An Australian, Korean and Japanese made me do it!!!!

I know I have really slacked on updating my blog. But, I have been really busy and with no camera its not like I have any new pictures to show. I feel like my Japanese is improving, but not as well as I wish it would. I am working a little more and have my own set of classes that I know teach.

I am really looking forward to going back home to Ventura County to see my family and most importantly Erin. I think the feeling is mutual.

For some reason I had a notion that Christmas was a little more festive in Japan than what it appears to be. While there are some lights and decorations up at stores, they do not the same like we have in the US. Also I think most Japanese work on Christmas day.

I have gone ahead and posted all my additional pictures that I wanted to show up on my flickr account so please go look at them.

Also I have done the unthinkable!!!!!!! YES I HAVE SOLD MY SOUL TO THE DEVIL HIMSLEF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I HAVE A FACEBOOK ACCOUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it was good to see that Heather Guernsey was the first person to make me eat my words!!!!!!!

WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TOO!!!!!

I gave into the pressure of the Australian, Korean, and rest of the dorm into set up an account!!!!

I think that is also why I have no updated my blog, is I have been talking to a lot of people through facebook.

Okay well see some of you soon!!!

PS I think I went a little overboard on the !

12 out of 10 on my weird japanese crapo meter

Yeah,

This youtube vid is just weird . . . even my Japanese friends thinks its odd!

What are you listening to????

I am just curious what music people are listening to. I am listening to a couple different groups lately. Except country . . . I know Liz got's my back on that! I listen to my ipod a lot more then I did back in the states cause I have that 40 minute commute by train every morning and it keeps me entertained while I am in my room. Well here are some youtube vids of what I am listening to some were a little hard to find good ones of but hey . . . I tried

Motion City Soundtrack (yea that's the bands name)

The Hush Sound (I really like them they have a cool sound)

The Hush Sound (I really like this song)

Rise Against

Bigwig

Flogging Molly (yeah these guys are pimp

日本語話して下さい! (Please speak Japanese!)

Well this week was midterms and it was crazy. Three days of test and let me tell you I am so glad that it is over. I got very little if any sleep, but today, Friday, was a holiday here and Japan so I pretty much slept all day then I wrote this the rough draft for a review on this movie for an academic journal.

Japan is slowly starting to grow on me. I really like it and there are more things that people do here that I wished we did back in the states. On the average even though a lot of Japanese look at me weird and treat non-Japanese as second rate most of them are really nice and are perhaps the least confrontation people I have ever met.

With that said, the one aspect I wish I could change is finding a good language exchange partner that actually wants to speak Japanese with me. I technically have two but both of them are really shy and I have to maintain the dialogue and they are pretty useless in letting me practice Japanese. It is actually driving me nuts, because so many Japanese people here want to just speak English with me and I want to just speak Japanese. It’s frustrating sometimes.

I need some hot pink sweat pants!!!!!

One of the big things at Japanese universities is being part of a club or circle. Well I finally broke down and joined one that I had several of my friends in and it's a “walking club.” Know I know what you are thinking . . . old women in hot yellow or turquoise sweat pants swing there arm furiously, while hold there 1 or 2 lbs weights in their hands. This is nothing like that! Last Saturday, the 11/17, I went on my first walk. The theme for this walk was to visit most of the official government buildings in Japan as well as some other important landmarks. We broke down into about 3 groups of 10 people and walked a total of about 14km. It started at 9am and finished at about 6pm that night. I got to see a lot of cool places and was pretty mad my camera was broken. This weekend they went on an overnight stay at Mt. Fuji and were planning on walking about 14 km for both days. I really wanted to go but it was a little expensive because of hotel cost. That and its starting to get butt cold here.

I don’t think the next walk is till mid-march but they have some really cool walks schedule and there are a lot of gaijin in the club and the Japanese students are really cool. Actually I got to practice my Japanese a lot that day and everyone was really cool. If I can when my friends get back I will see if I can get some pictures from them for the website.

Also its been hard to really get a scale of how big Tokyo is because I go everywhere by train. Walking allowed me to but things in a little more perspective!

No More Pictures

Yes I am alive. I was not kidnapped by the yakuza and made into a sex slave in Kabuki-cho for all of you that were worried. Well nothing really has been happening. I broke my digital camera and I am pretty mad about it. I sent it today to Erin to take it into Best Buy because we paid for that extended warranty thing. I probably won’t get it back till I see Erin again for Christmas, which sucks.

Last Monday I went to go see Noh and Kyogen. It was really cool and the tickets were free. I was really excited to see it. Also went to Mori Tower, which has the Tokyo Contemporary Art Museum on the 52nd floor. Yeah . . . 52nd floor. They have a viewing area where you can walk around and you can see all of Tokyo. You can see Tokyo tower and a lot of the city . . . I would show you pictures but my camera is broken. I will say how amazed I am that no matter how many times Gojira (that's Godzilla for you gaijin) tears down Tokyo Tower they just keep rebuilding it.

Okay well that is about it!

An example of Noh

What part of Noh do you not understand!

Old Skool!!!

Some of us spent most of the night looking for videos to songs we knew back in the late 80's early 90's . . . most of the guys I was looking at videos with are only 20-22 and were like 7 when they happened. Here is some of the cool vids!! Some of the guys never heard this song either . . . can you blame them!!!

I cannot believe I had this tape!

The pardoy which is funny as heck!!!!

Weekend of First!!!

My first typhoon - I have never seen it so windy and rainy in my life. I have also never seen so many jacked up umbrellas, the street was cover with jacked up cheap umbrellas. Mine got a little beat up.

My first piece of cheese - Yes I ate my first piece of real cheese since I have been here not counting that real fake stuff they call cheese that they put on hamburgers. It was so good.

