* 17th of May post updated! *
This is partly for myself to remember what I must blog about and partly to let you all know some things I've not yet been able to write a novel about:
- I've seen fireflies! Live fireflies! In the wild!
- I've been to the Chiran peace museum for kamikaze pilots, which was a sad, touching and memorable visit. I also got to see the only remaining kamikaze-plane in Japan.
- Ensoukai! AKA. School excursion. Involves friends (especially Tsuru), a river, "splish-splash!" and lots of candy and laughter. Good times.
Update (4th of June):
- Rotary trip: Nagasaki, Ninja village, Kumamoto.
Location: Japan!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
"Surpliiise!"
Yes! I've done it!
(;＾◇＾;)♪
I had a long debate with myself as to whether to do this or not, but I decided I'd regret it more if I didn't, so...I sang "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid solo at the charity concert today! And then "Beauty and the Beast" with the chorus singing the backing harmonies.
It was outside, and had an unformal feeling to it, so I wasn't as scared as I thought I'd be. I was even able to have some fun while on stage.
It was my first time singing solo like this, so I was pretty nervous. I think you could tell from my singing too, but it was a good experience, and I think it went quite well all things concidered. ：P
I didn't tell anyone about this before, because I wanted to decide this for myself...and surprise you. So...
(Mom, dad, I sing in your general direction!)
PS: the stage is that brown building there...
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
17th of May... in Japan!
As I expect you all to know, 17th of May is Norway's national day. Oddly enough there was not much celebrating here in Japan(!), but I did tell the Japanese about it, so in a way I remembered the 17th even though I did not wear my bunad or have a Norwegian flag to wave about with.
I did, however, practice Japanese dance at my teacher's house, which was a lot of fun! It goes down something like this:
I practice at my teacher's house one weekend every month. It's a lot of fun and quite challenging (keep those heels and hips down!), but I think It's a lot of fun! I think it's one of the few dances I can do without feeling foolish or embarrassed. (Hip hop could be fun, if I had more self-confidence and didn't feel like such a failure, see...) Also, the choreography seems to be slower, so I find it easier to learn.
I gave my teacher a mini-calendar with pictures of Norway and a postcard with pictures of Oslo as a 17th of May present, and sketched national costumes on a piece of paper, explaining a bit about our way of celebrating. I'm also explaining a bit about the "russ" celebration, and feeling a bit sad that I can't graduate with all my friends. Awww.
Sometimes I kind of wish Japan could be a bit like Narnia, so that I could come back and everything would stay the same. But then again, I'm so curious to hear about the changes and what my friends will be doing now that I guess I'm happy it's the way it is. ...now if only I could take my Japanese host family, friends and some teachers with me when I go home... (Matti-sensei, say you'll come with me and be my homeroom teacher! Pretty pleeeease! There can never bee to many! You and Béatrice will be a great team! I'll handle the translations?)
*ahem*
Japanese dance. Yes.
Well, I'm practicing "Sakura Sakura", which involves a lot of waving about with my two fans (pretty-pretty!) and moving of pigeon-toed feet. But I swear I look really cute and professional! My teachers have said that they'll dress me up in a furisode when I've learnt the whole dance, and they'll take a picture of me that I can show to my Norwegian family and friends. Hurray! :D
Here's hoping I don't get tangled up in those long sleeves...
I did, however, practice Japanese dance at my teacher's house, which was a lot of fun! It goes down something like this:
I practice at my teacher's house one weekend every month. It's a lot of fun and quite challenging (keep those heels and hips down!), but I think It's a lot of fun! I think it's one of the few dances I can do without feeling foolish or embarrassed. (Hip hop could be fun, if I had more self-confidence and didn't feel like such a failure, see...) Also, the choreography seems to be slower, so I find it easier to learn.
I gave my teacher a mini-calendar with pictures of Norway and a postcard with pictures of Oslo as a 17th of May present, and sketched national costumes on a piece of paper, explaining a bit about our way of celebrating. I'm also explaining a bit about the "russ" celebration, and feeling a bit sad that I can't graduate with all my friends. Awww.
