Week Three

In loving memory of Gramma Adrienne Vilas Zenisek† (1923-2010).

This update comes a day late with apologies. But what a week and two days it's been! We returned from Ōnuma a week ago Sunday morning after a fun trip, a late night, and the rare chance to bond while speaking English taken full advantage of. Getting in at around 10:30 am, I proceeded to hurry with my violin and bag across town to カトリック元町教会, Motomachi Catholic Church for mass. The church is the oldest Catholic Church in Japan and has the only altar in Japan to have been blessed by a Pope.

Instead of going to bed early that night, my host family and I headed up 箱館山 (Mt. Hakodate) on the ropeway to see the famed 夜景 (yakei/night view). Apparently it was recently rated the third greatest night view in the world, although no one to whom I spoke could tell me the source of that information. That isn't to say that it wasn't beautiful; it was gorgeous! I'm planning to hike up the mountain with a friend later this week.

Also of interest from that weekend is the fact that I wrote and had published in 函館新聞 (Hakodate Shimbun), the city paper, a short article. Each week one member of each of the six classes has been invited to submit an article and a photo, and I volunteered for our class. I actually wrote it in an afternoon but was very happy with how it turned out. At a later point I'll translate it, but for now here's a picture. The gist of the article is, 'Thanks for having us!'

Also in regards to media, or potential media exposure, last weekend a young, 22-year-old (just like me!) producer from NHK (日本放送協会/Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai, the Japanese public broadcasting company) came to my host family's house to interview me about a possible television special concerning my experience in Japan. I have no idea whether or not it will happen (it's his first pitch to his boss for a program since he got the job), but just the idea is rather fascinating.

On Tuesday we had a trip to a local elementary school (旭小学校/Asahi Elementary) for an assembly with the students and 留学生-led games in their classrooms. The kids were great! They taught us all the local 'squid dance' which we all did together, before we taught them the hokey-pokey. (My mom says this picture is the first time she's seen me dancing, besides a slow dance, since elementary school.)

After the assembly we split up into different classrooms and taught the kids games. In our classroom we all played 'Heads Up, Seven Up'. Everyone loved it!

(With Erica Tso, Smith College '10.)
The two hours flew by, and we took a group shot before saying goodbye. The kids were so cute!

Last Friday I participated in a Kimono & Culture Etiquette class in which we dressed up in 浴衣 (yukata, literally bathing garment), the simplest form of the 着物 (kimono, literally 'clothing'!), and learned how to move around. Even the 浴衣 takes a little work to put on, and it makes one wonder about the much more ornate wedding kimonos with their many, many layers.

(With Zack An, University of Pennsylvania '12.)
I leave you this week a few more interesting shots I've snapped recently:

This is the view out of the window in the hallway by my classroom. 函館市 is really a port city.

I saw these roosters on my way back from the gym one day.

"Chinese dining (中華家/chuuka-ka) The Great Satan (大魔王/dai-maou): ラーメン (Ramen)".

Finally, 'Lucky Pierrot' is a famed local restaurant which features an often bizarre mash-up of Western and Japanese culture and cuisine. Anyone care for a whale burger? They're pretty cheap actually. I had one bite, and, although it wasn't bad, I can't say I'll be ordering one any time soon.

じゃまたね！