Journey to Italy and Japan

New Blog

2005-10-14T04:53:00.000+09:00

For everyone still reading this blog and interested in what I'm doing now, I have my normal-life blog up and running. It's The Mind of Ben.

I've been back for a little while now...

2005-08-04T09:04:00.000+09:00

...and it's been great. I really did miss all of my friends and my home in LA. Sure, the food isn't as great and the people are completely different (superficially), but still. LA is my home, no matter how much traffic there is.

I have to say though, it's strange picking up on a life you left 6 months earlier. You leave yourself at this single point, while everything around changes and then you have to take it all in from that point that you left. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but you get my idea.

I'm not too sure what I want to post about now. What is there that's cool and exciting? I doubt there are many readers now that I've come back anyway.

The Mighty Mouse just came out, the long awaited multi-button mouse from Apple. Not only is it multi-button, but it also has a cool little scroll ball (not wheel) to scroll in any direction you want. Personally, I'm just gonna wait for the Bluetooth version.

If anyone out there is still reading this, than please recommend some good shows on TV. I seem to have only been watching the same few shows for a while now and they're getting a bit stale (The Drew Carey Show, Family Guy, Futurama, and more recently American Dad). The shows that (luckily) are not getting stale are The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Six Feet Under, too bad the series just ended. I've heard good things about Battlestar Gallactica and I've just started watching reruns of Dead Like Me (cancelled), but there must be something to fill the void. I'm also trying Monk for no reason in particular.

My new favorite singer is now Damon Albarn, lead singer of the virtual band Gorillaz and lead singer of the band Blur. But I have to say, coming in at a close second would be Jack White of The White Stripes. Too bad Get Behind Me Satan had so many folk-type songs, I'm not too into that. But Blue Orchid (iTunes link) is so good.

I've been thinking a lot about making a MySpace, and I just found out that I had already signed up (probably because someone wanted me to look at thiers but I couldn't without being signed up). So I fixed it up a little and now it's presentable. You can visit it here. But don't bother checking it because I don't plan on using it very much. This will always be my main blog until I get tired of it.

Ja ne.

I'm a little jumpy, but an excited jumpy (Updated with links)

2005-07-17T06:01:00.000+09:00

I've been meaning to update, but have been uninspired/lazy up until this very moment. Why, you may ask, would I update now? Well, it all started when I decided to send an email to the Podcheck Weekly Review podcast, one of my favorite that I've been catching every week since its inception. I just wanted to inform the host, Scott Fletcher, that every week his podcast would show up in iTunes with the song title going something like "Podcheck Weekly Review (the date for that day, such as 6/20/05, or something like that)" and that it doesn't fit on the iPod's playlist screen. I suggested writing it like "PCWR 2005-6-20" because if it were around 16 letters/numbers, than it would fit perfectly. Why in the world would this make me want to post? Well, he just read my email on the podcast AND my name, and he even implemented my suggestion! I feel almost... famous. Or infamous. Whatever. Anyway, when I can (this is from my phone), I'll post the link to the podcast and at what time it was said because it would be pretty bad of me to butcher his podcast and cut out the piece with my email only to post on my blog. (Update: A link to the specific show is here. He starts my email at 36 minutes, 49 seconds into the podcast.) If you aren't into podcasts, try it. If you have iTunes 4.9 than it's built right in and you can subscribe to Scott's show in one click. I'm still shivering from excitement. I literally did a Jon Stewart-esque 'Whaaa???' when I heard my name. (Have you seen the Daily Show's new studio, by the way? I think it's pretty sweet with all those big screens. (Update: I do kinda miss the couch though.))

Alright, back to normal stuff. I've been back in Italy since the 1st of July and it's been great. Of course I miss Japan and of course I miss my friends and of course I miss my host family. Not an hour goes by when I don't think of them. Who knew I'd get so attached? Being in Italy has been such a big contrast. I went to Pisa and reclined on the grass during sunset under the leaning tower on a day when the sky was bluest, I went to Rome to see all the major monuments (Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, and others), and I even made a really good friend in Rome who also likes anime and manga, and even translates english scanned manga into italian! I think he may have a bigger manga collection than me, it really is huge. He took me to an amazing italian comic book store, the biggest in Rome, and I got to see firsthand how many comics and manga are translated into italian, and I can tell you one thing for sure: they've got a lot more stuff than we do in the U.S.

One of the biggest differences is the food. Don't get me wrong, my two favorite foods are Japanese and Italian, but what a difference. I lost 10 pounds while in Japan, and in 2 weeks exactly, I gained 5 pounds back. You know what? I don't regret an ounce.

Sadly, I have to leave soon. I leave Italy on the 18th and head over to New York to catch a ride to New Jersey to see my new niece. I'm an uncle! Just like in Spiderman, now I'm Uncle Ben. Then after 2 nights and 1 day I leave for LAX. I know I didn't want to go home all that much before, but now I can't wait! Screw jetlag, I'm gonna see my friends A.S.A.P.! Second only to friends, is constant, reliable internet. Oh, how I've missed you.

If you've made it this far, pat yourself on the back. I'm not the type to write this much on a daily basis, but when I'm inspired...

Email me whenever you like, and I'm on AIM almost 24/7. Hopefully I'll get some links up and working to go along with this post the next time I have internet on my iBook.

Ja ne,
Ben

Pisa

2005-07-04T04:08:00.000+09:00

Right now I'm in this cemetary in Pisa right next to the leaning tower
and the baptistry and cathedral and everything. Turns out they took the
cables down that used to support the tower and (for 15 euros) you're
able to climb it. At 6 I'll be climbing it and maybe I'll snap a quick
pic. Let's hope the pic I attached to this gets in the blog.

Back in Italy

2005-07-02T22:36:00.000+09:00

Forgive me if this post turns out strange, I'm emailing it from my phone
hoping that it works.

I arrived in Italy yesterday afternoon. Turns out I traveled well over
24 hours. First thing I did after getting back? Got a haircut.

I'm missing my friends from Japan enormously. I know I'm going to see
them again, but it won't be for a while...

I'm planning on going on some little trips around Italy while I'm here,
which should be fun.

I'm incredibly scared to go back to LA. I've been away for so long and
everyone has changed. It won't even be like going back home, it'll be
like I'm still a foreigner.

I've gotten the urge to stay away from LA recently. I want to keep
living all over the world making friends and having fun. I don't want to
be stuck in the same place with the same people doing the same thing
every single day. I've had enough of LA for now. It should be time for
something different. Now I just have to figure out how to get high
school out of the way...

Update: I'm no longer scared to go back to LA and I'm actually really looking forward to seeing everyone again.

My last day...

2005-06-29T01:19:00.000+09:00

Technically Thursday is my last day, but today was my last day of school. A lot of hard goodbyes, but I made friendships that will last a lifetime. I'm even thinking of applying for a scholorship to Germany for next year. I may think differently a little later on, but I think being an exchange student in Germany for a year would be pretty cool. I know practically no German, but I can learn! I no longer really care about missing school, I can always do correspondence school again anyway. If I were to apply (December is the latest) and get accepted (I can refuse if I want to though) than I would be there from August '06 to September '07 (roughly). I'm seriously considering this. Anyone out there have an opinion on the subject?

I'm going to miss everyone. I'll remember all of you. And to the exchange students: you're all my wonderwall. You really did save me, no joke.

New Photos

2005-06-23T20:39:00.000+09:00

If you haven't already, you should definitely take a look at all the new photos I posted on my Flickr account because I'm really proud of a lot of them.

