KCP Level 4 and More Deep End Dining

So last night I stayed over at the apartment of one of the koreans from KCP. I met him last night when I went out drinking with one of the Americans and his classmates along with Joe and Dave. Joe and Dave left early to go to an arcade, but I stayed to continue talking with the Korean KCP students. Because we stayed out past twelve I was not able to ride the train home. One of them allowed me to stay with him for the night. This is the fourth time I have received such hospitality, twice by another Korean at KCP, and once by one of my Chinese classmates. This has been a good realization knowing I have friends who I can stay with as opposed to staying out all night.This Korean lives with 3 other Korean guys. I met one of them, and these two guys play World of Warcraft a lot. The KCP student who invited me over is 33, but he doesnt really look older than 25. They made me Korean style ramen, which was very good. After eating the noodles I refilled the bowl with rice, it was great.

As for school at KCP, level 4 has changed considerably from level 3. To start, about the first 2/3 of level 3 we studied kanji every day, but then only twice a week. Once again we now study kanji every day, and often the words are generally used only in the news or writing. The format of the kanji test has changed as well. Previously you only had to know the appropriate kanji for given hiragana and vice-versa. But now there is also a backside to the test where you have to select the most appropriate word from a group of four to complete the sentence. This can be difficult if you do not study sufficiently because the words to choose from are always similar in meaning.

The format of sakubun (compositions) has also changed. Previously we were given a topic to write anything we wanted about it. Now we receive a statement that we have to agree or disagree with and write our opinion. Before we write we split into small groups to discuss our opinions. This is done once a week although twice we have not had to write one. This week was one of those times. But we still had conversation time. This time it was about negotiation. There were three scenarios: In one you are at a restaurant and order spaghetti for lunch and it comes with a cup of coffee. You expect to pay 800 yen but the cup of coffee was 200 extra. You didnt order it but you drink it anyway. When you go to pay it is 1000 yen. Because the person who took the order made a mistake the restaurant believes you had placed the order.

Next you have gotten off the train and realize you have lost your ticket. You explain this to the station attendant. The other person is this attendant and you have to explain to them they still need to buy a ticket because there are many people who ride the train without paying for a ticket at all. Finally one person explains to their neighbor that their music is too loud and you’re trying to study. This person has just gotten home and wants to relax and listen to music.This was a frustrating exercise because I dont like it when such situations arise in the first place, but then again, who does?It reminds of one night when I went to an izakaya with my friend last quarter. At the entrance we were trying to figure out how much it would cost, and another worker came up to us. I was told to speak in English, because they could as well. They told us it was 500yen entrance fee, but that included a free drink. It was quite a boring place so after one drink, my friend and I decided to leave. Including the service charge and what not the bill came out to 2,400 yen. I told the waiter we didnt expect to pay this much based on what we were told at the entrance, and he said there is no free drink policy. When it seemed like I wasnt getting anywhere I asked to speak to the manager. I explained the situation again and he responded the same way. I told him the worker told me to speak in English and then gave me wrong information, which is the same as if it were said in Japanese to begin with. I said I know Japanese, so your worker made a poor decision by telling me to speak English. After complaining for longer than I ever wanted to the manager told me to please wait a moment and brought back another check for 1200. Needless to say I will not go back to that place.

Back to school, we had our midterm on tuesday. I feel that I did pretty well, but slightly disappointed by my performance on the kanji section. I was not able to answer 4 questions, two of which should have been no problem. But either way I am confident I passed all sections. The reading comprehension and grammar sections have changed from before in two ways. First, the grammar and reading are given in the same time slot, whereas before they were separated. The reading comprehension included all three readings we have studied so far. Previously it was only one, as well as one we hadnt studied yet.The listening had also changed a bit, in that some of the listening comprehension we had done in class were also on the test. Previously it was all new material, but generally seeming fairly easy.I will find out my test results this Thursday.

As for some general things about KCP, there is no food, but they do have drink vending machines, which have the cheapest prices I have ever seen in Tokyo, so that is nice. Come to think of it, they sell corn chowder in a can, so I guess that is food. There is a lounge with a microwave, which is the only room you are allowed to eat in at the school. There are trash cans on every floor with adjacent benches, those areas also permit consumption of food.The tea ceremony is on March 3rd. This means I only have one more week to prepare, but I feel like I should be ready, more so than I was the first time. Although the overall method of serving tea has changed this quarter many aspects remain the same, so I have a more solid grasp on things than I did last quarter.

