last weekend in tokyo!
complancency is found in the most ironic places. maybe instinctively i knew to let go of the comfort australia brings, and try to develop a similiar feeling here - because while with a temporary host family this weekend, i felt more homesick for my 'home' in kita-akabane than i have felt for australia so far.
the dark side of the moon is 43 minutes worth of a marriage of social theories/observations and amazing music. if you know what im on about you might recall the lyrics 'hanging on in quiet desperation is the english way'.
an elderly lady that i saw on the train had that kind of impact on me - she was just the pinnacle of what he is talking about... id like to state, if i may, that 'hanging on in quiet desperation is the HUMAN way.'
this lady had done her make up freshly that morning, donned her mask and shut her eyes as if trying to meditate her way out of the sweaty, silent mass of bodies that surrounded her as they do every morning of her life. had i been less afraid she would open them and see me 30cm away from her with a camera, i may have taken a better shot.
that same day we visited the edo museum. i would hum and hah on about it in a cliche manner... 'it was fascinating, really interesting, beautiful insight into an ancient culture...' which is all true but i was a little too tired or mentally exhausted to completely indulge.
but i did find it interesting that this was printed in i think 1812, and its an advertisment for a cosmetic. its really no surprise that japan is where it is now, and it made me think that the west may be taking more credit for it than neccessary, who knows.
also, it was a little emotional walking through the war part. i saw this photo that was taken in 1890. these were my thought patterns;
- every smiling, youthful little face in this photo belongs to someone who grew up, presumably, got married, had a family, lived their life and is now dead. they would otherwise now be 119 years old.
- i have baby/ group child photos like this. they will probably never make it to a museum, but will become just as outdated and hence so will i.
- the time between birth and death is short, everyone is insignificant, but strive to enjoy as much of what is in between as possible, like these beautiful little kids did.
nick and tom with the fire alarm.
so thursday i had an embarassing excuse for a verbal profficiency test which i was completely lost for words in - urgh. i hope the one in 10months detects some improvement. that afternoon i went to my temporary host family - naoko-san, husband takehiko-san and 3year old daughter haruna-chan. on friday we went to their friends house for pretty much the entire day, where there were heapppps of cute little kids and about 20 names to remember which i did, surprisingly. one kids name was Lennon coz his dad loved john lennon so much, haha cool. so he became my favourite. japanese kids are so cute!
we had spag bol for lunch,
and this is haruna the girl i stayed with.
group shot.
went to an aquarium the next day, and sunday i made it make to the usukuras to watch sakis school reendition of cats the musical.
im sad because this friday is fast approaching and it will mean leaving language school, all the aussies/english speakers, the usukura's house... and start all over again. but i hope its a positive change, and high school isnt too scary.
thats all for now, sorry, hope i havent bored you too much!
the dark side of the moon is 43 minutes worth of a marriage of social theories/observations and amazing music. if you know what im on about you might recall the lyrics 'hanging on in quiet desperation is the english way'.
an elderly lady that i saw on the train had that kind of impact on me - she was just the pinnacle of what he is talking about... id like to state, if i may, that 'hanging on in quiet desperation is the HUMAN way.'
this lady had done her make up freshly that morning, donned her mask and shut her eyes as if trying to meditate her way out of the sweaty, silent mass of bodies that surrounded her as they do every morning of her life. had i been less afraid she would open them and see me 30cm away from her with a camera, i may have taken a better shot.
that same day we visited the edo museum. i would hum and hah on about it in a cliche manner... 'it was fascinating, really interesting, beautiful insight into an ancient culture...' which is all true but i was a little too tired or mentally exhausted to completely indulge.
but i did find it interesting that this was printed in i think 1812, and its an advertisment for a cosmetic. its really no surprise that japan is where it is now, and it made me think that the west may be taking more credit for it than neccessary, who knows.
also, it was a little emotional walking through the war part. i saw this photo that was taken in 1890. these were my thought patterns;
- every smiling, youthful little face in this photo belongs to someone who grew up, presumably, got married, had a family, lived their life and is now dead. they would otherwise now be 119 years old.
- i have baby/ group child photos like this. they will probably never make it to a museum, but will become just as outdated and hence so will i.
- the time between birth and death is short, everyone is insignificant, but strive to enjoy as much of what is in between as possible, like these beautiful little kids did.
nick and tom with the fire alarm.
so thursday i had an embarassing excuse for a verbal profficiency test which i was completely lost for words in - urgh. i hope the one in 10months detects some improvement. that afternoon i went to my temporary host family - naoko-san, husband takehiko-san and 3year old daughter haruna-chan. on friday we went to their friends house for pretty much the entire day, where there were heapppps of cute little kids and about 20 names to remember which i did, surprisingly. one kids name was Lennon coz his dad loved john lennon so much, haha cool. so he became my favourite. japanese kids are so cute!
we had spag bol for lunch,
and this is haruna the girl i stayed with.
group shot.
went to an aquarium the next day, and sunday i made it make to the usukuras to watch sakis school reendition of cats the musical.
im sad because this friday is fast approaching and it will mean leaving language school, all the aussies/english speakers, the usukura's house... and start all over again. but i hope its a positive change, and high school isnt too scary.
thats all for now, sorry, hope i havent bored you too much!