My first marriage proposal - My boss does they international parties and he invited me to for free. That is where they had the cheese. They also had roast beef and other goodies he got from Costco. Yeah they have Costco here but it is really far away. So this Taiwanese girl started talking to me and must of been clueless about the ring on my finger and basically told me she wanted to marry a nice Westerner and I looked like a nice person. Yea . . . FREAKY!!!!!!!

My first gas station - Yes I saw my first gas station it was really weird had not seen one since I got here

My first car ride - got a ride home from a member after church. Was really weird driving on the other side of the road.

My first wedding anniversary away from Erin – yeah that one sucked! Not a fan of that one . . . she went to the Melting Pot without me . . . again! But I love her and miss her a whole heck of a lot.

Cake and DEATH!!!!!!!

Well today a friend and I went to this place that is like a buffet, but it is mostly all deserts and it’s all you can eat for 90 minutes and cost about 1,400 yen or around $12.00. It was really good! They had some spaghetti, dumplings and curry rice, but after I had a small plate of that I went straight after the cakes! Yeah . . . Erin would have been in heaven. It was funny cause you can tell that most of their clientele are girls as they have two women’s bathroom and one restroom that is shared. Also, I was one of three guys there the whole time.

Well it has been raining the past few days and it's a little depressing.

I want to go off on a tangent today because it really chapped my hide. When you are on some of the trains they have two little televisions above the doors that tell you where you are going, how long to the next stop, other information but also about train delays. On a side note the one next to it generally run commercials. Okay, so occasionally you see information about trains being delayed and the reason the listed most of the time is “accidents.” I recently just found out that 95% off these “accidents” is because some idiot decided to do a freaking peter flipping pan in front of the train. Yeah . . . if you are gonna kill yourself I think jumping in front of the train would be a rather painful way to go. Okay so back to my point . . . me and Brian just barely got on and had not even gotten to the next station and our train line goes down for “accident” reasons! This has happened before but what chapped my hide is that its rush hour its so crowded I cannot even raise up my hands and I have to stand there for an additional 30 minutes while they take care of stuff. Please if you are even thinking about it maybe I can get you a self-help video, like “Get Confidence Stupid.” And if you really need to jump in front of a train you might as well tick as many people off as possible so go jump in front of the Yamanote near Shinjuku.

What I think is kind of jacked up is as a deterrent to stop people from doing, they send yoru family the bill to clean up the mess! Yeah!!


Okay so I am glad we had this talk.

I am giddy as a little school girl

DESSERTS!!

Krispy Kreme

Okay so today a friend, Yo, and myself went to Krispy Kremes in Shinjuku. No one else wanted to go because during the evening and the weekends the wait can be as long as 2 to 3 hours. There are only two Krispy Kremes in Japan both in Tokyo. We only had to wait for about 40 minutes to place out order because it was the middle of the day. Yo is Taiwanese, goes to school in Connecticut and is a foreign exchange student in Japan . . . go figure. One of the things she loves about the States, and why I think she went to school there, is because she loves donuts. She says she has a poster of Dunkin Donuts in her room at home.

They were so good and tasted like the ones back in the states and has the cool process of making them. I bought a dozen glazed originals for 1,500 yen or about $13. The first 7 were pretty easy to get down, I had a hard time downing the rest and had to give them to a homeless person cause I could not eat any more.

It was really fun going there and just pigging out on something that was not rice!!

Blogger is having problems with pictures at the moment so will post them later!!!

The end of the lien for Krispy Kreme

OINK!!!

Things I am willing to give up a testicle for

Cheese, 4X4 from In-N-Out, Erin's yummy tacos, buffalo wings, a decent pizza under 3,500 yen or around $30 American, Cheetos (I ate all the ones Erin sent me . . next time buy the three bags from COSTCO), Muncher's cream cheese donuts, a cherry coke (yea!!!! I know!!!! I am suprised I can survive), being ablg to find out what the heck is going on with Heroes and a hug from Erin . . . maybe a a little more then a hug . . . . okay A LOT more then a hug . . . may even give up two for that, but that defeats the purpose.

Things I would like to have and only willing to give up pocket lint for:

Hearing Mariah go "oh dear," argueing with Jason over which is better Macs or PC, having Erin ask me to get up out of bed and go get her a drink of water (that just barely made the list BTW), hear someone say "Chuckle McMuffin," and grabbing someoenes butt and not having them freak out (Japanese don't seem to know how to handle it).

Things I am leaving in Japan

Crowded trains (I'm tired of praying that thats someones umbrella grinding my hip or leg), pop-a-squat toilets, McDonald's double cheeseburger (I hate paying 400 yen for something I get for $1.00 in the States), and small bathrrom slippers that my feet cannot even fit into.

Things I now HATE!!!

RICE!!!!!!!! But I keep eating it twice a day!!!! They but it on your plate and you have to eat everythign on yoru plate!!!


Things I like now like

Beday (don't knock it till you try it, seriously), sweat towels, and public baths (its nice to just relax in the big tub)

Home Sweet Home

Okay so now that I go to class every weekday and work, my life is pretty busy and boring. However, I do spend most of my time in my little 8x12 foot home. At first I felt like there was no way I could live here, but now I have adjusted and just learn to be a little creative with space. I bough the shelf in the middle and have plenty of shelf space and room to through stuff around. I also hang stuff on the blue rod I hung in my window.

So now that I have been here a month I ask myself whether or not I feel my Japanese has improved. I have to say that it has. There is just some stuff you learn because you hear it all the time. Also in the two weeks of classes I have had so far I feel like I have learned a lot but we kind of fly through the material. I need to definitely review.

My room with me looking in from outside my door.

Shot from me in the window facing towards the door.

On my bed facing the desk.

