Beyond Good & Elvis, A Sixth Trumpet

It's half past midnight here. Everyone should be waking up for their Saturday morning back home.

I should be sleeping, but I'm not. I'll probs be all nappy for taiko practice later today.

I think I'm going to stick to learning fue from this group. They seem to focus less on drumming and more on the festival related aspects of taiko. They have a few strictly taiko songs, but mostly they play festival tunes while performing dances. They do horse dances typical of Aomori-ken. It's pretty cool, actually. I have no skill at dancing, but the fue melodies for the dances are really energetic and bright.

The girl that's been teaching me is quite good. She says I'm picking it up quickly. Flattering, but I highly doubt that's true.

This group plays 5-hon mostly, so I think that will be my next big buy. The low-end 5-hon cost over twice what a mid-range 8-hon costs. Worth it though. I love the higher pitch.

I bought tickets to a Live at a club in Osaka tonight. I think Jen is going to come along, but she has yet to buy her ticket. Liz told Anthony told me about this band called "From Monument to Masses." I've been listening to them all night. It's getting me super excited about seeing them.

I haven't really been doing much since I got back from the States. I've kind of been in hermit mode. If not for taiko, I don't think I'd get out of my place for anything but school. Kinda bad.

I've had a lot to think about after my visit home. I've had to think more about my future than ever before. The whole "what are you going to do after you graduate" question is looming on the horizon and I still don't really have an answer. For so long I've had tunnel vision leading to my year abroad in Japan, that I kind of neglected other things... like making general life goals. I was naïve thinking that coming to Japan would magically answer all my questions about what I want to do with my life.

This trip has certainly made some realities glaringly clear to me, but it's also created more questions in it's wake. I suppose they're no different than anyone faces, though.

OH WELL! hahaha

It'll all turn out how it will all turn out. That much is certain.

Love until later,

Caitlin D.

四季の歌

Alright, let's make a plan of attack

I. School

II. Hanami （花見）

III. Hajime no Ippo (始めの一歩）

IV. Taiko (太鼓）/ Fue (笛）

I. So school started this last week. It's been awesome so far. I got into level 5. That's one up from last semester and 3 from the top. I feel pretty good about it. The 10 classes don't repeat teachers too much. Last semester I had 5 teachers for 10 classes, this time I think it's 7. The ones I've had so far are pretty fun.

My class is mostly chinese and taiwanese people. I'm kind of happy about it. When I have friends in a class I tend to pay less attention. That's not to say I can't make friends with the Chinese and Taiwanese kids... It's just that because there's that language barrier, I'll probably talk to them less.

I'm already off to a good start. I'm not putting off homework and studying every night. I'm gonna give this semester my all!

II. So after school on Friday I came home and ate and chilled for a while. Then around 5:30 Jen and I set out for a Hanami (花見）party. Hanami parties are a Japanese tradition around Sakura season. People gather up friends, coworkers, or clubmates and throw down a tarp under a nice cherry tree and party. It's awesome. Our friend Hori started an international club on campus called Amie. He organized this party. We met him and Lily and some other people at Demachiyanagi-eki (出町柳駅）then made our way over to the place Hori had picked out.

I kind of had to force myself to go. Ever since I got back home from spring break, I've been kind of unsocial. It's hard getting back into the groove of things. But I can say, I'm glad I made myself go.

It was a nice mixture of Japanese people and foreigners. We ate and had a bit to drink. It was a really nice night. I met a couple of underclassmen (こうはい)-- Mizuki and Yumi. They were hilarious. They taught me a phrase similar to "brown nose" or "suck up" in Japanese. For those of you that are curious, it's ゴマする. They both expressed an interest in learning more English and hanging out, so I got their numbers and invited them both to come to Vampire Diaries night. Should be fun. Yumi ended up pretty darn drunk by about 11pm, so she and Mizuki went home.

After they left, Jen and I started talking to an old friend of Hori's-- Taka. He's originally from Okinawa and came to Kyoto to study to become a Doctor. I taught him and Yumi and Mizuki's Senpai, Natchan (なっちゃん）how to play King's Cup. Let me tell you, that is a tough game to explain in Japanese. Somehow they picked it up. They really want to play it with me sometime.

[Left is Taka, middle is Natchan, right is Jen]

Jen and I ended up getting home as the sun was rising. It was a crazy long night, but loads of fun.

III. I walked in Saturday morning at 5AM. At 9:30 I woke up in anticipation of receiving my fue. It didn't end up coming till 11:30, so in the mean time I watched more Ippo! Well, once I started, I just couldn't stop. I finished up the last few episodes of New Challenger. SO GOOD! Oh man. I may have a new favorite anime. Maybe. I dunno. Gundam Wing is still pretty up there. I think I need to revisit that show first though.

Anyway, it's on to the manga now!

IV. Sunday I waited with bated breath for the taiko meeting. Jen came with me. I heard about this club from a number of people. The first person to tell me about it was Ruben, a new UC arrival for the Spring. The second was Hori. Then Lily. It was nice to know that so many people were keeping an eye out for me!

