Homework for the Overactive Brain

Today's Quote--"Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to me..."

Sunday, November 09, 2003

 

Heard it on the radio and thought it was a pretty nifty line...looks really pretty in kanji! Hmmm, let's see if this works...nope, no kanji for you...:( Oh well. Anyway, doing good...miss home. Had a great weekend out...went to Hakodate, the southernmost city on Hokkaido (you can see Honshu from Mt. Hakodate)...it was pretty cool. And cold...saw my first snowfall of the year this weekend...brrrrr. And you all have to remember about Japan houses not having central heating...;) Stayed with grandparents in a little fishing villege outside of Hakodate...very cool. Took about 5 hours driving from Sapporo...but I'll get to that in a bit.

So, I told you I was going to Kabuki and that I was really excited about it and you never heard another word about it. Well, I did go, and I loved it! It was really fun and I laughed a lot. Of course having an understanding of Kabuki's history and knowing some Japanese, especially keigo (formal langugage...most people, even in Japan, can't do it, so I feel okay when I screw up!), I was able to appreciate it a lot more, I think. Kabuki is usually done in old style Japanese, so there isn't a whole lot of language that anyone can understand, but we had an English translation of the story, so it was great. Two scenes were about a gang of theives, one about them planning and scoping out a rich silk shop to rob, and the other about them being cornered by the police and escaping. The last scene was about a servent who had a load of tea leaves to deliver to his master, but who fell asleep and woke up to a robber trying to steal them. A lord comes and proceeds to solve the problem, but the robber copies every move the real servant makes, so the lord doesn't know who's telling the truth...in the end he figures it out, but the robber runs off with the tea anyway. I liked the last one because it was obviously making fun of the upper-classes, first of all because the lord is rather stupid, and second of all because it was performed in imitation of Noh (classic Japanese theater usually only seen by the upper-classes...it makes even less sense than Kabuki or Bunraku). Lots of laughing yes! Kabuki is really expensive, and you usually cant go see it up north here, but this troupe was touring, so yeah! I got to go. ;) Yes, so I liked Kabuki...a lot. Now you know.

So on my little trip this weekend I came up with some other good Japanese Culture points...so you don't have to listen to another story about the subway...;)

No matter where you're from, young men who drive tend to be scary...they like to go fast and have a hard time judging danger. So spending 10 or 12 hours in a car with K's host brother driving...was a little scary. I survived, but there were times...Let's just say that when you're going up a mountain and even the driver starts saying "shinnitakunai!!!" ("I don't want to die!"), things are a little scary. Oy. Anyway...the car we were in was imported from the US, a Chevy, so the steering wheel was on the left side. Which was weird at first because I've gotten used to them being on the other side, and continued to be weird when we were driving on the left side of the road. Of course the oddest part was getting back into my host mother's car on the left side...with the steering wheel on the right. OY! My brain is now throughly confused as to where the steering wheel should be and which side of the road you should drive on. Definately not going to drive first thing when I get home!!! As I mentioned before it took us about 5 hours to get to Hakodate from Sapporo...but mind you the speed limit on the highway is 50...Kilometers per hour. Which rates at about 35 mph. Of course we did go pretty fast...even made it up to 80mph for a wee bit, but then the car sounded like it wanted to shake some bolts loose...I think we were at a steady 45-50mph speed most of the way there, though. Yes, so for those of you who know Washington State geography...I'd say the distance between Sapporo and Hakodate is about the same as the distance between Spokane and Ellensburg. For the rest of you...find a map. ;)

So we all know that the Japanese eat a lot of fish....lots and lots of fish. Well, Sunday morning I got to watch the fishermen bring in their catch. That's why. If you ever get the chance, you should wake up real early and go watch them bring in the fish...OY! Lots and lots of fish. Lots of fish. So, if you've got a lot of stuff...you eat it! Hence why the Japanese eat lots of fish. Since it's that or chicken. Fish are easier. ;) Did get to see lots of cows and horses though, on the trip, but Hokkaido is famous for that. Best milk in Japan...or so I hear. ;)

Speaking of getting up early, I really can do it, but I despise not getting sleep. I love the sunrise and how pretty everything looks first thing in the morning...but I'd rather sleep. Of course that's true most of the time...oy. Have I mentioned lately that I'm tired? No? Good...I'm trying to cut down. ;)

I have decided that I am a hippy. Just a little twisted. Had a few moments of just wanting to settle down in a nice quiet farm/ranch and hang out with nature. Still working that one out of my system. I love nature, and I can even deal with bugs out in the woods...that's where they're supposed to be...not in my room. oy. Anyway...yes, I've inherited my parent's hippy-ness. THANKS! ;) LOL

Ah yes, back to fishing for a moment...I noticed that all the boats names' ended with maru ("cirlce") but when I asked about it no one knew why. So I asked in class...it's a charm to protect the boats. Omaru usued to be another way to refer to the toliet (hey, it's round!), so when the sea gods heard the names of the boats and it ended with maru, they thought, hey, that's dirty, I don't want it, and therefore wouldn't sink the ships. Apparently it's a typical way to keep something safe, give it a dirty name...some parents do that for their kids too. If it doesn't have a nice name, the gods won't try and take it from you. Makes sense...Do we have anything like that in America? I'm not sure...think on it! Let me know if you can think of anything.

Interesting interaction thing...I noticed that older Japanese women...grandmothers for instance, tend to be bossy and strong willed. Younger women tend to be meeker. I think the same thing happens in America too, but it's not as noticable since younger women are just bossy to begin with. But it's interesting anyway. Too many possible reasons why (Psych major again!), but yes. I've also decided that I like evolutionary psychological theories, because it often times makes a lot of sense...like guy/girl relationships and what girls do to get guys' attention. I don't think they have a clue half of what goes on in a woman's mind when she meets a guy. Yes, yes...school girls made me think of it. But anyway, the point was that I don't think guys have any idea how much scheming girls do to get their attention, and in countries like Japan where a girl can't just out and out say she likes a guy...lots of scheming. J is right...Women are evil. ;)

Oki doki, I think that does it for today...and probably this week...oy! Busy, but that's a good thing. SOOoooooo, I'll catch ya'll on the flip side.

GL 9:11 PM