Chibi Child

Loong time no write...!

2009-10-25T21:58:00.004+09:00

Yes, I know it's been ages since I posted anything here. Sorry 'bout that.

I've been busy as usual - especially since I got in on my school play. No, I didn't make the actor troop, but I'm in the choir. And hey, any excuse to learn more about singing! It's funny - I really love singing, but I've always just done it for fun, so I never really thought about how much technique you need to sing well. It's a lot of work, and I simply can't wait to start learning more!

I'm at my sister's in Kristiansand right now. I'm here for the weekend, and we're having a great time being couch potatoes and celebrating the fact that she finally got a pemanent job as a cellist! Congratulations, you've earned it! Also, we saw "UP", the new Pixar film. It was amazing!

I've realized there's still some posts from my time in Japan I never got to writing. I'm thinking of simply putting it all into one post, as a kind of summary. We'll see. There's a bunch of other posts I've been meaning to write as well. -.-;;

Location: My sister's place, Kristiansand
Mood: Sluggish
Listening to: TV
Eating: -
Drinking: -

Jazz hands!

2009-09-18T15:49:00.004+09:00

...I'm officially done with my auditions! 3 rounds of 'em too.

For the first round I had planned to read a poem in two different ways, but ended up improvising nearly everything, doing a tiny bit of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and just talking.

In the second round I faced nearly all my demons at once by singing "Dreaming" from The Little Mermaid TV-show in front of a huge amount of people. Thank God for spotlights, I didn't see a thing! I was really nervous and felt stiff as a log when I stood onstage and I didn't manage to hold all the higher notes because I was so nervous. Still, it was quite fun! I got a really nice comment too, which made me very happy. (o^^o)

The third round was held yesterday. I teamed up with Andrea, a very talented and fun girl, and we did a modern dramatization of the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. It was really fun to do it onstage! I feel much more relaxed once I have someone alongside me, and we made the audience laugh, so it was all good.

Phew!

Now I will focus on my upcoming history test (today) and then go home and do NOTHING. Except maybe draw and be with my family. Being 19 and all.

I'm already looking forward to it, this week's been rather stressful. No more auditions. THANK HEAVENS! Now all that's left to do is sit around and wait for the results. Wish me luck!

Location: School
Mood: Relieved and tired
Listening to: my Norwegian teacher talking
Eating: forbidden :C

To do or not to do, that is the question...

2009-09-09T19:04:00.005+09:00

So I've decided to try out for my school's play this year, meaning....

AUDITIONS!

Tomorrow.

I'm scared out of my wits and have no idea what to do. Except some goofy Shakespeare or a little Chicago. I've never done an audition in my life. This will be... interesting.

Location: School
Mood: Nervous!

Homesick

2009-09-01T22:44:00.003+09:00

Ironically enough, now that I'm back in Norway I miss Japan - and maybe my friends and host family - an incredible lot! Much more than I can remember missing Norway - but then again I always knew I'd be back within a year. I'd made up my mind to go back even before I left Japan, but when that'll be I'm not sure. And I want to be back now.

日本、鹿児島、城西高校、皆．．．全部が恋しいの！帰りたい！帰りたい！(; . q)

Location: School
Mood: homesick
Listening to: LIFE - YUI
Reading: The Reader

Resurfacing

2009-08-30T02:52:00.012+09:00

So, after my initial shock concerning school I've decided to make the best of it and find what interests me in my subjects. Sociology looks like it can be quite fun too. Tough, but fun. Costume and scenography will probably be awesome - especially since my teacher was open for a cosplay project, including making the costume and a photo shoot! I never thought cosplay would make it to my timetable! My new class will still take some getting used to, I think, but I have some friends there now. It'll be okay - it has always turned out that way, and I see no reason why my lucky star should fail me this time. :)

I chatted with my hostsister Sayaka on skype for a long time today, and we decided to have a skype session tomorrow. I really look forward to being able to talk to them again! I haven't seen them for a whole month, and even if it's only on my computer screen being able to talk and see them again will be wonderful! <3>

My parents are away on a party, and so here I am at 3 minutes past midnight...and I still haven't eaten dinner properly. Haha, I don't see how I'll ever survive if I move out! (^ワ^) At least I've fed the rabbits.