This friday there is a school trip to a certain place which I have forgotten the name of. We will go by bus, and its famous for having Japan's oldest winery. This means I will have the opportunity for my first wine tasting. Expect a bottle that we can share when you arrive in Japan, or maybe an extra one to take back to America. Because the trip is on Friday I will not be able to practice the tea ceremony that day, so monday is my last practice session.

After the midterm last tuesday I participated in the filming of a Japanese tv show. They select the most unusual Japanese foods and give them to foreigners to see their reactions. Overall it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be, but thats not to say I didnt eat the grossest food of my life. There was a total of around 30 different foods, but they only filmed each person trying four. The first one I had was roasted salt water eel liver, which was definately the best. Next was monkfish liver, which was far worse than the time I had it at Pink Godzilla in Santa Cruz when Chris ordered it. The next thing was quite possibly the most foul thing I have ever eaten. Kani miso, which is essentially mixed and smashed crab guts, which happens to look like shit, literally. After eating all these things the director told me what they were, as well as giggling every time I ate something. The final dish was white, with lumps that resembled beans perhaps. It was very soft, and exploded in your mouth when you chewed it. I honestly had no clue what I was eating, and the director told me to take a big bite, then maybe I could figure it out. I did, as well as most of the hot sauce it was served with. Yet I still hadnt the slightest clue what I had just eaten. That concluded the filming session, but I realized the director left out the name of what I ate last. He tells me, but I didnt understand the word. Tanaka-san from KCP told me I ate fish testacles. They really weren't as bad as one might think, especially compared to the crab guts.

Yet as I went to the restaurant to meet my friends in celebration of finishing the test, every time I thought of what I had eaten, I felt as though I might throw up. Fortunately that did not happen, but burpings up that foul flavor was just about as bad I think. One of our teachers was at the restaurant, and I told her about the things I had eaten. I told her the kani miso was the worst, which suprised her because apparently she thinks its delicious. From that restaurant we went to another one, and we sang karaoke. As it turns out this teacher is an amazing singer.

I stayed out past midnight on Tuesday, so this was when I went home with my Chinese classmate. The interesting thing is that he actually lives with his mother and sister in Japan. I guess they all moved here together. Wednesday morning we ate some sort of soup with potatoes, carrots, Japanese squash, and some type of small grain which I actually dont know the name of. I believe his mother or sister had cooked it. It was good, but the flavor was a bit thin. I think with some type of spicing it could have been excellent.

The State of Things

Overall things have not been as exciting as they once were. While I used to be amazed with every passing day, daily life has reached the point where everything no longer surprises. I guess once you remain in one place long enough eventually you normalize yourself.

I shall start off with the most important subject, school. The other day, I received the second grammar test back and got an 89 on it. Unfortunately, about a week ago, I received my first grammar test back and only got a 64 on it so I had to retake it on Tuesday. I am confident that I passed it the second time around. On the most recently returned kanji test I got a 95, I only missed one problem. I took another kanji test, unfortunately I'm pretty sure I will get a 95 on that one too.

We also took the first grammar test regarding the Japanese proficiency test. I have a feeling I performed well on this test as well. I am planning to take the Japanese Language proficiency test in June, but I'm not sure exactly how this is possible because I thought it was only offered once a year. Regardless I paid the fee for the application form and later I will pay the test fee, which is around $50. I also filled out the application for the part time work permit earlier this week.

Last Sunday, February 3, was the Japanese holiday setsubun. This is a holiday marking the change from winter to spring based on the old calendar. Traditionally setsubun is a time to wish for good fortune in the upcoming year, however it is also said that on this night oni (demon) come out. In order to keep them out of the house sardine heads and holly are placed in the doorway. Yet this often doesnt seem to be enough to stop them, so when the demons get into the house you throw dried beans at them while saying oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi (Out with the demons, In with the good fortune). Since real demons probably don't exist, the father of the house often dresses up as a demon on this day in order to allow the tradition to be carried out. Additionally, the dried beans are eaten in accordance with your age (so If you're 25 you eat 25 beans).