Check out this comment I got within minutes of posting. It really makes a guy feel good to hear something like that. I've always been a Mac guy, since day 1, and I think that anyone who uses a PC is really missing out on a more productive and better looking way of life (PCs are ugly, you have to agree). That was not meant to offend anyone if it did, I still love you all, even if you use Windows.

Well, it's almost time to leave Japan. It's so sad that I have to leave so soon. And after making all these awesome friends (1, 2) too...

It's not like I won't ever see them again though. We're all planning a reunion next year in Germany. And really, in the age we live in you'd think that you'd never left. With AIM, blogs, email, phone, mail, etc. you can be in contact no matter where you are.

I know that it will never be the same again, even if I visit Japan with all of them. So I have to spend as much time as I can with them and cherish every single memory (not to mention take obscene amounts of pictures).

I love all you guys. You're always welcome to come to LA, just gimme a ring or an email or an IM, etc.

Ja ne.

Karaoke, Tokyo, and a camera

2005-06-19T21:25:00.000+09:00

The night before I left for Tokyo I had an 8-hour karaoke session with some Japanese friends and exchange student friends (although I was the only exchange student who stayed all 8 hours). Amazingly, my host brother said I was the first exchange student to go to karaoke for that long; 8 hours is long even for a Japanese person. We (the current exchange students) are also the first ones to have gone to karaoke on our own. I'm telling you, it's seriously addicting! Although I'm told that you haven't really experienced karaoke if you haven't added alchohol to the mix.

Tokyo was a blast. First thing out of the 2 and a half hour bullet train ride (from Kyoto, find out how far that is and you will then realize the sheer speed of these things) I was off the Akihabara, the electronics capital of the world. I was in the market for a new digital camera as well and I happened upon one that I had seen on the net earlier. It was the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T7. 5.1 megapixels, huge LCD screen, incredibly fast and easy to use, and one of the thinnest cameras in it's class. I got it in black too (which is limited to Japan and Hong Kong) so it looks super slick. It's been taking great pictures and I'm really happy with the purchase.

After I bought the camera I was off to Ghibli Museum, where they had real pictures drawn by Miyazaki Hayao and some really cool exhibitions. No pictures were allowed, obviously.

We then went to the 53rd floor of a building to have yaki-niku (literally, fried meat) for dinner, where not only was the food amazing (you cook the meat on a small grill in front of you and dip it in various sauces), but the view was spectacular as well; I was able to get a great view of Tokyo.

Next day I went to Roppongi Hills and had my picture taken with Honda's Asimo robot on the 52nd floor with Tokyo as the background. It was very spectacular. The contemporary art museum in there wasn't too bad either.

Next we went to Ginza to go to the Sony building which was a huge display of their technology. It was pretty damn cool. But possibly even cooler was where we went next: the Apple Store. I don't know why I wanted to go there so badly, but it was worth it to see the amazing architecture and design of the place. Again, no pictures allowed.

I had really good sushi for dinner that night too.

The next day (today) I took the bullet train back home and we all went out for revolving sushi, which was lots of fun.

Now it's back to school tomorrow, so I better get some sleep.

Ja ne.

Busy week

2005-06-13T21:09:00.000+09:00

Today was the first day in a long line of days which make up my busy week. Four hours of karaoke today, shopping tomorrow, movie on Thursday, and I'm off to Tokyo for 3 days starting Friday.

I just borrowed Pirates of the Caribbean from my friend and watched it for the first time. I have to say, all that hype being built up by my friends was fulfilled. If you haven't seen this movie, do so at this very moment. I also borrowed Interview with the Vampire and What About Bob? which I'm also looking forward to seeing.

At the moment I ought to take a shower, read a little of Lord of the Rings, and head to bed. It's been a long day.

Oh! I forgot to mention that I had a kanji test today. More than half of it was simple, but the rest was impossible for me, I just can't cram all those kanji in 30 minutes. I guess I'll have to study next time. I did get an OK grade though by Japanese standards.

Ja ne.

Buddhist holiday

2005-06-11T23:41:00.000+09:00

I woke up today to the sound of a crowd downstairs, which was a bit surprising. It turned out to be some kind of Buddhist holiday, which one I do not know. We all went to a temple (the entire family, including many cousins from all over Japan) and prayed. It was all very cool and interesting. We had an amazing lunch and an amazing dinner as well. Lots of sushi and lots of meat (there were good vegetables too though).

Tomorrow I ride the train again to go hang out at another exchange students house (not just me, but 2 others are going as well). The main purpose is to exchange photos and little videos and to teach them how to use iTunes (these are PC people). We'll watch movies too, so it'll be great fun.

Ja ne.

Karaoke

2005-06-08T19:48:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I was way too tired to make a post and you will soon be informed why. I went to karaoke... for 5 hours. Now, you'd think that I would have run out of songs to sing, but by the time we left we still had a full list. We could have even stayed there for 3 more hours if we didn't have to go home. The story was that the 3rd year students got out after 3rd period (around 11:30) which meant that 2 exchange students were getting out early. So we got permission to leave with them to go to a karaoke place that was very near, where we bought 'Free Time' from 12 to 8 pm (meaning we could leave and come back), but only stayed from 12 to 5. It was a lot of fun though and the first time going without a Japanese person.

More to come if there is more to say.

Ja ne.

English camp thing

2005-06-06T18:21:00.000+09:00

The English camp I went to over the weekend was kinda fun. I ended up being an English teacher to 11 Japanese Junior High students. All we really did was memorize some lines for a short skit to do in front of 100 other students and judges to see who did the best job (we didn't win anything except for one girl who won "Best Actress"). I got to stay at an onsen (public bath hotel) although I didn't take one. I made plenty of friends and I was totally wiped out afterwards. I took the train by myself for the first time as well! It's not very hard at all; everything is in English and they have instructions everywhere.

Now for something completely different...

Has anyone else besides me tried read Bram Stoker's Dracula and just couldn't finish it? Well, I found a blog very much like one that my mom likes (as in, it is the same style of blogging) that posts an entry everyday that consists of one letter out of the book. This is much more tolerable than just sitting down and reading it, this way I can enjoy it much more. The blog is Dracula Blogged and has an RSS feed for those of you, like me, that don't have enough time to actually visit each blog I like and keep track of what I've read and what I like. So if you're interested, it's a great way to get through the book.

Ja ne.

My profile pic

2005-06-04T06:43:00.000+09:00

Those things behind my head in my profile picture are actually cat ears that we wore for our performance during Sport's Day. The real picture is on my Flickr site which can be accessed through my Flickr badge which is located under my profile. It's the thing with all the most recent pictures of me, you can't miss it.

Off to camp.

Ja ne.

Heading for camp tomorrow

2005-06-03T23:38:00.000+09:00

I'm going to some camp thing tomorrow that my exchange program set up. I don't know exactly what we're going to do, but I assume it's to help other Japanese students learn English and to help me learn Japanese. Anyway, it should be fun. It's only Satuday and Sunday.

Everything looks good for the trip to Tokyo except one little thing: how am I going to manage navigating my way from Omi-Hachiman to Kyoto to the shinkansen that will take me to Tokyo. That's a tough one, but I still have about two weeks to figure that out. What's the worst that could happen? I miss my train. Although... considering the ticket costs upwards of 100$ one way, it's a bit annoying to have to pay again. The real problem is just that I'm going to go after school, which means I'll be on the train pretty late. Maybe I could just not go to school that Friday, and that way my host mother could take the train to Kyoto with me and show me where my train is that I need to catch in order to get to Tokyo. Who knows, it'll all work out later hopefully.

Ja ne.

