I leave. This includes delicious Japanese food, shopping at Oosu Kannon market, going to en-nichi (or good day, a farmer's market-like affair) at the local Buddhist temple Koshoji, and haunting my favorite izakaya with good friends. The other day, since I had free time I rode my bike down to Heiwa Koen, a huge park full of walking trails with a gorgeous view of the Japanese Alps, next to a rolling cemetery. It was a beautiful, clear and sunny day, absolutely perfect for a long bike ride. I enjoy those peaceful times by myself to see the beauty of the place where I am living.
Soon it will be Christmas, and I feel it will be a warm one since the weather is so mild that the leaves are still turning. I'm planning on having a small Christmas with a couple friends from America, my German friend Maria, and Maria's German friends. We're going to make Christmas cookies and eggnog and celebrate until I leave Christmas evening for a night bus to Tokyo where I'll meet my parents.
When my parents come we'll spend two weeks traveling around Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Okinawa. We'll be spending the New Year celebrating in Kyoto! And in Kobe and Okinawa we'll be visiting our past exchange students Miki and Hiro, so we're all really excited to see these old friends! It should be a great way to enjoy Japan as much as possible before returning home in January.
Jaa Mata!
All the IES trips are done, so I haven't done much travelling. Mostly I've just been moseying around Nagoya trying to get a fill of my favorite things before I leave. This includes delicious Japanese food, shopping at Oosu Kannon market, going to en-nichi (or good day, a farmer's market-like affair) at the local Buddhist temple Koshoji, and haunting my favorite izakaya with good friends. The other day, since I had free time I rode my bike down to Heiwa Koen, a huge park full of walking trails with a gorgeous view of the Japanese Alps, next to a rolling cemetery. It was a beautiful, clear and sunny day, absolutely perfect for a long bike ride. I enjoy those peaceful times by myself to see the beauty of the place where I am living.
Soon it will be Christmas, and I feel it will be a warm one since the weather is so mild that the leaves are still turning. I'm planning on having a small Christmas with a couple friends from America, my German friend Maria, and Maria's German friends. We're going to make Christmas cookies and eggnog and celebrate until I leave Christmas evening for a night bus to Tokyo where I'll meet my parents.
When my parents come we'll spend two weeks traveling around Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Okinawa. We'll be spending the New Year celebrating in Kyoto! And in Kobe and Okinawa we'll be visiting our past exchange students Miki and Hiro, so we're all really excited to see these old friends! It should be a great way to enjoy Japan as much as possible before returning home in January.
Jaa Mata!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Still working on filling my quota of Japanese things
Hello all! Before this blog, I have gone to Kyoto, Nagoya port, Atsuta Jingu, Nagano, and basically ran around Nagoya. It's been a while since I last wrote, so I'll try to keep explanations short.
Kyoto was fantastic, I am definitely getting my money's worth by doing IES. And DU is paying for all of it! It's a sweet deal. We made hand-painted fans, saw Kinkaku-ji and Kiyomizu-dera, Nijo-jo Castle, and the bamboo forest at Arashiyama. We also got to speak to a Meiko and Geiko (Japanese words for apprentice geisha and geisha) and ride in a rickshaw around Arashiyama. Pretty stereotypical Kyoto experience, which of course is still fantastic.
Nagoya port was alright, it was rather industrial and didn't have much. We just went there and ate lunch. On the way back, there was a festival going on at Atsuta Jingu (one of Japan's most prominent shrines), so I stopped by there to check it out. An elderly Japanese man saw me when I walked in and said, "Hello! Wait for a second, I'm going to get coffee, then I'll show you around." I was rather surprised, but I'd have to say it's the best tour I've ever received in my life. The man is a retired structural engineer, and he took an hour and a half to explain the religious, structural, and cultural elements of each shrine in the entire Jingu. He also explained the festival, and we got to witness part of a Japanese style wedding. I am so blessed to have gotten such a thorough education there on Japanese cultural elements.
