janet in 2005

Enjoy the holiday

2006-01-25T18:26:00.000+09:00

Hi everyone!

I hope you enjoy your holiday. Some of you will be spending time at home with your families, others will be working, and others will be travelling.

I hope everyone can relax and have fun.

Thank you for your hard work this year.

Good Luck Next Year!!!!!!

Coming of Age Day

2006-01-09T11:58:00.000+09:00

Today is Coming of Age Day in Japan. Young people wear traditional dress to celebrate becoming adults at 20 years of age. It is a national holiday and there is a party atmosphere. I think it is great that Japanese have a holiday to welcome young people into adulthood. There is nothing like that in Canada.

Unfortunately it is very cold today. When I woke up this morning it was only 6 degrees in my bedroom. Unbelievable! It has been a very cold winter in Asia and Europe so far, but it has been unusually warm in North America.

This year I spent Christmas in Alberta and it was a brown Christmas, which means that there was no snow. It wasn't as pretty as it is with snow, but...it was very nice to be warm!

Uji

2005-12-01T15:58:00.000+09:00

I recently went to Uji, south of Kyoto, with a friend of mine. Uji is a well-known historical spot, famous for its green tea. The major draw is the Byodoin temple, which is displayed on the 10 yen coin. It is an example of Heian era architecture, which is quite elegant. We also visited Ujigamijinja and Ujijinja. They were also very attractive. I had a lot of fun taking photos with my new Casio camera. It has many features to play around with.

After seeing the traditional sites, we had lunch and then went on a mountain hike. It was quite an easy hike but it was fun because we were surrounded by colourful leaves. Afterwards we ended up at yet another temple, this time a Zen temple.

The following weekend, I went to Kamogamojinja. There were many children there in kimono. They looked very cute!

Nikko

2005-11-22T10:53:00.000+09:00

I went to Nikko this month. It's supposed to be one of the top tourist attractions in Japan. I went there on a weekday so it wasn't so crowded. The leaves were beautiful but it is late in the season so some of the leaves had already fallen and some trees were already brown.

I met a Thai tourist in Nikko and she told me that she was enjoying her visit to Japan. She couldn't speak Japanese but she was getting along with English only. And a big smile.

I also went to Tokyo. I've been to Tokyo about a dozen times. I always have a good time there. This time I spent most of my time in Aoyama, Shibuya, Ebisu, and Shinjuku. Actually it was fun just to walk around the streets of Tokyo. You can always find a bus stop or a train station so you can never really get lost. Plus....Tokyo is a lot of fun!

Good Books

2005-11-08T17:56:00.000+09:00

If you are studying Spanish, I recommend that you read the novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He is a wonderful South American author who writes amazing stories that cover many years in the life of a family. I've read One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. I think you can learn a lot about South American thinking by reading his books, whether you read them in Spanish, English, or Japanese.

Another good author is Amy Tan. I've read many of her books. The last one I read is The Bonesetter's Daughter. It is also the story of a family, in this case a Chinese-American family. You can learn a lot about China in her books as well. And they are written in English.

If anyone has read some good books lately, please let me know. I'm always looking for something new and interesting to read in my spare time. Although I don't have much spare time!

Autumn

2005-10-25T14:05:00.000+09:00

It is definitely autumn now that the leaves are changing colour and the evenings are becoming cool. I like this time of the year because I can go to the neighbourhood sentos after work. In the summer, I have cool showers and never take baths. But in the winter, I love to take long hot baths, either at home or at a sento or onsen. At home I always put on some good, relaxing music (For example, last night I was listening to "Everything but the Girl"), make myself a cup of tea or pour myself a drink, and lay in a hot bath while reading a good book. It is a wonderful way to relax in the evenings before bed. I recommend it if you are feeling stressed...or cold!

Last year I went to Minoo Park in Osaka to look at the changing leaves of autumn. This year I'm not sure where I should go to view the leaves. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Desperate Housewives

2005-10-13T14:36:00.000+09:00

There is a very popular show on American tv called "Desperate Housewives". My mom likes it and I have started to watch it too. The first season is now being shown on NHK 2. It is kind of a comedy and kind of a drama, a "dramedy". It is a show about 4 very unrealistic American housewives, but there is also a hidden secret. It's not great but it is interesting to think about why this became so popular in the States.

Another popular show on American tv is called "Lost", but I haven't seen it yet. And I don't really know what it is about.