Flower Day came and went

2005-06-01T18:17:00.000+09:00

We dressed in our normal school uniforms, by the way.

I'm singing on stage and I turn the page, my song book commences to fall apart. At least it wasn't as bad as it could've been.

After that I went to karaoke with most of the exchange students and some guys from Moritz's class. It was probably the most fun I've had at karaoke because I really got into it and everyone was really fun. We then went to take photo booth pictures which turned out rather well despite trying to fit 9 of us in there at once.

So now I'm tired.

Ja ne.

Hana no Hi

2005-05-31T22:14:00.000+09:00

"Hana no Hi" means "Flower Day," which is coming up tomorrow. The only reason I mention this is because I'm in the hymn chorus that is going to be singing in front of the entire school. Just a wee bit nervous (seriously). I'm sure it will be fun, and it means no school! Although I don't do much (OK, any) work here, it's still much less boring. And I bet you can't guess what I'm going to be doing after school... karaoke! Surprise surprise. It really is fun, and cheap too if you plan it right. This one place near school has huge rooms and if you go on a weekday it only cast about 2 dollars for 2 hours. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

Wish me luck! I really hope we weren't supposed to memorize those songs...

Ja ne.

Been busy lately

2005-05-30T21:00:00.000+09:00

Not only have I been getting home late because of various after school activities, but on both Satuday and Sunday I didn't get home until well past 11, and combine that with my normal tiredness while I've been here, and you can see why I haven't posted.

Last Friday Jen (exchange student from New York), Moritz (exchange student from Germany) , and I went to the main shopping mall in our area to get a good idea of what was being sold. I was in search of a backpack because I can't keep using my laptop bag for school, it's just not big enough. Moritz and I decided to go back the next day because my brother would be out and about and Moritz had no plans.

Saturday we went to see Kindom of Heaven, which was OK. The story was great, but Orlando Bloom doesn't really have the charisma to play a leading role. Every once in a while there would be these pointless close-ups of him looking around, so you know that they're just trying to get the teenage girl audience to come see it. The movie production people probably got Orlando Bloom to do a movie first and then tried to decide what story they should put him in.

I was successful in finding a backpack though! It's really quite nice, I may even use it when I get back as my normal bag. It's actually a messenger bag, not a backpack though.

Sunday my host brother's class had a party which I attended. Everyone met at Coco's (an American restaurant apparently popular here) and then headed to karaoke for a few hours. Tons of fun, I'll see if any of my pictures came out well.

Wednesday I'm going to karaoke yet again with classmates from Moritz's class. Should be a lot of fun.

As always, be sure to comment on stuff you want to know, because if you don't you'll probably never get to know.

Ja ne.

P.S. Brynn IS incredibly cute.

Need sleep No time

2005-05-26T23:12:00.000+09:00

Will post on weekend.

Meals

2005-05-24T21:43:00.000+09:00

Breakfast is usually laid out for me by the time I go down to the kitchen (it's the same for everyone in the family, but I get up later than everyone else because I can get ready much faster). Breakfast consists of orange juice or milk, a bowl of plain yogurt with sugar, and a bowl of either Frosted Flakes or Coco Crispies. Occasionally my host mother will make me ham with a sunny side egg on top, but as far as I can tell it's a spontaneous gesture. The really amazing part is that I actually eat it all.

For lunch all of the children (this includes me) get bentos (box lunches) prepared by host mother. She usually will give me leftovers from last night's dinner (that's definitely not a complaint, as you will see) or she will make something the night before. I've gotten anything from fried noodles to shrimp to beef to french fries (I could go on and on). But it's always different everyday except for onigiri (rice ball wrapped with nori, or seaweed), which is the staple in my lunch. By the way, I now like nori. Most of my friends in school get rice and put some stuff they call furikake on it, which seems to be some kind of yummy topping. But for me, onigiri just plain tastes better and is more convenience because I can hold it with one hand while I use my hashi (chopsticks) to eat the rest of my food with the other hand (as opposed to constantly switching back and forth between rice and other food with your hashi, which is what you are supposed to do, and what I do with the onigiri is what your are supposed to do as well).

Dinner is always different, but I'm sure you could've guessed that one. I don't think I've tried anything new, but that's only because I've already tried everything they offer me in LA. Well, actually, I probably tried some new kind of fish and didn't know it, but it was probably good. The only things I don't like here are natou (sticky bean things you have for breakfast sometimes) and mayonnaise (I'm pretty sure you all know what that is).
I'll list the different meals I've had in another post.

Yes, the toilet seat does have a cool warming functionality, and it is really quite nice on seriously

cold days. It doesn't have a bidet like ones in hotels here, but it'll do.
I've written enough for one post (although it would have been longer if I didn't accidentally delete part of it).

Ja ne.

Small things I probably forgot to mention

2005-05-23T21:01:00.000+09:00

Laundry is done twice a day on most days.
The bath here has jets.
Almost no one rides the car. If you do, you're lucky (this includes me).
Japanese daytime TV sucks. Badly.
Only VISA cards work everywhere in Japan.
Playing rugby makes you tired.
Frogs are loud and plentiful when it rains.

Ja ne.

Ichigo greenhouse and Swing Girls

2005-05-22T16:54:00.000+09:00

We got to go into an Ichigo (strawberry) greenhouse in which we ate whichever strawberrys looked good right when you picked them. You didn't even need to wash them. They were delicious!

I just saw a movie called Swing Girls with my host brother on DVD. It was about a group of girls in high school who didn't really care about school at all. In a twist of fate they are needed to replace the brass band for an upcoming game in one week! It's a great movie if you have access to foreign films, and of course there are English subtitles.

Ja ne.

Karaoke

2005-05-22T12:02:00.000+09:00

Karaoke was lots of fun, I wish I could be doing it all the time. Although if I did that, I'd be broke in a week. I also took more Purikura (photo booth stickers) with people, so I have a whole wallet full of 'em. There seems to be a strawberry green house near where I live so we are going to go pick some today (at a price, but they say they're worth it). I've been getting lots of sleep over the weekend and I'm trying to drink and eat more. Laying off the caffiene is a good idea too.

Ja ne.

Sport's Day preparation

2005-05-18T21:09:00.000+09:00

Today and yesterday after lunch our classes have been preparing for Sport's Day. I'm not really sure what it is, but we have to make a class flag, class T-shirts, and a class performance. It's been pretty fun. Our class performance is a dance (the music is Japanese, so I don't think anyone would know if I told them who it is). I've been tired lately. Very tired. Last night I just could get to sleep, I must have been rolling over in bed for more than an hour. Anyone have any recommendations on good sleep?

Ja ne.

P.S. I'm open to going to karaoke, be it in New York or LA, although it has to be 'box karaoke' where you have your own little private room.

Karaoke again

2005-05-17T21:41:00.000+09:00

Looks like I'll be going to karaoke again this weekend, I can't wait! I'm a horrible singer, but I love to do it (my poor friends...). I'm crashing today though, caffiene doesn't work anymore.

Ja ne.

I like that anonymous people read my blog

2005-05-16T22:09:00.000+09:00

I just got invited by my best friend's mom, who is Japanese and living in Tokyo, to be taken sightseeing with her! How cool is that? I'm probably going to go to Akihabara (anime and gadget paradise) and Studio Ghibli! The place where they make Miyazaki Hayao's films! I probably won't be going for another month, but I already can't wait. I'm going to take pictures every two steps and document each one of them. That's how cool these places are. If anyone wants ANYTHING AT ALL anime related, ask me before June 16. From the newest anime and merchandise, to the oldest manga and memorobelia, it's all in Akihabara. How can I be so sure? I visited there for a mere few hours last year, but I'm sure I can spend upwards of a week looking at all the awesome stuff. Better start saving money...

