Broadcasting Live From Next Year

Here's my new year's card to all of you. If you don't get it, look up
cows PEI and year of cow. New year's is Japan's favourite holiday. The
family comes together and kids get their yearly allowance. It may not
have the same flare as xmas, but this is Japan, it doesn't need it.
Before midnight we went to ring a bell at a buddist temple(it's rung
108 times). Little has happened since.
I don't have any resolutions, but I think resolutions only hamper my resolve.
2008, 't's been fun. Bye.

Japanese Skillz

This may be wrong, but:
In first is the Asain-looking Australian who has been studying for
years and might be a little behind my French. Next is the girl in
Toyama, who's well rounded and likely passed her basic literacy test.
The Aussie picked up conversation near the end, but still can't read.
I might be next, I can read and write, but I speak broken. Photogenic
can learn mathematically, but knows expressions too. Nun is learning
like the Aussie, but sooner. And the other USAer can talk to girls.

Life Beta

A beta is outside testing of a game, I think calling my exchange a
beta for life is appropriate. Here I've done many things I would not
have otherwise.
At home, my mind was clogged up with calculations of everything. Here
it's like something reset. I still see the calculations, but not at
the forefront breaking up all else.
I can't imagine what people here think of me. Eccentric seems a good
word, maybe too polite.

Orientation

I know this isn't update time, but more has happened in the past forty-eight hours than in the previous two weeks (agruably four months). So, after another tiring session of kendo I've finally got everything but slamming my foot down. I've tired my arms to injury, I've got some caluses coming along nicely and next year I'll be wearing the clothing and armour.

Than I was driven "home" and ran to orientation at the Rifare (about three klicks away, with a heavy backpack, of my own choice). There we (the inbounders*) were introduced and introduced ourselves to the outbound Japanese students all in the other's language. Each of us had someone going to our area. Than we split up between in and out bounders and got (useful) advice about exchange from the Austrailians (who have been here about seven months longer). I'm guessing the outbounders were talking with the rebounders at this point as we were in seperate rooms.
*outbound=student before exchange, inbound=student during exchange, rebound=student after exchange

Afterwards we went to Round 1, an building with sports, games, arcades, kareoke, etc. I spent most of my time in the sports areas running around and doing terrible at everything (like dual-weilding tennis (I had two oppenents, it seemed only fair)). That night we went to a crappy hotel, played uno, had some food and drinks, watched a movie (The Dark Night, Eng dub, Jap sub, on TV via PSP), and talked... through the night and morning. I had a nice chat with Photogenic (if you guys don't mind I could put your names in here) and had a Western (as in American (continentally), European and Austrailian style) breakfast and half-heartedly filled out some surveys.

We went back to the Rifare and broke up into groups of people from and going to the same district. We were given a sheet of things to inform the outbounders on. I did my best, hopefully that student will figure out what I don't know about living in Canada. The one going to Florida was told (hopefully he knows it's a joke, especially with all the shouting and laughing) that there are many black and Mexican people in New Orleans and he will get stabbed if he goes there.

Than we went to a nice restaurant for lunch and than Rotary left. Most of us headed to the mall. We did purikura (stylized pictures), looked around (CDs here are expensive, someone please send me the new Nickelback song via email), and watched a movie (Wall-E) while a few others of us went to a Dessert cafe and hopefully had fun doing whatever else they did. After, we went to the station to take our respective trains, buses and feet home. I would have walked ecxept one of the outbounders appearently lives near me, so I took the bus and we chatted until her stop.

I went "home," tried to read, ate and fell asleep with the lights and heater still on.

I can't believe how much I just gave away. baka.

