Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 7:40pm
So, as some of you may or may not know, I am working on a book about my life in Japan. Considering the levels of racism, harassment, and simply bad experiences here, I feel that I need to step back and look at them. And I have been. Writing this book has reminded me that not all of my experiences have been total shit, but a lot of stuff recently, including exchange students, death threats, and people simply abandoning our friendship because of silly rumors, has impacted me a lot. You know, when you go from having over 50 people that you can talk to (even if you don't consider them all your friends), multiple parties to go to during the week, and just having a fantastic time -to- a couple of friends, no parties, and having people come up to you between classes threatening to kill you, with all of this happening over the course of a couple of days... it really messes with you.
I have a rough draft mostly finished (since I am still in Japan, I can't be completely finished yet). I am working on writing the full story now, which I will send off once I get back to America.
The biggest problems have been coming up with new names for people, since I don't want to be an asshole and ruin their lives, even if they messed mine up pretty badly, and remembering everything that I want to write about. For example, after I finished my rough draft, I went through it and read it, remembering things like Yukata Matsuri and whatnot, which I had forgotten. And I do write about a lot of stupid stuff that I do. At this point, I feel that me staying in Japan for this long is a bit stupid, but I am pretty stubborn and want to try to tough it out a little bit longer. I know my family wants me to come home though, so I am thinking about when I might want to leave.
I hope to be finished with it by this time next year, but who knows how things will go. Right now, the book is going to cover my life from August 2007 - whenever I leave Japan.
The most common question I seem to get is, "Why are people threatening to kill you? What did you do?" I would imagine it has to do with the rumors/lies, but otherwise, I don't know. So stop asking that.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Birthday
Monday, November 16, 2009 at 2:04am
So, here is how my birthday went this year.
It started off with me supporting ChartJackers, spreading the word before November 14th ended in the UK (which happens at about 9am in Japan). If you are confused, watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYDRWXjJlB4
Basically, you buy their song on iTunes for .99 cents/.79p and that money goes to charity. It doesn't seem like much, until you realize that they also were aiming to get to the number 1 spot in the UK iTunes charts. Granted, I can't do much myself for the UK charts, but I did tell all my UK friends about it.
The thinking is, the higher they get in the charts, the more people who will buy the song, and the more money that goes to Children in Need: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/
I think they got into the top 40, but I am not sure what number they are.
Why am I talking about this? Because you can still buy their song and donate money to Children in Need. If you're interested, here is a link: http://itunes.apple.com/album/ive-got-nothing/id336614737
Anyway, so I stayed up until about 4 or 5am doing that, until I fell asleep. Woke up at noon, ate some Udon, took a nap, took a shower, talked to Steve for a bit, and then got a call from Sheri and I spent about 4 hours with her and Merry (these are their English names. They are Chinese). Sheri gave me a bracelet, and Merry gave me some candy.
I came home, had a couple of confusion conversations, emailed a couple of professors, and now I am going to go to bed.
Oh, and I should be getting my heat fixed in the morning. Yay!
So, here is how my birthday went this year.
It started off with me supporting ChartJackers, spreading the word before November 14th ended in the UK (which happens at about 9am in Japan). If you are confused, watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYDRWXjJlB4
Basically, you buy their song on iTunes for .99 cents/.79p and that money goes to charity. It doesn't seem like much, until you realize that they also were aiming to get to the number 1 spot in the UK iTunes charts. Granted, I can't do much myself for the UK charts, but I did tell all my UK friends about it.
The thinking is, the higher they get in the charts, the more people who will buy the song, and the more money that goes to Children in Need: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/
I think they got into the top 40, but I am not sure what number they are.