I was looking at ebay and suddenly found the most wonderful things: Lion King plushies! I am desperatley in love with the laying Simba plushies! Especially the most used one, because he looks so soft and cuddly... behold!

Look at the one in the middle! Isn't he the cutest?

I don't want the warthog, just the lion...

Scar! Can you believe it? <3

Location: Norway, at home...
Mood: Happy nostalgia

Reading: Go Ask Alice

Listening to: Aishiteiru (Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou ED)
Watching: Lion King items at ebay (which causes nostalgia)
Eating: dinner at midnight...
Drinking: tea

...and my academical world crumbles

2009-08-20T20:46:00.004+09:00

We're so lucky we get to choose some of our subjects at my school. And among all of them there were three I desperately wanted to take:

Mandarin Chinese II
Theater group
Scenography and costume design

...then add to the equation that I can only choose two.
...and that these subjects all run at the same time.

I ended up choosing scenography and costume design. I'm crushed.

I had really thought and counted on that I'd be able to continue my Chinese along with my artsy subjects. Now all I want for Christmas is Hermione's time turner. I had thought I could go back to China this year and meet my friend Si Chang. I'd thought I'd be able to continue, tutored by one of the sweetest teachers I know. No. What I had to do, though, was pick another subject from a pile of the ones I hardly had any interest in at all. So I chose sociology because it's what I think I might find fun and be able to motivate myself to do - if I can get over the loss of my Chinese class.

I want to cry so they'll all feel sorry for me and correct this horrid mistake in my schedule.

..because there has to be one, right? Right?!

Location: school...
Mood: depressed
Listening to: the aircondition
Eating: -
Drinking: -

Tying up loose ends

2009-08-17T03:49:00.006+09:00

So, I haven't written here in a while, the sole reason being that I had so much to do that there was no time. I've decided to write a short summary of what's been going on - just so that you're all up to date and we're on the same page.

My trip to Kushikino island was amazing. The whole island was covered in greenery and the tops of the hills were hidden in the clouds making it misty and intriguing - to me it seemed almost Narnia-like. I also snorkeled for the first time in my life, and seeing tropical fish up that close was incredible! It brought me that much closer to my dream of being a mermaid. ^^

I held my farewell speech in front of the entire school...and I sang! My singing teacher told me, oh, about five minutes before I started walking towards the assembly hall! "I've arranged it so that you'll be able to sing!" "Eh?...you WHAT?!" When asking Matsuo-sensei: "What? I haven't heard of this..." then, while I was chatting oh-so-pleasently with Mr. Kamikawa, she came running. "Singing...now!"
...so, after I held my speech (which wasn't half as terrible as I thought it would be) I sang with Shun playing the guitar.

It was kind of nervewrecking, but I did okay, and so in the end it was fun and I felt very brave. Hurrah!

Also... my secret date for leaving Japan was... *drumroll* highlight: the 27th of July!
Meaning I'm now back in Norway. At first it was really weird. People around me spoke Norwegian, I spoke Norwegian, I understood everything... but I couldn't understand why they were speaking Norwegian! Inside my head there was nothing but English and Japanese. I think I've continued dreaming in Japanese a couple of times too. So yes, it is exciting and weird being home too.

School starts tomorrow, meaning a whole new class and new people whom I'll get to play with for a year before we go our seperate ways. I'm curious to see how it'll work out, seeing as they've already spent two years together and I've hardly met them until...well, now. At the same time I'm sure it'll be a year full of surprises and experiences! Exciting and boring at the same time, maybe...? (haha!)

Wish me luck!

I find this song fits rather perfectly for the occasion:

Location: Norway
Mood: "what now...?"
Listening to: 手をつなごう (Ayaka - te wo tsunagou)
Eating: cake! :D
Drinking: water

"Sing, sweet nightingale..."