Ex-mas

(since ks-mas is too hard to pronounce)
Well, I got up, opened my cards (thank you to senderes), ate my Ferreo Rocher (which I found and bought on Exmas-eve) and quickly ate breakfast and ran off to kendo.
Also thank you and merry Christmas to everyone, especially for anything you might have sent me.
Anyway, I practiced kendo, got some standard issue hot chocolate at a vending machine and came home to write the posts before this.
Japanese Christmas is more about couples, KFC (chicken instead of turkey) and cake (I don't know why). My host family had a nice feast on Ex-mas (easier to type and pronounce, sorry) eve, I'll add picutres in an edit. It was like a holiday meal back in the West, but not as big.
Anyways, there's not much else for me to type, and should go eat breakfast and get ready for kendo.
Merry Christmas!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I'll make a better Christmas post tomorrow morning (Christmas evening for all of you), but to hold you over, or annoy you further, here's me reciting The Grinch (I have a Dr. Seuss family). I made a few mistakes (climbed, not jumped to the roof, etc), but I wasn't reading. Also, the Grinch I know has been around for just over fifty-three years (I'm sure he'll have a comment for that).

http://gercunderscore4.googlepages.com/HtGSC.wma

Temperary Lair

Here's my room (watch video). It actually is usually this neat as I
have a lot of time. You'll probably also notice that the majority of
my clothes are packed up. That's because I don't need them, I wear my
school clothes most of the time and I don't do enough to dirty clothes
all that quickly (I wash them once a week). The movies are American
movies with Japanese dubs and subs (subs are always better), and all
the games are Japanese and all but Patapon are in Japanese. The manga
are great, Japanese with furigana and slang. The books are to pass
the time, my PSP now has TV hook-ups and a camera (pictures and
video). I don't put anything in drawers or closets because I don't
see a need to. The Gundams are posable. And I think I'll be using a
different calendar next year. Not much else to say.

Day Plan part two

It's a boring two klick walk to Yugakkan. I formally say hello to every teacher I pass (or risk being rude) and swap armour quality leather shoes for indoor sneakers. My homeroom class has many clowns and gossips lead by the jerk I mentioned before with whom I now have an almost friendly almost ceasefire. Though there a few nice people. Most second-years are painfully loud and in-your-face annoying with Engrish. Of course there are people who are nice and quiet, but they're not as talkative (d'uh). My other class is full of cool grads, despite a lack of free time together, I like them better.

After school comes kendo where I get to play with swords and make friends or I go to lessons at the Rifare. Before class I'll try to post while chatting with nun-chan. In class we talk to the Alternate Language Teachers while slowly being taught polite Japanese. I'm ahead here while the nun lags behind. After, we talk while walking to our "homes."

There I pass the time with books, games, manga, kanji, (very little) internet, movies or absolutely nothing until supper. I finish first and wait. After I watch some TV with my host family until I'm tired of it (I don't get tired of the language, I just hate uselessly watching TV). Than I busy myself again 'til sleep.

On weekends I spend much of my time just walking around the city. I know the city better than I knew Cape Breton after a year. If any of you come by for a visit, I'll have little trouble showing you around (the little will be finding the tourist attractions).

I'm probably a mix of Sagura Sousuke and Harihyu Suzumia; essentric Jack of all trades, seemingly mad, cold and friendly. My life has a twist of Kare Kano to it, but mostly I just look for something to do.

And for fun, here's some video of me and a friend in kendo fooling around in our off time:

Some day part one

Luckily in Japan I haven't been staying up until two in the morning everynight (I say this because I can't read the clock to figure this out), so my usual day begins at seven here.
I wake up, reach semi-consciousness (I know what's going on but can't act) and try to get up by seven-thirty, at which point I dress and walk to the kitchen. I say the formal phrases and begin to eat a meal that looks Western to the Japanese and like nothing to Westerners (salad, meat, bread and yogurt). I grab my pre-prepared lunch, brush my teeth (a twice a day habit now that I have to match the fake white and real yellow), get dressed up and head to school.
I've recently found a more efficient route that takes about ten minutes to walk, while walking I usually sing quietly or eat (which the Japanese would have to stop and sit down to do).
At school I sit down, go through my stuff and maybe play piano (if there aren't very many people around, especially the girls who run over and scream loudly) (I play piano, draw, run and bike for myself, not for other people).
Class starts...

part four

This post is a test of pictures and video. If it works you'll get a
shot of a screen showing that someone (i.e. me) is the best singer of
Monty Python songs in Japan and a clip of my room. By the way, I can
type up to five-hundred-and-eleven characters.

