STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 45

JULY 6

It’s been too long since I have danced at Shirakawa Park. The weather today was a bit iffy, but it started out nice and sunny. Five of us were practicing, doing our own thing when I noticed someone watching in the corner of my eye. We made eye-contact and he spoke to me, ‘Do you speak English?’

Had he not asked this in a perfect American accent, I would have assumed he was Japanese. On the contrary, he was actually from Michigan! On top of that, he was a break dancer, but he was in Japan on a three-week internship as an engineer. Of all the people!

At the time he had just finished touring the science museum, so he happened to notice us as he passed by. He wasn’t meeting his friend until later that evening, so we offered him the chance to rest, or to join us if he’d like. It had been ‘months’ since he’s practiced, but he jumped right into it, despite the light rain that started to fall. Eventually, we moved our group to the basketball court, which was covered by the overpass and practiced there. As the first English-speaking break dancer I have met in the past year, I eagerly took his well-pointed advice. Now I’m trying to figure out how to do thread while I’m in a shoulder freeze. Thanks, Albert. Be seeing you again I hope.

JULY 7

I started packing and preparing for the move. What I really mean is that I’ve put away all my winter things nicely, and I have filled up my large orange luggage with things I am not using now, but will need later. It never hurts to start early. Then, evening practice in the Naka District.

JULY 8

After weeks of waiting, my group has finally been able to present our survey to the class. All the themes had a relation to school, and ours was about the commute. Almost a month ago we started our surveys by asking a few volunteer students who came to our class basic questions in regards to our research. We didn’t have to actually create another survey on our own accord, but since we only had two questions to investigate, and already eight people’s answers, we decided it was an opportune time.

I was in charge of the survey, but we divided the other research and presentation creation amongst the three of us. Not only were we to present on Japan’s school commute, but our home countries as well. As far as information goes, we filled our twenty minutes greatly, and that was before playing the video material. I wish our member had shown us the video beforehand, rather than playing the five minutes’ worth during the real presentation as we were on the clock. There were no questions to be asked, which may or may not have been a good thing. I think people just wanted to go to their next class. There will probably be a question session at the beginning of class next week.

JULY 9

It’s the second to last week of the semester, which means today was the second to last Business Japanese class we will have. Next week also happens to be the final exam, which will be similar to the midterm where we had to do role-plays. However, we also have to write a thank you speech, and practice new role plays such as telephone conversations ad lib. I hope I don’t get picked for the telephone conversation!

JULY 10

Our morning started out with a guidance meeting for the students who are going to return to their home countries soon. Granted, some of us are ready to go home, but I’m not. We spent about an hour or so being talked about canceling our Internet contracts, preparing for water and electric bills, returning our bikes to the university, cleaning up our rooms, and, of course, final paperwork. My only comfort was that if anything happened, I would still be around later to deal with it. But the harsh truth was very clear: in less than a month I would be saying good-bye to some of the most important people in my life, my second family.

Like I said it was depressing, but we couldn’t wallow in it. We still had more immediate preparations to make. The day after tomorrow four of us, Joy, Rachael, Aurianne and I were heading to Mt. Fuji. Joy and I rode our bikes to Donki for some last minute preparations, in particular headlamps. We intended to climb the mountain over the course of the day and into the night so that we could see the sunrise. Then, we hurried home to work on our final presentations for culture class tomorrow. Once again, we can present on anything we want, and I was still undecided until yesterday.

JULY 11

(I woke up just in time for the clouds to give way to the dawn.)

My second to last presentation topic of the semester, of my undergraduate career was this: Okami. Okami has several meanings when translated, all which depend on its kanji. The basis for my presentation was a Capcom video game that came out a few years back when I was in high school. In this game you played as Amaterasu, a god or okami, who comes down to Japan to save the people from the dark ages as a wolf, also okami, and your powers are used by drawing symbols on paper, the final kami. The main reason I chose this as my final subject was because this game opened my eyes to Japanese folklore. Every character, every story within the story has a link to a Japanese folktale. I’m a fan of folklore, and another big theme that I enjoy is past meets present. This game does exactly that, as it is a modern tool depicting old stories. I highly recommend it.

