Saturday, May 24, 2008

My Weekend in Nyukawa
I finally got a length of time for my stay here in Nyukawa. I’ll be here for the rest of this week. On Friday I’ll head back to Hatoyama and I’ll spend the rest of my stay here in Japan working there with them in the design office. I’m glad I finally learned everyone’s names there. Heh heh! It took me a while, but I got it: Hayashi, Chihaya, Ai, and Yoshiko. Anyhoo. The rest of my time here in Nyukawa will be spent writing out the stories for the activity book I’m making and I’ll be making a few of the activities as well, four of them to be exact. The most difficult one will be the maze. We’ll see how that one works out.

Friday, May 23rd
It was a slow start to the day today. After breakfast every day Kelly gives little Luka a bath and some food. Then, after that, the two of them and the dog, Wasshoi, will go on a walk for 15 minutes or so. Most of the time this whole process takes only about an hour, but today for some reason it took longer. We didn’t really get started working until about 11. I didn’t get much done before lunch, but I got enough done to call myself productive. After lunch we worked until dinner. This was unusual because Kelly is usually having to deal with Luka every few minutes. But Yoshi’s sister, Mayumi, came over today and kept watch of Luka while we worked. Without the baby to interrupt us we got quite a bit of work done. I made it through another 4 stories and Kelly is rapidly getting the pencil work done on the drawings. She showed me what she has done already and it’s impressive. I’d show you, but I don’t think she’d appreciate me scanning her sketches so I can put them up here, but I would like to let you read one of the stories I wrote for the book. Like I said before, I’m having trouble writing at a level that would be considered appropriate for children. So, if you have any writing in your background and feel like offering any suggestions, I’d be happy to accept them at caesar1280@hotmail.com. If you have my school address I’ll be checking that one too. So, here is what I wrote about the temptation of Jesus:

When Jesus was 30 years old he went to the Jordan river in Israel where he was baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist. As he came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit came down from the heavens like a dove and a voice cried out, “This is my Son, in Him I am pleased.”

Immediately after his baptism, Jesus walked out into the wilderness for 40 days. During this time he didn’t eat, but drank only water. At the end of the 40 days he was very hungry and the devil came to him and tempted him saying, “If you are really the Messiah you could tell the rocks to become bread.” Jesus answered saying, “it is written that man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word that God speaks.” Then the devil showed him all the cities and kingdoms of the world saying, “these are all mine to give to whoever I want. Bow down to me in worship and they can be yours.” To this Jesus replied, “Leave me Satan! It is written that you are to worship and serve only the Lord your God.”

Now the devil was getting irritated, so he took Jesus to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem and said, “It is written that no harm will come to you and that angels protect your ever step. If you are really the messiah, jump off and the angels will save you.” To this Jesus replied, “It is also written that you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” When Jesus said this the devil gave up and left Him.

After dinner this evening the Japanese volleyball team was playing in a tournament and the whole family sat down to watch. It was a momentous night for the team because after their win this evening, their 5th win in a row, they were one of the four teams to qualify for going to Olympics in Beijing. On top of that, it was a really awesome game! I didn’t realize that volleyball was so fun to watch. These women are amazing athletes! Their organization, teamwork, and skill astounded me. I hope they play again while I’m here so I can watch.

Saturday, May 24th
Today was a VERY slow day. When I got up this morning I heard caughing coming from Kelly-san’s room. This worried me because Oka-san has had a cold since I got here and I was really hoping that nobody else in the family would catch it. When Kelly-san didn’t come down for breakfast this morning, I assumed the worst. So, after breakfast I came up to my room and talked with friends from the states for a while. At around 9:30 Kelly-san came walking by and seemed to be feeling fine. I was relieved.

A little before lunch she came into my room and asked to speak with me. So, we went and sat down at a table and she showed me what she wanted me to do today. I have been given charge of completing four of the activities from the book: two word finds, a maze, and a Japanese game of sorts. She said not to rush myself, but to at least start on it today. So, I did. After lunch I started working on the word finds. I got one completed and started on a second.

Later in the evening we had to go shopping for some food. Oka-san had asked Kelly-san to pick up some things at the store and I had to go to a Lawson anyway. Lawson is basically a Japanese 7-11. Yes, they have 7-11’s here too, but Lawson is much more prevalent. I needed to go to Lawson because I had a ticket to buy. I plan on going to the Ghibli Museum sometime while I’m here in Japan and it’s not an easy thing to do. The museum is so popluar that you have to book a ticket and entry time in advance. They only let people enter the museum four times a day—at 10:00, 12:00, 2:00, and 4:00. The only place to get tickets in Japan is at a Lawson station. They have a little kiosk in there, which is all in Japanese of course, where you can buy them. So, with the help of Kelly-san (who said it wasn’t easy to buy even though she could read the machine), I now have a ticket to go to the Ghibli Museum on June 14th at 2:00.