2009-07-13T20:26:00.007+09:00

I've been really busy lately - kendo, swimming, the last weeks of school before summer vacation (but I never want school to end!) a trip to a lovely little island (that I'll have to write about later) and...singing! Midori-sensei has been giving me lessons every Thursday during lunch break. I also sing with Shun sometimes - he plays the guitar too, so it's a lot of fun! (I can't play anything, so if I'm alone it's all a capella...) He likes Avril Lavigne, and so we sing her early songs a lot - "Sk8r boi" ~~(God, I hate that spelling!)~~, "Complicated" and "Why". Especially "Why".

I started listening to it after Shun recommended it to me, and learned it by heart so I'd be able to sing it. It's a lot easier for me to sing without being so nervous if we're two performing. It makes performing in front of people a lot more enjoyable. (And if you know how much I love singing, you would hardly think that possible...!) Also, because he's playing the guitar, I have something to listen and orientate myself to.

*deep breath* So! Ladies and gentlemen, for your enjoyment and just to expose myself completely... wait, actually Shun is singing some too... OK! Here's our cover version of Avril Lavigne's "Why":

"Why" - download
...don't worry mom, it's safe.

Don't mind the guy at the beginning. We were three people in the music room, so we'd been joking around a bit before we started the recording. :P

(You'll need to download it until I find a better solution. Any recommendations?)

...would anyone at my Norwegian school notice if I just stayed here until we graduate?

Location: Japan
Mood: Happiness! ^^
Listening to: Ok, this is awkward... a recording of myself singing. (lol!) I don't get to hear my voice from "the other side" a lot.
Eating: White peach
Drinking: -

Why I like kendo...

2009-07-04T14:26:00.003+09:00

"Think of his head as a watermelon! Now cut it..."

Fufufufufufuu! |D

"I'm blue, dabadi dabadai...."

2009-07-04T13:52:00.009+09:00

OK, so technically just my clothes are...

On Thursday I had my first kendo training wearing full armor! It felt very strange at first - I could not see to the sides because of my men, moving my head was pretty much impossible and my vision was obstructed by all that...metal! in front of my face. Aaah!

Moving felt different too, and so I guess my newbie skills of doom might have gotten even more newbie. (Haha!) Still, it was a lot of fun - both for me and the people watching the training, seeing me stumbling about clearly unsure of what to do and how to do it. Oh well, if I can spread some joy...

I also got to practice with one of the senseis in a "fight" (meaning pathetically bash his head to the best of my efforts) which was very interesting. Because my face is covered and everything is borrowed, (the name on the front of my tare is very much Japanese) he came up to me, stood about 15 centimetres from me and peered into my men to see my face. (And also, presumably, so that I could hear him over the yelling.) "This is your first time, right?" "Yes."

Sensei: "When you cut, make it more like this:" *BASH*
Helene: "!" *ok, that was really cool hejusthitmeonthehead, hahahaaa!* "Hai!"

During the training he would sometimes use his shinai to lower mine if I held it too high when standing in kamae. Also, he would grab my shinai and pull it past himself, making me shuffle after it as best I could. I'm guessing this was to give me an idea of how to move after doing a men cut (and how fast to move). I really enjoyed it, although I am still very new to it all and don't really know how it all works yet. :P I basically have the word "BEGINNER" written all over me in glaring red neon letters, and my slight fidgeting and lacking technique gives me away no matter how much my face is concealed, lol! Still, my sensei praises me for learning fast and putting a lot of effort into it. I'll do my best, and try to get as good as I can in the amount of time I have left here. (No, Eirik, you may not know how long :P) Cheer me on as I shuffle my way towards greatness, will you? xD

Again, Eirik - when I come home, you. TEACH. ME. MORE. No excuses. ;P

Location: Japan
Mood: ...too hot to think...
Listening to: -
Eating: -
Drinking: -

逆転検事

2009-06-27T17:38:00.002+09:00

Gyakuten kenji - Turnabout Prosecutor (or "Perfect Prosecutor" as I believe it will be called in America?) - is released here! And I'm playing it!

Eirik: me>you Muahaha!
(^∇^o)(o^∇^)

I can't read all the kanjis, but so far I'm doing well enough to understand what's going on and I'm getting by. I'm even managing the "logic system". (=^∇^=)V Whee〜

I can feel my cool points gathering up.