That said, I kind of tripped through the presentation itself. Maybe that was karma, or some foul curse that said any video I planned to use in my culture presentation would betray me. In this case, the voice over of the video was faster than I could read, but it wasn’t a real, clear language. So I constantly had to pause, read, and play the video again. It made my presentation much longer than the intended ten minutes.

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 43

JUNE 22

I am still in shock.

This morning Akane and I went back to the apartment dealer. There were three out of five places that we could go see today, and the first one just so happened to be my first pick as well. As soon as I stepped in I knew it was the place. I didn’t really want to see the other places, but I didn’t want to make an impulsive decision, so we did check out the other two places. In comparison, they seemed small, unappealing, but maybe that was because I had already made my decision.

When we headed back to the dealer, and I mentioned that I really liked the first place. I thought that would mean, all right come back again next week and we’ll draw up the contract. No, they had the paperwork ready. I knew it was the right place, so now or later it didn’t really matter, right? I didn’t want someone else to take it. We worked through the paper and they printed out the initial bill for me. It wasn’t just rent, but also a gratuity fee, insurance, neighborhood fee. In the end, it came to about 2000 dollars. I had to pay it this week. Also, I had to move into the new place within a month of signing the contract. July 19th it is.

It felt like I was doing the right thing, but I couldn’t help wondering if I had acted impulsively. Was I supposed to inform the university first? Or, was I missing some vital piece of information? It all seemed to go too smoothly.

We ate at SUSHI-RO after that, and I was still in shock.

Then I returned to Nagoya in the late afternoon, only to run into Jordan outside Nagoya Station. His plans to meet someone had fallen through and he was just on his way home. Turns out, he hadn’t eaten at the time so I took him to the nearby udon place for some venting time for the both of us.

So excited! And terrified! Am I really doing this all on my own?

JUNE 23

The last International Cafe… so sad. I will miss all the regular faces, and the bi-weekly excuse to talk about nothing in particular. Takahiro and Yuto also showed up today to hang out. Apparently, they needed a picture of me for the interview, so Yuto snapped one with his phone. I wish he had told me about it sooner because I was not at all dressed for a photo today.

JUNE 24

I did my duty and paid for the apartment today. So much money gone, and once again the bank account is starved. The JASSO money should be coming in soon though. I got to save up because it looks like we’ll be traveling next month: Disneyland, Universal Studios, who knows! It’s going to be an adventure. I’m pretty sure we are going to USJ because the new Harry Potter attraction will open around the 17th. I can’t wait to go; I’ve never been to a Universal Studio or Disneyland before.

JUNE 25

No time to work on manga today, only class and training. I’m in the last stages though; I think I can finish up the pages in a couple more days!

JUNE 26

Joy joined me to play futsal again. We always have too much fun playing against each other. Also, now that I know a few more of the members, we can actually interact with them as other matches are going on. Speaking a few sentences in English is fairly popular, but the conversation always reverts back to Japanese. Our conversations aren’t about much, but we have a great time playing futsal.

After futsal I went straight to dance practice for a few hours. Now I am home and showered. Tonight I’m going to try and get some more pages done. I have all night to do it since there’s no class tomorrow. Less than one chapter to go!

JUNE 27

It’s done! It’s done!

The pages are all complete! I finished the last details at 6pm, just in time for me to go to Open Mic Nite at the Heart n’ Soul Cafe. I even started on the cover, so all I have to do is check out the pages and prepare them for printing, finally.

Going to Open Mic became my initial celebration. Rachael and a couple other students also came to the event this time. Takahiro was there working as the MC, and he somehow managed to convince Rachael to perform next month. On one condition: that I perform with her. I enjoy karaoke, not singing on a stage. I can’t even sing that well. But, if it’s for Rachael, I’ll brave that fire. Somehow, someway, we’ll pull a performance together.

JUNE 28

Today’s culture experience was all about traditional Japanese instruments and yukata. As one of the first to arrive, I had the chance to watch our teachers for the day wander into the university all dressed up properly in yukatas. As soon as our class officially started, at 9am, we were dressed in various yukatas. They weren’t so much separated by size as they were by height, meaning there was few for me two choose from. This time, as one of the older women helped me put the yukata on and set the obi I tried to pay close attention. I would be buying my own yukata for the upcoming fireworks festivals, so I had to figure out how to wear it properly on my own.