Following our adventures at Lawson we went to a grocery store to pick up everything Oka-san had asked us to pick up. That went relatively smoothly, but they did have a hard time finding salt of all things. Go figure. In the entrance to this particular grocery store there was a donut shop called Mister Donut (I love that name ^_^). The donuts smelled good and I accidentally verbalized my olfactory pleasure as we exited. Now, Kelly-san has been asking me to give suggestions of things I want to eat while I’m here, but honestly I don’t care. I want to try anything they feel like serving me. But, when she heard me mutter that I thought the donuts smelled good, she took that as meaning I wanted donuts. Truthfully I did, but I certainly didn’t want her to buy me any. But the deed had been done and I no longer had any choice in the matter. She bought donuts. 10 of them. She bought them for the whole family though, not just me. That made me feel a little bit better. We ate them after dinner while drinking coffee (extremely good coffee) and watching another volleyball game. My wish came true! HAHA!

Japanese Culture Tidbit: It is polite, and in fact complimentary, to slurp. Whether it be noodles, soup, or tea slurping is how it’s done. Apparently slurping is seen as symbolic of your enjoyment of something and it compliments the cook to hear you do it. I was instructed on the etiquette of slurping by one of my colleagues at New Life League but didn’t have the chance to really put it into practice until Saturday night when they served noodles and soup. They told me that it was polite to slurp this dish and wanted to see me try. They seemed to know that westerners viewed slurping as rude. I mastered the skill with little effort and they were impressed. HAHA!

Caesar1280's Anime Ticker

.hack//Legend of the Twilight, Air, Air: The Movie, Akira, The Animatrix, Appleseed, Aquatic Language, Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror, Beck, Black Lagoon, Blame!, Blood the Last Vampire, Bokurano, Burst Angel, Castle in the Sky, Cowboy Bebop, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express, Egao, FLCL, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala, Gankutsuou, Gatekeepers, Genshiken, Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society, Gin-iro no Kami no Agito, Grave of the Fireflies, Grenadier, Haibane Renmei, Hellsing, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, Hikaru no Go, Howl?s Moving Castle, Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Jyu Oh Sei, Karas: The Prophecy, Last Exile, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Midori?s Days, Milennium Actress, Mushi-shi, My Neighbor Totoro, Naruto, Naruto: The Movie, Nausicaa, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth, Ninja Scroll: The Movie, Other Worlds, Paprika, Perfect Blue, Pet Shop of Horrors, The Place Promised In Our Early Days, Prétear, Princess Mononoke, Read Or Die, Read Or Die: The TV, Samurai Champloo, Samurai Seven, Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal, She and Her Cat, Spirited Away, Steamboy, Tide-Line Blue, Tokyo Babylon, Tokyo Godfathers, Trigun, Voices of a Distant Star, Witch Hunter Robin, Wonderful Days, Wrath of the Ninja, X

Anime I've Seen - .hack//Legend of the Twilight - .hack//Sign - 5 Centimeters per Second - Air - Air: The Movie - Akira - The Animatrix - Appleseed - Aquatic Language - Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror - Baby Blue - Beck - Black Lagoon - Blame! - Blood the Last Vampire - Bokurano - Burst Angel - Castle in the Sky - Cowboy Bebop - Cowboy Bebop: The Movie - Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express - Doorbell - Egao - FLCL - Fullmetal Alchemist - Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala - Gankutsuou - Gatekeepers - Genius Party - Genshiken - Genshiken OAV - Ghost in the Shell - Ghost in the Shell: Innocence - Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society - Gin-iro no Kami no Agito - The Gokusen - Grave of the Fireflies - Grenadier - Haibane Renmei - Happy Machine - Hellsing - Highlander: The Search for Vengeance - Hikaru no Go - Howl's Moving Castle - Innocent Venus - Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade - Jyu Oh Sei - Karas: The Prophecy - Karas: The Revelation - Last Exile - Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi - Midori?s Days - Milennium Actress - Mushi-shi - My Neighbor Totoro - Naruto - Naruto: The Movie - Nausicaa - Neon Genesis Evangelion - Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth - Ninja Scroll: The Movie - Other Worlds - Ouran High School Host Club - Paprika - Perfect Blue - Pet Shop of Horrors - The Place Promised In Our Early Days - Prétear - Princess Mononoke - Read Or Die - Read Or Die: The TV - Samurai Champloo - Samurai Seven - Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal - Serial Experiments Lain - Shanghai Dragon - She and Her Cat - Spirited Away - Steamboy - Tekkonkinkreet - Tide-Line Blue - Tokyo Babylon - Tokyo Godfathers - Trigun - Trinity Blood - Vampire Hunter D - Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - Voices of a Distant Star - Witch Hunter Robin - Wolf's Rain - Wonderful Days - Wrath of the Ninja - X Total: 93