Why am I talking about this? Because you can still buy their song and donate money to Children in Need. If you're interested, here is a link: http://itunes.apple.com/album/ive-got-nothing/id336614737
Anyway, so I stayed up until about 4 or 5am doing that, until I fell asleep. Woke up at noon, ate some Udon, took a nap, took a shower, talked to Steve for a bit, and then got a call from Sheri and I spent about 4 hours with her and Merry (these are their English names. They are Chinese). Sheri gave me a bracelet, and Merry gave me some candy.
I came home, had a couple of confusion conversations, emailed a couple of professors, and now I am going to go to bed.
Oh, and I should be getting my heat fixed in the morning. Yay!
Re: Irrelevant Crap: Dreams
Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 9:58pm
This is a blog response to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4ED8CZXwk0
When I was a kid, my dream was to be a Paleontologist, in part because of Jurassic Park. I love that movie, even to this day. Sure, it doesn't give dinos a good rep, but it makes them seem sorta beautiful, in a way. I continued to want that for many years, and still do to some extent. The idea of discovering lost creatures...something about it just seems magical to me.
Next, I wanted to be an actor. A comedic actor, to be specific. However, school didn't really promote that sort of thing, and I only got to work with comedy a few times. After that, I always had to play weird, stupid roles. I eventually got sick of it (since I couldn't turn them down - they were "assignments"), and decided that acting wasn't for me if I had to take roles I didn't want/like. I still enjoy acting and being comedic from time to time, but I doubt I will ever make a living doing it. Justin Guy is a great straight man, though.
Back in 5th grade, I started working on video game ideas I had been having for a while. Nothing too special, just writing them down and fleshing them out from time to time. I continued coming up with them for years, but I haven't done much with them yet, to be quite honest. Even when I mess around with making video games now, I never use those ideas, because I don't think I could be satisfied with it at my current ability, and with my current resources. My ultimate dream, back in 5th grade, was to work for Sega in Japan. I do work for a game company (Kemco) in Japan, so I am halfway there, in a sense.
Some dreams have been fulfilled though. I wanted to visit Japan for a long time, and I did back in 2008. I enjoyed the bit of time I spent here, so I thought that living here might be fun. 2009, mission accomplished. Now...I want to start my own video game company. Maybe it will become official in 2010? I am already working on my own personal games, so I am halfway to making that dream come true.
A couple of small dreams I have involve reading The Tale of Genji in Japanese and visiting the 88 Temples alone.
This is a blog response to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4ED8CZXwk0
When I was a kid, my dream was to be a Paleontologist, in part because of Jurassic Park. I love that movie, even to this day. Sure, it doesn't give dinos a good rep, but it makes them seem sorta beautiful, in a way. I continued to want that for many years, and still do to some extent. The idea of discovering lost creatures...something about it just seems magical to me.
Next, I wanted to be an actor. A comedic actor, to be specific. However, school didn't really promote that sort of thing, and I only got to work with comedy a few times. After that, I always had to play weird, stupid roles. I eventually got sick of it (since I couldn't turn them down - they were "assignments"), and decided that acting wasn't for me if I had to take roles I didn't want/like. I still enjoy acting and being comedic from time to time, but I doubt I will ever make a living doing it. Justin Guy is a great straight man, though.
Back in 5th grade, I started working on video game ideas I had been having for a while. Nothing too special, just writing them down and fleshing them out from time to time. I continued coming up with them for years, but I haven't done much with them yet, to be quite honest. Even when I mess around with making video games now, I never use those ideas, because I don't think I could be satisfied with it at my current ability, and with my current resources. My ultimate dream, back in 5th grade, was to work for Sega in Japan. I do work for a game company (Kemco) in Japan, so I am halfway there, in a sense.
Some dreams have been fulfilled though. I wanted to visit Japan for a long time, and I did back in 2008. I enjoyed the bit of time I spent here, so I thought that living here might be fun. 2009, mission accomplished. Now...I want to start my own video game company. Maybe it will become official in 2010? I am already working on my own personal games, so I am halfway to making that dream come true.