Asakusa and Sensoji Temple

Well today after class I went to Asakusa and Sensoji temple. The original part of the temple was built in 645, but I think most, if not all the buildings, were destroyed during the fire bombing of Tokyo. First you go through the Kaminarimon (thunder gates) and precede though a shopping street about 200 meters, called Nakamise towards the Temple. Near the temple there was a little garden section that was really cool.

Asakusa during the Edo period was kind of the modern Kabuki-cho area where kabuki, geisha and other forms of entertainment took place. During the early 1900’s it was the major entertainment area. However, after the Second World War most of the buildings were destroyed. It’s rather odd to think that this area has a vibrant history, but to have all of it destroyed for war. Not say that the war was not justified, but it’s just sad to think about how some of the most historical places in Japan were destroyed during that period of time and have been rebuilt.

The only down side was that it was raining and the person I was with was not really into it. I think I will go back during a Saturday and spend more time in Asakusa to check out all the cool stuff.

You can buy different good luck charms for different things. I bought one for college students that is supposed to help you do well in your studies. It only cost me 500 yen so I figured why not.

I had my first chapter test today and I think I did really well. We will see though.


Me at t Kaminarimon. I know hands out of my pockets.


The beginning of Nakamise towards Sensoji


In front of Sensoji Temple . . . I will post the rest on flickr

Dank Heaben fo Seben-Ereben

Well this week was the beginning of a lot of things. First off the semester has started as I said below. I am in my Japanese class from 9 am to 12:30 pm Monday-Friday. There are about 10 of us in the class. Half of us are from the US, with the rest being from France, Germany, Scotland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Some people went to regular Japanese, while some choose to come to intensive. I think by Monday we will be set on who is in the class as people are still deciding on what to do.

So far I really enjoy it. I feel like we are going at a pretty good pace and we spend a good amount on each grammar point. We generally do about 2 to 3 grammar points a day plus kanji. This does not seem like a lot, but considering we did a complete chapter in three days and have had two test so far we are making pretty rapid progress. I also have three teachers who are assigned to our class on certain days, which is nice because you do not get tired of the same person up there the whole time. The teachers are really funny and seem to enjoy what they are doing. Also the class as a whole seems to be doing well and at times is very entertaining, I think this is the most I have laughed in a class in a long time.

The only down side to class was that a guy from our dorm was sitting by me and he has such a negative attitude. I would want to do the dialogues with him and he would just put his head down and sleep or he would be text messaging. I think there is something else going on with him, but his attitude was really making my experience a crappy one. What complicated things even more is that the tables and the space between the tables is so small that once you are sitting by the wall you are pretty much stuck there so I was pretty much cornered. Another guy from my dorm, Matt from George Mason University, just joined the class yesterday so today I made it a point to sit somewhere else and told Matt to sit by me. The day went by so much nicer sitting next to Matt and others who really want to learn Japanese and have a positive attitude. It made the day go by so quick.

I know most of the kanji and some of the vocabulary, but the grammar has been stuff I have forgotten or never really understood. The only problem is that at the dorms all of the foreign students revert to Japanese, which is not very helpful. Some of us try to speak in Japanese, but we always revert back to English. Also Japanese people always want to talk to you in English so they can practice. It drives me nuts.

Work has started and so far so good. Basically, James, my boss, only has like two students who he gives English lessons too. However, there is a guy, Kotaki-san, who uses James’ office space to conduct his own English classes and I am sub-contracted out to this guy to help him. I spent about 3 hours reviewing papers that students have written. Some were rather long and discussed complicated issues. Reviewing these took forever and I think the Kotaki-san was hoping I would go through it faster. But, some of these sentences need to be completely reworked and it was just more difficult then eh thought. I think he just wants a native speaker who can listen and edit things. In the future he wants me to make small presentations so that students can hear a native speaker. Next week I am listening to some audio recordings of his students and making comments about them.

This job will easily give me my 10 or so hours I want a week. One problem that I am facing is that I have to spend a lot of money on food. Even though they provide 2 meals a day, I normally have to buy lunch and when I work I do not make it back in time for dinner so there is another meal I need to buy. Also they do not provide meals on Sunday and on holidays, which seems to be every Monday. There is no really any fridge space so most of us eat ramen or other things. I do eat at a local ramen shop a lot, but I am trying to cut back. The one thing that is nice is that if you go to 7-11 after 11pm the bento lunch boxes are 50% off. I am going to grab one after I am done writing this. I also think I am losing weight as some of my pants are starting to get really loose. Also it does not seem like I am getting enough protein and I am starting to get sick of eat rice for 2 meals a day. I don't mind having the miso soup twice a day, but the white rice everyday is starting to get to me.


Also does anyone know if fake crab has protein? Or is there no real value to eating it other then the fact that you think its crab?

School starts

Well classes have started and so far so good, nothing to overwhelming yet. I am trying to do my best. I start my first day of work tomorrow to do some training. I am excited about that. Went to church on Sunday and talked to the bishop about possible callings. We both discussed how language is a big barrier but its something we hope to get past. I really have nothing else to report. Probably cause I am really tired and cannot think straight.

Dreaded Scourge!

There are some really funny things in Japan that all of us gaijin laugh at. There is a flier in the kitchen that talks about the danger of fire and in it say’s “dreaded scourge.” It’s really funny because that is nothing we would say in English and with an Aussie, Brit, Scott, and Canadian here we all have agreed that it is just odd. Its kind of a joke that when something bad may happen we say it’s a deadly scourge. Now on the other side fire is a serious matter here. A lot of buildings have precautions like fire walls that we would not have in the U.S. So in that sense fire can be a deadly scourge. We were told in or dorm orientation that not matter what do not cause a fire. Other things can be worked around, but fire is very serious.