All work and no play makes Helene quite happy anyway ♪

2009-06-24T00:01:00.002+09:00

...then again, some of you might argue that today's been the exact opposite - all play and no work. (^_^i)

Today my class had two lessons taken to get information about uni and so on, meaning i did 日本舞踊, Japanese dance, with the first year students in stead of classical Japanese. So listen to today's schedule of my dreams:

1st: Aerobics
2nd: Japanese dance (first years)
3rd: Japanese dance (second years)
4th: Japanese dance (third years)
〈 lunch 〉
5th: Judo
6th: Judo

After school: sit and watch the dance club/read Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy" until 5 o'clock, walk for about 20〜25 min. to the dojo, 6:00PM〜8:00 : Kendo!

I've done close to nothing but move the entire day and I'm in bliss! (*゜∇゜)ノ Japan is so much FUN! And my friends here are great too. :D Today is one of those days where I feel I could stay here until they graduate in April and be perfectly happy. (But I'd miss my family and friends in Norway, though.；) )

I also got to borrow kendo gear, so now I'm training in a hakama, and I look ferociously cool. XD

...And I danced "Sakura Sakura" in front of the first years today because Satsumi-sensei asked me to. That's +10 cool points for me. At least. ：P

Status report

2009-06-19T00:16:00.002+09:00

...don't worry - my toe was like that to begin with. :P

As I said in my previous post, I've started training kendo. 。o@(^-^)@o。 I came once on Thursday last week with my Rotary councelor to observe the training and try a little bit, trained on Friday (after calling my swimming to say something came up) and I've trained from Tuesday to Thursday (today) this week. (Tomorrow is swimming.)

My foot. My left FOOT. In two days I've managed to get more blisters under the sole of my foot then I think I've ever had in my life. I've got two rather big ones (or it might be five melted together?) that's causing me some trouble. I finally get my kendo-boyfriend's complaints. ：P On Tsuru's advice I've been poking holes in them with needles to prevent them from getting any worse, and the rest I'm taking care of with sport's tape and bandaids. Now if only my skin could get hard fast...At least this is proof that I'm "ganbatte"ing! Haha!

It's a lot of fun, though! Today I started bashing people on the head with my shinai (also known as practicing the men cut) or alternately hitting a shinai being held up by a partner. There's lots to think about, and I'm still trying to get my head (and body...) around it all with varying success. Lol.

I got to know a new girl at training today too - her name is Satoko, and she's a 3rd year student at Ijuin high school. She's really nice, and I like her a lot. She and her father even gave me a lift home after training, so we talked almost non-stop all the way. (I seem to have a habit of talking a lot no matter what the language... ・・(^_^i)・・ lol.)

Anyway: kendo is great!Eirik - you and I've got a job to do.(^。^)‐☆

Long time no see!

2009-06-13T16:41:00.012+09:00

I've been busy as usual, but I figured I'd finally take some time to write a bit about what I've been up to. So!

At some point in time, the date of which I can no longer remember, I went with my family to see 蛍 (hotaru) - fireflies! We stood waiting for a long time with a bunch of people until it finally got dark enough and they started to fly about, flashing their bums. (Hahaa! I'm so funny I kill myself... ehm.) It was really quite magical, and the first time I've seen real, live fireflies. The air was filled with the sound of frogs croaking, and it all created a very nice mood. I took some pictures, but they don't show very well... it looks like this:

"Look, a speck of light!" (Click for full size to see the speck.)

We also went to the Chiran peace museum for kamikaze pilots - very touching and sad. No matter what you think of their acts, I think you have to admire these people for their bravery. Not to mention how they were willing to die for what they cared about and loved - their country and their families. There were so many artifacts there - pictures of those who went out (some as young as me or even just 17), things they carried, letters they wrote, clothes they wore and remains of their planes. My host-grandfather read some of the letters to me - "Big brother has gone to become friends with the stars. I'll watch over you and see you grow up from there. Be a good girl and take care of mom and dad." He also told me that he had seen people sitting on board trucks, being driven to their planes for take-off. "They weren't smiling then." He also said that he and his friends had been asked why they weren't going: "Anyone willing to come, raise your hand!" "I didn't." I had no idea he'd experienced that...