A couple of small dreams I have involve reading The Tale of Genji in Japanese and visiting the 88 Temples alone.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
I Love Bean Sprouts
Quick update on my life.
For a while now, I have been eating bean sprouts, noodles, and sausage...and I have to say, it is a pretty good meal to have on a regular basis. It fills you up, tastes good, and probably isn't too bad for you either. I am not too much of a health freak, but it is something interesting about life.
Also, I impressed a few ladies, ones that I was teaching, and now they want to learn twice as often. It makes me feel good that I can make people interested in learning English.
For a while now, I have been eating bean sprouts, noodles, and sausage...and I have to say, it is a pretty good meal to have on a regular basis. It fills you up, tastes good, and probably isn't too bad for you either. I am not too much of a health freak, but it is something interesting about life.
Also, I impressed a few ladies, ones that I was teaching, and now they want to learn twice as often. It makes me feel good that I can make people interested in learning English.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Incoming Students
I finished exams and have spent the majority of the summer working at Kemco and a private school. It is a lot of fun, actually, but a bit time consuming.
In terms of new videos, I have no real idea about what I should film next. The only real suggestion I has gotten is to look at other vloggers and copy them, or do a colab video with them... I don't think it is a good suggestion, but it is one. Better than someone saying I should dress up like a catboy and dance around... Obviously, my viewers are not the most enlightened indivuduals. I mean, if I do what everyone else is doing, what is the point in doing anything at all?
Maybe I should have been more specific and said that I want to know what they would like to see. Yeah, sure, the peace park is great and all...but is that really something you can't see? Do people have nothing they want to know or see in Japan? Maybe no one likes or cares much for Japan outside of anime and women.
The new international students will begin arriving in less than 2 weeks now. The school asked me to write something for them about my experiences here in Japan. It turned into an 8 page report...basically. I had a ton of people proofread it before finally decided that there really wasn't anything left to add. I will be here for a while longer, but I am not really sure how long anymore.
I want to stay until next August, but I may only be able to stay until Feb or March, in terms of the Study Abroad program. If that is the case, I will end up missing a semester in America, meaning I will be a year behind, rather than just a semester (study abroad usually puts you behind). The semester I had prepared for, but a year... I have a few plans if I can't continue to Study Abroad in Japan after March.
In terms of new videos, I have no real idea about what I should film next. The only real suggestion I has gotten is to look at other vloggers and copy them, or do a colab video with them... I don't think it is a good suggestion, but it is one. Better than someone saying I should dress up like a catboy and dance around... Obviously, my viewers are not the most enlightened indivuduals. I mean, if I do what everyone else is doing, what is the point in doing anything at all?
Maybe I should have been more specific and said that I want to know what they would like to see. Yeah, sure, the peace park is great and all...but is that really something you can't see? Do people have nothing they want to know or see in Japan? Maybe no one likes or cares much for Japan outside of anime and women.
The new international students will begin arriving in less than 2 weeks now. The school asked me to write something for them about my experiences here in Japan. It turned into an 8 page report...basically. I had a ton of people proofread it before finally decided that there really wasn't anything left to add. I will be here for a while longer, but I am not really sure how long anymore.
I want to stay until next August, but I may only be able to stay until Feb or March, in terms of the Study Abroad program. If that is the case, I will end up missing a semester in America, meaning I will be a year behind, rather than just a semester (study abroad usually puts you behind). The semester I had prepared for, but a year... I have a few plans if I can't continue to Study Abroad in Japan after March.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Exam Time!
I haven't posted in a while...
So most of my exams are next week. A few papers, a couple of presentations and exams, and I am done with my first semester here.
This week has been amazing. In particular, the last few days.
Wednesday, I used Pokemon to teach English. That was probably the most amazing thing for me, because it is something me and my students have in common. Granted, I don't know all 500, but I know up to the Silver and Gold games. It's kind of like teaching kids with something you loved growing up.
