7 things recently
Happy 4th of July to those celebrating this occassion! I'm not American nor do I live in any of its states, so instead I'll celebrate Captain Rogers' birthday. How apt is it that Age of Ultron is finally showing in Japan though? On Captain America's birthday, no less.However, cinema trip will have to wait as we also wait for some of our JLPT-sitting friends. Good luck guys, you're gonna ace that exam!
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| (x) But you know, don't forget who gave birth to 'Americans' and all... *hums God save the Queen* i kid, i kid |
US
Despite the problems America has (because which country doesn't?), one day of celebration is worth it. With the recent legislation of same-sex marriage too, there are just more things to celebrate about! It's to celebrate all the good things, so no bad talk towards US for now, alright? I'm sure many Americans are aware of their own country's problems and now's not the time to bring those up. Similarly, for those who decided to 'state their opinions' during the legislation of same-sex marriage, I'm still bitter about it because, it was a historical day and ONE day of celebration and still you had people opposing it. LGBTQ+ peeps already hear enough from people that hate their existence most of the time, one day of pure support would have meant so much.
Anyway, now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about me again.
Interview with teachers + visit from Mika
One thing I really dreaded last week was my interview with my programme coordinator, Kobayashi-sensei. One, because in my head I always misname her by thinking Yodobashi-sensei. But more importantly because I had one day to mentally prepare myself for it and I'm just slightly scared of her. She's really nice though, and I know that from friends and from the little encounters I've had with her.
Anyway, the interview went fine, I thought. I always have a self-realisation of how bad my Japanese is whenever I use it, but she even said it was fine. Told you she's nice. What was difficult was actually answering her questions of "What will you do after graduation?" "Will you work in Japan?", etc.
My UEA Japanese teacher, Mika-sensei also came to Hokkaido University for work so I met up with her over dinner. Ahh, it was so nice to see her again. Although I was a bit surprised we spent most of the evening speaking in Japanese. Needless to say, I thought I was gonna get by without using Japanese, but nope. I guess it was a casual catch up on progress too. Wasn't too bad, I got free dinner from it. Thank you again, Mika-sensei! Hope you still liked soup curry even if it was too spicy for you.
Presentations
Coming to Japan, I've realised I have done more presentations in the 8/9 months I'm here, than all my other years in education. Or at least it feels like that. It's certainly good practice, not much for my Japanese, but definitely for public speaking (especially considering in another language). Do I think I can do more English presentations now? Although I'll probably instinctly start with 皆さん、こんにちは。今日は...についてお話ししたいと思います。To be fair, if you ever do a class presentation in Japanese, that's your opening sentence right there. At least for beginner-intermediate level...
Ducks!!
Our campus pond has a family of ducks living in it right now and it's the most adorable thing ever. There are 13 ducklings, I believe, and I try and see them a few times a week just to see how they're growing. Still smol, that's all you need to know right now.
And if you don't think that's adorable, here's a video of kids making animal noises.
Sapporo
Just over 5 weeks left in this wonderful city. I call it wonderful now that I'm leaving it. But seriously, there are so many places I still haven't seen, and those I already have, I'll surely miss.
Last week, a friend and I went to the Jingu market, which is a bi-monthly market held in the Hokkaido Shrine. Took some misunderstanding after realising it's a morning market, but we managed to wake up and leave early on a Sunday morning. You would not find me awake anytime before 12am on a weekend, but hey, it was a good change.
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| Bubble Strawberry Milk |
Afterwards, we just decided to have breakfast, because it was just after 10am. (Seriously, how did we find ourselves out of the house at 10am on a Sunday..) Breakfast outside always has a nice ring to it though, and we did find a cafe that served bacon and eggs. Yum. Despite the smokers besides us, it was a pretty good breakfast.
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| I'm still baffled by the butter sandwich they called toast.. |
I had no idea what this film was even about, apart from the hype it was getting online, and the feminist 'agenda' it apparently had. Plus some character who plays an electric guitar with an inbuilt flamethrower. I'm very impressionable, you see. But a friend mentioned it and we decided to watch it.
It was actually enjoyable. It's impressive how many women characters they had (though I still don't know their names) and had the male character basically pushed aside for the other female main character. Tom Hardy reduced to some grunting, haunted guy. So much for the female gaze. Still, I adore this man pup.
Furiosa, on the other hand took the stage. It was refreshing to see a woman in a leading role too without anyone questioning her gender and position. But the film still showed the ugly side of sex slavery and the objectifying of women. At least these women were aware of their worth and decided to act upon it and helped each other.
(It also seems Immortan Joe liked his women model-like. He had them shaved and made up and extremely pretty. Amazing.)
Since there wasn't much dialogue in the film though, there was not much explanation of what's happening. We had a narrative in the beginning of Max and who he was/is, but then it's on to car chasing, capturing, War Boys, some boss leader who breathes through a machine, explosions, war cries.. You do feel like you're constantly on an adrenaline rush hearing the war drums and the electric guitar playing in the background, and the occasional shouts of VALHAALLLLLA.
I read that this is gonna be a series of films too, just like the 70s/80s trilogy. Yeaah. And fun fact, the same director, George Miller, directed Happy Feet. Do what you want with that trivia.
(Also, seeing Furiosa and her shaved head... made me think that maybe I should get a buzzcut. Hmmm)
Flights and trips
Finally, I've bought my tickets home. After a month of struggling to decide where to go before going home, I've also finally decided on Osaka.
I've considered going to the Philippines again (Palawan, Batanes or Boracay were my options), or Shiretoko here in Hokkaido, or Tokyo. But I found I'm already going to Tokyo with my sisters so that narrowed it down. Shiretoko was a bit expensive and seems difficult to navigate around. Although I really wanted to see the nature. Maybe next time. Gives me a reason to return to Hokkaido, for sure. Philippines on the other hand, was also expensive--at least the flights were--and also August isn't the best time to go. Hello monsoon season.
So why Osaka? It wasn't even on my list of places to visit, but people have said it's a good place and I've been researching the area for a hypothetical trip for my class. With all these sightseeing information, I've decided to actually make use of what I've found and see it for myself. So, Osaka. It also gives me an excuse to possibly see a play, especially a Takarazuka play, in Japan. Tickets are gonna be pricey, but if I don't watch a play, I could at least see the theatre.
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5 weeks of classes left, and 8 weeks left in Japan. Soon, I might start a countdown to my flight home. I still haven't finished my Spring Break posts, but at least I'm posting, right? :)
