Akita II

August 6 & 7, 2007

Still in Akita. It is really beautiful up here. The post-typhoon weather has been cloudy and cool. I am so thankful, especially since we are heading down south to Hiroshima next and it is going to be very very hot, so I hear.

I have been devoting much time to my roundtable, and our group is so focused and great. We are creating a resource guide for educators and students on how to focus education on international concerns. My specific area of interest is religion and gender studies. Hidemi is doing art and film. Jenka is multicultural literature. Mia is community action and outreach. Take is patriotism. Shino is doing the Japanese integrated studies topic (a class period set aside here to teach non-traditional subjects). Kiku is working on environmental issues. Finally, Aki is focusing on integrating traditional culture into education (along the same lines as religion and history). We all get along very well, it is rather pleasing.

In the off time, I have been trying to catch up on rest. We also got to experience a real Japanese festival – the Kanto matsuri. Matsuri means festival in Japanese and Kanto refers to enormous lanterns. The festival is a huge parade of kanto lanterns (almost 40 feet high) that one guy balances on different areas of his body (hand, shoulder, waist and finally forehead). It was the most spectacular thing I have ever seen. I hope my pictures do a bit of justice, it is hard to describe not only the physical act of balancing all the paper lanterns, but also the rhythmic taiko drumming and flute playing that accompanies it. It was overwhelming and so amazing.

Many of the Japanese girls in our group donned “yukata” which is a dressed down kimono. They looked so lovely! We drank beers (drinking in public is legal here!), ate very good food at an izakaya (Japanese pub), and ended the night at a bar called “Janis” which was named after Janis Joplin. I had my first Crown Royal drink since coming over here, and also treated myself to a glass of Japan’s finest whisky, named Nikka Whisky. It was oh-so delicious, and the bartended even chipped off ice from a block and served the whiskey over one single, huge ice cube. Radiohead played softly in the background, and along with my closest friends I’ve made, Mo (real name is Maureen), and Josh and Yuko, had a spectacular time. Once we arrived back at the Akita International University dorms, many of us continued in the festival spirit and drank more Japanese whisky, Jusho ( think, it is Korean whisky that is clear), beer and wine. It is always fun getting a little tipsy with people for the first time. My headache this morning, however, was not so fun.

I really love Japan. The people make it (and the funny English slogans I suppose). Everyone is sooooo nice.

They tell me I have a “chisai kao” which means small face in English. I was taken aback at first, but I guess it is a great compliment here. Japanese women think they have large faces and they find that unattractive. I think they are crazy. Japanese women are beautiful. Nonetheless, I’m glad for the compliment.

Tomorrow is our Akita forum. It has been so nice not wearing business formal attire, but the forums are a great opportunity to meet people and hear interesting talks from professors and the like.