ena ad

I love seeing ena's art everywhere!
Right now it's for a mascara ad. Or rather, eye liner.

small thoughts

This is right next to campus. It's a beautiful hill landscape that oversees the sport fields and tennis courts. I hear that in the spring, this place is canopied by sakura cherry blossoms.

I came here today to kind of sit down and reflect.
There are so many things to come, it almost doesn't feel right to turn around and think, "Wow I've gone through a lot." But there really are many things to think about. One of my most common thoughts is how much I think I know and then realizing how much I don't.

I think about people from home so much, everyday. Not in a homesick-I need to go back- way, more like a "wish you were here" feeling. And it may sound silly, but I sort of write mental letters to people. I guess initially they're probably meant for real letters (I actually have started to write a couple, but haven't gotten too far), yet they just stay there. In my head. Does this make me sound lonesome or loony? Both? Haha.

I have every intention to make a totally different life here. Everything is new and clean. Bleach white clean.

And so far things have been going pretty great.


Hmm...how convincing is "pretty great"?


No, but really! I can't bring myself to complain.

It's just that right now I'm in this stage where I'm kind of in the doorway, still. Only fingertips away from letting go of the knob. I'm awfully close to sounding like "I want to close the door from that other stage of my life!" But there's not going to be any door slamming.

If I could make one thing clear in this mess of thoughts is:
I am always thinking of someone. I wish that when I'm sitting by myself on a bench in that grove near campus, that that someone would come sit next to me. I'm still hopeful that my friends can visit me during the year, though I always remind myself of the realistic complications.

I'm talking about you, Pacific Ocean. How I loathe your fat girth. And what is up with the weak dollar? Can't you stand up on more than 90 cents?

I'm going to be busy with school and meeting new people.
I am very very excited.
But I really am a big wimp and prone to all these small thoughts.



I miss everyone who I associate with "home".

sophia

Time has been going by...fast. Today is the 20th, just four days shy of it being a month since I've been in Japan. It does NOT feel like a month.

But I guess I should be thankful that time has gone by because Sophia Orientation has finally come. I now have more people to meet! Being hitoribocchi was seriously depressing.

It seems that almost everyone arrived last Tuesday so they're just getting settled in. I'm naturally a shy person so I don't know what kind of first impression I make. But I think everything went well! I'm getting more and more excited about going to a Japanese university. After dinner, some of us went to Shinjuku for drinks. We went to this Irish pub, then tried searching for this cheap izakaya. We asked so many people for directions but nobody knew what we were talking about. Finally we asked these wasted young salarymen and their girlfriends, and actually ended up drinking with them. I wish...I brought my camera.



The next night we went to eat okonomiyaki and go to karaoke.



This weekend I went to Spa LaQua for some much need onsen relaxation time, met up with Namiji in Jiyugaoka, and visited my obaachan.



Gift for my obaa-chan.


I'm ready for another busy week!


It's a bit strange, but I've been having such vivid dreams about people from home and New York. Sometimes it makes sense, like dreaming about talking to my mom, but other times it's very...odd.

kagurazaka

Fall weather is settling in slowly. Though I can't really distinguish fall weather from cloudy/rainy/humid weather, so maybe it's a bit too early to say. In any case, Tokyo has been experiencing perfect night conditions. Last night I went to Kagurazaka with my aunt. Kagurazaka in the past used to have a more old town look but nowadays pachinko parlors and other new buildings have been sprouting at each corner so it kind of demists the nostalgic feel.

But don't fret! For those who like the aged appearance of cities as much as I do, Tokyo is no doubt a city that still has huge pockets of eternally timeless places. We walked through narrow alleys, went down city steps, and ended up at a French restaurant for crepes and tea. Kagurazaka has a lot of French shops, though I don't know the history. Afterward we went around more narrow streets lit by glowing lanterns. How ~romantic~, yes... I've been kind of keeping in mind a list of nice date places...so that when I finally get a boyfriend I'll know exactly where to go! I just want to avoid the "Where do you feel like going tonight...I don't know---where do you want to go-?...I don't care whe-" situation. You know what I mean, right?

