Thursday, May 22, 2008

Farming and the Sights
I’m starting to settle into the rhythm of this place. Kelly-san and her family have been very nice and accommodating. Granted, so far I’ve done more farming work than design work, but that’s changing. I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying here, but I’m certainly making the most of it.

Wednesday, May 21st
Kelly-san and Yoshi-san decided today they would take me sightseeing. The area around here is really beautiful and they found it would be worth it to let me see a bit of it. The sightseeing started early, at about 10:30 or so when Kelly-san took me up to their tomato fields to show me what they were working on after rice planting. I didn’t do any real farming, but they did ask me to pick some strawberries. There weren’t many ripe ones, but I picked all I could. After finishing there there wasn’t enough time to do any real work, so Kelly-san decided to drive me around the area. She drove me up to see the ski resort where her husband and father-in-law work during the winter months while farming isn’t possible. I looks like a very nice resort and I wish I could have been here during the winter so I could take a few runs down the slopes.

After lunch we went down to the main city in this area called Takayama. Takayama has been dubbed “Little Kyoto” by the Japanese, and it is easy to see why. While there are no grand castles or shrines, the look and feel of Edo-era Japan has been incredibly well preserved. We walked around some of the streets where people had converted old Edo houses into shops. We walked into a few. Mostly it was just tourist goods, nothing of real interest, but some of the unique little crafts were quite impressive like these little magnetic birds made out of paper and feathers. I didn’t buy any of them for fear that I would break them before they made it back to the U.S.. I also had the chance to get some ice cream while we were out. They made it using vanilla ice cream and mixing it with different things to create the flavor. A bit like Cold Stone Creamery, just without the flare. I enjoyed my ice cream and I enjoyed my time walking around Takayama.

After we got back they asked me to help out in the tomato fields a little bit. They were putting insecticide in the spots where the tomatoes were to be planted and wanted some help so they could finish by dinner time. They were able to. I had a hard time with it because with the wind it was hard to get the insecticide to land in the hole, but I managed.

The last bit of the day started after dinner when Kelly-san and I sat down to finish planning out our activity book. Again, it wasn’t easy but with some creative thinking we got it finished by 11 or so. I went to bed pretty soon afterwards.

Thursday, May 22nd
Kelly-san tried to call Iwaoka-san today after breakfast to get the approval we needed to start our work on the activity book we’d finished planning the night before. As it turns out, he didn’t come into the office until late in the afternoon, so the morning consisted of me helping out in the fields again. It was a bit harder work than the day before. Today they had me actually planting the tomato plants. Yoshi-san showed me how it was done. It took me a few tries before I was doing it right. I wasn’t working long, only about an hour or so, but in that time I managed to acquire a blister. ^_^ I have such city hands. I don’t normally do work like that. My poor hands didn’t know what to think of it. HAHA! Anyhoo, I planted tomatoes until lunch time and shortly afterwards Kelly-san got the call from Iwaoka-san that we needed. We got our approval and the rest of the day was spent working on the activity book. Since I’m not doing any of the actual drawing, I’ve been placed in charge of writing out the stories and laying out the pages. I’m having to work hard to write in a style I think kids will understand, though I know whatever I write will probably be changed around a bit before it gets printed. I’m not too worried about that. I’m just glad to be doing actual work on the book.

Kelly-san and I worked until Yoshi-san got home from the tomato fields. When he got back he got out the Nintendo Wii and started playing balance games. I watched him do it for a while and eventually he asked me if I’d like to try. I figured I would. It was much harder than it looked! Yoshi-san’s favorite game was one where you play as a soccer player head butting soccer balls as they’re kicked towards you by little Miis. You shift your weight back and forth on the sensor pad to aim the little guy’s head where it needs to be to hit the ball. Of course, it’s not that simple, the Miis also kick shoes and panda dolls at you that hurt when you try to head butt them. A very challenging yet simple game. We played the Wii until dinner and after dinner I retreated to my room, watched a Family Guy episode, talked to my mom on AIM and then went to bed.

Japanese Culture Tidbit: In the summer following the birth of a new baby boy, a Japanese family will raise something called a “koi no bori.” A koi no bori is a grouping of four wind socks shaped like fish. They do this because of an ancient story that the first dragon was a fish that learned to fly. So, they raise the fish symbolically saying that they want their boy to grow into a strong dragon. The fish on top is the one representing the family and has the family crest on it, the second one down represents the father, and the one after it the mother. The one on the bottom is the one representing the boy who is being lead into the heavens by the combined spirits of his family and ancestors. I was lucky enough to get to see the raising of Luca-chan’s koi no bori.

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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