Lately the weather has become absolutely gorgeous. This is just like a Canadian summer. I went for a long walk this morning and the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and there was a light breeze in the air. It's too bad that we have to spend so much of our time indoors!

Fun in Shizuoka

2005-10-11T13:48:00.000+09:00

Last w/e I went to Shizuoka. I attended a conference so it was a mixture of fun and work. I enjoyed Shizuoka, mostly because people there were so friendly. On two separate occasions, people came up to me as I was looking at a map, offering to help me. One woman even walked with me to show me where my hotel was. I thought this was extraordinary because this hadn't happened to me before in Japan (although I did have this experience in Seoul). I guess people who live in Shizuoka are used to having foreigners in town for conferences so they try to be helpful. I was very impressed!

They had some kind of international festival there last weekend. I heard a Peruvian band and saw a Peruvian dance ensemble. Plus there was a Thai market - but I got there too late to buy anything.

Anyway, I can recommend Shizuoka - even if it is too cloudy to see Mt. Fuji!

Fun in Fukuoka

2005-10-04T14:04:00.000+09:00

In September I went to Fukuoka with a friend of mine. We had a wonderful time. One place we visited that was special was a great restaurant where we caught our own fish! It was quite exciting. Jessica managed to catch the fish so quickly I didn't even have time to get a photo! So we ate very fresh ayu which was just lightly salted and grilled. Very sweet and delicious.

Of course we did more than eat. We like to shop so we went to the famous Canal City mall and the outlet mall Marinoa (although we did get lost on the way over there and ended up in a 100 yen store where I sat in a massage chair and watched sumo while Jessica bought stuff for her kindergarten class). When we finally got to Marinoa we rode the largest ferris wheel in Asia, or so they say, which moves very, very, very slowly.

Basically I liked Fukuoka though I was surprised that they don't have a boardwalk along the seashore. That would have made the weekend perfect.

Welcome Back

2005-09-12T11:58:00.000+09:00

Hi Everyone and Welcome Back!!!!

My vacation was Fun and Relaxing! I was in Canada and spent time with my family and friends. It was much cooler than Japan - one night it went down to Two Degrees! Brrrrrr!!!!!

Of course most of the days were sunny and warm. I was in Edmonton, Calgary, the Rockies, Vancouver, and Vancouver island. I was able to see grizzlies, deer and my cousin's new Golden Retriever Puppy. So Cute!!!

I hope everyone enjoyed their vacation.

Summertime!

2005-07-18T16:29:00.000+09:00

Hi Everyone,

I hope all of you have a great summer holiday. I will return to Canada for the summer to visit my friends and family. I'm looking forward to relaxing at home.

Congratulations on a successful semester one. I hope everyone has fun during the summer and that when you come back to school in September, you will be ready for semester two.

Enjoy the summertime fun!

Contacts

2005-07-06T16:32:00.000+09:00

Would you like to contact fellow Japanese university students and read their blogs? Please go to this website:

www.imenglishblog.blogspot.com

These students are also in the Kansai area!

Expo!

2005-06-27T15:47:00.000+09:00

I went to the 2005 Expo this weekend with a friend of mine. We had a really good time. We went to a number of different sites sponsored by various different countries. My favorite was the Lithuanian site because they had a hilarious video - a Japanese was interviewing a Lithuanian. It was a very strange and funny interview. Lithuania also featured beautiful amber jewellry and delicious beer. I recommend Lithuania.

Some countries had beautiful displays, especially Mexico, Morocco, Turkey, Spain, Italy and the Nordic countries. Although the weather was stifling hot, many displays were air-conditioned. On the final day, we had a delicious meal, a Turkish dinner specially prepared by a Turkish chef. It was extremely delicious.

I hope you have the chance to visit the Expo. It is expensive and crowded, but it is fun to see the different displays and meet people from around the world.

Mochi-cheese Okonomiyaki!

2005-06-16T14:43:00.000+09:00

One of the most delicious meals I've had in Japan was a recent dinner at a chain restaurant. I went to Fugetsu with some friends of mine and we ate Mochi-cheese okonomiyaki. It was unbelievably delicious! The mochi and the cheese melted into the okonomiyaki mixture so that it all became one big gooey mess. But a very yummy gooey mess!