Once everyone was dressed in their yukatas and the pictures were taken, we were split into two groups. My group was the first to experience the instruments, while the other group was taught obondori, a festival dance that takes place to celebrate obon, a festival based on the Buddhist custom of honoring one’s ancestors. In the instrument room they had set up there was flutes, shamisen, and small taiko drums. I tried the flute first, but in the allotted time I could hardly get a note through. Rachael and Joy on the other hand had experience playing wind instruments, so it came more naturally to them. Next I was sent to the small drums, which started out all right until I started going off rhythm. As for the techniques of hitting and holding the drum itself, I found that I was quite capable. Last was the shamisen, the instrument I had least faith that I could play, but it turned out to be the most fun. My fingers tend to move slowly so I thought that strumming the strings would be harder for me. To my surprise, the challenge of plucking the notes was more fun that I thought. I would have loved to have more time learning it, but our time quickly came to an end.

We switched rooms with the other group and danced for an hour in our yukatas. Dancing was nearly mindless for me, especially since the steps in and of themselves are relatively simply and they repeat for the entire song. At this point, a few people were complaining about the tightness of their yukatas as well, but I felt no such discomfort. I’m looking forward to finding my own yukata, but hopefully it’s not too expensive.

I planned a dinner get-together with the Hawaiian students and a few of the Japanese students that we have known since last year. It had been too long since we had eaten out together, outside of the curry house, so this time we went to yakiniku. Taigen recommended the place, which we found to be cheap and conveniently near the station.

STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 40

JUNE 1

Oh no! It’s already June and I’m still not done with my manga! My birthday is next month. I have no choice, but to put more time and effort into it. Sorry in advance.

The good news is that today I managed to complete the final touches on chapters 8-12. The final two chapters, 13 and 14, are also ready to be cleaned up since I scanned in all 80 pages yesterday. I’ve done so much this past month already, but there is still more to do.  Soon I will be entering the home stretch.

JUNE 2

I had to take a break from working on ‘you know what’ in order to homework for this week. There’s going to be quite a few days that I’ll probably just isolate myself and work on finishing up these last two chapters, so please bear with me. I won’t bother you with the dreary details too much.

On the other hand, I salvaged a lily that fell off my ikebana when we moved it to the second floor. The closed bud has now opened up!

JUNE 3 - JUNE 5

Three days of going to class, and then coming home to work on manga. I did go to dance practice on Tuesday and Thursday, that’s the only thing keeping me sane. I also had training on Wednesday. Honestly, I keep forgetting how long a simple task like cleaning up line art can take. Then again, there is about eighty pages…

JUNE 6

The morning and afternoon went as expected. However, this evening I made plans to meet with Kazu. She invited me to an all-girl’s dance practice in Fushimi. I’ve seen pictures of the groups online before, but this would have been my first time going.

I met Kazu and two other girls (all break dancers) at Fushimi Station and from there we walked to the studio. The small studio was actually right above a hair salon, and down the street from where Long’s apartment used to be. I thought it would be a bigger room, but once everyone showed up it quickly became very small. About thirty people showed up over the next few hours, dancing genres of all kinds: hip hop, jazz, wack, lock, and, of course, break.

Fushimi’s famous Eri also made an appearance, though I suppose she is famous throughout Japan’s break dance world by now. I watched her perform at Dance@LIVE in Tokyo. She’s someone that I can look forward to, as a future challenge, WAY in the future. I mean, I may never challenge her, but it’s good to have someone’s level to reach for. I didn’t have a chance to speak with her directly, and though I was primarily there to practice break dance I also floated around to the hip hop genre for a while. I saw familiar faces, but I didn’t know anyone outside Kazu and the two girls I arrived with. So I made a few more acquaintances.

We danced in the studio until 11pm and then everyone started on their own ways home. I walked with Kazu back to Nagoya Station. There we parted and I continued home on my own in the light cool rain. Tomorrow it’s back to the grind.