Ja ne.

Hmm... Pondering readership on account of no comments

2005-05-15T19:21:00.000+09:00

I visited Lake Biwa today. Very big, very beautiful even though it was overcast. I took a cruise on a boat called Michigan with a southern banjo band playing on board, go figure.

If you haven't seen the new teaser trailer for The Goblet of Fire, it's definitely worth a look. Some really amazing visuals.

After going to the lake I went to see Constantine, which was luckily subtitled in Japanese and not dubbed. It's a pretty cool movie. Sorta makes you think 'People believe this crap?!' It really makes you wonder whether they wrote the bible as an inspiration for some awesome movie scripts. By the way, before year 0 was the world in total chaos? They must have some explanation for that. All in all it was a good catholic movie, but there were some pretty stupid punchlines throughout the entire film.

School tomorrow.

Ja ne.

Update: I'm not tired, so I should be a bit more coherent

2005-05-14T21:01:00.000+09:00

It's just been one of those days that you take it slow and do nothing. I don't mind them so much as long as I can do something relaxing, but it was mostly boring today, meaning there was nothing good on TV.

Tomorrow I go to Lake Biwa and go to see Constantine, which I think is going to be subtitled (go Japan!). Lake Biwa is the biggest lake in Japan and was formed from the same tectonic shift that formed Mt. Fuji. Should be fun!

Ja ne.

Kisarazu Cat's Eye

2005-05-12T21:15:00.000+09:00

I'm pretty sure all of those who read this blog have absolutely no idea what the title means, unless you have an incredible knowledge of Japanese movies and are updated at least weekly. It's the name of a movie which I saw a little while ago on TV and thought would never be brought up again (although it was a pretty funny movie). Little did I know how popular it was. For our class performance on Sport's Day we are going to dance to the theme song of that movie (and what a catchy song it is, seriously). Wish me luck on that because I need it.

By the way, art club is very very fun, mostly because of the cool people in it and how art mainly consists of anime over here.

Ja ne.

Art Club

2005-05-11T21:38:00.000+09:00

I've been incredibly tired lately starting at around 2 or 3 pm, which is probably because I'm not used to staying in school for longer than 6 hours and here I go to school for around 8 hours. By the last period I'm completely wiped out. It could also be that speaking Japanese has just completely tired me out as well. Therefore Kendo does not sound like a very appealing club at the moment. I've been going to Art Club for the pat 2 days (people Kendo Club said it was OK, especially since I'm only here for 3 months so I can try a lot of things) where I can just hang out and talk and draw, it's really relaxing.

Tiger has been installed successfully on my iBook, by the way. It works great so far (although I can't test that too thouroughly without an internet connection).

Ja ne.

So very tiger-- I mean tired...

2005-05-10T20:29:00.000+09:00

I could barely keep my eyes open all day, even though I had a particularly fun day. I feel like I'm picking up a lot of Japanese, but I am not concious enough to test if that's true.

I got Tiger today in the mail! I'm still trying to determine if I should wait until tomorrow. I think I might wait until the weekend, most likely Sunday because Saturday we're going to karaoke, 'we' includes me, my host brother, a German exchange student, and a Swiss exchange student. It's going to be a lot of fun and my host brother seems as excited as I am.

Ja ne.

First day of school after a long holiday

2005-05-09T19:03:00.000+09:00

I miss the long holiday already, but school was pretty fun. Nothing new, but I got to sleep a little during my last period because everyone was taking a test. I couldn't get to sleep last night after the long holiday of sleeping in.

I have this one class every monday during first period in the international center for the exchange students which is a lot of fun. The teacher is British and has been working at the school for 10 years. The whole class we just talk about anything we want and get perspectives from all the different people and where they live. It's really quite interesting. Other than that it was just another cloudy day.

Ja ne.

Lazy day + AYUSA meeting + haircut (not me)

2005-05-08T20:10:00.000+09:00

Not much to report today, although I had a great conversation with my AYUSA (the program I used to come over here) representative. It was just to check up on me.

My host brother got an awesome haircut (no pics). They do things about the same way as in LA except the styles are cooler. Everyone agrees my hair is good right now though, so I'll just stick with my 1+ month old italian haircut.

Ja ne.

New Zealand exchange student left

2005-05-06T22:44:00.000+09:00

As you probably read from the title, the exchange student from New Zealand left today. He was a cool guy, had plenty of fun. It was much easier to go through this kind of experience with someone else at first.

Tomorrow is a Takoyaki party! For all of you that don't know, takoyaki is dough shaped into a ball with octopus, onion, and other various delicious ingredients fried. The party is for our good friend's birthday, which means getting up tomorrow to find her a present... this I'm not so good at.

Hope all of you did well on the AP test (those of you who took it)! I'm real tired from a long day at the airport.

Ja ne.

Re: Poor disturbed youth of our nation

2005-05-05T15:49:00.000+09:00

These AP tests seem to suck. I guess I'm lucky that I don't have to take them (this year), but I have sympathy for those of you that are too busy studying to read this blog. Whether a homocidal psycho jungle cat-- er, high school student, or just plain disturbed, you should try not to stress because it's not fun. Why is the guy living in someone else's house thousands of miles away saying this? I don't know.

The foreign exchange student from New Zealand is leaving tomorrow so he's packing his stuff up today. I'm just sitting here working on chemistry.

Ja ne.

Farewell party for my fellow exchange student

2005-05-05T00:28:00.000+09:00

Today was the farewell party for the other exchange student staying in the same house as me as well as the other exchange student from New Zealand. It was a lot of fun. We went to this little cafe in Hikone where there was a band that was playing 50s rock and roll and we were all dancing and having a great time. A night to remember.

Just in case you haven't heard, Stephen Colbert of the Daily Show is getting his own spin-off. Watch it and tell me how it is because... well, I'm in Japan and it's not so easy to watch American TV.

By the way, they call soccer football here.

Ja ne.

A little frustration

2005-05-01T23:48:00.000+09:00

So I've pretty much been chillin this whole 3 day weekend, except for one helluva time yesterday. First Jin, Hitoshi, Tomoki, and I played a game of 2-on-2 soccer in which I wiped myself out after about an hour and a half. Then we went on a bike ride (first time I've ridden a bike in years) and went up and down hills, around the town, stopped at a convenience store, and then finally we were home.

As some of you may know, the new Mac OS, named Tiger, has come out. I use my iBook over here and I really wanted this major upgrade, so I bought it online. It will be here in a few days and it will be rendered pratically useless because my family has stopped the use of my computer to connect to their wireless internet. Allow me to explain. I have been hooking onto their wireless router and using their insanely fast DSL connection since the day I got here, the problem was that it would sometimes totally disconnect the internet from anyone's use every once in a while, but all you needed to do was power off and on the router and it'd be back up in no time. They told me today that I couldn't use it today because of this problem. I asked them why and they explained that there are two computers in the house and they signed up for a contract that would allow only two connections to the wireless router. Now somewhere in that contract part must be a lose end in translation. If my computer knowledge serves me, as long as you have a wireless router to the internet and you have a sufficient amount of ports (which they do mysteriously enough) it should work totally fine. What I think the problem is is that they have programmed this wireless router for two computers and either don't know or don't want to change that configuration. Controlling the amount of computers connected to a wireless router in one's own home is not possible, or if it is, not very highly advised, and I'm pretty sure they are just afraid something will go wrong if I connect with the router. So here I am typing on this crazy Japanese keyboard on a PC running WINDOZE (I can't stand it much longer) just so I can communicate with all of you. I'm meeting the AYUSA representative soon anyways and maybe she can translate more accurately.