Okonomiyaki is one of my favorite Japanese foods. I also love inarizushi, which is a very simple, but delicious type of sushi. I also love agedashidofu, which is a very simple, but delicious way to serve tofu. Sometimes simple is best. I don't like a lot of fancy sauces or a lot of spices, including salt. My mother made simple meals - some would say bland - so that is the kind of food I most prefer now.

One of my favourite meals is a dish my mother used to make - tuna casserole. Of course many people make fun of tuna casserole because it is considered tasteless and boring. However, it is a perfect comfort food. The recipe may gross out many people because it involves cooking rice with tuna, onion, and canned mushroom soup in one casserole dish. It may seem weird to some people, but I love it!

The Problem with Goodbye

2005-06-08T16:26:00.000+09:00

No, this is not a sentimental posting about how difficult it is for me to say goodbye to people I know and love (or even like), although that is true; it is difficult for me to say a proper goodbye.

This is a problem with language; specifically, with Ja ne which means "so long" in Japanese. It's casual and is often heard here on campus. Whenever I hear it, I immediately spin around, thinking someone is calling my name. Of course they're not, they're just saying goodbye to their friends.

Janet is a very inconvenient name to have in Japan. I'm getting whiplash from twisting around every time I think someone is calling me. Could this be a work-related injury? Should I appeal to students to never say goodbye to their friends? Or should I ignore people who I think are calling my name?

If by chance you are calling me and I don't turn around, please don't take offence. I just think you are saying goodbye...to someone else.

Keitais

2005-06-01T18:10:00.000+09:00

I've cancelled the telephone service in my apartment because I realized that I only needed a cell phone. Here in Japan, cell phones are much snazzier than they are in Canada. They have a lot of gadgets (calculator, calendar, alarm, games) plus access to the internet and email. And of course - a camera! It's amazing!

I never had a cell phone in Canada because the Canadian cell phones seem to be bigger, bulkier, and just not as much fun as the Japanese "keitai". Plus, in Canada local phone calls are free whereas you have to pay for the cell phone, so I never bothered with a cell phone.

Now I have a cell phone and an internet phone service too. I use Skype (although there are many other ones). You can make international phone calls over the internet and it's much cheaper than using any land lines.

It's very interesting how new technology makes older technology obsolete. When I return to Canada, I might just get a cell phone and an internet phone account and not have a home telephone at all. Actually, my brother lives in the States and that is what he has now.

Everything changes....(That's an old Take That song by the way).

Boycott Disneyland

2005-05-25T12:45:00.000+09:00

I just read that Disneyland will serve Shark's Fin Soup at its banquet halls in Hong Kong. This is terrible because there are so many endangered sharks and the number of sharks has been decreasing at a rapid pace during the past 20 years.

The Disneyland mouthpieces argue that this is part of traditional Chinese culture. However, I don't think that is a good argument. Sharks should not be endangered just because a few people want to show off by serving a $400 bowl of soup to their friends.

And how do they take the shark fins? They cut the fins off of millions of sharks while they are still alive, then throw the sharks back into the sea to die. All they want, after all, is the fins.

This is the side of Disneyland that is not about cute and cuddly creatures ; this is the side that is only looking out for profits, and to hell with the animals.

My Friends' Blogs

2005-05-25T11:51:00.000+09:00

My friend Scott teaches here at KGU and he has two blogs:

kansaigaidaienglishtwo.blogspot.com and gaidaiglobalissues.blogspot.com

My friend Kathy also teaches in Japan and she has a great blog too:

kathygoestojapan.blogspot.com

Their blogs include interesting photos and interesting stories. I've included their blogs in my Links section so you can just click on their names and read their blogs.

Enjoy these blogs!

Most Embarrassing Experience

2005-05-20T17:51:00.000+09:00

Today in the IES class we were discussing our most embarrassing experience. I've had numerous embarrassing experiences but one of the worst occurred when I was in grade 8. The grade 7s and grade 8s were all divided into 4 teams (which were named after rocks - amethyst, onyx, etc. - I don't know why). We played sports during the lunch hour and accumulated points for our teams over the school year.

One lunch hour we were playing basketball. Jean was my team leader. I was crap at basketball so I was so happy when I got a breakaway for my team. I was dribbling down the court and Jean was cheering me on from the sidelines. I felt great.....

Until it dawned on me that the reason no members of the opposing teams were chasing me was because I was heading for my own team's net. Jean was not cheering me from the sidelines; she was screaming at me to turn around and not shoot the basketball into my own net and score 2 points for the opposing team.