JUNE 7 - JUNE 8

The saga continues. Line art is clean, proceeding to add contrast with black ink.

We ate at one of the restaurants where a Taiwanese exchange student is working part-time. It’s famous for its udon dishes, so a couple of us tried the shrimp tempura miso udon.

STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 37

MAY 11

Today is Mother’s Day! Of course, I had to wait until it was evening here in order to call home at a decent hour. I figured I would just catch my mom at home, but when I called the person who picked up the phone sounded too “professional”, for lack of a better word. It was as if they were a secretary. I was taken aback a bit so I ended up asking for my mom by name. That’s when we both realized who was on the other side; it was my Aunt after all. She and her siblings were all visiting my grandmother for Mother’s Day.

Eventually my mom got on the phone, so I was able to properly convey my message, if not in a slightly awkward tone. I had nothing else to say, and it seemed like they already had plans for the day. It was nice to talk to them though, even if it was just a brief ‘Hello.’ I miss playing canasta (a card game) with them, haha.

MAY 12

It turned out to be a slightly busy Monday today. First it started out with grammar class, and then Joy and I had lunch with Mrs. Yamamoto’s seminar class again. It actually wasn’t the class per say. Only four of the seminar students showed up, but that included Shogo, who is a member of the futsal club. One day Joy and I want to check them out. Hopefully they will let us play, too.

In the last minutes of lunch we hurried to finish our pair homework for conversation class, which only took a couple minutes. Then, following class we had International Cafe. Many of the new Chinese and Taiwanese students came this time, but oddly enough there were only a couple Japanese students. As a result, the groups were a bit unbalanced, but we continued to hang out afterward so that we could all go out to eat curry together. Naan curry, of course.

Two of the new exchange students, Lai and Go, had not been to the restaurant yet. Originally, I planned to take them there last Monday, but since I couldn’t make it back to Nagoya, we settled on today. I’m not sure the flavor was what they were expecting. They said it tasted it good, but that’s not the expression I read on their face. I helped them finish the leftovers, and then had a couple extra naan myself. I don’t know what beast was inside me today, but it was a hungry one.

MAY 13

I only worked on manga for a little bit today before heading back to school for dance practice. Actually, I met with Gakki in the school cafeteria to eat for a bit first. I haven’t had the chance to see her since she came back from San Francisco, so that was the purpose of our talk. She dressed up in what he determined was American style, but it looked more like American tourist style to me. The hat she bought was a floppy fisherman-like cap, which I thought might have been more suitable for a place like Australia. Then again, I haven’t been out West. Had it been a cowboy hat, I would have to say it was American.

So, anyway, we ate dinner. I ate more than I usually do before practice, so I felt a bit sluggish. Even if I hadn’t, I couldn’t focus my attention. I know how I want to dance, but I can’t figure out what to practice exactly.

MAY 14

It’s been a while now since I started training. I’ve come to really understand why the students are so shy to speak: they don’t have regular chances to practice. Because of that, I’ve started having my older students read out loud in class. At first they were really shy, but I think they are getting used to and maybe even enjoying it. Students who were quiet before are now laughing. It’s a small accomplishment, but it’s very encouraging.

MAY 15

Dance? Work on manga? No, today we have to work on our report and presentation on ikebana, traditional Japanese flower arrangement. I had a brief experience making ikebana three years ago, and then last fall we also went to see an ikebana exhibition. My presentation is focused on the rules, or rather the math, that goes into creating a balanced arrangement. Creating the presentation from start to finish took all day, but it’s ready now!

MAY 16

My presentation went very well, which is always a relief. I was one of the first to present, so my information was relatively new at that point, but since everyone had to present on ikebana, there was some crossovers. Many people talked about the different styles, or about the tools used. We still have presentations to sit through next week on the same topic… that’s the only downside to this class.

Then, after my presentation, guess what? Yes. I went home and took a nap. This is a problem, I know, but now that I think about it, it’s probably because I feel stressed. When I’m stressed with a large project for example, anything is better than consistently working on it. So, I break up the time with naps. It also helps me reset my mind for the task. This time, it was actually quite a long nap since I only had an hour to work on my manga before I met the other for Game Night at Heart n’ Soul.

