It is officially spring - the cherry blossoms are blooming. Well, at least they are starting to bloom. Everyone is waiting expectantly for the moment when, as my host mother says, they all "pop" and there are trees everywhere with lovely pinkish white blossoms. I wouldn't be surprised if someone somewhere has a pool on when they will open..I was riding along the river yesterday and there were already people out having picnics under the half blooming trees. I think that part of the expectation of the sakura is the fact that you can go have picnics and drink lots of sake.
My host family has a sakura tree in our garden. My host mother lights it up at night, and it looks very pretty, even without all the blossoms yet. I have a wonderful view of it from my veranda on the second floor. It makes a nice diversion in the studying when I look out the window.

Possibly stemming from the history of severe etiquette rules and seperation of the sexes, public displays of affection in Japan today are almost never seen. This includes public space, television, and even the home. I have been here almost 10 months and have only seen 3 kisses on Japanese television - 1 was in a commercial being acted by foreigners. The happy endings of TV shows involve dramatic hugging, and even that is a rare occurance. Young people are more liberal in their views on PDA's, I see couples holding hands often, but I have only ever seen one pair kiss in public. The most physically affectionate thing I have ever seen my host parents do is give each other backrubs.

I ride my bike everywhere. It is the most convenient way to get anywhere. In the course of my travels, however, I am often hindered by obstacles, such as people, cars, dogs, and birds. Pigeons, to be exact. In my years of experience as a child trying to catch these annoying birds, it always happened that I would get just so close, and they would run away. This is my background information on pigeons. Yesterday, as I was hurrying back from the store to get to class, I learned somewhat otherwise. A flock of pigeons was pecking at the sidewalk as I pedaled toward them. Thinking they would move at the sound of my whooshing tires and my constantly ringing defective bike bell, I slowed only slightly. Many stepped aside; one did not. It was a game of chicken (or pigeon) and at the last moment I swerved right. So did the pigeon. And I ran over the poor little bugger with my bike tire. I looked back expecting to see a casualty on the sidewalk, but luckily it was clear. These Japanese birds really should learn the art of fleeing from their North American cousins.

All I have time to say is this:
Japanese Ultimate Frisbee at Mount Fuji - Tipets..Fight!!

If possible, I think that the Japanese people would solve all problems with janken, that is paper-rock-scissors. If sumo is the national sport, janken is the national game. It's used to solve disputes, make frisbee teams, win prizes, and for purely entertainment purposes. They practice this game from a young age, and by the time they are in high school can compete in groups of 10 or more at the same time, quickly analyzing winners, ties, and losers and moving on the next set instantly. I get lost after the first one trying to figure out if I should keep going or not. As serious as the American version of this game is in ultimate frisbee, enthusiasts beware of coming to Japan- you are greatly outgunned.

This weekend I did two things which Japanese people always say they want to do, but never do. On Saturday I attended the performance of three Noh plays. This started at 11am and did not end until 4pm. Noh is a traditional Japanese theatre/music performance. There are usually only 2 or 3 actors, and the action is slow, the movements are deliberate, and excitement is basically non-existant. The basic form for a play goes like this: Act 1: A traveling person (usually a monk), comes on and explains why he is wandering. He meets someone else, and they talk. Act 2: The second person (who was usually a dead person in disguise) comes back to talk to the monk while he is drowsing. He explains his death and asks for prayers. Sometimes he dances. That's it. I like the music and the costumes, but the lack of action grates on you after awhile. At least 70% of the audience falls asleep at least once during the performance. Someone snored while I was there.

Sunday I went to day 8 of the Haru Bashoo, the Spring Sumo Tournament, in Osaka. A bashoo lasts for 15 days, starting everyday at 9am and going until 6pm. The lower rikishi (sumo wrestlers) compete in the morning, and as the day progresses higher ranks compete, until at 5pm the ozeki (second highest) and yokozuna (highest, there are only 2 right now) have the final matches. Each day each rikishi has one match. I bought the cheap tickets and sat in the high seats, but my friends got a "box" which was just a space for 4 people to sit Japanese style on cushions. Either way, it was a day-long affair. Most Japanese people only come towards the end when the good people are competing - the place was full at around 4:30pm. Until then, you could wander around and sit up close to watch. However, there were definitely some times when sitting close was definitely too close : watch out for falling rikishi! And you must remember that these are really heavy men in a minimum of clothing - some things you just don't want to see..

Happy White Day! - the day exactly one month after Valentine's Day when all the guys give white chocolate and gifts to the girls who gave them stuff on Valentine's Day. I didn't give anything to anyone, so I didn't receive anything special, but one of my guy friends baked cookies for all his girl friends, so I got to at least eat wonderful chocolate cookies!

Today my Japanese class went to the Ritsumeikan University Peace Museum. It was a museum dedicated to showing the bad things of war (specifically WWII and Japan's actions in it) and the promoting peace. It was small, but well done, thorough in explanations and clear in making its point. A few of the things that struck me most were:
-The average height for a Japanese high school boy was 10 centimeters shorter at the end of the war that high schoolers at the beginning of the war due to rationing.
-There was a picture of a man "picking up the pieces" of a soldier killed by a excessive machine gun rounds. It looked like someone had deflated the upper half of a blow up toy except for the head, and hung it over their arm.
-Kyoto was originally a target for the atomic bomb. It is sad to think that America would destroy (and has most likely destroyed) so much beauty and representations of culture.