Otherwise, I'm doing great! Just don't expect anymore pictures (that means zero) and no more timely responses to emails. I'm pretty sure I can still look at blogs through Bloglines, but not for very long. I've got to get this sorted out or else I'm not going to know what's happening in the world. I won't be able to watch the Daily Show anymore! Wish me luck.

Ja ne.

Karaoke

2005-04-30T00:48:00.000+09:00

I've been told by a very reliable source that I should never apologize for missing a day and not posting. The only notable thing I have done is karaoke (a few pictures have been posted). It was tons of fun and I'm probably going to be doing it a lot because my Japanese friends can't wait to take me. Not only that, but they want to take Purikura pictures with me, which are those tiny little photo booth stickers. To make this sound a bit less weird, all these friends are girls. My guy friends don't really want to go anywhere or do anything, I have no idea why.

Some of the exchange students are leaving next week, the two New Zealand exchange students and the Thai exchange student. I'm really going to miss Pai, the Thai student, we both became really good friends. I'm sure we'll be able to email each other though, so it's fine.

You're going to have to wait for an update tomorrow because my roommate is being freakin annoying right now and wants to go to sleep.

Ja ne.

Answers to some questions

2005-04-27T23:02:00.000+09:00

I can only tell what classes I can remember because it's not on paper. I have computer classes, english, math, P.E., Japanese history, ancient Japanese literature, bible class, and biology. I am in Kendo Club. I am still drawing a lot, I drew an anime version of my friend sitting next to me in class today and he said "I want to look like that." I'll see if I can scan it and post it. The anime and manga that my classmates like are pretty much the same as the ones I like. My Japanese is getting a lot better, people actually understand what I'm saying most of the time. I usually don't understand what is being said in my classes, but the teachers and my friends are very helpful, not to mention my dictionary. I have not taken any pictures of me in my uniform, I will eventually, but I keep forgetting. I have pictures from my last trip as well, I'll post them when I have more time. I need sleep now.

Ja ne!

Himeji Castle and the Hot Spring Shrouded in Mystery

2005-04-25T21:47:00.000+09:00

OK, the title may not exactly live up to the reality, but you have to admit it was kinda cool.

First stop on the weekend trip: Himeji Castle. After about 2 or 3 hours in a car with absolutely no suspension (I was sleeping while listening to music so I don't really remember exactly how long) we arrived. It was big. And made of rocks. Very big, not to mention tall. Every door was way too short for me. Yet the castle was incredibly beautiful and the surroundings were amazing. It was a typical Japanese style: the fusion of serene nature and pleasant/amazing architecture.

Next we went to a place where natural whirlpools occurred. It was cool initially, but after an hour it got a bit boring.

After that we drove to the hotel, which was the highlight of the trip. More specifically, it was the hot springs. As most of you know, you do have to go into them armed only with an teeny towel. Luckily, I don't really care. These were the best containers of hot water that you sit in/wade in that I've ever been in. First you wash yourself outside the hot spring, then into the inside pool. It's exactly the right temperature. Then into the outside hot spring, where steam is rising off the surface of the water into the cool night air. The pool is illuminated by a few small lights and, of course, the moon. There is also a small zen garden surrounding the hot spring, very beautiful. The cold air and the hot spring was an amazing experience. For dinner that night we had really good French food, but it was a tiny bit Japanese influenced (which, in my humble opinion, made it better).

The next day was pretty uneventful except for going to Kobe, walking all around looking at cool shops, eating ramen from a booth with an incredibly long line in Chinatown, and more long car rides.

Today was just another day of school. Although I had P.E. for the first time since the end of January, not very surprising that I couldn't run the mile faster than 8 minutes (not a full mile, 1.5 km, 1 mile = 1.6 km). Other than that, I've just been having fun doing the usual things. Sleep is now my number 1 priority.

Ja ne.

Too tired

2005-04-24T23:37:00.000+09:00

Will post about weekend trip tomorrow when I get home from school.

On tomorrow's exciting episode: "Himeji Castle and the Hot Spring Shrouded in Mystery"

Ja ne.

Umm... Still in Japan

2005-04-22T22:57:00.000+09:00

So not much new is occuring here, school is pretty much the same everyday. I'm making a ton of new friends though. They're all really cool; it's mostly the guys who sit around me in class. I eat lunch with them now too, I feel pretty honored to tell the truth. I always see this kind of stuff in anime or manga, where you invite people to have lunch with you, it's a priveledge and a cool one at that.

This weekend I'm going to Himeji Castle somewhere near Osaka I think. It'll be a two day, one night trip. A photo opportunity for sure.

By the way, if you haven't looked at the Flickr Badge on the bottom of the right sidebar you've missed the pictures of me in a Kendo uniform.

If you've started using Bloglines or some similar RSS reader you can subscribe to my Flickr account through the feed here and you'll be updated with every new picture I upload instantly! C'mon people, I wouldn't be repeating this stuff if I knew you were using it (glares at people not using it).

One more tiny piece of news, today was the first day I survived without coffee! Which reminds me, I've been having a can of coffee after 1st period for the past few days. I stand by my reasoning that a caffiene addiction is a weakness and a crutch. Plus it's expensive...

Ja ne.

This seems both logical AND useful

2005-04-20T17:42:00.000+09:00

How to jumpstart your day:
Not a morning person? Weblogger Bert Webb lists 6 ways to kickstart yourself in the AM - from strategically positioning the alarm clock to getting some protein in your stomach first thing. All good suggestions for the sleepyheads out there.

(Via Lifehacker.)

I'm still not use to the whole waking-up-at-6 deal and I really don't want to keep resorting to caffeine.

This should make getting to Pali a lot faster

2005-04-19T18:58:00.000+09:00

I'm not line waiter anymore!:

No, not that line.

For the five people who a)care or b)live/work in Malibu... PCH is open four lanes! Oh thank the Lord. It's been two or three lanes since the floods. I talked to one pizza place, who said their business was cut half the last two months, because no southbound deliveries from 5 - 8 pm.
I'm really tired of mud.

(Via Blogging.LA.)

Kendo club

2005-04-18T20:11:00.000+09:00

Today was the first day of the Kendo club at school today. It was a lot of fun. The teacher wasn't attending, but all the other guys taught me how to wield a wooden stick. I got dressed up in the armor and everything. They said I looked like Tom Cruise with that stuff on.

Maybe it is jetlag catching up with me, but I can't seem to concentrate very long on anything because I'm so tired. Maybe this is how I always feel after school and I've just forgotten in school's absence.

Ja ne.

Inspiration and birthdays

2005-04-17T23:07:00.000+09:00

I've been told that I've inspired people to consider creating their own blogs. All I can say is get started! There's always more room for another RSS feed. Hitting Blogger.com is the first step.

The birthday party was a ton of fun. The sushi exceeded my expectations, throwing my taste buds into another realm of satisfaction. It was good to say the least. There was also KFC and home-made pizza (not bad either, but again, different realm). Hitoshi's friends Chisato 1 and Chisato 2 (a.k.a. Chi and Chi, both female) were there as well, along with an exchange student from New Zealand. Allow me to explain. Chi 1 had the New Zealand exchange student, Victoria, staying at her house until yesterday when Victoria moved into Chi 2's house. Victoria and the New Zealand exchange student staying with me, Jin, know each other from school. I'm pretty sure that's why Chi and Chi and Victoria all came to the party. But who cares! It was fun. It was mostly everyone hanging out listening to my endless music (much of it Chi and Chi knew because I like so much Japanese music). Jin and I got to practice our Japanese as well, which we really need to start doing more of. It's hard because everyone wants to speak to us in English.

