The time has come!....

To end this blog because I am going to be returning to California May 31, 2006 w00t!

I'll be flying into San Jose airport at around 10:05am.

It's going to feel SO GOOD to be home....

 Becoming Maiko

Maiko are apprentice geisha (geiko). They are only found in Kyoto and are often used as the penultimate symbol of Japan.

Maiko are still young girls, so the social mastery they are expected to attain as accomplished Geisha is still not fully formed and Maiko are usually expected to dance, and be seen, and though performing tasks such as filling drinks they are not intended to entertain guests to the same degree as a Geisha."

As such an identifiable icon of Japanese traditional culture the Maiko are often in demand, especially for photography. A popular tourist activity in Kyoto is to catch a photograph of a Maiko hurrying to an appointment.

can you believe these are the same girls?

I recently went traveling during the second week of April to Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya and Gifu with my friend Miho. I got to meet Miho's family and was really embarassed....apparently Japanese families all share the same water in the bath! They were polite enough to let me bathe first but because I didn't know that...I pulled the plug after my bath and drained all the water.... much to their shock. o(>_<)o Other good memories include being chased by large groups of deer in the park (scary!) and Yoshino Mountain which is well known for being covered with cherry blossom trees.

Overall....Awesome food, awesome travel buddy, hilarious stories and awesome new friends made

By the way...becoming a Maiko was NOT FUN at all really....all the wax and make up all over your face and hair was really painful and gross! After hours of preparation and being bound tightly under layers of Kimono this was the uncomfortable end result...

KOWAI (scary) ne? And as we walked around Kiomizudera in our Maiko-costumes, so many tourists stopped and asked us to take a picture with them....I felt like a fraud O.o.....or a movie star. Same thing....hehehe.

Anyhow....my time in Japan is winding down...only one month left! And as I'm making preparations...it's all so sad....but life moves on eh? I will be SO excited to return home and see everyone....it's been a whole YEAR since I've seen family. I miss you crazy folk! And I can't wait to see the puppies! o^_^o Ok it's getting late....

Jaaa NE!

Currently Reading The Wind-up Bird Chronicles By Haruki Murakami see related

My friend Simone came to visit Tokyo this weekend! It made me consider going to Hong Kong to teach English....Megumi has already applied.

Megumi, Henry, Simone, Christina by Starbucks.

(look at how dark the circles are under my eyes...can we say OVERWORKED?)

Lucky Girl

siu=luck, good fortune  yuen=girl

Lately....I've been feeling really lucky and grateful that I have been afforded the opportunity to have good morals. I see people who feel compelled to follow paths to places they know they shouldn't go...because they feel that they have no other choice. A fellow Japanese co-worker recently made the decision to quit her job and move home to be with her boyfriend....but unfortunately they broke up. Now she's lost her job and is seriously considering the hostessing profession.... seeing that she hasn't any other choice. Of course I think there is ALWAYS another choice...but that choice is really difficult to make if you don't have enough money with which to eat every day....or if your parents didn't love you enough...

So many men run in and out of their children's lives...treating them like a burden. The other day in voice class, a student and I had the following conversation

businessman(lets call him bm): I left work to come practice English at NOVA! haha (thinks he is so funny)

me: AHaha...i see. You really want to learn English huh?

bm: Yes! And I am so busy. Too busy to spend time with family.

me: Really? How often do you see your family?

bm: I have to spend time with my children every two weeks.

me: You have to see them...every two weeks?

bm: Yes it is very troublesome. On my day off I want sleep all day!

As a kid...if I didn't see my father for a whole day...I'd feel a little concerned. But to grow up seeing your father every two weeks? As a kid I would always beg my father to leave me alone. "Get a life!!!"

I see so many women here treated awfully...the hostessing business is booming. More and more women that you know are intelligent and hard working  go into hostessing simply because it's an easy way to make money. They drink and karaoke with clients...and earn even higher salaries than those managing NOVA branches. (*cough* me)

It saddens me that Japanese women can only gain artificial worth by selling themselves. This society pretends to cater itself to women with it's cute products...but in reality it's using the cuteness as a form of institutionalized oppression...treating women like children and telling them that they cannot and should not compete in this male dominated business world...convincing them that it is not polite or femininine...that they are less of a woman...and also convincing them that their place is in the home. In that aspect....at least hostesses are making their own money instead of depending on a husband to provide for them?

my mother-my father figure

The fact that I am a part of what I call the *chan-clan* of amazon women is something i have always been proud of. My mother and her sister both provided strong role models of how women can take control and can succeed...each running her own thriving business. Even though my mother always jokes about marrying a rich husband to take care of all my problems(Haha..ha) or getting some corporate slave job to sell my soul for more money....I see through her into her compassionate heart. She was a social worker and counselor at one point. She knows how important it is to help others on a daily basis. Even today, through the way in which she conducts her business...her actions speak volumes. She is a striking example of how to balance family, success and morality...and as a result, has worked herself to the bone. I hope she can rest soon. >_< My mom is my superhero.

o daddio

Also, I consistently refer to psychological studies which show that children with strong father figures have much healthier views of relationships and their gender roles. They possess more confidence in themselves and rely less on relationships to define their self worth.