Also there were some other funny things they gave us a guidebook about. I have taken pictures of them and but them below. One is about the Japanese style toilet, which I called the “pop a squat” toilet. We have American style toilets here, but most public restrooms are these style. And I will admit for a country that is so conscious about cleanliness these things are just gross sometimes.





Pop a squat . . .


The Japanese bath. Well most of us take showers and two showers for about 40 guys makes hot water a difficult commodity. I have used the Japanese bath twice since I have been here and have seen no one else use it. I really enjoy sitting in the hot water and just relaxing. I would say the tub is more like a jacuzzi, or cacuzzi like they say in Tennessee, and can hold 10 people easily. I generally only spend like 10 or 15 minutes in the tub and it is really relaxing.

I teach a Engrish!!

So I spent a large portion of this week trying to find a job. I got several replies from emails that I sent out with a CV. While some did not clearly meet up with my schedule, others fit a little better. I so far have two job offers that I have accepted.

The first one is right outside Tokyo Station. The job pays 3,000 yen or $26.94 an hour. The guy who owns the school, James, received a BA in East Asian Studies and a MBA from KU back in the Late 80’s early 90’s. James is a cool guy and we spent most of the interview talking about KU and his study abroad experience from the late 80’s before it was so well defined like it is now. The down side to the job is that it only pays once a month and at first I think only offer 3-4 hours a week, but with expand. I really only want to work between 10-15 hours a week to make money to cover expenses and to pay for my plane ticket home in the spring. I am here to learn Japanese not teach English. The other down side, which I do not mind, is that from the commute from Musashi-Koganei, where I live, to Tokyo Station is a pretty long commute about 45 minutes to an hour, despite the fact that it is only like 20 miles. I really do not mind because the station for Sophia is two stops from Tokyo Station. So on evenings when I teach at Tokyo Station, I will just stay at Sophia and study. They also reimburse train fare and are willing to cover the whole trip despite that fact that my commuters pass covers 80% of the trip. Also all of these stops are on the same train line, Chou Rapid.

James told me through email that he was conducting interviews, but if I wanted the job I could pretty much have it. I think more then anything he was impressed with the fact that I was doing a PhD in Japanese history and was from KU. I was a little early for the interview and the guy being interviewed before me had on a really nice suit and was really impressive looking compared to my khakis and white shirt. I guess it must have been my pimped out tie. About 3 minutes into the interview James asked me if I wanted the job so he could tell the other guy before me it was filled. I said yes cause 3,000 yen an hour for only doing one-on-one sessions is pretty good and its cash.

The other job . . . well the interview was the oddest interview I have ever experience. It’s for a school that sends you to people’s homes or work and you teach then a 45-minute session. The pay is 2,500 yen or $21.74 a session plus reimbursement for train fare. I would turn this job down, but I may need it to get 2 or 3 extra hours a week. They issue a check which means I need to open a checking account and get the proper paper work from the Sophia and the immigration office. I cannot get the paper work from Sophia till the 15th of October when course registration is done and it takes them 4 days to issue it to me then I take it to the immigration office here in Koganei and then I can work. The lady who runs the school seemed fine with waiting . . . so 5,000 to 7,500 extra would be nice.

The reason that the interview was so weird was that a lot of the time it was her just staring at me not sure what to ask me. I had to basically lead the interview and it was just wierd


Teaching English in Japan is different then one might imagine and is pretty easy. All you are is a soundboard and you just talk to them and they mimic you to some extent. Sometimes you may have a workbook and you go through it with them. However, most of the time it is just a free flow conversation where you try and get them to talk.


Hmmmm must have been in engineering . . . . wait my father-in-law is an civil engineer. Okay so this only applies to all engineers that are not civil. Except for those who work on nuclear power plants and named Jason Draper.

Edo-Tokyo Museum

Today I went with three people from the Koganei dorm to the Edo-Tokyo Museum: Andrew from Australia, Lee-san from Hong Kong and Han-san from South Korea. A rather nice international group.

The Museum was really cool. It is right next to this place really famous for sumo. There were some interesting things about the museums and I got some cool pics. Just to FYI Tokyo use to be called Edo before it westernized. Hence the museum focuses on Edo then Tokyo and tells you about the city and what not.

The one thing I found that was rather odd is that when Japan opens to the West they refer to it as entering the age of “enlightenment and civilization.” So Japan was not before? Though there was some interesting stuff on Tokyo and the Second World War I was mostly interested in the Edo stuff.

Nonetheless I will post the pics on my flickr account. We must have spent about 3 hours here and the lighting was really dark making taking pictures really hard.

Also I have tried really hard to record video with my camera and upload it to youtube. I must be doing something wrong I cannot do it at all.

Me on the first JR line

MORMON STANDARD TIME IS NOT UNIVERSAL!!!!!!!!!

Yeah its true . . . well at least here in Japan it does not exist. But, we will have to wait and see next week. So this morning I found the building no problem and then I went to church. I met with a member of the Stake presidency, Brother Stevenson, who is in this ward and he told me about my options. I felt like he was a little encouraging to stay in this ward as the English ward is far away and there are some in this ward who speak English. Two brethren I met just got back from BYU where they complete an MBA. Also one of the area authorities is in our ward, not sure who. I guess this is the stake center and one of the first wards in Tokyo.

Anyways I had a hard time trying to follow along, as a lot of stuff was a whole new vocabulary of things you do not learn in a classroom setting. I got kind of confused but I tried my best. There is supposed to be another American here who is in the ward and not to great at Japanese either. I did not meet him today because there was a special YSA sacrament meeting that he went to later on today.

I guess what really kind of struck me was even though I could not understand what was being said I could understand the basic meaning and that it came from the heart.

The other awesome thing was that they asked me to help pass the sacrament, which was little confusing, but there was a little meeting while the opening hymn was sung and they had a prayer basically asking for them to help pass the sacrament in a reverent manner. It was very eye opening seeing how much respect they had for that aspect of the service and serious they felt their job was.