Tomorrow is a real, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm school day. 8 hours of endless incomprehension. What fun! I don't know why everyone says I'll just 'pick it up.' Brains, or rather, minds are pretty mysterious. I don't usually know what's going on most of the time, so maybe that's some kind of process that's subconciously learning what each word means and associating it with something. Pipe dream if I ever heard one.

Ja ne.

Cell phone

2005-04-16T22:14:00.000+09:00

Another lazy Saturday for me, except that I went out breifly to buy a prepaid Japanese cell phone. I was kinda bummed because it didn't look nearly as cool as the other ones. It wasn't a flip phone, it was a bit big, no camera, no games, and the color was pretty basic. On the upside though, it has a color screen, HUNDREDS of different customization options, easy usability, and it actually doesn't look so bad after changing the face plate to be all blue.

Forget whatever I said about this city being rural or small. It turns out the city I live in, Omi-hachiman, has a huge city district with tall buildings and everything. It was quite a spectacle with all the cherry blossoms everywhere. I wish I had my camera, but who knew there would be a photo opportunity on the way to the Vodaphone store!

Tomorrow will be the birthday party celebrating both my host brother's births (sice they are really close to each other). And guess what? We're having REAL sushi. Not the cheap stuff (I'm told), but the expensive and therefore high quality sushi. My mouth is starting to water just thinking about it...

I'm getting pretty tired now, so I think I'm gonna get some rest. I'm much more tired here than in LA, even though I'm not really doing anything most of the time. Very interesting.

Ja ne.

View from my classroom window

2005-04-15T22:17:00.000+09:00

Classroom window,
originally uploaded by shadowhound.

That's a cherry blossom in the background, believe it or not. I'll be sure to take a more sufficient picture of "sakura" as soom as I get the chance.

Let's see now...

2005-04-15T21:45:00.000+09:00

The town I live in, Omi-hachiman, is very rural (as much as a Japanese city actually can be), but there are a lot of buildings and shops, not tall ones, but they're there. It's a pretty fair sized city; it's not gigantic, but it's not tiny either. There's a lot of farmland around, it's actually quite nice. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom! I haven't been able to get a good picture yet, but I will post it one as soon as I can.

The school looks like a pretty normal private school, except a lot better landscaping. My school seems to be K-12 (by american standards), although it really isn't that crowded. It's a huge school though, with more clubs than any other. We also seem to have the best girls volleyball team in Shiga (Shiga is HUGE). I get there by my host mother driving me, and I seem to be pretty lucky after hearing the kind of trips the other exchange students have to make.

Usually my host mother will make me a bento box for lunch (esentially a very compact, very delicious lunch box consisting of rice and a main dish, such as meat or shrimp cooked various ways). Other times I usually eat the leftovers of the previous night's dinner (which is not a complaint in the least).

The school seems to be very christian, but not many of the kids are christian. Most are shinto and buddhist (the typical combination in Japan). But people here aren't so uptight about different religions. Take, for example, the big thing with "under god" in the pledge of allegiance and the children being forced to say it every day in school. In Japan, lots of different religions coexist and thrive. I was given the example that in the normal Japanese life there is a shinto ceremony for birth, a christian wedding for marriage (they are becoming increasingly popular here), and a buddhist ceremony for death. So no one really minds, it's still an awesome school (although I don't know how kids accept the Bible Studying class, I assume they learn it but don't practice it).

I'm actually in a whole bunch of different classes, none of which I can seem to read. I got my host brother to read my schedule, but it was a while ago and I've forgotten.

I'm really tired now, even though it's Friday I think I'm about to collapse.

Ja ne.

Total recovery

2005-04-15T14:43:00.000+09:00

I am no longer sick. Pottery was pretty fun, we also went to the bamboo factory as well as the rosary bead factory. They gave us cool little gifts at each place too. I'm really tired for some reason, I've been getting sleep too. Very strange.

Ja ne.

Not feeling so great today

2005-04-13T21:50:00.000+09:00

I got a bit of a stomach virus this morning, it wasn't horrible, but it prevented me from going to school. Tomorrow I'll probably feel a lot better, but for now I ought to get some sleep. I'm doing Japanese pottery on Friday! (I honestly don't know why. All of the exchange students are supposed to do it.)

Ja ne.

My day and a useful email tip

2005-04-12T18:24:00.000+09:00

Use Gmail as a spam filter:

The web developer and blogger at MBoffin.com posts about how he uses Gmail as a spam filter for his regular email address.

Using a neat forwarding trick between the Gmail and another email server, you can use Gmail to filter spam and forward only good email to your regular email address. (This requires the ability to set a filter on your regular email address to let through only email that's been forwarded from Gmail.) The added advantage to this system is full email backup and online search on Gmail. Nifty!

(Via Lifehacker.)

Not much happened today, just getting to know the other exchange students from around the world. I need to stop going to sleep so late, I'll start tonight. I'm on AIM here in case you didn't know, so sign on and say hi. I'm only on at night (for you) though, around 10 pm LA time.

Ja ne.

Still no real school

2005-04-12T07:14:00.000+09:00

Although, my teacher didn't tell me to go to the international office with the other students yesterday so I ended up actually attending class. I didn't understand anything anyway. I got my super duper real school uniform yesterday and I am wearing it today (will post picture a.s.a.p., possibly when I get home). All this week is minimum days and the exchange students don't have to go to class because they get shown around the school and taught about the school. Next week it's all real though. 8 am to 4:30 pm, that's gonna be preeeetty boring. I'll survive though, and maybe even pick up some Japanese while I'm at it.

By the way, I'm pretty sure they don't marinate the beef in anything, but I can translate that. Gotta go to school.

Ja ne.

Quite possibly one of the best dinners ever

2005-04-10T22:48:00.000+09:00

Yakiniku, or fried meat, is really really good. Basically it is a big frying pan on a table with various raw meat (beef and sausage for me) and vegetables (lettuce, sweet potatoes, and eggplant) which you stick on the pan yourself and cook. I don't know what they do to the beef here but it is HEAVENLY. I know that the kobe beef here comes from cows that are massaged and fed beer (I had some last year, I thought I could see Nirvana), but this was just ordinary stuff. I could get used to living here...

Another day of school tomorrow, what fun! As long as I don't have to stand in front of hundreds of students and introduce myself, I think I'll be fine. Wish me luck!

Ja ne.

Back from Universal Studios Japan

2005-04-09T23:27:00.000+09:00

You'll see a few pictures from there on the Flickr Badge down on the bottom of the right sidebar. It was mostly the same as the one in Hollywood, but the food was a lot better. It was tiring though... I haven't walked around like that since Italy, I better start exercising more. Oh wait! I forgot that I'll have P.E. class now, that should be sufficient. At USJ (Universal Studios Japan) I also saw this thing called a "Tour Preview" of Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (a.k.a. Full Metal Alchemist, it took me all day to memorize the Japanese name) which, if you don't know, is one of the best anime/manga ever. This Tour Preview seemed to be an introduction to what has happened so far in the world of Hagane no Renkinjutsushi as well as a preview for an upcoming movie... or DVD... or festival... I'm not quite sure, everything was lost in translation. But it was cool! I'm gonna start sketching again, maybe even join the drawing club. I've been told by every single person in the lecture series about Pop Japan (maybe a year ago or something) that if you want to get better, you copy your favorite artists until you can adapt them all and make them your own style. This is what I will do. OK then!