Last friday at school we experienced the setsubun tradition in the classroom. We all ate the appropriate number of beans (some people ate more) and during the middle of class two demons burst into the room. Traditionally there is the green demon and the red demon. The only clothes they wear are usually shorts made of zebra or tiger skin. They also carry a golden staff. Fortunately we had plenty of dried beans in the classroom so by throwing them at the demons we were able to keep the evil out of our lives. Afterwards the students and the teacher cleaned up the beans together.

I have come to really like this one bar near my dorm. Although all three bartenders are really great one in particular has become a good friend of mine. I enjoy telling him about my experiences in Japan as well as showing him the poems I write, which he gladly corrects any errors I might have. Moreover, in order to complete my homework assignment for the setsubun I went to the bar and the people there taught me five common phrases using the word oni, and the barmaster drew a picture of oni for me.

Additionally someone else of significance from the bar is this Brazilian guy Chris. His mother is Japanese and father German, yet he was born in Brazil. I believe he has had some experience living in an isolated small community in the jungle, but now he has been living in Japan for around fifteen years. He has a Romanian wife so in addition to speaking his native language Portuguese he can also speak Romanian, as well as Japanese and English. Right now he does some type of construction related job for Toshiba.

We have had some very interesting conversations about Japan/Tokyo mostly centered on the fractured state of this city.On the surface Tokyo seems to be a wonderful glamorous place. The economy is doing well, crime is very low, and its probably the cleanest city I've ever been in. But if you can speak Japanese and you dig deeper certain surprising aspects appear seemingly out of nowhere. I believe the root of this problem is based on the size of Japan. Its only roughly the size of California but the population is disproportionally enormous. This has lead to a severe overcrowding of the train system which is the main mode of transportation for the city. This train is integral to their lifestyle and some people feel as if they can't even escape it.

This point was fantastically illustrated by one of the short animations I saw when I went to the independent film theatre. It was about a man who lived underneath the seat of the train. Someone would deliver him meals three times a day and he would always pay attention to everything that went on around him in the train. He would be partically bothered by those people who would blatently break the train manners, such as talking noisily on their cell phone. He often wondered what life would be like outside the train in a room that wasn't so small. Yet one day he sees himself sitting on a seat in the train and suddenly he is disillusioned. His life was so intrinsically linked to the train that he felt like he lived under the seat.

And now back to the so called real Tokyo. Fashion and materialism have taken a deathgrip of this city. I have never experienced a place where material possessions are believed to be so important. Often I walk down the street in Shinjuku and look at the passing girls and think to myself the outfit they are wearing probably costs more than all the clothes I have in Japan combined. I have talked to a few Japanese people about my thoughts about this superficial existence, and one of my friends told me he believes that most relationships in Japan dont work out well because people are so obsessed with appearance they easily forget that someone’s mentality and personality is far more important than the clothes on their body. As a result it is very refreshing to speak to girls that can just dress casually and be satisfied with that, but regardless I have received many phone numbers without a moment of hesitation from several girls who end up never answering my phone call. Other people I have met will talk to me at first and then after some point just break off communication, as if they suddenly no longer care whatsoever.The point is I can't think of any Japanese girls as a real friend that i've met in Tokyo outside of class, except maaaybe one, but she is 44.

Interestingly, to flip things around I have talked to many Japanese guys who I really enjoy as people. Two are just as good as any English speaking friends I have. But the interest in Japanese guys among the female KCP students is actually very low. According to one Malaysian girl, she doesnt like Japanese men because she always sees them looking at the adult magazines in the convenience stores. This is particularly interesting to me because as far as I know all the adult magazines are kept sealed in the store, yet right next to them are manga which almost invariably have a picture of a barely clothed woman on the cover. Yet, on the inside there's maybe only a few more pages similar to the cover while the majority is just comics.

Despite all of this, it doesn't stop Tokyo from being one of the most amazing cities in the world.

My lead picture taken from my flickr collection is of Tokyo viewed from across the Ueno Station train tracks.