E-mail Entry part three

Anyways, back to what I like. TV, manga and video games here are fun
when language, especially kanji, doesn't get in the way. That being
said, understanding it, again, especially kanji, is among the best
(non-social) feelings. Of course going out with friends is fun, but
language makes it hard for everyone. I like walking along the river
but that, like much else it gets to be lonely. Most of all I want a
friend, preferably my age, preferably a girl(not as a girlfriend, I
find girls have a nice... presence)

E-mail Post part 2

To explain what these posts are: usually to post I'd login to blogspot
and type into a basic word pad with tools for format, images and
video, but my PSP isn't fully compatible. Instead, I'm using a feature
that posts emails I send it as blogs. Sadly I can only type so many
digits into my PSP, but I'll make them count, and I'll see about
pictures(attachments). Now I can blog at any hotspot, but I'd rather
try for quality. Speaking of which, in the emails I get the rambling
is good.

Trying out e-mail Posting part 1

I'm going to kendo tomorrow, no internet there so I'll try this
tonight. I've been ranting a lot so now I'll type about the good.
Mostly, people say non-sensical English phrases, but every so often I
get a good conversation where each practices the other's language.
Those are great. Today, the cute, helpful girl I sit beside helped me
write furigana despite how long it took(don't get me wrong, I still
prefer Canadian girls). Kendo looks promising. Most of the food is
good(even wasabi, but not natto).

So, What to type...

Well, my mind is drawing a blank right now. I guess I'll go over what I can do in a day.

My "home" is in tera-machi (lit. "temple-town) which is not to far from the main city. Actually, it's immediately south of it.
Going east, there's a good tech and book shop a half-hour run downstream.
Southward are the suburbs where the other exchange students live (twenty and fourty minute walks)
To the west are many temples (immediate vicinity), and not much more 'til you hit the sea (hour-long run).
My school is a ten minute northward walk, or I can make it to the main shopping areas (Tate-machi and Kata-machi) after about twenty minutes of walking. Just north of that is Kohrinbo, and continue northwest for about twenty more minutes to get to the station.
All of this I consider within reach (except the sea, well, maybe on special occasions).

I have a nice collection of books (which I have finished except for some manga) with which I preactice my Japanese. My video games also are in Japanese, but I'm waiting until I can read basic Japanese before I get into any of those seriously. I have a PSP which connects to a faint wireless signal giving me basic internet (gmail and facebook mostly, I might not need a cellphone after all). As for a computer, my host family does have one, but as I've said, the father doesn't like anyone using it. Here at the Rifare, I can use a computer for sessions of thirty minutes, but I usually go longer than that (it's free).

As for on the go, I'm not allowed to dress as I like and I often need to have different books with me, so unlike Canada where I would carry my clipboard, wallet and PSP, here I have to manage what I bring much more (hell, I'm not even allowed to wear my "grey sweater" everywhere as you all know me to). If I could I'd carry my wallet, PSP, camera and clipboard, but as it stands, I often try to make do with a mostly empty wallet, pocket-size note pad (for quick reference and reminders) and my PSP (with headset, Patapon and its camera). If I get an ex-word, I'll bring that along too, but a regular is too big for me to carry.

Anyways, I'll write again on Friday, probably more about Japan.

By the way, you can email me, comment (comments also get sent as emails) or message me on Facebook and I'll respond.