My okasan and I usually bond over dinner. Last night she taught me how to make maki zushi, the sushi rolls which in America are the representatives of Japanese food. We set out the nori (dried seaweed), spread the sushi rice, carefully placed the tofu, mushrooms, eggs, carrots, and spinich, and carefully rolled them all into one long maki (roll). My host mother cut them up into slices for easy eating and together we ate three rolls. While eating, we talked about, of course, sushi.
I find that most Americans view of sushi is that of sashimi (raw fish). However, what makes sushi sushi is the sushi vinegar. From that basic ingredient, there comes many forms of sushi: maki zushi, sashimi sushi, temaki zushi, and others whose names I do not know, but are equally as tasty. My host mother was surprised to learn that the representative of sushi in America, namely maki zushi, is predominately filled with fish. In Japan, the most frequent filling is vegetables and tofu only.

My otosan returned from work late, as usual, just about the time I was getting ready to go to bed. I said good night and went to brush my teeth. As I passed by the kitchen on my way upstairs, I heard okasan telling him about what I had said concerning the sushi. I realized that she does this quite often, that is, she repeats the interesting things that I tell her at dinner to otosan when he comes home. I think they really like to learn about the differnces in cultures.

I am sorry to disappoint so many people who I am sure are waiting eagerly for my return in April, but I have been offered a position here as a Teaching Assistant for the summer session, and have decided to accept it. This will allow me to stay in Japan becoming better at the language and to do a significant amount of research for my senior thesis. So, I'll see you in July!

Kyoto City Half Marathon, Sunday March 9
Running Partner: Anna Royer, Colby College
Superfans: Sonia, Yudelka, and Stephanie (they biked almost the whole thing, cheering and taking pictures)
Official Time: 1:55:56
Average time for 1 kilometer: 5:31 (for 1 mile: 8:45)
Place out of 9,000 runners: No clue; before the bus..(cut off times every 5k - if you weren't there at that time, they made you stop and get on a bus. 2 hour limit to finish the race)
Worst part: They rerouted one part in order to open a road back up. 5,000 people had to run through space only slightly larger than a sidewalk. We walked for 2 minutes. Our time would have been faster if it hadn't been for that stupid thing..
Good part: The last 5k was downhill!
Best part: After the race a sportscaster from the Kyoto Broadcasting Station came up to Anna and I and asked if we would be on his show which was going to broadcast race highlights that evening. We said, of course! And so, that evening at 7:30pm we and two of our cheerleaders went to the station and were interviewed in Japanese. We were on Japanese television for two hours as representatives of all the foreigners that participated in the race. They also gave us lovely pens as a thank you present.

It is 8:01 on a Sunday morning. The snow shows no sign of stopping its descent. In 59 minutes, I will be running the Kyoto City Half Marathon. My uniform consists of a hand-decorated T-shirt with anit-war slogans, Japanese phrases, my name and school, and my number. Despite the chilly weather, I will also be wearing shorts. If my legs are still attached to my body when I am done, I will be happy.

My friend's parents are coming to visit her next week, so she is trying to make a list of places to go, things to see, and restaurants to eat at. The first two are fairly simple tasks, the third is very difficult. When family members come to visit you in Japan, you want to take them places that are distinctly Japanese and that are an experience of the culture. However, when my friends and I go out to eat, we almost always go to foreign food restaurants. We all get plenty of Japanese food at our homestays. Last week we had Thai, the week before was Mexican. This week we went to a wonderful Indian restaurant that had all you can eat nan.
It isn't that we don't like Japanese food. It's that the food served at home and in restaurants can be so entirely different. To me, Japan has two different food cultures: the fancy expensive stuff, and the stuff you eat regularly. Udon, okonomiyaki, ramen, donburi, tako yaki - these can all be eaten for a relatively low price, and are often made at home. But tempura, sushi, shojin ryori, and the 6 course dinners, are seldom eaten regularly. They are more about style and presentation than taste and eating. It is difficult to say which is better, or which is more representative of Japan. They are both very good to eat.

I have discovered one of Japan's versions of Saturday Night Live or Kids in the Hall. It is a half-hour of making fun of famous actors, singers, and politicians. It paradies commercials, rewrites pop songs, and dresses up characters in spandex. Add this to the fun of it being in Japanese, and I have another lovely TV program to take up my studying hours. Others include: the top 10 music countdown, a drama about a bookstore, a drama about a school, any show involving people traveling to spas and eating food (available at any time), and American movies dubbed into Japanese. I love Japanese television.

It appears that the World Water Council is holding a forum in Kyoto. There are banners and signs up all over the downtown area. The largest of these is actually a huge banner placed in the Kamo River. It is staked into the river parallel to the ground, about one inch under the surface. In the morning, when you walk over the bridge you can read the announcement and see the lovely design. However, when you walk past in the evening, the banner has been completely covered by the dirt a debris flowing down the river. I find this to be somewhat ironic.

Today is the Hina Matsuri, which is Dolls' Day. This is a day that celebrates girls. Grandmothers and mothers bring out elaborately dressed dolls and set them up on tiered shelves. There are the emperor and empress dolls, three ladies-in-waiting, three musicians, and two footmen. In addition, there are often carriages and miniature utensils and such. On this day girls traditionally acted as hostesses of the house, taking over the role of their mothers. It was sort of an elaborate form of playing dress-up. This holiday originated in an earlier Shinto belief that dolls protected the bearer and soaked up all the bad things of the year. At the end of the year, the dolls were thanked and often set afloat in a boat into the river or ocean. Today, dolls are still treated with reverence. They are not thrown away when they get old, but are often placed at a special doll cemetery-type place, so as to not offend their spirits.