yakihito

Why My Finals Suck

I'm in the midst of final exams. They're pretty rough, for a number of reasons. 

I have nine of them. Nine! Each class meets once a week, which is nice during the semester but now that it's ending, I have nine finals. Five in Japanese, one on Japanese grammar in English, and three on Japanese culture, also in English. I've taken seven, which means only two more to go. But...

I'm burnt! I've been studying steadily and diligently for two weeks now and I'm past the point of caring. Really. Of course I'm still studying and still trying, but it's difficult. Especially when...

I'm so tired. My four Japanese classes are all first-period classes, which means they start at 9 am. That's a terrible time for me to process language. It also means I have to wake up early to study. And, given the general level of stress I'm maintaining these days, I don't fall asleep all that early either.

It's difficult to know what will be on the tests. I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from my teachers back home. The amount of time you spend on something in class tends to be a good barometer of whether it will be test-worthy. Not here. Something you gloss over in 5 minutes can comprise a good fourth of the test! Of course I didn't study that, it didn't seem important. Test questions can also be vague, particularly for the speaking class. This class is all about knowing which kind of language to use in which context (polite, friendly language, etc). Without the context, it's impossible to know which kind of language to use. But this is what's expected on the test. Contextless questions. However, if we'd had the foresight to memorize the text book, we'd be able to recognize the question, and thus be able to remember what the context originally was. Which says to me: memorizing textbooks is more important than being able to properly discern context and thus use the correct language. *sigh*

And it's hot! It's torture to have to study and try to concentrate in this brutal heat. I'm actually sweating onto my tests. Lovely.

Wah wah, I know, I'm just tired and burnt and ready for summer. OK, only two more tests...

Critter Country Pt. 2

It gets weirder and weirder around here. Last time I told you about the praying mantis. Well, now I've got something even better.  

A crab.

Yes, that really is a crab. Caught it scuttling sideways in the corridor outside my room the other night. Kinda hairy like a spider, but a crab nonetheless.

And then today I spied this:

Look at the horns/antenna on that thing! Some Chinese girls caught me taking pictures of it and thought it was funny, but where I come from that's not an insect, it's wildlife!

I can't wait to see what crawls up next (just as long as it's not inside my apartment).

Mr. Blue Sky

The rainy season is long gone, and now it's just ungodly, deathly, hellishly hot. I'm not kidding. I must sweat like 2 liters a day. Sexy.

Anyway, one of the advantages (one of the very few) of this time of year here is the sky. It's so blue. With little fluffy clouds (like the song says).

いいな.

MP3s on Parade

I spend a lot of time poking around on the internet, particularly when I should be studying (like now). One of the things I like to search for are interesting MP3s, and this being the Wild Wild Web, there are plenty to be plucked for the tidy sum of nothing.

To wit:

Japanese Star Wars

Pretty much what it says. Patrick Macias has tons of amazing MP3s on his site. Take some time and download them all. I've been turned on to some incredible music thanks to him.

The Tenori-Off Project

The Tenori-On is a new musical instrument that's as pretty as it is cool. San Francisco multimedia artist (and former Burning Man camp-mate) Dino Ignacio here blogs about his adventures with the unique instrument. His posted MP3s are nice and relaxing. Thanks Dino, now I really want one of these things.

Quarta 330

Quarta 330 makes dub step with Nintendo Gameboys. This page has a few of his original tracks plus a live set. It's both the past and the future at the same time. Wrap your head around that.

Oita Craft Beer

Sometime ago I wrote about Hitachino Nest White Ale Beer, a nice little Belgian-style white from a craft brewer better known for sake. I assumed that I'd be able to find it and Kiuchi Brewery's other types at most liquor stores. Turns out I was way wrong.

Japan only allowed small breweries to start up in 1994. There are a number of small breweries but none that can rival the brewing power of the big four, Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo. Go into your local grocery store and all you'll find are beers from these companies, and the occasional can of Heineken or Budweiser. Here's an article I found on this phenomenon in the LA Times.

So what's a beer lover to do? Shop at the train station.

The most reliable place to try local craft beers is actually in the souvenir section of major train stations. Japan has a huge gift-giving culture. Anytime you go farther than your local bank branch you're supposed to bring back souvenirs from your trip, and this more often than not will be some local food or product, all helpfully stocked at the station so you can grab something while waiting for your train.

The other day I had to go out to Beppu to get a shot, and on the way back I did what most people do in Beppu station: kill time in the souvenir shop. I bought a few bags of sembei (rice crackers) for friends in Tokyo and then I saw it: local craft beer. Brewed not in Beppu but a little further north, in Usa. The name of the beer is Forest of Yufuin (由布院の森). Yufuin is a hot-springs town in the mountains in the interior of the prefecture, complete with active volcanos and scenic vistas. The kanji for Yufuin (湯布院) is slightly different—perhaps the kanji on the beer label is its old writing. (The kanji used for the mountain Yufu uses the same writing, which leads me to believe the first character in the name of the town was changed—without altering the pronunciation—to reflect its status as a hot springs resort.)

Anyway, the beer was disappointing. It's described as a weizen ale beer, and having "good taste and hight (sic) quality." No quibbles with the quality (or indeed the hight) but the flavor was a bit bland. I enjoy a good weizen now and then, especially on a hot day, so given the recent weather I thought this would be perfect. Considering its almost $6.00 price tag, it was way too bland. It was almost apologetic in its inoffensive blandness.