Also, I saw the last remaining plane of the ones they used in their missions. The pilot flying it crashed it into a huge American bomber (and I think that plane went down), but by some miracle only the wing of his plane got torn off, so he somehow managed to get back home. By the time he got back, the war had ended and there was no need to go back out. The Americans later spared his plane in acknowledgment of his bravery. There were actually two who survived and came back - one died some years ago, but the other one is (if memory serves) still alive today.

Grandfather and his friend from Osaka in front of a model of the planes used.

Outside a restaurant by the museum. ...I like my green tea.

...but it's too heavy to hold alone!

The school excursion was a lot of fun! We went to a big park with some other kids from the same year, and to start it all off we competed in several different games -Tsuru forced down bread (the kind you use with hot dogs) in a eating-competition, and I threw a Frisbee off into nowhere in a "through and have your partner catch a Frisbee"-contest.Yeeeehaw ! After that we ran to the park's playground where we spent ages jumping around on a four-man teeter-totter while screaming and laughing hysterically.
"I'm gonna fall off! I'm gonna fall off! No, aaaaaaugh!"
"It's too high! Too hi- ...did you see the JUMP I just did?!"
...Never mind the people staring at us wondering what on earth we were doing. :P

Afterward we played in the river, me and Tsuru wading around, later being joined by the others and ultimately joining in on a water-fight and drenching Tsuru so we (or rather, Tsuru...) got yelled at by Matsuo-sensei (AKA. Matti). "TSURU!" (laughing) "What are you doing?! Look at you! I told you not to get all wet, did I not?" (takes out her camera) "...say cheese!"

The Rotary trip was great too. Nagasaki was wonderful and extremely sad - we went to the peace museum of the atomic bombing. Seeing everything from a student's lunch box with completely carbonized rice to a projected shadow of a man, a glass with the bones of a hand stuck in it, a helmet with remains of a mans skull, pictures, videos... writings... It was tough. Very tough.

We also went to the Dutch slopes, where we looked around and I had an ice-cream with rose-taste. Yum! :) The night in Nagasaki was spent with purikura and lots of chocolate at the hotel.

The "ninja village" was a tourist spot called Yumedori where you could see built models of old Japanese houses and get training as a ninja, take pictures of yourself wearing kimono and so forth. A lot of fun, though! Especially the house where you had to find the exit, and the guide-ninja decided we might need some help, so he came in after us, thereby scaring Jessa half to death and giving Francesco and me a good laugh - that scream was memorable! XD

In Kumamoto we went to Kumamotojyo, a castle first built in 1469 and the site of the Satsuma rebellion. (That's Kagoshima and the samurai, folks!) Seeing the exhibition of things from the rebellion there and being in the castle was amazing! :)

I've also been to a fairytale museum with my family, and it was a lot of fun -
look, mom, I even found Oz!

...but I forgot my green glasses.

...and this little guy, a story I know and love (and again, mom, made me think so much of you:)

As I last update, I can say that I have - finally! - started kendo! (I asked my counselor 3 months ago...) I'm training at a place taught by a guy working in the police, and it's full of children from 7 years of age and up - the oldest are junior high school-students. Of course they nearly all own me skill-wise, but that's OK. I'm currently learning how to do the steps (or as I like to refer to it, "slip-skipping") and how to hold the shinai, as well as the proper way to hit a straight "men" hit. Hurrah!

(Now wish me luck so I don't get hit by the other people's shinai as I'm skipping along the wall by myself...)

Location: Japan!
Mood: - blank -
Listening to: The Call - Regina Spektor
Eating: Lemon biscuits! Yum
Drinking: -

To be elaborated...

2009-05-25T19:08:00.006+09:00

* 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!

"Surpliiise!"

2009-05-24T17:50:00.005+09:00

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 surpriseyou. So...

(Mom, dad, I sing in your general direction!)

PS: the stage is that brown building there...

17th of May... in Japan!

2009-05-20T21:10:00.004+09:00

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...

A quick update - list style!

2009-05-14T19:45:00.004+09:00

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:

This spring magenta is the new black!

