Sorry to be getting on behind on this already, but for the last couple of days I’ve been busy either with work, projects around the house, or being social. I’ve also been fighting a cold this past week, so I’ve been trying to get some extra sleep in on top of all that.
On Monday I met with my friend Molly and went to go see a movie called Ooku (大奥). I never read the original manga (I think I want to now), but we wanted to see it because the premise sounded interesting: it takes place in an alternate universe of Edo Japan where much of the male population are wiped out by disease, making the female to male ratio 4:1. Because men are so rare and “fragile” in society, women take over the roles of labor and leadership, including the Shogun, who is a woman. The story in the movie is about one particular boy (played by Arashi’s Ninomiya Kazunari… people like my Mom might remember him as the young soldier from Letters From Iwo Jima) who goes to live as a “concubine” in the Ooku, or Inner Chamber of the female Shogun’s castle. Anyway, the movie was all right, but by the end I was thinking I would miss the men too much if such a thing ever happened in real life, LOL!! :P Before the movie, we also discovered Halloween flavors being offered at Baskin Robbins, and they were ridiculously delicious. I got the Magical Mint Night (the blue and brown one) and it tasted exactly like a chocolate mint cookie. YUM.
Yesterday I spent much of the afternoon playing bug exterminator, since we were having a bit of a dani (mite) problem in our tatami room, which is our bedroom. YUCK-O! But I injected a buttload of dani poison into the tatami and for good measure sprayed on top as well, so now they are all dead… hopefully forever, muwahahaha. While I was in the middle of that, I got a message from my good friend John from Sophia U, who asked if I wanted to come out for drinks. At first I was all, “oh I don’t know… I’m sick, I’m cleaning, I have work in the morning, I’m this, I’m that.” But then I thought, “Oh, why the heck not?” So I went out and I was so glad I did, I met my friends I hadn’t seen since the last semester ended, as well as some new exchange students. I think before I was the kind of person who could come up with any excuse NOT to do something… “I just want to stay home with Tatsuya” or “I have to stay home and study.” I think I have to remind myself that it’s still ok for me to relax and have a little fun with my friends sometimes… even if I am married, don’t you think? hehe :)
But anyway, as much as I’ve rambled on, that’s not what this post is about! Back to the meme, I’ve got some catching up to do!
See all 30 meme questions here!
Day 03 – Most interesting person you met.
Oh man, this one is hard! I think going to Sophia University for a year, I met a ton of interesting people from very diverse backgrounds, both students and teachers. A lot of my professors had these amazing lives that I can only imagine. My Buddhist theology studies professor was a Jesuit sent to Japan by the Pope, and spent several years learning about Buddhism by living in monasteries with Buddhist monks. My Asian politics/security studies professor was a Cambodian who lived through the Khmer Rouge, fled to Canada, ended up as a college professor in Japan, and recently began a search for his long-lost father. Amazing! I could meet students from all over the world, including from within Japan, who blew me away with all their passions and aspirations. Sometimes I can’t believe I was lucky enough to be counted among them, converging at a point when our lives had brought us here. It’s very inspiring to me. I wonder where we will be years from now…
Day 04 – What’s your favorite place that’s not in any of the guidebooks/lists of places to visit?
This is another tough one for me because I don’t really move off the beaten path so often. I rarely wander around and explore, and sometimes I only think of stuff to do when I look up famous places, haha. I like going shopping or window shopping, usually for clothes, so I’m often walking around the Lalaport mall, Lumine in Shinjuku, or various shops in Shibuya and Harajuku. I’ll go to non-famous places too, though, like shopping centers around my house, and occasionally hole-in-the-wall second-hand or vintage boutiques. I bought a cute lacy white dress in Koenji recently, for example.
Also this might sound sappy, but a place I like to go that’s definitely not in any of the guidebooks is Tatsuya’s house and neighborhood in Fukui. There’s nothing like riding our bikes through endless rice fields over to Ami (a small shopping center near his house) or to the grocery store, or to Tsutaya for some movies. It’s really like my second home! I wish it was closer to Tokyo and we could visit more often :(
Day 05 – Which, if any, Japanese mannerisms or expressions have you adopted?
Oh my gosh, hahaha. it’s amazing how much little stuff like this takes over your life, especially when you have a Japanese husband and couples in general have a tendency to pick up on each other’s mannerisms. The biggest one is probably getting in the habit of using aizuchi (with optional duck lips, lmao.) I think this quickly becomes second nature for anyone studying Japanese or living in Japan, haha. Also, Tatsuya makes this very specific ふゅうううん〜 noise for when he’s tired… there’s a certain melody to it, it’s like his a bird, lol! I do it too, now. The funny thing is, that one is something he picked up from his Dad… hahaha! It’s the family I’m-tired-bird-call!
Also, I fancy myself an old Japanese lady in-training. I’m going to be an EXPERT in the next 20 years, let me tell you. I cannot go anywhere without my towels, umbrellas, bottle of tea/water, etc. when appropriate. But I still have adopted my share of young person mannerisms as well. Nose buried in my cell phone at all times. Putting on makeup on the train. Ha.
Tags: 30 day meme
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