I think there are about 100 people or so in the ward but I will be able to tell you more next week when I think so of the YSA people will be in the ward.

I made a video today showing all the vending machines in the area but it was to big for youtube so I will try again tomorrow.

Where is the Church at?

Yeah . . . that is a question that took me three hours to answer. First off all of the Internet map sites are very crappy for Japan. You can find cities and areas, but with addresses you are pretty much hopeless. I had a Japanese-American who is a regular student here help me find it and all we could do to narrow it down was locate the general area where the postal code was, which if you can only guess was wrong.

The area I was supposed to go to was between stations and about a one km walk (its funny I am slowly converting to meters since no one knows what a mile of foot is). So I was navigating my way through the streets and I only got lost once. Okay that’s a lie I got lost like 4 times. Then I finally got to the area where the church was supposed to be and surprise surprise no church! So I saw an old man and asked him and I showed him that address and he told me in broken English I was not even close that I was in the wrong area, which I started to figure out since I could see the addresses. I went home with him and we looked at a map and he showed me where it was and there it was labeled “Mormon Church.” So he drew me a little map and I was on my way.

After walking another 40 minutes I finally made it there. There are two Japanese wards (congregation) that meet in the building. There was a ward that I did fine south of me and I choose this one since it was on the JR line that I take. I got lucky and picked the right one I guess.

I talk to some of the members, one who spoke English, and she told me that the closest English ward is pretty far away from me. I estimate it is about a 45 minute to hour ride. Her husband is American and I am going to meet him before church to find out my possibilities as to which ward I should go to. However, I am for sure going there Sunday. I did not have the energy to try and find the English ward building by tomorrow morning.

The ward building is only about three stations from me and about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the station. There is apart of me that wants to just go there but my Japanese will not hack it and I will have no clue what is going on. I am afraid that I might have to go to the English ward, which sucks cause I have to transfer at least twice, and the other lines are not valid with my commuter pass.

The one thing that is crazy about Japan is there are vending machines everywhere. Today I am so grateful for those machines. I was so hot and it was humid. There was one point in trip I almost though of taking the pens in my bag and start breaking them up and leaving a trail to find my way back.

So next Saturday should be the real adventure when I might go try and find the English ward.

Check back tomorrow, well for me tomorrow, or late tonight for you and I will post soem pics of teh vending machines . . . its to dark outside right now and you can not see them that good.

Shinjuku

Well today I went to Shinjuku with some friends and it was pretty interesting. There are a lot of shops and department stores. I saw a Chanel dress in the window of a store for 435,000 yen or about $4,000. Yeah . . . .

The part I found interesting is that we just kind or were walking and next thing we knew were in the red light district. Okay I know what you are thinking . . . but in all honesty none of us realized where we were I mean these brothels are right between a McDonalds and a video arcade. Also there were cops around as well as kids with their parents. I have to say this is the first time I have seen a quote “red light area” and it was nothing like I expected. It was not like the dark and dreary places I thought of. I think a lot of it has to do with the Japanese mentality and they are used to it. I guess I was just kind of shocked about how open it was in this one area. FYI the shops generally have a design that sayes no one under 18 allowed and the name of the places are kind of a give away about what they are. I learned later on after I got back that this area is called Kabuki-cho.

The one thing that was kind of funny is one guy did get the nerve to walk into one and he said they told him to leave since he was gaijin.

Okay enough about that. I honestly can say I have never seen so many people in such a small confined place in all my life. The pictures can barely do it justice.

Me in Shinjuku

People crossing the street in Shinjuku

Buildings in Shinjuku

Yeah there are a lot of buildings here

Moss Burger

Okay so the post I wrote this morning was really depressing and I do not want that to be the first entry on my blog when people read it. I though about editing some parts out because it was rather sad but I choose to leave it out because I think it maybe gives insight. I don’t know.

There was an interesting fast food place I went to the other day with the rest of my gaijin cohort after we took care of our alien residence stuff and signed up for national health insurance. Its called Moss Burger. The hamburger was pretty good. I’m not sure what the brown sauce was they put on it but its good. They also cover it in onions, but the onions do not have that onion taste . . . which makes it taste good. Also the weird thing I notice is they put lettuce and tomato on the hotdogs they sell. Nonetheless it was really good.

Well I have been exploring Koganei and have found some book stores that actually have some books on my topic or similar. There was one that was actually about the size on my bathroom that was pretty disgusting. But, they had two books that are on my topic.

Part of this year here is collecting material. I am buying some books on my topic if it is not too much. Books on the average are really cheap here. I think the most I may have paid was 1,000 yen for a hardback. I have kind of scoped out the Sophia Library and plan on making a lot of photocopies of books that might be there as well. I tried to get some help from the reference desk about what might be in the collection, but the librarian recommend going to google and looking there. I asked if they a librarian who just specialized in just Japanese history there, but apparently they do not do that have librarians that have specializations in certain areas. I am thinking I may go Monday and start finding stuff there. I also know where the copy machine is.

I guess if Erin does come to Japan she won't starve.

The Devil's Tongue

Okay so I know some of you are really depressed because I did not post for couple of days and are curious about my crazy adventures here. I think its radical (yeah I am bringing that word back) that people are so interested about me in Japan.

I have been spending a lot of time preparing for the Japanese placement exam, which I took yesterday.

So how did I do? CRAPPY! The section that was for beginning level was pretty easy. I knew all the kanji and their compounds and the vocabulary. The grammar was okay but it started getting REALLY harder at the very end. The second section for intermediate level was very difficult. I knew about 80% of the Kanji their compounds and vocabulary. The grammar portion kicked my butt though. Half of the time I did not even understand what was being said or I was confused with the conjugation.