Breifly Explaing why I've Been so Breif

Some of you might have noticed a lack of flow in the last post, and possible in other posts. This is because I'm writing them at the Rifare before my lessons. I get there about an hour early, I sing into a computer and quickly update my stuff that's too advanced for my PSP. This includes hotmail (I prefer my gmail account in every way), and blogs (as well as gaming sites where I find watch previews for games that have already come out here and have not yet been reviewed in regions one, three or four: Patapon 2, Final Fantasy: Dissida, Macross Ace something or other).

I quickly get through the media and start writing, than the nun shows up (also taking lessons) and begins talking to me and expecting me to keep up gossiping with her while I'm writing emails and blogs and wearing a headset. (She was random idiot nuber two in my previous post). It's not that she'e annoying, it's just hard to concentrate with someone talking to you.

To answer a few questions, I haven't kept up a proper running routine, but I have been walking and running around the city for hours without end, my joints are being reminded of the marathon I forced them through.
School? That's a full post in itself, I'll get to that one later.
Visit later in my stay? Sure, Kanazawa is a famous cultural and tourist location in Japan, I'll even through in the fifty cent tour for free.
Japanese gameshows are often as cool or crazy as they seem, but my host family doesn't get those shows to my knowledge, most of what I've seen are overdone kanji guessing games.
Another exchange student and I are trying to plan something like a Christmas party, aside from that, don't expect any Christmas cards from me (intercontinental shipping to or from Japan can be pricey).
I figured out much of the language quickly I'll admit, but that's probably because I've been exposing myself to it for the last few years. I don't do much studying, and for that, my vocabulary suffers, but I can speak easily enough.
Yes, I will get around to posting a voice clip of me speaking Japanese, I'm just too lazy right now, so stop emailing me about it. Also, getting drunk, breaking any law, getting a girlfriend, staying out late, or causing any disturbance wouldn't be a good idea given my situation and the exchange program's rules. If you want to visit, okay, but quit emailing me about things that would get me kicked out of Japan.
No, I haven't been outside of my region. Not to Tokyo (aside from the airport), Osaka, Kyoto, Okinawa, Hokkaido, Okinawa, et cetera.
I'm thinking about getting an electronic dictionary (the usual Casio brand is called exword). I'm trying to find a cheap one, but there's one that does French and has all the extra features for a cheap price of forty-thousand yen (a while ago that would be about $400, but now compared to the CAD it's more like five-hundred and some). Yeah, I think I'll keep looking for a cheaper one.
No, I haven't bought anything H. Though a few pages out of some of my manga are quite close.
I can't think of anything else I've been asked/thought you'd ask.

Signing off.

Gold-day

Yay! This might be on time! (In Japanese, Firday is kinyoubi->gold day).

So, pictures:..well, I have them, but this computer is slow, later.

So, what have I been up to lately...

I've seen many building being buit (and completed) here. The Japanese are fast builders. I've also seen a multifloor building be taken down, I probably should have gotten some shots of it, but it was pretty average. A few mobile suits going at it with beam swords, everyday stuff.

And I got a haircut. It took a while to explain that I didn't want one centimeter cut off, I wanted one centimeter of length. It reminded me of a scene from my favourite movie.

Hmmm, what should I write.

"That Brianna is the best, that's what you should write." Says random idiot number two beside me.

I've bought a few cheap UMD movies at Yamada Denki, they're selling Kingdom of Heaven, The Shawshack Redemption, i, Robot and The Last Samurai for eight dollars each. I also got a small model of the Deathsythe Hell Gundam (no glue and it's posable). I like that place, lots of stuff from my favorite era of entertainement is on sale there, along with vidoe games. (By the way, to my gamer readers, should I buy Patapon 2 here (for $45) or wait to get it back home?)

Well, I can't think of anything more to write so, bye for now.

deadgerc day

(Referencing Megatokyo)

I'm sorry I didn't get around to posting Wednesday, I'll make a full post with pictures tomorrow.