Tonight’s free meal was wrapped sandwiches!! Luckily there was chicken wraps, too, so I was able to eat as we played Blocks again. It was time for revenge! In reality, I was consistently ganged up on by two or three other players, so it was a game of survival and not ending up in last place. We played that game for the whole two hours with an unrelenting fury. However, the event ended at 9pm, so we had to set our Blocks aside for now.

Since it’s been a while since I’ve gone to dance practice, I joined Ken and the others for a late practice at the Naka District Hall. Practice was going pretty well, and then this old guy shows up out of nowhere. I see him walking toward us, me in particular, so I take out my earphones. That was a mistake. I thought he had a simple question, or maybe he was a beggar and would quickly be one his way. Instead, he took it upon himself to tell me how he used to be able to do push-ups with his thumbs and all kinds of acrobatics forty years ago when he was younger. I had been practicing more handstands at the time, and he kept saying, ‘Ah, you need more muscle, more muscle here,’ and then he would grab my arm. Yes, I’m aware, thank you, good-bye, was what I was thinking, but he wasn’t taking the hints that I wanted to get back to practicing. None of the other guys interrupted him either until I sort of led him in their direction. I know he was harmless, but come on, guys, step up.

MAY 17

Training ended early today so I was able to catch the tail-end of the dinner party at Chi and Tobias’ new apartment. Most of the food was gone, but I made a meal out of the remaining potato chips and garlic butter spread. I watched the group playing a new game where each member rights down what they think is the best answer to a question written on a card, and then the card holder chooses which answer they like best. However, they only played for a little longer and then many of the members left for home. A few of us hung around and played UNO until midnight or so. Then, the party was truly over. I walked home with Marie and her boyfriend, who came to visit from Hokkaido again. We still haven’t gone to karaoke together yet, though we’ve promised to do so several times now. Maybe we can go in July when he comes to visit again.

STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 36

MAY 5

We had another day off from school today, so it was technically a free day for me. However, I was invited to join the employees who work down in Gamagori for a lunch outing. We met in Gamagori around 11am and I was surprised to see so many of the part-time workers there.

(Shrimp and crab appetizer)

(Dessert: ice cream, a slice of kiwi, pineapple, and a bit of anko!)

To be honest, the rest of the day was a pleasant surprise. From Gamagori we all headed down to Toyokawa by car, well cars. Our lunch was set at a traditional themed restaurant; the food came out in courses of soup, rice, fish, shrimp, and finally ending with a small dessert. Part of the lunch was dedicated to congratulating the graduated members of the part-time workers. To my surprise, not only was I included, but I received a gift that also doubled as an early birthday present: it was a rucksack. This was actually a very timely gift because the current bag I was using to go to school, and sometimes brought with me to training, was worn out. It was the same bag I bought in Kyoto almost three years ago, so now it seemed an appropriate time to retire it.

Lunch lasted a couple hours and then we drove back up to Gamagori by 3pm. At this time, we were free to go home if we wanted, or else we could all go hang out somewhere. The two options seemed to be karaoke and bowling; we opted for bowling, which soon became a decision between Toyohashi and Okazaki. I guess the bowling places in Gamagori were just too boring. In any case, we settled to go to Toyohashi, which for the record is right next to Toyokawa, meaning we were back-tracking for a second time today.

It was my first trip to the Round1 in Toyohashi, but it was bigger than I expected. We only went to the bowling section, but I noticed there were plenty of other floors of activity at this location. Too bad you can only get there by car. The bowling option we chose was pretty much all-you-can-throw in a period of 3-6 hours. I can’t remember the time frame because we bowled until our arms wouldn’t throw anymore, about six games. We maintained a sort of competition for the first four games, and I somehow managed to stay in the top 4 throughout. The guys also taught me how to spin the ball, but that wasn’t until the last few games when we didn’t care about the scores. I got one strike on a curve, but from there it just went downhill.

Night came. Our groups split up as we made our way home. To think, I tried to make dinner plans in Nagoya tonight. Today was so much fun; it only makes me want to work with these people more!

MAY 6

Should of, could of been another work day, but as my last day of the short vacation, I decided to take the break. I took a walk in the morning, returned to my room to watch a movie, and then in realizing I had no groceries I went back out for a grocery run.

