Monday, May 26, 2008

Boredom and Busyness
It’s a relatively short entry for the last couple of days (short in comparison to many of my recent posts). There hasn’t been a whole lot that has happened that is extremely noteworthy, and I again don’t have any pictures. There was only one occasion at which pictures were of any real interest, and on that occasion I was unlucky enough to have forgotten my camera. Se la vie.

Sunday, May 25th
Sunday was as I had expected it to be, very laid back. We didn’t go to church today. Kelly-san never does. There are only three churches in the Nyukawa area and according to Kelly-san, “they’re all crazy.” So, I really didn’t end up doing very much today. I didn’t do any work on the activity book, and since it was raining I couldn’t really go walk around outside. But, since it was Saturday evening back in the U.S., many of my friends were online and I used the morning to get caught up with the goings on on the other side of the world. Not a whole lot of real interesting things happening, but it was good to get to catch up.

The rain cleared at about 2 PM at which point Kelly-san decided it was time for a walk. Mayumi-san was over again today so she came along. Unlike our normal walks, this one was quite long, and I hadn’t expected it would be. All the other walks we’ve been on have been basically around the rice paddies and back. I had already taken plenty of pictures of the rice paddies and didn’t feel like doing it again. But, today Kelly-san decided she wanted to walk all the way around the entirety of Nyukawa. This was a full hour-long excursion, I think. It could have been shorter (but no shorter than a half hour). While we were out on the walk the sun broke through the clouds and revealed to me some of the most beautiful scenery I’d ever seen. The landscape was about as green as it could have possibly been, the atmosphere was perfectly clear and I could see for miles, and the clouds were so beautifully scattered along the tops of the mountain ridges that I felt physical pain with the absence of my camera. Not that the camera would have done any of this scenery justice, it still would have been nice to have proof that God created something this beautiful. So far, being without my camera on that walk has been my one regret from this whole trip.

Kelly-san and Mayumi-san, one pushing a baby in a stroller and the other with a baby due in three weeks, weren’t able to make it all the way around the town. They called Oka-san to come pick them up in the car. I had been put in charge of walking Wasshoi, and when the car came to pick us up, I could tell he wasn’t ready to stop yet. So, for the last bit of the walk it was just Wasshoi and me. Now that was a sight to behold: a white guy with blonde hair and blue eyes walking a Japanese dog down a street in Nyukawa, Japan like he owned the place. I was quite the spectacle and got more than my fair share of stares from people passing by in cars, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Dinner was shortly after we returned from our walk and after dinner the Japanese volleyball team was having their last game of the tournament. They were playing the Serbians. I had fully expected the Japanese to win again, after all they’d one every game they had played thus far. But, the Serbians turned out to be more of a match than anyone anticipated. The Japanese were up two sets to none and needed one more to win, but the Serbians pulled back up and won the last three sets in a row. Those women were beasts. The shortest member of their team had at least three inches on the tallest of the Japanese team. They kept blocking the Japanese attempts at spiking. They did it and made it look easy. The Japanese had to pull some tricky plays to try and win, and they almost did. The last set was supposed to end at 16 points, but you have to win by at least two points and the Japanese were not letting the Serbians get those two points. The game ended at 19 to 17 for the Serbians. It was a wonderful game, and I was disappointed the Japanese had lost. After the game I went upstairs and watched and episode of House to end the night.

Monday, May 26th
Unlike yesterday, today was full of work. I finished another word find this morning, spent the morning and afternoon making a layout for the activity book in InDesign (and doing it on a Japanese language interface no less), and spent the afternoon and evening creating a maze. Kelly-san doesn’t want a regular maze, she requested I try and make a maze that looks like the city of Jerusalem to go along with the story. This is more than difficult and I’m having frustration with it. I finally gave up on it about half an hour before dinner time and decided not to touch it again until tomorrow.

It was a busy day for Kelly-san as well. She had a bit of shopping to do today and she also had to go to the hospital for a doctor visit. She was running around all morning. I could barely slow her down long enough to ask a question and eventually decided my questions weren’t worth the effort. To make her morning even worse the doctor’s office called and moved the appointment up half and hour. The poor woman had barely enough time to shove some lunch down her throat before she left.

When she returned to discover I hadn’t moved from the place she left me, she asked if I wanted something to drink or if I’d had enough already. I said I hadn’t had anything all day and she got a surprised look on her face. She had thought I’d been drinking out of her fridge. Why she would think that I don’t know. I don’t normally go scavenging through people refrigerators while they’re gone. Anyway, she offered me a drink and I passed the whole event off as an interesting bit of miscommunication.

Dinner has always been a treat for me because the entire table speaks Japanese. I can’t really take part in the conversations but enjoy listening to them none the less. I’m getting to the point where I can pick out words that I know and sometimes be able to determine what it is that is being discussed. I have also made a discovery that the Japanese don’t have very many pronouns in their language because when they’re talking about me, I know it. I keep hearing “Makkun” being thrown around multiple times in a sentence and my ears perk up. They’ve noticed this and Kelly-san is polite enough to translate whatever is being said about me or to me. A similar situation happened tonight at dinner. I started hearing my nickname being thrown around a lot amid giggles and laughter from the female end of the table, and at the end of a few exchanges of dialogue all three women burst into a chorus of “kawaii!” “Kawaii” is the Japanese word for “cute,” and in light of this fact I was more than curious to know what had just been said. Kelly-san turned to me and said she told the other women that I hadn’t had any drinks out of her fridge. That’s all she told me before she turned back to her conversation. Now, there must be some cultural barrier here because I don’t know what could possibly be funny or cute about me not helping myself to a few beverages. That would have felt awkward. I don’t know. I was left in a state of confusion for the rest of the meal and I haven’t completely recovered from it. I’ve been tempted to ask Kelly-san for further explanation, but I think I’d rather just leave it alone. It’s not that important.

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

Comments (3)