Fortunately I didn't take a shot. I stopped, and someone stole the ball from me and did a lay up and scored against us. I was really embarrassed about almost scoring against our own team. Two weeks later, my friend Dale actually did exactly what I did, but she did shoot on her own net and she did score against her own team. I felt really bad for her.

The weird thing is that I still remember this little incident that happened when I was 13. Why do I remember this? Intellectually I know that this grade school lunch hour basketball game is totally unimportant. But emotionally what happens when we are children stay with us our whole lives. Don't you think?

Yoga

2005-05-17T15:11:00.000+09:00

Last Monday I saw Sakura and Tamaki at the old campus gym. They were having a dance session (hip-hop, I think) and I was practising yoga with some of my friends. We meet every Monday evening and we follow a yoga tape or dvd. I really enjoy yoga because it helps me relax and let go of the stesses of the day. Sometimes I do yoga in the mornings and occasionally on the weekends too.

I also work out at a gym a few times a week. I really joined the gym because it had a pool and I love to swim. The pools in Japan are different than the ones in Canada because Japanese pools are so much warmer. I don't know why that is; unless it's because there are more older people in Japan who like being in hot water :-) or Canadians are just cold by nature :-)

Who knows?

Shirahama

2005-05-09T11:17:00.000+09:00

I went to Shirahama during Golden Week. My favourite part of my stay in Shirahama was walking along the cliffs overlooking the ocean in the late afternoon, just before sunset. I stumbled upon a pathway which was bordered by wild lilacs. The scent was wonderful; it is so different from a perfume or lotion scent. The natural scent of wild flowers is somehow special and sweeter.

My favourite tourist destination was the cave. Apparently it was used by fishers and pirates for centuries and there is an ancient shrine down there. It's not too touristy yet so you can still close your eyes and imagine what it used to be like in the old days.

I also went to Adventure World. I saw the "Happy Panda Family Plan" which features four pandas, none of which look particularly happy.; two were sleeping and two were pacing about in a bizarre way, waiting to be fed. I also saw the "African Safari" which featured animals in enclosures which are probably too small for them. It was interesting to see the big cats though - I never tire of them. Fortunately they were all awake and lively, even though it was the middle of the afternoon - which is strange. There were lions, tigers, cheetahs, and a jaguar and a black panther. Of course not all of these can be found in Africa but it was fun to see them nevertheless.

Psycho Bee

2005-05-02T09:29:00.000+09:00

This weekend I was stung by a bee for the first time in my life. It hurt a lot immediately after the bee sting, but later the pain went away and now you can hardly tell where I was stung. The weird thing was that I was not only stung by a bee, I was stalked by a bee. The bee followed me as a transferred between 3 trains on Saturday afternoon. It was very strange.

I was on the Kintetsu train coming into Kyoto station and the bee was buzzing around my knapsack. I shooed it away. I walked through the station, stopped at a shop to buy some muffins, went down to the subway and got on the north-south subway line. I noticed the bee again once I was in the subway train and again I shooed it away. I got off at Karasuma-Oike and transferred to the east-west line. I had to go up two escalators to do that. I waited for the train and then got on and once again, there was the damn bee. Unbelievable! It had followed me! However, this time it stung me before I could shoo it away. I must have smelled like the best flower in the world for this bee to be so persistent. Oh well. It's nice to be needed.

Bad News

2005-04-26T17:24:00.000+09:00

There was a terrible train crash in Amagasaki recently; over 70 people died. It happened on the JR West line, a very popular train line that carries thousands of commuters every day. I've been to Amagasaki many times because it is located between Osaka and Kobe and I often visit these two cities. Amagasaki is also the location of a large mall and a large discount store. Overall, the train lines are very safe but whenever an accident like this occurs, it makes you realize how we take safe train travel for granted. I don't have a car, so the train is my one method of transportation around Japan. I have no choice but to ride the trains so I hope whatever caused the Amagasaki accident will not occur again.

Luckily I've never been in an accident where people have been injured or killed. I was, however, in a car crash. And it was my fault. It happened on a Valentine's Day when I was an undergrad. I was driving home from my part-time job as a waitress at a private dance club. It was about 3 a.m. and the driving conditions were terrible - there was black ice on the roads and blowing snow as well. I was tired from working a long shift and I was driving another waitress home as well so I was on an unfamiliar street. Plus, a big table had stiffed me so I was a little pissed off. No excuse of course.