On the way home from buying groceries, I saw a slightly older man just fall off his bike suddenly. He looked like he had passed out. I was approaching him as I crossed the intersection, but in that time, three or four older men came out of nowhere and surrounded him. They tried to wake him up and see what was wrong. I waited for a few moments to see if the man was okay, and when he finally came to, in a delirious sort of state, I proceeded to come home. Had those other men not shown up, what would I have done? What could I have done? I’m not sure I have the language skills to deal with someone in that state, nor the medical knowledge. I kind of felt helpless.

MAY 7

Last night after I got home I went to bed really early. I thought it was a good idea because we had school today, starting from first period. On the contrary, sleeping so early, around 8pm or so, caused me to wake up at 3am craving juice of all things.

I decided I would go to MaxValu, since it was open 24 hours a day, only I wouldn’t go until dawn broke at 4:30am. I bought bread for the first time since I came to Japan; granted I have bought sandwiches and bread-related items before, but not actually slices of bread. The reason I bought it was because I already had some avocados I bought yesterday from the cheap grocer. They were starting to go bad, so today was the last day I could eat them. I made some avocado sandwiches, one for lunch and one for breakfast. Ate my breakfast, along with some juice, and then it was 6am. There was no need to leave for school until 8am, so I took a nap for a couple hours.

As for school itself, it was just a regular day, but it felt awesome for no reason. I only missed one question on the listening test in Business Japanese, which is always a reason to celebrate. I call it ‘otsukare-choco’, or ‘Good work today. Here, have some chocolate’ time. Training also went smoothly, so even when I got back home around 11pm I was awake and in a good mood.

Then I checked my e-mail.

A couple days ago I tried to send a money transfer from my bank account. In order to do that, I had to set up the online transfer account, which wasn’t so hard. The test transfer went through, now I had to send the real bulk. As I was about to send the money, my account becomes locked. I’ve mentioned before that I do not fool around when it comes to money matters, so my great day quickly went into lock-down mode. Luckily, even though it was midnight here in Japan, it was around noon back in the States. I had no other choice but to call the bank center to settle the situation. That meant I had to use my pre-paid phone.

I needed to call them in order to send the transfer, but I had no minutes. I used them up talking to my parents last month, and the few remaining minutes I had just expired on Sunday. So, at midnight, I headed back out and down the street to Sunkus to buy 3000 yen worth of minutes. Thankfully, convenience stores are always open 24 hours, too. Finally, I had my minutes and I called the bank center. It took quite a bit of hoop jumping, especially regarding the fact that they needed to verify my ID at my local branch. That was impossible for obvious reasons, but thankfully I got through by answering my security questions. Apparently, the whole cause of this trouble was that when I registered for the online transfer account I was supposed to verify it, but I had not received the verification e-mail until today… after I tried the transfer.

That was a first for me. I’ve never had to handle such a delicate situation, on the phone, with my ‘adult skills’. I’m an adult. I wasn’t an adult when I turned 18, no, not until today have I truly felt that I was an adult. Or at least that I could be an adult, if I needed to be. No need to rush into things.

MAY 8

We just had a normal grammar class in the morning. Returned home and napped, didn’t go out to dance because I decided to work on my manga again.

MAY 9

Our culture class was moved to tomorrow so that we could go experience the traditional art of kamon, family crests. So, big surprise, I slept in and worked on manga again. The weather’s been a bit damp recently, not exactly rainy, but cool and threatening to rain. These days always make me sleepy. It doesn’t help that my free time is being spent in front of a computer screen all day either. But, it has to be done. Just a little more… well, not really a little, there is still quite a bit to do, but I am making progress!

MAY 10

For our kamon experience today we all met at the subway station to go to Sengen-cho. There we stood, waiting outside the ticketing gate, waiting for our professor. We arrived a bit early, she arrived a bit late. Time wasn’t much of a problem though because the location was literally a few blocks away from the station. As many small business, this place too was connected to someone’s living quarters. They were actually tie-dye artists, so it made sense that they had their studio where they lived too.