Then my okaasan took me to Kouranke to see the leaves turn for fall (this is called kouyou). My god was it gorgeous. We ate mochi, drank matcha, and basically just enjoyed the gorgeous fall weather.
Nagano is just a fantastically gorgeous place. We went to temples and shrines, I got to dip my feet in a foot-hot spring, then went to my friend's host family's friends (quite far removed) second home right outside the Japanese Alps. There, we had a Japanese-style barbecue (a grate inside a big wood table) and talked late. The next day, we went out walking, then drove to Magome, where there are some of the best views. Nagano reminds me a lot of Western Colorado, but different plants.
As far as school goes, I know I can give a mildly comprehensible presentation in Japanese, and I still absolutely love my classes. I'd have to say compared to DU, I'd much rather take classes at Nanzan. They are very serious about getting you a thorough education, and all my teachers are of the top quality.
Mata ato! Till next time.
Kyoto was fantastic, I am definitely getting my money's worth by doing IES. And DU is paying for all of it! It's a sweet deal. We made hand-painted fans, saw Kinkaku-ji and Kiyomizu-dera, Nijo-jo Castle, and the bamboo forest at Arashiyama. We also got to speak to a Meiko and Geiko (Japanese words for apprentice geisha and geisha) and ride in a rickshaw around Arashiyama. Pretty stereotypical Kyoto experience, which of course is still fantastic.
Nagoya port was alright, it was rather industrial and didn't have much. We just went there and ate lunch. On the way back, there was a festival going on at Atsuta Jingu (one of Japan's most prominent shrines), so I stopped by there to check it out. An elderly Japanese man saw me when I walked in and said, "Hello! Wait for a second, I'm going to get coffee, then I'll show you around." I was rather surprised, but I'd have to say it's the best tour I've ever received in my life. The man is a retired structural engineer, and he took an hour and a half to explain the religious, structural, and cultural elements of each shrine in the entire Jingu. He also explained the festival, and we got to witness part of a Japanese style wedding. I am so blessed to have gotten such a thorough education there on Japanese cultural elements.
Then my okaasan took me to Kouranke to see the leaves turn for fall (this is called kouyou). My god was it gorgeous. We ate mochi, drank matcha, and basically just enjoyed the gorgeous fall weather.
Nagano is just a fantastically gorgeous place. We went to temples and shrines, I got to dip my feet in a foot-hot spring, then went to my friend's host family's friends (quite far removed) second home right outside the Japanese Alps. There, we had a Japanese-style barbecue (a grate inside a big wood table) and talked late. The next day, we went out walking, then drove to Magome, where there are some of the best views. Nagano reminds me a lot of Western Colorado, but different plants.
As far as school goes, I know I can give a mildly comprehensible presentation in Japanese, and I still absolutely love my classes. I'd have to say compared to DU, I'd much rather take classes at Nanzan. They are very serious about getting you a thorough education, and all my teachers are of the top quality.
Mata ato! Till next time.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Oh the places...
Japan is just bursting with places to visit!
Two weekends ago, IES Abroad took us to visit Takayama, Shirakawa-go, and Gujo Hachiman. These are 3 towns north of Nagoya, closer to the Japanese Alps. Shirakawa-go is known for it's phenomenal snowfall, and the traditional thatch-roof houses built to withstand the cold and snow. Takayama is further North, and famous for it's agriculture (especially miso), Tokugawa-era shogunate administrative house, and--of course--the gorgeous nature surrounding it. And Gujo Hachiman...well...besides the fact that I ate some delicious dango on the street, it is known for "sampuru", the plastic food displays you see in front of a lot of restaurants here. We even had the opportunity to cover vaguely vegetable-looking pieces of plastic in wax (supposedly tempura) ourselves! Not quite sure what I'm going to do with that souvenir yet...