Anime I Haven't Completed - .hack//Roots - Ah! My Goddess - Angelic Layer - Avenger - Baccano! - Bamboo Blade - Basilisk - Binchou-tan - Black Cat - Bleach - Blood+ - Boogiepop Phantom - Case Closed - Le Chevalier d'Eon - Chobits - Chrono Crusade - Code Geass - Coyote Ragtime Show - D.Gray-Man - D.N.Angel - DearS - Death Note - Dennou Coil - Desert Punk - Digimon - Dragon Ball Z - Ergo Proxy - Eureka Seven - Excel Saga - Fighting Beauty Wulong - Final Fantasy Unlimited - Flag - Freedom - Full Moon - Gantz - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Gintama - Glass Fleet - Great Teacher Onizuka - Gundam Seed - Gundam Wing - Hayate the Combat Butler - Hellsing OVA - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - Ikki Tousen - InuYasha - Jigoku Shojo - Kage Kara Mamoru - Karin - Kino's Journey - Love Hina - Loveless - Lovely Complex - Lucky Star - Makai Senki Disgaea - Marchen Awakens Romance - Meine Liebe - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Mononoke - Monster - Moon Phase - Mr Stain on Junk Alley - Naruto Shippuuden - Negima?! - Negima! - Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion - Nerima Daikon Brothers - NHK ni Youkoso - Night Walker - Ninja Nonsense - Noir - Peacemaker Kurogane - Pokemon - Prince of Tennis - R.G. Veda - Ragnarok - Rec - Red Garden - Robotech - Romeo x Juliet - Rosen Maiden - Rurouni Kenshin - Saikano - Sailor Moon - Samurai Deeper Kyo - Sci-fi Harry - School Rumble - Scrapped Princess - Shin-chan - Shingu - Shion no Oh - Shuffle! - Shrine of the Morning Mist - So Long, Mr. Despair - Solty Rei - Sousei no Aquarion - Speed Grapher - Spice and Wolf - Super Milk Chan - Tales of Phantasia - Tenchi Muyo - Tenjhou Tenge - Texnolyze - The Third - Tsubasa Chronicles - Urusei Yatsura - Venus Versus Virus - Welcome to the N.H.K. - Winter Cicada - X-1999 - Xenosaga - XxxHolic - Yu Yu Hakushou - Yume Tsukai - Zero no Tsukaima - Zipang Total: 116

Manga I've Completed - Cowboy Bebop - FLCL - Manga Messiah - Manga Metamorphosis - Q*Ko-chan - Saiyuki - Shirahime-Syo Total: 7 Manga I Haven't Completed - .hack//Legend of the Twilight - Black Cat - Blame! - Chobits - D.Gray-man - Darkside Blues - Death Note - The Demon Ororon - Desert Coral - Disgaea - Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl - Fruits Basket - Getbackers - Hayate the Combat Butler - Kamunagara - Legal Drug - Love Hina - Loveless - Megatokyo - Naruto - Negima - Read Or Die - Rurouni Kenshin - Tactics - Trigun Maximum - XXXHolic Total: 26

Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist

Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo.hack//Roots, .hack//Sign, 5 cm per Second, Ah! My Goddess, Angelic Layer, Avenger, Basilisk, Binchou-tan, Black Cat, Bleach, Blood+, Boogiepop Phantom, Case Closed, Le Chevalier d'Eon, Chobits, Chrono Crusade, Coyote Ragtime Show, D.Gray-Man, D.N.Angel, DearS, Death Note, Dennou Coil, Desert Punk, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Ergo Proxy, Eureka 7, Excel Saga, Fighting Beauty Wulong, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Flag, Full Moon, Gantz, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Gintama, Great Teacher Onizuka, Gundam Seed, Gundam Wing, Hayate the Combat Butler, Hellsing Ultimate, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Innocent Venus, InuYasha, Jigoku Shojo, Kage Kara Mamoru, Karin, Kino?s Journey, Love Hina, Loveless, Lovely Complex, Lucky Star, Makai Senki Disgaea, Marchen Awakens Romance, Meine Liebe, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Mononoke, Monster, Naruto Shippuuden, Negima?!, Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion, Nerima Daikon Brothers, NHK ni Youkoso, Night Walker, Ninja Nonsense, Noir, Ouran High School Host Club, Peacemaker Kurogane, Pokemon, Prince of Tennis, R.G. Veda, Ragnarok, Rec, Red Garden, Robotech, Romeo x Juliet, Rosen Maiden, Rurouni Kenshin, Saikano, Sailor Moon, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Sci-fi Harry, School Rumble, Scrapped Princess, Serial Experiments Lain, Shingu, Shuffle!, Shrine of the Morning Mist, So Long Mr. Despair, Solty Rei, Sousei no Aquarion, Speed Grapher, Super Milk Chan, Tales of Phantasia, Tenchi Muyo, Tenjhou Tenge, Texnolyze, The Third. Trinity Blood, Tsubasa Chronicles, Urusei Yatsura, Welcome to the N.H.K., Winter Cicada, X-1999, Xenosaga, XxxHolic, Yu Yu Hakushou, Yume Tsukai, Zero no Tsukaima, Zipang

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