So what does this mean? This is what my problem with Japanese is. I know the kanji, I know the vocabulary, but putting it together in a sentence to illustrate a thought or action is something I cannot do. If I knew all the kanji and Japanese words but cannot use them in a sentence then how can I speak of read Japanese? I cannot. So basically I think I am going to have to start at a lower level then what I wanted to do this semester. This class does not start at the very beginning of Japanese; it’s more of a 2nd year course. Some of the books they use are used in the 3rd year course at KU, where I would be if I were back at KU. Though some of the kanji and vocabulary, probably most, will be review for me in this course I need to know the grammar structures that are probably taught in this course. The next semester I would begin the course I intended to take this semester. I figure I can spend the time that may be review for me learning more kanji and practicing reading and translating.

So how do I feel about this? I am really frustrated. It is a real damper on my self-esteem. Sometimes its gets to the point were I almost cry cause I am just so upset that I cannot get this.

So what am I going to do about it? I think the problem has been trying to find a way to study or really just having the time to focus solely on Japanese. Focusing I do not think it will be an issue. I am pretty focused on learning Japanese right now. In the 6 days I have been here I have learned a lot already just because there is no way around and you have to use your Japanese. Also I have bought some book on nanban igaku that I found and plan on trying to slowly go through it since that is really what I am interested in.

I am trying . . . but the notion of failure is so scary in my mind that I try not to think about it. Especially, when I think about how focused mine and Erin’s lives have been on getting this degree. Erin has had to do a lot of sacrificing and I do not want it to all be all for nothing. If anything I find the biggest motivation making sure Erin did not have to go through all of this for nothing.

Next week I go to find out my test results and what class I will be in. I guess we will see what happens then.

The Unsuccessful Quest to Find a Pair of House Slipper

So I spent most of the day studying for an exam we have on Wednesdays. It is a placement exam, but it really does not make sense for them to give it to me as I am in the second level course and doing poorly would put me into the first course and be a complete repeat of everything I have done . . . which I do not want to do.

I did take a break this morning and went to a shoe store to see if I can find a pair of house slippers to wear inside the dorm as, I am sure you are all aware; you leave your shoes at the front door. The largest size he had was a XXL, which they label as LLL, and it was to small but they had the closest fit of all the other places I went. I went to about five other places and no luck. You can see the pic below.

Today is a holiday in Japan to celebrate the autumnal equinox and the dinning room is closed on holidays. About seven of us went down the street to a ramen shop called, Kyushu Ramen. They owner is from Kyushu and open the shop about a month ago. This guy named Mike, he is also from KU and we had the same Japanese classes, has been there 3 times since we arrived on Friday. The ramen was really good and I was so full and it only cost like 700 yen.

Okay well I got ot go play World of Warcraft . . . . I mean study.


You know what they say about people with big feet, cannot buy shoes in Japan. Or atleast that is what they should say.

The Area

Well, today has been rather relaxing. I think my body is finally adjusted. I spent most of the day relaxing and actually trying to familiarize myself more with the surrounding area. I am very lucky that everything is so close. The hospital, more like a clinic, is 50 ft away. There are also two department store and two grocery stores within this area with a bunch of specialty shops. One of them just sells clocks and I did not even notice it. I guess I really did not need to go to Akihabara after all. What I think is funny is I have counted about 5 seven-elevens. But there is such a high concentration of people I am sure they do very well.

I think Erin felt much better knowing that there was a “hospital” so close. What I did not tell her is that there is a pachinko parlor right around the corner. There are some more in the area as well. Actually, I do not find pachinko very interesting. Growing up my dad had a pachinko machine so I have always just known what they were. If you do not know what pachinko is here is the wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachinko

There is also a KFC nearby and a Denny’s, but no McDonalds. I found that rather odd.

My Dorm, I think there are about 30 or 40 of us. Half of us are exchange students

In front of the dorm facing West

Do they do chicken right?




FYI these were shot in the morning so here are not a lot of people like there normally is. Also I am setting up a flickr account so you can see all the pictures.

Akihabara

Well I was going to do a post about the area I was in and was taking pictures when some of the other foreign students said they were going to Akihabara to buy some stuff and asked if I wanted to go. I said sure not knowing what I was doing.

Akihabara is known as perhaps the largest electronic shopping area in the world. It was pretty cool to see all the different kinds of electronics. However, by the 4th store you started seeing the same stuff over and over again. Some of the guys I was with were looking at cameras or alarm clocks and Nintendo DS games. The part that sucked was when you found out the section of the store you need to go was on the 6th or 8th floor.

Over all I have to comment that Japanese electronics are generally a lot more expensive then what we pay in the US. I saw the exact same digital camera and similar ones that I was looking at going for about $100 more here. DVD’s were generally selling at about 3,500 to 3,000 yen or about $32-$28. The only thing I did see that was similar in price was some of the Nintendo DS games. The coolest part is that there are these little ally ways that sell all kind of electronic component you can think of. One guy specialized in selling vacuum tubes.

We did stop at a little café and we had all had something to drink before heading back. I ordered a Fanta that was a dark green color and kind of surprised me. Fanta is supposed to be orange.

The commute back and forth took about 30 or 40 minutes. We were there for about 2 to 3 hours. The only thing I bought was a small alarm clock and an iron. I was tempted to buy other thing . . . but I was strong. Actually it was just the thought that I can get it cheaper in the US that made the difference.

I am doing better today. I am try to see some of the culture differences as perhaps a different and most of the time better way of doing things. I think I am over the initial shock and am settling in. This trip wore me out. It was rather hot and humid today.