Anyway, I was driving down a street and ran right into the back of a big ole Pontiac. I was driving a Chevette. As you can imagine, the Pontiac ended up with a scuffed bumper and the Chevette was totalled. To make matters worse it wasn't even my car - it was my mom's. Fortunately when I rang the doorbell of the house, the owners of the Pontiac were quite nice. The cops were also nice and my mother wasn't angry. All in all, if was not a big problem, although my mom did have to pay a higher car insurance premium the following year. The important thing is that no one was hurt. And that I now pay more attention to my driving!

Weekend Travels

2005-04-25T13:36:00.000+09:00

I went to Kurama on Saturday. Kurama is in northern Kyoto and it is a well-known mountaneous hiking spot. I didn't have time to go hiking on Saturday, but I walked around the town and enjoyed the fresh air and beautiful scenery.

On Sunday I went to Himeji. Himeji is also well-known in Japan because a famous castle is located there. The castle is the only original castle left standing in Japan and it is called "White Heron" because it is large and white and looks like a heron (to some people, not me). I've been to the castle before so I didn't go yesterday. I just walked around Himeji and did some shopping. It's a really relaxed city compared to Osaka and the streets are wide and the people aren't pushy. One of the best things about Himeji is actually going to Himeji from Osaka. I went on the Sanyo Line because even though it is more expensive than JR, the scenery is better and you can always get a seat on the train.

Overall I had a very relaxing weekend travelling around the Kansai area. I am also planning to travel around this coming weekend too but it is a long weekend so I expect there will be a lot of people on the trains. Yuck! I'm planning to go to Wakayama. I've never been there before and I hear that it is a good spot to unwind over the weekend. I'll let you know.

Shopping

2005-04-17T20:42:00.000+09:00

This has been a busy weekend. On Friday night I went to a wonderful Mexican bar in Shinsaibashi which had unbelievably delicious food. Not to mention delicious tequila sunrises. It's a tiny hole-in-the-wall, but I like those kinds of places. When I was in London, I used to go to hole-in-the-walls all the time and I always thought everything tasted just a little bit better and all the customers were just a little bit cooler.

On Saturday I went to a bar in Kobe to listen to my friend's friend play a set. It was a typical gaijin bar - fun and funny if you're in the right mood. Then on Sunday I went on a huge shopping spree at an outlet mall in Osaka. I spent waaaay too much money but I couldn't resist the spring colours. I felt like a junkie - getting another hit into each store I entered. Fortunately my friends got tired so we left before I spent all my cash. So I have some left until payday - next week.

April in Hirakata

2005-04-14T13:09:00.000+09:00

The cherry blossoms were very pretty around Osaka Castle last weekend. There were a lot of people out roaming around, and a lot of parties in the evening. As a matter of fact, I had so much fun that I missed the India photos - I'll have to see them some other time.

A lot of people have been talking about the late Pope John Paul II lately, especially on CNN.　He's already been credited with performing miracles and he's on the fast track for sainthood. He's also been credited with defeating communism. It sounds a bit over the top to me. He had many admirable qualities but let's face it, he was ultra-conservative and even reactionary. His views on birth control and women's rights were unfathomable to many people and had a negative impact on the church as a whole. I hope the cardinals consider this when they choose the pope's successor.

When I was watching the news this week, I loved to see all the broadcasts coming from the Vatican City and from Rome. I've been to northern Italy but I never went as far south as Rome. I'd love to go there someday. My friend Jessica is going to Europe this summer and I'm sooooo jealous of her. I know she's going to have a great time. Maybe I can go next year....

First entry

2005-04-09T10:11:00.000+09:00

Hi everyone,

I started a new blog today for the new school year. Today I'm going to look at the cherry blossoms at Osaka Castle. However, I saw on the news last night that they are doing construction there so it won't be as pretty as it usually is. After that, I'm going to meet some friends at an outdoor club. We are going to be looking at photos of our trip to India in February. It was a great trip. India is the 29th country I have visited (and counting).

The bad news of the week is that my favourite foreign food store has closed. It was in Umeda but they don't carry foreign food any longer. The good news is that I met two classes on Friday - English I and IES Humanities. I think we had a great first class and I think we will have a great school year. Next week I'll meet my two JCIES classes - and I'm looking forward to it.

Welcome to my blog!