After contacting the dude, he told me the next practice was Sunday at 3pm. Jen and I took off around 1 to make sure we got there on time. We explored for a bit after getting to the meeting point, then when 3 rolled around we met up with the taiko folks.

On Sundays they play in a cultural center over an old bowling alley. I don't think the bowling alley is in business anymore, but it's a super cool place. I don't think the members there today were the whole group, but they're a decent size. They seemed so surprised that so many newbies came!

The group is through Ritsumeikan University, so there were a number of Ritsumeikan students there, but there were also students from KyoDai and Kyoto Arts College. Most people had no prior experience with taiko, but there were a few that had played in High School.

For the first meeting they taught us Miyake. I'm starting to think that's a community song because Uzu Daiko played the same song, just a longer version of it.

I got the hang of it pretty fast and was able to help Jen. She had an awesome time. She understands why I love taiko so much now.

Anyway, we played Miyake for an hour or so, then they performed a couple of songs for us. One of them was called Oni. It's crazy fast. I was totally impressed. Only 2 chu, 1 odaiko, and 3 shime. After that they played another song that was more a matsuri song. They repeated a rather simple drumline, added in chappa and fue and then 4 members danced. It was super cool.

After that, they offered to show interested people how to play fue. Of course I joined in. In the 20 minutes we played, I learned a TON about playing fue. It's freakin awesome. I know have the skills to pick up my fue and make sound come out without having to readjust my lip a million times! It's freaking awesome.

Jen and I are definitely going to continue with the club.

I'll keep you all posted on other stuff that I learn!

For all the Senryu people are working hard for Spring Concert, keep up the good work! I, too, will be ganbatte-ing (頑張っている)！

Love and miss you all.

Love until later,

Caitlin D.

Do You Realize? One Million Miles an Hour, Fast Asleep

I'm trying to contain myself right now. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.

I just got an email back from that taiko club! They said their next meeting is a week from today, Sunday 4-11, at 3pm!

YESSSSSS!

Oh man I hope this works out for me! Also, if they only meet on weekends, that would be pretty excellent! Jen said she'd come with me to the first meeting. She doesn't want to actually join, I don't think. She's just being a good friend.

This was a perfect ending to an otherwise unexciting day.

A trip to Kiyomizudera had been planned for a little Hanami to be followed by Smile Burger. I've been hearing about Smile Burger for weeks now. Apparently they're burgers to die for. I have yet to try one.... I also have yet to actually go sakura watching, as well.

When we got to Kiyo It was PACKED. Everyone and their mom is in Japan to see the cherry blossoms. Naturally, such a traditional thing should be viewed in Kyoto, and when people imagine temples in Kyoto they think of Kiyomizudera.

We slogged through crowds with our bikes for over an hour only to give up on getting up the hill to the temple. We decided to reschedule to a weekday when there might be slightly less crowded.

We parked our bikes and walked back for Smile Burger, only to be disappointed once again. Smile Burger was closed because they ran out of buns. They're the trixy little store. They have an "open" and a "closed" sign displayed simultaneously, but if you want the hours you have to reference the sign underneath both of those which states "10:00-8:00 or until we run out of ingredients" or something to that effect.

The more hungry people moved up two stores to eat okonomiyaki. I called it a day.

At least I was productive, kinda. I got the t-shirts done! Photoshop still beguiles me sometimes, but I enjoy figuring it out...just in small doses. It didn't take me that long to finish them up once I got down to it. Still one part to creatively consult on, but it's otherwise finished!

...

TAIKO! WOO!

Hope it all pans out.

Love until later,

Caitlin D.

Vital Vessle Vindicates Red Hands

The year is getting into full swing. The cherry blossoms are blooming and there's tons of people around. I noticed the increase in pedestrians when I first got back, but I couldn't understand why. It hit me today-- it's the cherry blossoms. Everyone and their mother is coming to see Kyoto during Hanami (花見). It makes biking a pain.

I've figured out all of my classes. It's looking pretty good. If everything goes as planned, I'll only be at school late on Mondays and Tuesdays. That means I'll be done at noon Wed-Fri! However, the classes I have everyday--the Japanese classes--I'm stuck with some less than desirable classmates.

That's okay. I'll find ways to zen. I'm gonna buckle down this semester. It's my last semester here and I want to make the most of it.

Aside from Japanese classes, I'll be taking a Japanese literature class, two grammar overviews, a religions class, and a class on Dialects! I'm super excited for that last class. It sounds like a lot, but most of those electives are in English, so I'm less worried. It should keep me happily busy.

On the taiko front.... GREAT NEWS! Wait. No. I'm getting ahead of myself.

Ahem.

So today one of the new EAP kids that's here for the semester mailed me about a taiko club. He was at a club fair on Shinmachi Campus and received a flyer for the club. I'd mentioned my less than fruitful search when we first met, so he contacted me about it. I got the mail address of one of the officers and contacted him. I have yet to hear back. Hopefully this pans out. Based off of the dude's email address, I think the club is at Ritsumeikan University. It's a little far, but as long as it's closer than Uji...

Cross your fingers guys!

Love until later,

Caitlin D.