Shirakawa-go
My time in Takayama was quite memorable. This is because I love food, and there is a lot of great food in Takayama. I woke up extra early to wander around town a bit (I looked for places to hike, but we were too close to town...sad...), and stumbled upon the Sunday morning-market, where I bought regional miso (filled with nuts and fruit! It's like a chutney, it is indescribably delicious) and a big bag of apples. Then after our group had breakfast and toured the shogunate house, I went back to the market. I ate so well...a skewer of the regional specialty, Hida beef, barely grilled and served with a cup of hot sake was definitely the winner. It was $8-9 for it, but definitely worth it. I saw candy-makers, shichimi-togarashi-grinders, cloth-weavers, incense-crafters, wood-carvers...Takayama is filled to the brim with handcrafted items.
Shichimi-maker in Takayama
Otherwise, I've been on break! Hooray for fall! Our school holds a festival called Nanzan-sai every autumn where all the school clubs give performances and make street food for 4 straight days! I went for 2 of the days to see my friend dance, eat taiyaki and takoyaki, and generally just hang out with all the Nanzan students :)
Not to mention during my break I've been doing 5-hour karaoke sessions, going to izakaya, and basically taking time off. It's been wonderful! Today since okaasan and I both had a break she decided she could dress me up in a kimono. It took probably 15-20 minutes to put it on me, but I think it fits well, don;t you? Maybe I'll see if I can get a used one and learn to put it on myself :)
Okaasan dressing me up.
The final product.
That's all for now, next up this weekend I go to Kyoto (finally!)...keep in touch :)
Two weekends ago, IES Abroad took us to visit Takayama, Shirakawa-go, and Gujo Hachiman. These are 3 towns north of Nagoya, closer to the Japanese Alps. Shirakawa-go is known for it's phenomenal snowfall, and the traditional thatch-roof houses built to withstand the cold and snow. Takayama is further North, and famous for it's agriculture (especially miso), Tokugawa-era shogunate administrative house, and--of course--the gorgeous nature surrounding it. And Gujo Hachiman...well...besides the fact that I ate some delicious dango on the street, it is known for "sampuru", the plastic food displays you see in front of a lot of restaurants here. We even had the opportunity to cover vaguely vegetable-looking pieces of plastic in wax (supposedly tempura) ourselves! Not quite sure what I'm going to do with that souvenir yet...
Shirakawa-go
My time in Takayama was quite memorable. This is because I love food, and there is a lot of great food in Takayama. I woke up extra early to wander around town a bit (I looked for places to hike, but we were too close to town...sad...), and stumbled upon the Sunday morning-market, where I bought regional miso (filled with nuts and fruit! It's like a chutney, it is indescribably delicious) and a big bag of apples. Then after our group had breakfast and toured the shogunate house, I went back to the market. I ate so well...a skewer of the regional specialty, Hida beef, barely grilled and served with a cup of hot sake was definitely the winner. It was $8-9 for it, but definitely worth it. I saw candy-makers, shichimi-togarashi-grinders, cloth-weavers, incense-crafters, wood-carvers...Takayama is filled to the brim with handcrafted items.
Shichimi-maker in Takayama
Otherwise, I've been on break! Hooray for fall! Our school holds a festival called Nanzan-sai every autumn where all the school clubs give performances and make street food for 4 straight days! I went for 2 of the days to see my friend dance, eat taiyaki and takoyaki, and generally just hang out with all the Nanzan students :)
Not to mention during my break I've been doing 5-hour karaoke sessions, going to izakaya, and basically taking time off. It's been wonderful! Today since okaasan and I both had a break she decided she could dress me up in a kimono. It took probably 15-20 minutes to put it on me, but I think it fits well, don;t you? Maybe I'll see if I can get a used one and learn to put it on myself :)
Okaasan dressing me up.
The final product.
That's all for now, next up this weekend I go to Kyoto (finally!)...keep in touch :)
Monday, October 18, 2010
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:
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:
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
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!
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!
Friday, September 24, 2010
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 :)
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 :)
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