2009-05-04T13:54:00.002+09:00

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!

Less internet means blogs from the cellphone...

2009-05-02T14:56:00.003+09:00

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...

New schedule! :D

2009-04-13T17:25:00.005+09:00

Yes, yes, I know I promised you pictures... but uploading them all will take some time. And I can't be bothered to re-size 'em all right now. Sorry. Will do at some other point.

I shall from now on only be online twice a week, a total of 2 hours. (Rotary rules re-read.) So there might be less updates. Anyway:

I've got a new schedule at school! :D
It contains gym, judo!, entertainment (where we study how to articulate properly, important for song and plays), singing, Chinese, design and craft work (making small accessories etc.), as well as some lessons I'm continuing (Japanese dance, aerobics, English) and some regular classes. For example biology and modern Japanese.

This will be a lot more fun! :D
...I still wish I'd get that call from Rotary about my kendo place, though... There's still nothing to do once I get home.

Location: Japan
Mood: Tired - long day at school.

Yesssssss!

2009-04-08T16:14:00.004+09:00

(No Wella was used during the making of this blog post) Haha, I'm so lame! xD

I'm really happy. School looks like it'll be a lot more fun now, and - hold on tight! - I might have found something to do after school as well!

A major school update - meaning lots of text:

I've started my new school year, meaning I've now become a 3 nen sei (3rd year student) and every body's senpai. Hah! This also means that there's more pressure to work hard and set a good example - but this is part of the school culture I don't really mind.

I think I've gradually and without realizing it gotten more used to the senpai-kouhai system now. It'll be weird coming back to Norway where nobody seems to care what grade you're in and it's all very informal. Now don't get me wrong - we never groveled at our senpai's feet, but people seemed to have a certain sense of admiration and respect for their experience. Maybe especially among the geibun course, where we performed and danced together with them. They were also spoken to a bit more formally (by the Japanese students, that is - I spoke to pretty much everyone in the same way, also because I didn't always know who were in what class). In return, I felt that they helped and to a certain degree taught us kouhais. And I quite liked that. (Again, there were 3rd years that I thought were utterly foolish fools, but for the most part they were cool.)

Other than that, we've changed classrooms (we're now up in the buildings further away from the main building, where the aesthetic people were last year) and also our tannin! Meaning our homeroom teacher. I. am. SO. HAPPY! No more stressed-out teacher running around like a beheaded chicken. Peace at last! (I wish her all the best and a few sleeping pills, though.) Our new tannin is Matsuo-sensei, the leader for the geibun course. (The performing and dancing guys.) She's funny, in control and pretty strict, but only when needed, meaning I like her. Also, I feel like she'll treat us all the same in a good way. And I'll definitely be told if I do something wrong. lol.

Apparently my schedule will change too, which is great. Up until now I've had cooking 3 times a week and cake baking the entire Thursday. Meaning lots of making food and eating. And no PE. (It's a conspiracy!!) Needless to say, I didn't enjoy that part very much. I'm the kind of person who needs to move during the course of the week or I'll go insane. It also gives me more energy and makes me happier. So now finally being able to participate in PE (which is also good for building relationships with class peers, I might add,) is wonderful! If I'm lucky I'll even get to take singing lessons, Chinese and art. Among other things. It'll be exciting to see how this turns out!

For the last couple of months (I think it's been months, I've lost track...) what I've done after school has been next to nothing. I came home. Period. My kyudo club didn't train anymore and my swimming course won't start again for a while, and so I had nothing to do.

Still, I've been wanting to try kendo, as I wrote in one of my previous posts, and my Rotary counselor has helped me find one! I don't know very much about it as of now, but it's a private dojo being taught by the police. (Apparently, Japanese police are required to train either kendo or judo. I haven't done a lot of research about this, though.) The people training there are of all ages and ranks, meaning they stretch from kids to grown-ups. Hopefully there will be more new beginners there too. My counselor was absent from the Rotary meeting today, so they said they'd call me with further information, and take me there so I could see what it's like for myself. I'm excited! :D

Location: Japan! Land of awesomeness.
Mood: Tired, but happy.
Listening to: the lap top's fan buzzing...
Eating: no
Drinking: tap water (chlorine taste yum!)