No matter. Japan is full of train stations, each another opportunity to try a local beer.

Oita Dispatch: Final Exams Edition

Finals started this week. I had two: one in English on the intricacies (and annoyances) of Japanese grammar, and a speaking test in Japanese about current issues in Japanese society. That was far and away the hardest final I will have this semester, and probably the hardest class as well. I got an 85 on the test, which I'm extremely happy with. Ah, relief. Next week are five more finals, three of which are Japanese (and one of which contains a speaking portion as well). Lastly, July 29 I have one Japanese final and one on Japanese movies and theater, in English. Then summer!

There's lots more going on but it's hard to focus with finals. But after my last test I have about a week before I jet off to Tokyo to climb Mt Fuji, eat good food and shop for '80s idol magazines (seriously). So expect some random posts in a week or so.

Sneak preview: Japanese craft beer, mp3s to know and love, and the blue, blue sky.

じゃあ，頑張ります！

All Hepped Up

Today I had my first experience with the Japanese medical system, and I have to say it wasn't that bad. No horror stories about nationalized medicine to be found here. But plenty of differences from America, that's for sure.

This all started because I needed to get some shots to travel overseas. I'm going to Korea this summer and possibly Vietnam in the fall, and I have no desire to bring Hepatitis-A back as a souvenir. I wish I had had the foresight to be inoculated back in the States but Hep-A isn't a problem in Japan, so I didn't see the need. Oh well.

I asked a Japanese friend in town who often travels where she gets her shots. She travels without inoculation(!) but inquired for me in town. Turns out travel shots are only available at one hospital, which is in Beppu, a 15-minute train ride up the coast, every other Tuesday from 1 to 4pm. I quickly made an appointment and then rushed out there today. Luckily, a Japanese-speaking friend could come with me to act as interpreter.

Beppu is known as the Las Vegas of Japan, a hot springs resort town full of tacky hotels and pachinko parlors. The hospital was not nearly so exciting.

I should sidetrack to say here that people don't really see private practitioners in Japan, they go to the hospital. It's like a giant clinic. And being part of a great bureaucracy, there were many steps to follow, and a correct order in which to do them.

First, we announced our presence and needs at the entrance desk. We filled out some paperwork and they made photocopies of my health card and school card (not sure why the second, maybe they have student discounts). Then we waited. Fifteen minutes later, I was given some kind of credit card-looking thing for the hospital, and we were told to go across the floor to another waiting area. Where we waited.

The hospital—the first floor at least—was essentially one huge waiting room. We all sat facing a wall, on the other side of which was nurses and beds and medical equipment and such. I stared expectantly at that wall. My name was eventually called and we were given more paperwork to fill out (Are you pregnant? No. Etc).

Then I had to take my temperature. This you do not by putting the thermometer in your mouth, but under your armpit. You do this right in the huge waiting room, with everyone watching. I wasn't sure whether to insert it from the neck of my shirt or up from underneath. I went from under, and pinched the thermometer in my sweaty, malodorous left pit until it beeped in disgust. I guess my temperature was normal—I still can’t convert Celsius to Fahrenheit.

After another period of waiting, I was told via public address announcement to proceed to room 9. I entered, expecting a waiting room, but found instead a doctor's office. He spoke English, and we talked about my travel plans and such. Hepatitis-A inoculation was what I needed. Back to the bus terminal I was sent.

Some time later, I was summoned by the nurses behind the wall, where I received an oddly pain-free injection into the triceps of my left arm. It was explained to my interpreter than we were to wait (what a surprise) for 15 minutes to make sure my arm didn't fall off or something. Which we did, and which it didn't. Lastly, we picked up my paperwork, revisited the entrance desk to hand over the paperwork, and were then (you got it) once again told to wait, this time to pay the bill.

There's a big desk at the front of the hospital that says in both Japanese and English, "Cashier." The cute girl in the bus station-like outfit called my name and presented me with a bill for $75. I paid, and we were done.

Now, this may seem like a lot of waiting but really, the whole process took less than 90 minutes. I've spent longer in doctor waiting rooms. Can't say I'm in love with this system, but as an alternative to our for-profit system, it's not so bad.

Here's hoping the shot works and I don't get the chance to compare Korea's medical system to Japan's. 

Field Recording: Semi

I love the sound of semi, what we in the English-speaking world call cicadas. Although they're common in America, we don't have them where I'm from. I associate their droning with Japanese movies set in the summer, so it's nice to finally hear them.

I recorded this bit just outside my apartment, next to a tree full of cicadas.

Download semi.mp3

Apparently the sound of cicadas can reach upwards of 120dB, which is pretty damn loud. Up on campus, with so many trees, the din can be almost deafening. 

Yumcha

There are Mister Donuts shops all over Japan. They sell more than just donuts though. Like the places back home that sell both donuts and Chinese food, Mister Donuts has lunchtime offerings like ramen. 

There's a Mister Donuts in the station in downtown Oita, and it advertises San Francisco Yumcha on one of its awnings. 

This is augmented by a sign on the door that says something about San Francisco Chinatown. It makes sense for a donut shop to sell yumcha (dimsum) but why advertise it as San Francisco style? Doesn't dimsum come from Hong Kong?

Classy

Nothing says class like...

Pocky on ice. You know how I roll.