west meets east
I think I may have now met as many new faces as the ones i left behind. i am already having dreams with japanese language in them, and experience this immersion of a contrasting culture daily. its expanded my perspective and contorted my priorities already.
the first full day in japan began going through narita airport at about 6am. that day we visited this shinto buddhist temple that was 1300 years old. it was amazing to be in this romantically depicted oriental world and realise its an accurate portrayal.
you ring the bell, toss a coin, clap twice and bow to pay your respects. cool.
the first day of the month was a sunday, so my host family showed me how to use the train for school the next day, thankfully. we went to harajuku! and yes its as crazy as the gwen stefani film clips. there was a man running around in a tight white pink dress trying to dance with passers by, and another crazy guy wearing a homemade purple, black, white patchwork suit with a matching doll. hmm...
also went to a beautiful temple in harajuku - the water was freezing!
when you first arrive in japan you feel really light headed, like you are constantly in an elevator. i put it down to two reasons - the techtonic plates are always moving (which is legitimate), and you find yourself nodding twice to each word spoken to you! that night my host family took me out to the dinner i was writing about last entry - it was a really fun night.
on the 2nd, we had mister donut for breakfast, similiar to donut king. obviously a western influence. i thought it ironic to follow the meal with the traditional -gotchisosamadeshita- because it was a funny clashing of cultures.
on the 3rd it was girls day, hinamatsuri, the dolls festival. we celebrated with traditional food and desserts. my family had a beautiful traditional display of dolls.
and at the language school im going to, there was this impressive display.
this day i experienced the honesty of the japanese first hand, when a man ran after me to return a diary i had accidentally dropped 20metres back - how nice, not to mention fortunate for me. i saw a lady that morning at the train station who intrigued me too. she wore the leather/fox-fur mockasins as naturally as she held the hot pink nano ipod in her hand. japan is a land of contrasting cultures.
For dinner we had a traditional hinamatsuri meal - purple rice! it was yum, and to my absolute dismay, so were the pippies!
on the 4th, i met my obaasan and ojiisan, or host grandparents. they were lovely. my obaasan kept saying kawaiiiiii! which means cute. aww.
on the 5th i saw the most outrageous harajuku girl on my train home. oh my god - she was pink all over. pink hair, pink jewels and pearls stuck to her face, pink crazy clothes, stockings, bag, shoes, phone and accessories... it was really cool and i wanted to take a photo but decided against it.
david left on friday so we took this group shot.
thats it for now :)
the first full day in japan began going through narita airport at about 6am. that day we visited this shinto buddhist temple that was 1300 years old. it was amazing to be in this romantically depicted oriental world and realise its an accurate portrayal.
you ring the bell, toss a coin, clap twice and bow to pay your respects. cool.
the first day of the month was a sunday, so my host family showed me how to use the train for school the next day, thankfully. we went to harajuku! and yes its as crazy as the gwen stefani film clips. there was a man running around in a tight white pink dress trying to dance with passers by, and another crazy guy wearing a homemade purple, black, white patchwork suit with a matching doll. hmm...
also went to a beautiful temple in harajuku - the water was freezing!
when you first arrive in japan you feel really light headed, like you are constantly in an elevator. i put it down to two reasons - the techtonic plates are always moving (which is legitimate), and you find yourself nodding twice to each word spoken to you! that night my host family took me out to the dinner i was writing about last entry - it was a really fun night.
on the 2nd, we had mister donut for breakfast, similiar to donut king. obviously a western influence. i thought it ironic to follow the meal with the traditional -gotchisosamadeshita- because it was a funny clashing of cultures.
on the 3rd it was girls day, hinamatsuri, the dolls festival. we celebrated with traditional food and desserts. my family had a beautiful traditional display of dolls.
and at the language school im going to, there was this impressive display.
this day i experienced the honesty of the japanese first hand, when a man ran after me to return a diary i had accidentally dropped 20metres back - how nice, not to mention fortunate for me. i saw a lady that morning at the train station who intrigued me too. she wore the leather/fox-fur mockasins as naturally as she held the hot pink nano ipod in her hand. japan is a land of contrasting cultures.
For dinner we had a traditional hinamatsuri meal - purple rice! it was yum, and to my absolute dismay, so were the pippies!
on the 4th, i met my obaasan and ojiisan, or host grandparents. they were lovely. my obaasan kept saying kawaiiiiii! which means cute. aww.
on the 5th i saw the most outrageous harajuku girl on my train home. oh my god - she was pink all over. pink hair, pink jewels and pearls stuck to her face, pink crazy clothes, stockings, bag, shoes, phone and accessories... it was really cool and i wanted to take a photo but decided against it.
david left on friday so we took this group shot.
thats it for now :)