Sakura by night

2009-03-31T21:43:00.011+09:00

Today we had the real hanami - with the food. :P

I'll post pictures later - it was really pretty when the lanterns got turned on (and really hard to take good pictures, so they turned out kind of crappy - but I'm going to post them anyway).

Also, I went out shopping the other day - I bought the art book from Mushishi, one of my favourite anime. It's a real beauty, and the art is inspiring in itself - so I decided to buy it after some consideration. I don't regret it! <3

I also bought Morning Musume's newest album, Platinum 9 Disc. I really like it! There's some really good songs in there, and even solo lines for the pandas! Tsunku, gogo! /Momusu fangirling

Location: Japan
Mood: I think I've caught a cold... again. -.-;;
Listening to: TV

桜

2009-03-28T16:38:00.002+09:00

Yes! The sakura trees are in bloom! :D

I went with my family to partake in the hanami - flower wieving. We haven't done the whole thing with a picnic basket yet, but I think we will now during the spring holidays. Still, no food meant no ditracting me from all the beauty surrunding me. (Haha, I sound like such a glutton!) I'm not complaining - I needed all my senses to take in as much as possible. :)

The cherry blossom is Japan's national flower, and I must say I don't think they could have made a better choice! And with all the sakura trees here blossoming in perfect unison now, it looked like a veil of pink blossom clouds. It was really warm and sunny that day too, so it was a perfect day for a hanami.

I love flowers and trees, so a blooming tree is perfect! It was beautiful.

Without further ado, I bring thee: pictures! (click for larger)

Look! A chibi sakura! :P

Also, there's news on the bukatsu (clubs) part of things. I've decided to quit kyudo, as we hardly ever trained, and so I found little reason to stay. However, I had a good time when we did train, and I'm very grateful to both my wonderful sensei and my bukatsu friends. :)

Still, my goals in joining a club were to try something new, to have fun, make new friends and train so that I could get as good as I could withing a year. This cannot be achieved without training.

So! I've talked to my councelor in Ijuin Rotary club (for the first time, go me!) and asked him if he could pwetty pwease do a bit of snooping around to see if there's any kendo clubs close to where I live that would allow a cute little foreign girl to wave a bamboo stick around. (Since my school's kendo club will be history as of the new term.)

There's a junior high kendo coach that's said he's willing to teach me, though, so at least I know of one. Fingers crossed!

Location: Japan
Mood: um... hungry?
Listening to: Scarborough Fair
Eating: no
Drinking: cocoa!

Spring graduations and nostalgia

2009-03-24T17:30:00.005+09:00

I'm aliiive! ...and pretty healthy, too. At least I'm not as sick anymore. Just coughing a bit.

So today I went with my host mom to see the graduation ceremony for the elementary school kids. Which was the most enjoyable one to watch by far. (I've seen the one at Josei and my host sister Sayaka's at university). They all stood up and recited a kind of speech in unison, split up so that some parts we're said by groups and some by all of them. The 5th year students (Japanese elementary school lasts 6 years), who were there as spectators, also stood up and did the same thing, wishing the graduates luck and thanking them for these five years together. It was kind of nostalgic and reminded me of my last day as a elementary school student - not that I can remember any special ceremony being held that day. I almost wish we'd had one. Graduation from high school will probably not have a ceremony like that either. ~~Although there'll be plenty of opportunities to celebrate and get drunk as a russ. Joy.~~

...now I'm at home again, watching parts of King Arthur on YouTube and looking at pictures.

There are some quotes from a part of this movie that's stuck with me since I first saw it. Maybe especially after I knew I was coming here. They're said by Guinevere as she's speaking to Arthur while they're traveling. And I've come to realize they may be more true than I had imagined.

"I belong to this land. ...Where do you belong?"

"It is a beautiful country, is it not? (...)This is heaven for me."

Location: Japan
Mood: Nostalgic, "nature...horses...nature..." (YouTube fault I say...)
Listening to: Hold the Ice - King Arthur OST
Eating: Sakuramochi inside a sweet roll :P