NARA: Nara is perhaps best known for its deer park where deer roam around and people can take photos/feed them thin wafers and Todaji temple where there’s a gigantic Buddha inside. I got to experience both when I visited Nara in October with a group of 外大生 (KG students) and foreign exchange students. It was fun to pet the deer and be so close to them. Usually I only ever see deer darting away into the forest. They didn’t particularly seem to care one way or the other about being pet. They mostly just wanted people to give them these deer wafer things and if you didn’t have one in your hand, they were very disinterested. The giant Buddha (and when giant, I mean *giant*) was really awe-inspiring to see. It was very beautiful and I could have stood gaping up at it for some time. I was a little sad that I didn’t get to crawl through Buddha’s nostril – what I mean by that is that there’s a large wooden pillar nearby with a hole cut through the center that’s the same size as one of the giant Buddha’s nostrils. People line up and crawl through it for luck/for the fun of it/to marvel at just how big this Buddha statue really is. The line was too long and Todaji was closing, so there was no time. While at Todaji, I also had my fortune told and luckily I apparently have good luck coming my way. The day I went to Nara was also the day I finally tried takoyaki. Takoyaki is basically pieces of octopus in fried, doughy balls with takoyaki sauce and mayo slathered over them. Being in Japan, I’ve discovered I’m a bit of an octopus/squid fan, so I thought they were pretty tasty. (I still prefer okonomiyaki though.)
HALLOWEEN: Basically ended up falling apart and I spent most of the day working on homework instead. The party I was originally going to go to got cancelled, and there was a mountain of school work that was threatening to collapse upon me anyway. Next year I’m determined to be more in the Halloween spirit!
HIRAKATA PARK: I went to Hirakata Park with some friends for a Saturday. Walking through Hirakata park was like being transported into Roller Coaster Tycoon. Literally, some of the roller coasters and rides seemed to be taken straight out of the computer game. It wasn’t busy at all and was quite cute. We rode just about every ride there – we even walked (or rather ran because it was so cold!) through this ice house which we dubbed ‘Norway’ as one of the friends we were with was Norwegian. Unfortunately I didn’t think to bring my camera on our excursion, so I didn’t get very many pictures. It’s become a bit of a habit with me - not taking photos. I guess I don’t want to look like a tourist, though it’s not like I don’t stand out already. At Hirakata Park, I had my second strawberry/chocolate/whip cream crepe and have officially come to the decision that I need to learn how to make crepes!
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN: My host family and I were originally going to go to Universal Studios Japan weeks ago, but my host brother was sick that day, so we ended up cancelling. So, finally, when everybody was well, my host mom took me and the sibs to USJ. They were in the middle of transitioning from Halloween to Christmas so there were giant pumpkin decorations next to Christmas trees. My host mom had these ‘jump to the front of the line’ passes, so we were usually able to avoid waiting in line for 30-40 minutes. USJ had one rollercoaster which I rode with my host mom (the sibs being too little) and it was probably one of the best coasters I’ve ever been on. Incredibly smooth. I really felt weightless most of the time. At USJ we also rode the usual suspects like Back to the Future and Jaws. It was fun getting to hang out with the host sibs too. They’re pretty good kids, though they sometimes have trouble sharing: both of them usually wanted me to hold their hand or carry them! After USJ, we stopped at my host mom’s grandparents’ house and had a quick dinner. I tried raw fish for what was probably the eighth time and yet I still don’t know how I feel about it. Sushi is definitely one of those things I’m not sure if I like or don’t like. After our long day, we finally headed on home.
SCARIEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE: Sometime last week around midnight, I was working on a presentation for my Japanese class the next day and I heard this really heavy falling like someone falling down stairs and then my host mom started screaming my host dad’s name. I was frozen where I was until she started yelling *my* name and I bolted upstairs to help her drag my host dad over to the couch while she called for an ambulance. My host dad collapsed out of nowhere, even though just four or five hours earlier we were all having dinner together. I think he might have been dehydrated? In any case, I had to rush downstairs and wait outside the front door to flag down the ambulance (neighborhoods in Japan are really twisty turny, so I had to make sure the ambulance knew which house was the one they needed to get to). My host dad was taken to the hospital where they gave him fluids and where he stayed over night. It didn’t feel it was happening while it was actually going on, but once the ambulance drove off I just burst into tears. Why am I writing about this? Because I’m still jumping every time I hear a loud bump from upstairs or someone shouting and because I want to share all of my experiences, not just the good ones.
SHINTO SHRINE: Last weekend I went with my host family to a Shinto shrine for some kind of age ceremony for my host brother and sister who turned four and seven this year respectively. I’d been to a couple of Shinto shrines before, but I was still struck by just how pretty they are. I have to say, getting to sit and watch the ceremony was definitely something I wouldn’t have been able to experience had I chosen to live in the dorm! After the ceremony, we all ate dango (dumplings) which were super tasty. I’d had dango before at Beloit and hadn’t really liked it, but it was very good this time around. I wonder if my tastes are changing or if the dango I had at Beloit was just bad! :D
This past week my host family and I were having dinner and my host mom’s grandma observed that it’ll be no time at all before I leave Japan. November is my last full month here in Japan and I’ll be leaving the country on December 21st. I also just received my acceptance letter to Lancaster University in England, where I’ll be studying abroad next semester. It’s hard to imagine being home in the United States and even harder to imagine living in yet another country for an entire semester!
There are still some things I’d like to do and see yet in Japan like visit Hiroshima and Fushimi Inari Shrine. Hopefully I’ll be able to fit those in with my remaining time here! Even though it’s been a challenge and a struggle to live here sometimes, I’m really glad I decided to come to Japan. For one, I think I’ve gotten better at Japanese - particularly listening. I still mess up most if not all the time, but the language has become less foreign to me and I’m excited to continue learning it (though I question whether I’ll ever be fluent! The Japanese language is a beast!). For another, I’ve met some great people since being here and I plan on keeping in contact with them even after I leave. They’ve definitely helped make the experience worthwhile.
I hope the rest of my November and December are just as wonderful and life-changing as September and October.
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