Sometimes I kind of wish Japan could be a bit like Narnia, so that I could come back and everything would stay the same. But then again, I'm so curious to hear about the changes and what my friends will be doing now that I guess I'm happy it's the way it is. ...now if only I could take my Japanese host family, friends and some teachers with me when I go home... (Matti-sensei, say you'll come with me and be my homeroom teacher! Pretty pleeeease! There can never bee to many! You and Béatrice will be a great team! I'll handle the translations?)
*ahem*
Japanese dance. Yes.
Well, I'm practicing "Sakura Sakura", which involves a lot of waving about with my two fans (pretty-pretty!) and moving of pigeon-toed feet. But I swear I look really cute and professional! My teachers have said that they'll dress me up in a furisode when I've learnt the whole dance, and they'll take a picture of me that I can show to my Norwegian family and friends. Hurray! :D
Here's hoping I don't get tangled up in those long sleeves...
Thursday, May 14, 2009
A quick update - list style!
Now I know I have little time online! Haha! Bear with me.
- I will soon get to do kendo. I'll be practicing with a group of people trained by people who are also members of the the police (because they do kendo). Awesome! I'll have to walk there from school, though, but I'll survive.
- I'm still singing with Midori-sensei. It's so much fun! I feel I'm getting better control over my voice, and I'm learning technique, which is wonderful! I can tell I've gotten much more volume since I started. Hurray!
- I am learning Chinese. In Japanese.
- I had a ensoku (class trip) on Monday, which was a lot of fun!
- I have school for one hour on Saturday, because our parents are coming to see what our classes are like. Yay....
- I have a private lesson in Japanese dance at my dance teacher's house on Sunday!
Location: Japan
Mood: Guilty (I've been online for more than 2 hours.)
Listening to: Various Tori Amos songs
Eating: bread
Drinking: no
PS: Kiyu, why can't I read your blog? It comes up all wierd-looking on my screen, and no text! D:
- I will soon get to do kendo. I'll be practicing with a group of people trained by people who are also members of the the police (because they do kendo). Awesome! I'll have to walk there from school, though, but I'll survive.
- I'm still singing with Midori-sensei. It's so much fun! I feel I'm getting better control over my voice, and I'm learning technique, which is wonderful! I can tell I've gotten much more volume since I started. Hurray!
- I am learning Chinese. In Japanese.
- I had a ensoku (class trip) on Monday, which was a lot of fun!
- I have school for one hour on Saturday, because our parents are coming to see what our classes are like. Yay....
- I have a private lesson in Japanese dance at my dance teacher's house on Sunday!
Location: Japan
Mood: Guilty (I've been online for more than 2 hours.)
Listening to: Various Tori Amos songs
Eating: bread
Drinking: no
PS: Kiyu, why can't I read your blog? It comes up all wierd-looking on my screen, and no text! D:
Monday, May 4, 2009
This spring magenta is the new black!
We're on our way to a farm in Kirishima. (My goal is to cuddle cows! And I'm dressed accordingly. Haha!) We stopped at a store called LAWSON (oh, the irony of names! Lol) and I grabbed a free magazine because it had Evangelion's Ayanami Rei on the cover... and I found this commercial inside! 逆転検事！ Gyakuten kenji - Turnabout Prosecutor! Edgey-pooh!<3 XD It's being released this month! AAAAAH!
...I went completely fangirl and squealed with joy when I found this. I think I surprised my host dad. Haha! Sorry, can't help it. Gyakuten Saiban is one of my greatest weaknesses...
And a Kingdom Hearts game is coming out for the DS! I wuv my DS!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Less internet means blogs from the cellphone...
It's golden week in Japan now, and we're taking the opportunity to go to different places. :) Just now we stopped for lunch at a park. There was a guy from my school working at a yakitori stand there, so I said hello to him. That was nice! Also, I gave Sayaka a piggy-back ride just for fun (she's less afraid of it than you, Nuff! ;P) and bought an ice cream for dessert. It's potato mix! Sweet potato (purple) and regular potato. Yummy!
The second picture is from a purikura I took a while ago with a bunch of my classmates after we'd helped our Japanese dance teacher at a dance competition she helped arrange.
...WHOA! We just drove by a burning house...! O__o;; The firefighter truck came right after we drove by. I feel sorry for those people... I took a picture with my cellphone in true Japanese style...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)