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.

Black Ark Dub, Our Delicate Midnight Opera

A little bit of Zechs Marquise and their funky sound is about how I'm feeling right now.

The last three weeks were amazing. I can't describe how awesome it felt to see everyone again and meet some new faces, too! I hit some drums, played some games, watched some movies, chilled at the beach, and ate all the typical American foods you can imagine. I really missed home.

But that time has passed now. I'm on the second leg of my year in Japan.

I hopped on a flight at 6am to Portland with a connection to Narita, Japan today. It was a little rocky getting out the door. The airline had some mix up with my ticket booking and it didn't register in their system that I was supposed to be on my flight. That was a bit nerve wracking. The plane had to wait for me, but I made it on.

I was dead tired, but that was fine. I ended up sleeping almost all 11 hours of the flight to Narita. I had to save up the tired through my 5 hour layover though. Ippo helped pass the time. I'm hooked on that show. After that initial mix up though, everything went smoothly. I got on the ground at Narita and shipped my luggage.

Killing 5 hours till my bus ride proved challenging though. I initially thought to find a Starbucks and just chill there, but I couldn't find one. Figures... the one time I WANT to find one, I can't. Anyway, I went to another cafe and drank some chai tea reaaaaallllllyyyyyy sllllloooowwwwwllllyyyyyyyyy, then went and got some gyudon and ate that reeeeeaaaaaallllllyyyyy slllllooowwwwwllllllyyyy, but I still had 3 hours to kill. On a whim I went down into this pedestrian underpass and there was a shopping center. Low and behold, there was the Starbucks. It had burrowed underground. I grabbed a Sakura Frapp and sat and watched some more Ippo till it was check-in time.

Miracle of miracles I was able to sleep even MORE on the bus ride. It was all bad sleep, but sleep nonetheless. Unfortunately all that sleep has left me quite awake. I say unfortunately because even if I'm awake, it FEELS like it's almost my bed time. The sun hasn't even reached it's high point in the sky over here and I feel like it should be setting soon.

I got in around 6am and walked briskly to Maison. When I got my computer on it told me that it was a balmy 2 degrees celsius outside. It's now peaking 7 degrees, but still! I thought it would be warming up. Quite a shocking change from the nice 22 degrees it is in Riverside right now.

Now I'm just waiting for my luggage. Jen is supposed to come by later. I was going to go to Gin and Kinkakuji with her and her friend, but I forgot I have to be here to accept my luggage. I can't let all that mac and cheese go to waste! So today is just gonna be chill. I'm gonna work on the t-shirt designs for Allen and watch some more Ippo.

I'm not quite sure if this weird knot in the pit of my stomach is from being back in Japan already, or from feeling like I never left. When I think about the 3 weeks I spent at home they feel like a million years ago already. Sara's blueberry and lemon custard cupcakes, "The cake is a lie!", Josh and Janelle's killer team, Ian's failed fishing, late night taiko practice followed by Good Eats...

All I can say is thank God for photos. I've already picked out the ones that will line my walls.

There's this really great one of Audrey, Cynthia, BB and Tiffani. The focus is on Tiffani and Cynthia in the back, but in the foreground you can see Audrey picking her nose. It's wonderful.

...

Yeah I cried a little coming back. It's hard leaving everyone, but I got an awesome pep talk right before I left. That helped a lot. I think if I just keep the frame of mind I had right then, I can do this.

Now I just have to get over the hug withdrawals.

I miss you all so much!!

Love until later,

Caitlin D.

I Just Want You

明日僕はリバサイドに帰っている。

内の出身に旅行している。少し変な感じあるよ。僕はうれしいが、少し緊張している。何が変わったのか。本当に同じ所に帰っているのか。

さらに、川柳の新しい人は僕が好きのか。あの人にとって僕は外人みたいね。会ったことないからだ。

まあ。結局に、大丈夫やな。家族もいるから、大丈夫や。もし、友達は急に好きじゃないと言ったら、家族がいるよ。RUSTY!!! 　僕の犬が大好きやね！

Okay. I'll try English now. Sometimes it's just more fun to pour it out in Japanese. ^__^ That's why I came to Japan anyway, right? To become able to do that.

I leave for home tomorrow on a 10:50 bus to 東京駅 (Tokyo Station). I'm not entirely sure how to feel. A mixture of excitement and worry. The reason for excitement is obvious. The worry is because I'm going it all alone. I hope my luggage gets to the airport safely. I hope everything fits together like a happy little puzzle.

See you all soon!

Love until later,

Caitlin D.