We were first led up to the second floor and then split into two groups. Initially, we were told that we would be making our own mon, our own crest designs, but that would have taken too much time. In the end, we all had to choose between the crest of Oda Nobunaga, Toyokawa Ieyasu, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. All three famous feudal lords were born in Nagoya, so their likenesses frequently appear around the city. Their crests were already printed on white handkerchiefs for us.

The first group, which I was a part of, headed down to the ground floor where two large tubs of water awaited us; next to them, several small bottles of ink were lined up as well. Our traditional experience quickly transformed into the modern art of tie-dying. As “practice” we each put in a drop of ink. The ink sat at the water’s surface like a deco-modern polka design. Then, our host laid down a white handkerchief over the water, waited a few seconds, and then raised it to show that the design on the water was now imprinted.

With an understanding of the process, we were all excited to try, but no one wanted to go first. In these cases, I am usually the first volunteer. My image was that of wings, black wings over an orange and blue background. To create the wings, I drew out the ink with a stick, as our host suggested. I guess I must have been moving the stick too quickly because the lines thinned out and soon my wings looked like a great tree. Earth over Wind I suppose. As I watched the others, I wanted a second chance to try new techniques, to create a new design, but it would have cost 800 yen and I had barely 1000 yen on my person at the time. I missed the chance then, but if I could find the inks somewhere, I could easily replicate the process.

(Placing the handkerchief into the water with the ink design.)

Once the first group completed their handkerchiefs, we switched places with the second group to watch Mr. Ida at work.

 Mr. Ida was delicately creating a crest design. We watched him work on the intricate design as he told us the brief history of family crests and their designs in Japan. Mr. Ida is the only professional crest artist in Nagoya, probably Aichi at this point. Just watching him work was an eye-opening experience to the intricacy and precision of creating a good crest. If we all started from scratch, it would have taken us far too long to simply create the design, much less print it.

To tie up the day, we all received our dry handkerchiefs and took a group picture. Jason, who is twenty years old now, was dressed up in a very expensive, crested kimono, one that would be worn at a coming-of-age ceremony. It was appropriate for him, because that ceremony took place when one turned twenty in Japan. The afternoon persisted with pictures as slowly our group began to return on their own time. I couldn’t help but think that once I complete this current project of mine, I will be free to dabble in other art forms again.

STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 35

APRIL 27

After training last night I rejoined with the BBQ group for karaoke at Chikara. We stayed until morning, which isn’t as easy to do as I remember it being. Maybe that’s because I’ve been cutting back on the coffee? In any case, today I have done nothing but work on my manga and snack on candy that my mom sent me. Having this candy around might be a bad idea…

APRIL 28

Mrs. Yamamoto scheduled another meeting with her seminar for us. It’s a new class of 3rd year students, but there are a couple seniors from last semester in the class, too. Unlike last time, where we had to actually do work in groups, this meeting was primarily for international communication exchange. It also took place during lunch. At first there was no movement between the groups, so Mrs. Yamamoto guided us all through self-introductions. That got the conversations started. I also took the chance to pass out a lot of my Starbursts and Jolly Ranchers; less candy for me!

Overall, they seem like an interesting bunch. Upperclassmen are usually more settled in themselves, so you can sense their real personalities. During one of the introductions, a girl asked if anyone was afraid of dogs, and then she did an impression of a dog barking. Like I said, interesting.

APRIL 29

I came home after class so that I could buy groceries and eat lunch, but it started raining. Somehow, it turned into the perfect excuse not to go back outside, so I didn’t go to dance practice today. Instead, I worked on some manga pages and watches a movie. I should be working harder on my manga if I want to finish it soon, but I just needed to watch another movie. My list has significantly decreased, however, so I think this weekend will be a good work weekend.

APRIL 30

Ah, Wednesdays, the busiest days of the week for me.

Between first and third period classes I walked down to the station to withdraw money. For some reason, even though I was able to withdraw money from my bank in the States, I couldn’t figure out how to transfer it. So, it was back out and down Hirokoji Street to the actual bank. One of the employees there was the same woman that guided me when I forgot my secret number. I didn’t want to bother her again, so I approached the ATM on my own at first.