Akihabara

Akihabara


The ba-ka- Gaijin at Akihabara


Radio Shack has nothing on these guys


FYI on a side note the black guy (he calls himself the black guy so I am not going to say African-American) in the top two pics, his name is Brian and he is a student at Univeristy of Texas. Of the five of us that went he told us to just look for him if we got lost since he stood out the most . . . I guessing that is why he got in my pics as well.

I MADE IT!!

Okay well I made it and it was a long flight . . I figure I got about 7 hours sleep in the last 48 hours. I wanted to tell you alittle about my trip, but I am going through MAJOR culture shock right now!!! This place is nothing like I have ever experience before. I honestly can say after having read about this place and knowing a lot already nothing would of prepared me for this.

My room is really smal . . . I think the area that my bed cover back home, its a California king, is slighty a little smaller then what I have now for a room. The bathroom is Japanese style, which means rinsing off and washign off then getting in a big fat tub and relaxing . . . which I am looking forward to.

Okay enough for now! I will take pictures tomorrow!!!

Also google refuses to take me to the english site so I am having to learn how to use these tools in Japanese!!

Packed and Ready

Okay well everything is packed and I am praying the scale worked and we are under 50lbs per bag . . . the next post will be from Tokyo Japan. I thought it was rather odd that the last TV program I watched and will watch here was, To Catch an Online Predator.

東京に行きましょう！

18 hours !!

Yeah well I leave in about 18 hours. Last night Jason and I went on our last "date" for a long time and saw Balls of Fury. It was that or Mr. Bean's Holiday. It was actually pretty funny.

I really need to study Japanese before classes begin. I met with one of the Japanese TA's yesterday to review some of the work I wrote as I have been trying to review and there are definitely places for improvement.

Erin took the day off, but had to run some errands. I am hoping she gets home quick so we can go to India Palace and get some Chicken Tikka Masala. I love that stuff and so does Erin surprisingly.

One thing that I have been thinking about, that my advisor kind of confirmed to me yesterday, is taking up some kind of Japanese hobby while I am there. I thought of trying to learn how to play the biwa, a Japanese lute, while I am there. I think more then anything learning something like this will keep me from going insane from studying Japanese everyday and also will allow me new oppurtunities to use Japanese in a settign outside of the Univeristy. But, we will see what happens.

An example of a biwa

Going, Going . . .

Well today was my last Sunday at church. It was really hard to say bye to some people, as I will really miss them a lot. The married/single mix I think adds a unique dynamic that is really lots of fun and I think just lets us get things done.

I almost have the office completely packed. I am really glad Amy will be Erin’s roommate while I am gone.

Friday we went to Bucca di Beppo for a “Tom is crazy and going to Japan party.” I am still trying to figure out my digital camera so some of the pics people have major red eyes and looked possessed.

Jess, Amy and Erin


Me and Kate Seller . . . or her prefered name Tate Feller

The peps who came . . or rather had nothing better to do

One Week

Well I am sorry the first two post are really long. I just wanted to explain how PhD pograms generally work because I know a lot of people have questions. One week till I leave. I am getting nervous and I have been very busy studying Japanese. I am pretty sure I suck at it so I am hoping it is not bad enough that they will place me in the first level intense class, becuase I do not want to redo it all over again. On one level going to Japan is odd becuase I have never been there and there is a sort of anxiety about not know what to expect, but then again I know a lot about about Japan and what to expect. It is rather weird!

How does a PhD work?

A lot of people ask me about my what my PhD is in and what I plan on doing with it.

So I wanted to write a little about how a PhD in history works for the most part and what kind of job I am striving for. So I want to break this down into two parts: The components of a PhD and what kind of job I want or expect.

When one gets a PhD in history there are a lot of factors that come into play. Generally you have one major field and two secondary fields of study – there are some variations, but for the most part this is how most PhD programs work. The major field is a geographic area where your main focus is. The secondary fields are generally a second geographic area and a thematic field. Examples of thematic fields are economic, diplomatic, cultural, science, environmental and world history. Within the last twenty years there are several PhD programs that now offer a thematic as a major field. At KU environmental and women & gender history are some examples. However, this thematic still needs to be tied down to a geographic area, which normally leads to someone selecting two geographic areas as their secondary fields. There are “strategic” reasons for doing this, but lets just drop it cause this is not what I am doing and I probably should of never brought it up.

Before I explain my fields it is important to explain my research and what I am interested in. This will help you understand the fields I choose. The short and sweet version is that I am interested in interactions (cross-cultural exchanges) between Japan and Europe/China during the 16th-19th century. I break this down exchanges into three main categories: environmental (disease, plants, etc.), goods, and knowledge. I am interested in all three, but the two I have focused on are goods and knowledge. I have done a lot of research on the silver trade in Japan and the world during the 16th-18th century and have moved on . . . it was just to boring. Now I am focusing on the exchange of medical and geographic knowledge during the 16th century. I am looking at the first Western style orphanages and hospitals established by the Jesuits and Franciscans in Japan and how Japan absorbed or “discovered” the Americas through knowledge shared by the Europeans. Okay so that is the very basic plot of what I am interested it. I hope you are all alive and did not die from boredom.

Okay so here are my fields:

Major field: East Asian History
Secondary: Modern Europe
World History

But, wait I thought you were studying Japanese history?

I am, but KU does not offer a field in Japanese or Chinese history. There are several universities that do, but his is not one of them. I actually think this is a good thing because it gives me training in Japan and China. However, that Chinese training really only composes of one to two classes . . . lets keep that to ourselves. I will explain more about why this is important later on when I get to the job section. The history department breaks down East Asia into smaller areas so students can focus on a particular region and period. My focuses in on 16th-19th century Japan, though I have had courses and done stuff on all of Japan.

My secondary field in modern Europe has focused on 16th-19th century. I have done a lot of reading and research on Spain and Portugal during this period. But I have had to read a lot of other stuff. I can honestly say I know way to much about Louis XIV then any person should ever have to know. I am interested in European interactions with Japan so knowing more about Spain and Portugal and what is happening their really helps and puts things into perspective. Do you know what three kingdoms make up Spain?