Otherwise, I'm really tired like I said before. All of you be sure to email me every once in a while (you know who you are, those bad ones who've been neglecting me for weeks... for shame). Back to Japanese TV, then manga, then sleeping possibly all of Sunday.

Ja ne.

School, what's up tomorrow, and an easier way to read my blog

2005-04-08T22:22:00.000+09:00

First of all, today was technically my first day of school, although it was only a half day and most of it was taken up by the entrance ceremony and sitting around waiting for my host brother. I had to introduce myself once to the teachers and then a second time to EVERY student in the gym. That unpleasantness is behind be now though, and everything else was really fun. The students were all cool and the teacher speaks really good English.

Second, try and guess where I'm going tomorrow. I'll give you a hint: it's the last place you could possibly think of. Give up? I thought so. Universal Studios Japan! It should be really fun. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

Third, so, if you're reading this it means that you want to be kept up to date with all the posts on my blog incredibly easily. It requires a little thing called RSS. You can easily subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog by going to an RSS client online (Bloglines) or downloading one (NetNewsWire for Mac or SharpReader for Windows) and subscribe to http://beninitalyandjapan.blogspot.com/ and that should be it! Now you'll be able to either check Bloglines or your desktop client for an update. It's actually incredibly useful for keeping up with friend's blogs, not to mention all of the "professional" ones such as Wired, Engadget, and my personal favorite, Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things. There are millions of blogs out there, Bloglines is the best for finding them. Many of them are incredibly interesting and informative. Have fun and welcome to the blogosphere!

Ja ne.

A sleepy end to a lazy day

2005-04-07T23:25:00.000+09:00

Has anyone else noticed that doing nothing can be tiring? I also only noticed now that I have to duck to go through the doors in my house. It's the little things that you don't notice at first I guess. It doesn't bother me though. Man I'm tired... And I have to get up at 6 (?!) tomorrow for school. Impromptu Japanese lesson time! Here is my introduction for school tomorrow in Japanese, in English without correcting the order of the words, and an English translation:

Hajimemashite. Boku no namae wa Benjamin Clark des. Ben to yonde kudasai. Boku wa Los Angeles ni sundeimas. Terashima Hitoshi no ie ni sankagetsu home stay shiteimas. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimas.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Benjamin Clark. Ben call me please. I Los Angeles come from. Terashima Hitoshi's house 3 months home stay I am. I am pleased to meet you all.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Benjamin Clark. Please call me Ben. I come from Los Angeles. I am staying at Terashima Hitoshi's house for 3 months. I am pleased to meet you all.

There you have it. I hope it was helpful for your Japanese skills (gotta have those skills). Now time to memorize, hopefully as I sleep. Goodnight blogosphere.

Ja ne.

Cool new thing!

2005-04-07T12:20:00.000+09:00

I just created a new thing called a Flickr Badge which you will see on the sidebar on the bottom right. As you may or may not know, Flickr.com is a online photo publishing site which is completely free to use. They have an option to update the 5 latest photos in your blog, so thats what I did! You can click them and have all the fun you want with 'em. There are a lot more where that came from, so go ahead and look.

Ja ne.

School and food

2005-04-07T09:39:00.000+09:00

I go to school Monday through Friday, I do not have to go on weekends. The amazing food I've been having is ramen (thin noodle from China), tempura (various deep fried vegetables and shrimp), udon (thick noodles), onigiri (hand rolls), and some more I can't remember. But I haven't had sushi yet! Some could argue that the tuna in the onigiri was sushi, but I am a purist, sushi is sushi, not onigiri. Although from what I read, it is a real delicacy to have sushi here because is it A) really really delicious and B) really really expensive (the delicious to expensive ratio is 1 to 1). I don't want to impose on my family so I better do my laundry now.

Ja ne.

Uniform

2005-04-06T23:42:00.000+09:00

My uniform really is the stereotypical private school uniform... except asian-fied. Oh, my cold is completely better as well. I totally forgot about it.

(To parents: You'll have to show me that pizza place when I get back.)

Orientation

2005-04-06T21:25:00.000+09:00

Orientation was today! They fitted my uniform (which I get to keep at a price) and I met some other exchange students there. I saw the coolest show on TV today which showed things you'd never think were that cool in slow motion, like seeing what happens when you shoot a pineapple or a knife or shoot two bullets at each other. I haven't mentioned the food yet, have I? Well, it's DELICIOUS. I can't emphasize that enough. Everything I've eaten has been sooooooo good. I just got a whole bunch of J rock from my host brother, mostly Orange Range and Asian Kung-fu Generation (my favorite anyway). Judging from the shows on TV, Japanese people find cross dressers hilarious. Just thought I'd point that out. It is pretty funny actually. I played go today with the exchange student from New Zealand (they call go "igo" because sometimes when you talk about go in Japanese you might think someone is saying 5 because go=5 in Japanese). By the way, people wear the coolest shirts here, they are beyond description. I also just finished watching Monday's Daily Show with Jon Stewart that I downloaded.

Answers to questions:
My family is awesome, everyone is really nice and very helpful. They are helping me learn Japanese MUCH more quickly, I'm talking in Japanese all the time now. I mostly speak Japanese at home and use my dictionary all the time, but I do help the family learn English as well, they learn incredibly quickly and it gets better everyday (as they say my Japanese does). I turn out to be the only one in the family who can use chopsticks correctly! My classes start on Friday (don't ask why school starts right before the weekend because I don't know).

I'll check back in later.

Ja ne. (By the way, that means "see ya.")

Thanks to all 2 of my readers!

2005-04-05T21:23:00.000+09:00

Kyoto was really fun today, but tiring. I actually had to get up before 8! I haven't gotten up this early since January... I got some presents that I promised to mail, just try and guess what they are (the hint is that I went to Kyoto today, the most traditional japanese place in Japan). Cherry blossoms are blooming! Japanese TV is awesome!

Like I said before though, I'm tired. Until tomorrow...

Ja ne.

Kyoto Tomorrow

2005-04-04T23:33:00.000+09:00

Me and the other foreign exchange student from New Zealand are being taken to Kyoto tomorrow to see the major sights like the Golden Pavillion and the Silver Pavillion. It kinda sucks that I have to wake up at 6 am, but whatever. I saw a really cool japanese movie called Bayside Shakedown 2 (with subtitles), if it`s in the US you should check it out. I went to the major shopping area and went to the arcade which was so cool. I got to play a whole bunch of different games that I`ve never even heard of. There was a manga store there too in which I saw all of my favorite titles as well as MANY I`ve never heard of. It`s already 11 30 here, so I oughta get some sleep.

Ja ne.

I`m in Japan

2005-04-03T21:15:00.000+09:00

I still can`t believe it, but I`m actually typing on a Japanese keyboard from one of the most ancient parts of Japan near Kyoto, where my host family is. This house is so awesome, it`s taken RIGHT out of Rurouni Kenshin (by the way, my host brother has every Rurouni Kenshin manga, how awesome is that? Maybe I`ll eventually be able to read them all...). I can`t use the computer very long, sadly, but I miss you all very much! Tell everyone to check my blog because I don`t have enough time to email very much so I`ll be saying everything on here. I`ll still read emails all the time though. Be sure to leave comments!

Ja ne.