When it comes to money, I can’t make a mistake. I put the ATM into English mode, just to get the process over, but I still could not pull up the correct transfer option. When I looked at the screen in Japanese, I kept thinking it was the last button on the page, but I couldn’t commit. And, of course, every time you cancel a transaction on the ATM it has to announce that. Thanks for that. Consequently, I gave in and approached the employee. She showed me the correct button on the ATM (it was the last one), but I could sense either some annoyance or worry that I had pulled her from her station in front of the windows.

At last I was able to transfer my money to pay for this semester’s rent. The JASSO scholarship was just deposited into our accounts, and we received a little extension on the payment because of that. Now I have no money, just about three-hundred dollars’ worth of yen to my name. I might have to withdraw some more from abroad later.

MAY 1

It’s May! Time is flying by so quickly these past few weeks. Since I’ve been trying to finish my manga, a lot of my once free time has gone into busy work. I also have training once or twice a week, so my schedule is quite full.

On that note, today I didn’t go to dance practice either. After class I walked out to Donki with Joy and Rachael. The walk only took about thirty minutes, which isn’t as long as we thought it would take. We bought a few groceries, special ones, including foreign brands that only Donki carries. Rachael was having another dinner party in her room tonight. She was going to make all of our favorites: chicken wings, mashed potatoes, blueberry wontons…

I was really looking forward to it, but of course I had to choose between dance and dinner. This time, dinner won. I’ve missed the last few parties because of training and dance, so this was my chance. The party obviously wasn’t until dinner time, so as I waited I worked on manga. Most of the inking is done, but there are still over four chapters that I have to finish editing on the computer, before I scan in the remaining two. Thankfully, we have a four day weekend for Golden Week, a collection of National holidays within a week’s time. Time for a work marathon!

MAY 2 - MAY 4

Three days… I have done nothing for three days except sleep, eat and work on manga. The good news is, I feel like I made a dent in the pages. I can’t count how many hours I worked, but if I estimate the work rate at one page for every three hours, then maybe it will be another 130 hours… That still seems like a lot, but you have to understand that there are 200 pages in a single volume of my series. 130 or so hours, only covers the last 45 pages, and that’s the best case scenario estimate.

It’s getting harder to sit down at a desk or computer for more than a couple hours to do busy work. I started this series about eight years ago, when I was a sophomore in high school. Back then, I could spend hours every day drawing and working on my series. Recently, that same fire has been hard to come by. I still enjoy the work, don’t get me wrong, but I just can’t stand the lifestyle. When I had the chance to start my own series, it was a great outlet for me because I didn’t have the chance to do many things out in the world. My hobby soon became my job, which later meant that I had the responsibility to stay home and work, rather than waste time out and about. Back then, maybe it was a good thing for me, but now things are different. I don’t need to live my life passively through creating stories because I can live it now.

The scariest part about these past few weeks of trying to finish up this series, and also taking movie breaks, is that I could physically feel the separation from reality. I had never felt that before. Back at home in the States, if I wanted to binge on a TV series or delve into a book for a few hours, I could easily transition that between going to classes or simply getting up to go to the bathroom. There was no disconnection. On the other hand, a few days ago when I was watching a movie I heard a siren outside. I quite literally snapped back to reality; I’m in Japan now with all the freedom in the world, so why am I sitting in front of a screen absorbing myself into someone else’s life? Well, at that time, it was already well into the night, so there was nothing else to do, but not once before had I seen the line between reality and fantasy.

I still enjoy movies. I still enjoy drawing. I still plan to enjoy them. But, less is more. This book is the last of the series, and it may be my last for a while. My current path is leading me towards dance, and what looks like a teaching job. It’s not what I would have expected years ago, but it feels like it’s the answer that’s been sitting there all along. I just needed to break out of my comfort zone, shed a few layers and open myself to new possibilities. Now I’m looking forward to finishing this manga for a new reason. I’m ready for the next level, the next stage in my life.

(A sample of the Jello I made these past few days; this one was made in a baking cup with a dinosaur mold.)

I also would like to get out and grab some groceries. I didn’t have much food when I started this marathon, so for the last three days I’ve been surviving on kosher Jello that my mom sent me in the package. I need solid food.