The world history field as a thematic is because I am interested in global interactions and how people interact with each other. For me history is all about interaction – everything is interacting on different levels.

Okay so at KU 30 units for an MA and 33 units for the PhD. Most places you need the MA to get into the PhD. FYI 6 units (two classes) a semester is full-time for a graduate student. 9 units a semester is considered crazy . . . I have been taking 11 since I got here, 2 classes and a 5 credit language class. Put things into perspective I read 56 books last semester. The term reading is very subjective sometimes . . . I am grateful for book reviews. Plus I am trying to learn a language.

Good news if you do the 30 units for the MA at KU it transfers over for the PhD, which means just one more class. For those who come to KU with an MA from somewhere else, they can sometimes count some of their MA class towards their PhD at KU . . . but I think most have to do the 30 units. I am not leaving!!!!!

Okay now that we are done with that job.

I have no clue where I will teach. You just kind got to take the one of the first job offers you can get and then go from there. There is a BIG difference between research and teaching. Some big universities need someone who can just teach 16th-19th century Japan. They generally care less about what you can teach and more about your research. I think my research is interesting and plays into a large field of debate among scholars. But that's just me.

Though, a smaller university may need some one to teach all of East Asia from hunter-gathers to yesterday’s newspaper. With the major field in East Asia it shows I have training in both China and Japan, just keep that one or two class thing to yourself. Also the modern Europe field allows me to say I can teach some European courses. Though I actually would only really want to teach a class on Spain and its Empire, 16th-18th century. The world history field backs up the notion that I not only teach the general world history survey course, but also thematic courses like, disease in history or history of exploration etc. This is a BIG selling point to smaller and liberal arts universities.

Hopefully this explains why I choose my fields, it makes me more marketable and it fits my research. Also if I choose a program with a major field in Japan, then I would have to choose either China or Europe as one of my secondary fields. The set up I have makes me more marketable when I go on the job market.

As far as a type of university I want to work at, well I do not want to teach at a community college. Teaching five or six survey courses each semester I think would eventually drive me insane. Plus you do not have to do research. I am pretty sure I will end up at either a liberal arts school or a smaller university, like a CSU or something along that line. I have no ambition to go to an Ivy League School . . . I prefer keeping my soul. I want to teach somewhere that allows me to teach 2 or 3 classes each semester while allowing me to do my research. I guess we will cross this bridge when it comes about.

One quick note because terms like East Asian and Modern Europe are so broad you generally break it down like this so it's a little more obvious of where you focus is. This is what is on my CV:

Major Field: East Asian History – Early Modern Japan (16th-19th century)
Minor Fields: Early Modern Europe – Iberia (16th-19th century)
World History


Well I hope this explains more about what is involved in the whole PhD process and how it works in relation to getting a job after you are done. I hope this is not confusing.

Why?

I decided to keep this blog so that friends and family can read about what I am doing. So I figure what will happen is that one of you will read this religiously as I write daily for the first month, only to slowly write less and less till this blog is non-existent. However, I am not going to let this happen.

The big question is: Why am I going to Japan?

The short answer is to learn Japanese.


The question that soon follows that is: Well can't you learn it in the U.S. or take class, like you have been doing?

The answer is, yes I can, but classes have proved to not really be much of a help as I am so busy with everything else that I am not really learning the language. The other thing that is important to remember is that Japanese, unlike Western languages, requires four years of classes (generally) to be able to really do anything. Western languages generally only take two years. Having talked to several friends who have learned languages, most agree that being immersed in the language is the best way to really learn it.


Next question that follows: What about your wife (Erin)?

She is staying here in Lawrence. I am not excited about that part and neither is she. But that is something we have talked about and agreed upon. If anyone is crazy it’s me . . .


People then ask: Are you guys going to talk to each other?

Absolutely not! Of course we are. What kind of dumb question is that? Why would people think we aren’t? Erin and I have several things in place to talk and communicate, skype, vent, etc. The largest gap we will be apart is 4 months. Previous to this it was 2 ½ months when I was at a program in Wisconsin during the summer of '06.


The last question, this one is my second least favorite question: Is this worth it?

That is a loaded question. If you are a professional historian, or in the process of becoming one, then the answer would be an unhesitant Yes. If not, well you probably think this is insane. I guess the way I look at is being a professor/historian is actually a pretty good job. I mean you get paid to read books, teach a couple classes and do research on topics you are interested in. One of my advisors loves his job because it allows him the flexibility to spend time with his family. Every morning he gets to take his daughter to the school bus and is there when she comes home from school. Other professors, who are LDS, love it because it also allows them time for callings. In short, I think of it as more of a heavy investment now for great benefits in the.


Okay, so I know you are asking if the above is my second least favorite question what is my least favorite question. Well that would be: When are you going to be done with school?

I guess the reason I hate this question is that people do not realize that the average time it takes to get a PhD in history after an undergraduate degree is 9.8 years.


The general response when I stay this is: HOLY %*#@ !!! Why so long?

The best answer is that historians, well some lucky ones don’t, have to comb through archives in exotic places and have to learn languages. I think I got it easy. I have a friend doing Medieval Europe who has had to learn, Latin, Spanish, French, and Italian. Also some students leave a program to go elsewhere, generally to a more prestigious university, after they complete the MA. This means they normally have to retake a lot of course work, which could be another two years.

In reality I hope to only take 8 years, which includes spending this year in Japan, but don’t hold me to this. Things change and you never know what will happen.

There I hope I answered the question "why" and did not ramble to much. Anways, I think this will provide a great oppurtunity for me to continue to work on my degree and really develope the language skills I need.