The night before I went to a hole-in-the-wall jazz cafe. I wish my Jazz school friends were here, they might be surprised that there's a cool jazz scene in Tokyo. I got a little tipsy from strong mugi shochu, but I think I want to go again. It was owned by a cute old couple and their cat Kotaro. The owner is actually a documentary film maker too.

I got a message from Motoki-san from Shima asking if I would model for a hair magazine. At first there was some time conflict with school starting, but I think it actually might work out. That's right...starting from next week my top priority will be school. Aw shucks, my "summer vacation" is actually coming to an end!

cut model

Two days ago I was walking around Harajuku to shop (again). I've been trying to discipline my shopping habits so I restrained myself from making any purchases (although being charged 8000yen for karaoke is not discipline! UGH. I really rather not talk about it, I think we were ripped off).

As I was crossing the street to LaForet, a girl stopped me and asked if I would be a cut model for this salon called Shima. I know the salon from hair and fashion magazines so right away I said yes! She introduced herself as Motoki and we exchanged contact information.

The next night I went to their Aoyama location. My Japanese is still elementary at best, but I was able to have a nice girly conversation. While Motoki-san cut my hair, we talked about Japan, my background, music, famous people we like...I was so surprised when I would say something like "Oh I think so-and-so is cute..." and then she would say, "AH! I've met him! He's so nice!" I think it's been awhile since I've talked to a girl (not including my aunt and grandma) so it just felt so nice to just talk about superficial things---"He's cute isn't he? YEAH I KNOW!" kind of talk.

We took a lot of pictures (egao "smile" -pose and cool-pose haha). Motoki-san kept commenting on how soft my hair is. The pictures are meant to be example photos for Shima customers to pick what kind of cut they want. But if, this is a big IF, they wanted to use me for a magazine, then they would contact me again.

A lot of times I feel like an alien when I'm walking around. It's kind of just a fact that you accept, not looking completely Asian just makes you a little more noticeable. Since I still haven't met a lot of people yet, I'm always just walking around by myself. Motoki-san was very nice and it really made me happy to talk to just to her, even with my Japanese. I told her that if she ever needed a model she should contact me again. She said of course and added that, if I could, not to cut my hair or agree to be a cut model for another salon. I'll try! It's hard to avoid the scouts in Harajuku...

I didn't really take many pictures, just this one from my phone.

yokohama

I made a Flickr account awhile back but I recently just discovered how handy it is! Goodbye Photobucket!!

Sunday I went with my aunt to Yokohama. She was meeting up with some friends so I just walked around and shopped a little at Queen's Square. It kills me how expensive cute stuff is. Fall fashion hits stores hard and it's just so difficult to resist the temptation to by a 23000 yen (~$230) red cardigan. No matter how soft...how...perfect it is. I definitely took a business location card, maybe I can save up and buy it in Tokyo.

After my aunt said goodbye to her friends, we walked around the bay. I don't believe I had been to Yokohama before, and if I did I must have been pretty small to recollect anything. Very pretty. Although it would have been better if I had a boyfriend. It was just one of those places where the couple tally was very high.

For dinner we went to Shin-Yokohama to go to the Ramen Museum. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but recently I've struck a big interest in the Showa era in Japan, specifically during the 1950-60's. I think a lot of Japanese have a strong nostalgic feeling for that era--a time where the country was rebuilding after a big war. It was also a time that Japanese cinema was beginning to take shape. Anyway, I only mention this because the Ramen Museum is actually a Showa theme park! Everything there is as if it was a warm twilight evening in 1958.

Here are some pictures, but please take a look at my Flickr account (http://www.flickr.com/photos/41080516@N05/sets/72157622175008329/) for more!

overdue update

Although I have been absent from my bloglife, I come back with nothing really to show and tell. Lately, with the few friends that I have (and by few I mean 2), I just go to izakayas and eat delicious food and drink sake. I feel guilty admitting it, but I guess I have been getting into Japan's drinking culture. I have attained the same night lifestyle as a regular salaryman, getting tipsy but still managing to get on a cramped last train home.

But I promise I haven't been getting into trouble! In fact I pretty much have stayed idle. I just moved into my aunt's apartment, so I still have not officially settled in. She's more of a packrat that I am...so she's been busy cleaning.

I haven't taken many pictures, these are some I took last week. I promise to elaborate more on what I've been up to...hopefully I'll do more than drink! Ha-ha...