Thursday, I got to spend time with my best friend here in Japan. We ended up drinking a bit, and stayed up all night together. It reminded me of how me and Jon use to stay up a lot (we were/are both insomniacs), but...replace Jon with a Chinese girl, and replace Waffle House with 7/11 and Booze.
Then today, despite my lack of sleep, I am studying and whatnot.
The only real issues I have had are the same issues I have been having all year: The school is sorta lame, students are hard to meet and talk to, and Japanese people are really obsessed with studying. And while I really want to study, practice my Japanese, and learn more about the culture, it seems like it is easier to learn Chinese than Japanese here in Japan. Ironic, isn't it?
So most of my exams are next week. A few papers, a couple of presentations and exams, and I am done with my first semester here.
This week has been amazing. In particular, the last few days.
Wednesday, I used Pokemon to teach English. That was probably the most amazing thing for me, because it is something me and my students have in common. Granted, I don't know all 500, but I know up to the Silver and Gold games. It's kind of like teaching kids with something you loved growing up.
Thursday, I got to spend time with my best friend here in Japan. We ended up drinking a bit, and stayed up all night together. It reminded me of how me and Jon use to stay up a lot (we were/are both insomniacs), but...replace Jon with a Chinese girl, and replace Waffle House with 7/11 and Booze.
Then today, despite my lack of sleep, I am studying and whatnot.
The only real issues I have had are the same issues I have been having all year: The school is sorta lame, students are hard to meet and talk to, and Japanese people are really obsessed with studying. And while I really want to study, practice my Japanese, and learn more about the culture, it seems like it is easier to learn Chinese than Japanese here in Japan. Ironic, isn't it?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Finals & Racism
So summer in Japan starts in about a month, and finals are coming up at the end of July.
I am mostly worried because it feels like I am not doing much work in the classes. For example, I never do anything in the English class I am taking. The teacher doesn't even ask me questions. Instead, he asks the Russian. It is a bit confusing and upsetting, since I am a native English speaker, from America, and many questions are about American english.
Another is Psycholinguistics, where I also do nothing. At the end of the semester, however, papers are due, so at least I know there is something that will be graded.
Aside from those two though, I am not too worried. I have recently encountered a lot of racism, and not even in the "trying to be helpful" way. For example, I was buying items from the Lawson store on Campus, and the clerk said, in Japanese, "stupid foreigner" instead of "thank you very much." When I told the school about this, they ignored it. In addition, most Japanese women around the area that I live are very similar to American men - which is a bad thing.
As a result, I spend more time with the Chinese population on campus, or Japanese who are not from this area - who also agree that this area is very different from every other part of Japan.
Japan has a lot of wonderful things about it, such as the nature, food, and (in most areas), very very polite people. However, just as in America, not everyone is this way. I am surprised that my Japanese teacher recommended that I live in this area.
I am mostly worried because it feels like I am not doing much work in the classes. For example, I never do anything in the English class I am taking. The teacher doesn't even ask me questions. Instead, he asks the Russian. It is a bit confusing and upsetting, since I am a native English speaker, from America, and many questions are about American english.
Another is Psycholinguistics, where I also do nothing. At the end of the semester, however, papers are due, so at least I know there is something that will be graded.
Aside from those two though, I am not too worried. I have recently encountered a lot of racism, and not even in the "trying to be helpful" way. For example, I was buying items from the Lawson store on Campus, and the clerk said, in Japanese, "stupid foreigner" instead of "thank you very much." When I told the school about this, they ignored it. In addition, most Japanese women around the area that I live are very similar to American men - which is a bad thing.
As a result, I spend more time with the Chinese population on campus, or Japanese who are not from this area - who also agree that this area is very different from every other part of Japan.
Japan has a lot of wonderful things about it, such as the nature, food, and (in most areas), very very polite people. However, just as in America, not everyone is this way. I am surprised that my Japanese teacher recommended that I live in this area.
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