Feeling a bit better now

2005-04-01T06:26:00.000+09:00

I have been in Bangkok, Thailand the past few days touring around, mostly it was to ease getting used to the time change to Japan. I actually rode an elephant, which was pretty cool. Not a little kiddie ride either, I was on this elephant for 30 minutes while going to see temples. Went on some canal and river rides as well. Its been hot and humid, but that's all going to change when I go to Japan. Wether reports are saying it's going to be pretty chilly.

I'm really excited about this November! Not only is my birthday in that month, but I managed to get 2 legit and well seated tickets to the U2 concert in the Staples Center on November 2 off eBay! It was my only alternative because that U2 concert was officially sold out, but thank goodness for scalpers on eBay. I'll be taking my absolutely wonderful girlfriend to this amazing event.

I have to go to Japan now, I'll post when I get there.

Ja ne

I'm Sick

2005-03-31T23:52:00.000+09:00

My head is spinning too much to post anything useful or informative. But I needed to post SOMETHING.

Music

2005-03-12T20:00:00.000+09:00

I can't believe what I've been missing... Music is going right over my head these days without TV or radio. The Killers are insane, The Pixies rock hard, and I've desperately needed The Moon and Antarctica by Modest Mouse.

Italy is cold (temperature) and starting to lose its novelty. This wouldn't normally happen but without any peers it's harder to just keep on going.

Be sure to email and comment.

Oh and one more thing...

2005-02-21T18:26:00.000+09:00

I just recieved the information about the host family I will stay with while I'm in Japan! I'm staying in the Shiga prefecture near Kyoto. According to maps, pretty much the entire prefecture is taken up by the biggest lake in Japan (formed from the same movement of the Earth as Mount Fuji) called Lake Biwa. I will be staying with one 18 year old high school girl, one highschool boy, one 13 year old junior high boy, their father, mother, grandmother, and grandfather. And no, it is not normal for a japanese family this big to be in one house (because houses there are so TINY), but it should be extremely fun. I will be leaving for Japan on March 31 and coming back sometime in July.

Now I have to get back to work.

Wish me luck!

Snow?! What the !@#$ is that?!

2005-02-21T18:02:00.000+09:00

This morning was my first time ever seeing snow... it's mesmerizing... Too bad it made the bus to get to CERM insanely crowded and wet. Oh well, it was still awesome.

For anyone who hasn't heard of The Kleptones, they are this insane mashing acid punk hip hop kinda thing. If you get a chance to, download (legally from their website via Bittorrent) A Night at the Hip Hopera, which really is pure genius.

Italy is pretty nice these days, although it would be nice if I got more sleep.

Leave comments and be sure to email me!

Doing well in Italy

2005-02-12T02:41:00.000+09:00

Although not too much is going on, just doing my independent studying of chem and trig and learning a bit of art history from my dad, I am doing well. I miss people though... It's hard to be away from everyone you're so used to seeing. And as an added bonus, I have no friends or even acquaintances my age here. Anyway, I have a plenty fast Internet connection, an iPod, my camera, and my sidekick II, what more can I really ask for?

Answers to the comments:
Katy: HIIIII!!!~
Erica: Cool, 11th grade stephie would be correct.
Jinno: That was a pic taken at the beginning of 10th grade... at my house... in LA. Sorry to get your hopes up, I do have an awesome pad though. The time difference from LA to Italy is ahead 9 hours, so at 5 pm in LA it would be 2 am in Italy (I would be asleep). I can only get on MSN during the hours you are either asleep or at school, and on weekends I won't have access to MSN.

Good news! Now you can comment without having to make a blog! I know it's a little late... but for anyone else who reads this and was reluctant to comment because of this you do not have to worry about it anymore! "Now your visitors can comment without having to sign in to Blogger. They can just fill in their name and web site and post that sucker." So there you go.

Ciao

Posting has been rather difficult...

2005-02-06T22:13:00.002+09:00

I forgot that you had to make a blog in order to post a comment, sorry about that. I'm not doing much sightseeing so far because I'm still getting used to the 9 hour loss and I've been sleeping way over 12 hours a day and getting up at the strangest hours. The situation right with the phone seems to be that T-Mobile needs to activate international calling or something and that the only way to call, without paying hundreds of dollars, to the US is to get good deal on a phone card. When I start going to the lab in Florence with my mom I'll have a fast connection and might even be able to talk to people on AIM (if they happen to be awake at some insane hour). I'll start posting pictures then, and when I get the charger for my camera in the mail (I forgot it at home) I'll post most of the pictures to my Flickr acount which is at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowhound/
OR
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtlalchemist/

which is a photo blog thing. I'll get it all sorted out so there is one central site for the photos.
I'll post again later.

Ciao

Made It

2005-02-04T18:27:00.000+09:00

I've arrived in Italy, Florence to be exact. Plenty jet lagged; spent all night up and reading. I'm in a nice little apartment around the corner from the David (the statue). Finished one of my many books on the dreadful flight out here. I hate my parents right now and it is here for everyone to see, they are incredibly annoying. I'll talk to everyone later.

One more day

2005-01-28T16:14:00.000+09:00

My "finals" are tomorrow (the tests that my teachers are making me take before I leave). I'm just now starting to realize that I can't do anything about leaving. A date is set and I have to follow through. Will I be able to survive with my friends? That is why there are blogs, phones, email, and IM (possibly video chat... GO OUT AND BUY WEBCAMS! I already will have one with me.) I need all the support I can get to get through this journey. Feel free to email me anytime because I'll be checking 24/7. I'll miss everyone from school, but of course there are a select few who I'm really counting on: Chris, Chris, Adam, Mel, Erica, Kate, Michael, Jinno, Edmund, Stephanie, Kylee, and more who I will edit in as I think of them.

"I get by with a little help from my friends
I get high with a little help from my friends
Gonna try with a little help from my friends"

-"With A Little Help From My Friends" by The Beatles

Journey to Italy and Japan

New Blog

I've been back for a little while now...

I'm a little jumpy, but an excited jumpy (Updated with links)

Pisa

Back in Italy

My last day...

New Photos

Karaoke, Tokyo, and a camera

Busy week

Buddhist holiday

Karaoke

English camp thing

My profile pic

Heading for camp tomorrow

Flower Day came and went

Hana no Hi

Been busy lately

Need sleep No time

Meals

Small things I probably forgot to mention

Ichigo greenhouse and Swing Girls

Karaoke

Sport's Day preparation

Karaoke again

I like that anonymous people read my blog

Hmm... *Pondering readership on account of no comments*

Update: I'm not tired, so I should be a bit more coherent

Kisarazu Cat's Eye

Art Club

So very tiger-- I mean tired...

First day of school after a long holiday

Lazy day + AYUSA meeting + haircut (not me)

New Zealand exchange student left

Re: Poor disturbed youth of our nation

Farewell party for my fellow exchange student

A little frustration

Karaoke

Answers to some questions

Himeji Castle and the Hot Spring Shrouded in Mystery

Too tired

Umm... Still in Japan

This seems both logical AND useful

This should make getting to Pali a lot faster

Kendo club

Inspiration and birthdays

Cell phone

View from my classroom window

Let's see now...

Total recovery

Not feeling so great today

My day and a useful email tip

Still no real school

Quite possibly one of the best dinners ever

Back from Universal Studios Japan

School, what's up tomorrow, and an easier way to read my blog

A sleepy end to a lazy day

Cool new thing!

School and food

Uniform

Orientation

Thanks to all 2 of my readers!

Kyoto Tomorrow

I`m in Japan

Feeling a bit better now

I'm Sick

Music

Oh and one more thing...

Snow?! What the !@#$ is that?!

Doing well in Italy

Posting has been rather difficult...

Made It

One more day

Hmm... Pondering readership on account of no comments