And that's why I love my dad. For not getting a life...and making his "life" his kids. Who else would get off work, pick us up from school because we hated daycare, drop us off at home and then return to work again for a few more hours?

That's my daddy. And that's why I am not stuck in an unhealthy relationship I am too scared to get out of. I know....you wonder why I don't have a boyfriend. I've tried! I've dated, but if it's not right....I am not afraid to break up or say goodbye (gently of course) but I acknowledge that it isn't our faults....we simply aren't compatible. And that day when I meet someone compatible...I'll know. And if that day doesn't come, that's okay too. Because no matter what, I will love my family, I will make a difference in this world, and I will continue to try and improve my compassion for all beings in this world.

* * *

My parents are going through serious empty-nest syndrome now that all the kids have left the house. Here are our adorable replacements.

Moxie and Turbee

PRECIOUS! o^_^o

Happy Girls Day!!! ^_^

Hina Matsuri

The Hina Matsuri or doll festival takes place on March 3rd every year. Its origins go back to China which had the custom of making a doll for the transferral of bad luck and impurities from the person, and then putting the doll in a river and forever ridding oneself of them. March 3rd celebrates Girls' Day in Japan, and from mid to late February families with daughters put out the dolls with the hopes their daughters will grow up healthy and happy. One superstition associated with this is that if they are late in putting away the dolls when the festival is over, their daughters will become old maids. Most displays consist of just a prince, (Odairi-sama) and a princess (Ohina-sama), but more elaborate displays include the dolls being part of a 5 or 7 tier diplay (hinadan), along with courtiers, candy, rice boiled with red beans (osekihan), white sake (shirozake), peach blossoms, diamond shaped rice cake (hishimochi), toys, and tiny furniture. Traditionally many parents or grandparents will begin their first display for their daughter, called hatsu zekku, when she is just a year old, but some families have passed their dolls down from generation to generation with the bride carrying her dolls with her to her new home. Aside from the displays, Japanese used to go view the peach blossoms coming out, drink sake with a blossom in it, and bathe in water with the blossoms. The blossoms represent desirable feminine qualities, including serenity, gentility, and equanimity.

* * *

The next step

Looking at where to put my foot down next after crossing the Pacific and stepping into Japan. London seemed awesome because I want to become a writer and really absorb myself in the British Literature I SO love!

But it's nearly impossible to get a visa to work in the UK. I'd have to do a student's visa and then try to live off minimum wage/part-time work unable to facillitate all the purchases I know I'll want to make in one of the hugest fashion capitals of the world.

Of course I miss home so much...but I know that once I go home and settle down...I won't want to leave again. And I might as well travel now while I'm young!

SO after perusing various options...teaching English in Korea appears to be an interesting one!

Why Korea?

1) I love Korean food. love love love. kimchee...jap che...bulgogi...calbi...jijemi...*drool*

2) The company I was looking at sponsors its teachers' visas...provides housing for 3 months...provides a stipend when you have to find your own apartment...even offers to pay for the round trip ticket getting u to Seoul. NICE!

3) Korean won is growing stronger and the Korean economy is pickin up the pace

4)  Modernity:: I've heard it's just like Tokyo

5) It's close to North Korea so maybe they won't bomb it as to avoid nuclear radiation spreading to their side of the fence

Drawbacks

1) I will smell so bad b/c of the Kimchee

2) Company doesn't list the salary

3) After growing accustomed to the very bland and mild mannered ways of quiet Japanese society...feisty Korea might be a HUGE culture shock. The korean students in Tokyo get mad ... sometimes for no reason! If they can't remember a word...they get mad! If they don't understand a word...they get mad! If they can't book a lesson time slot because it's already full...they get mad! That could get a little tiring after awhile... O.o maybe being in Tokyo has them super stressed...

4) I REALLY don't know anyone in Korea

5) Would prefer to get in touch w/roots and go to China...and the olympics will be there so demand for English is high...and I want formal training in Chinese dance.

I am also researching teaching in China...possibly Bejing. I'd like to learn Mandarin. But the Chinese language schools pay around $300-600/month...when I'm earning nearly 7 or 8 times that amount in Tokyo! >_< But come to think of it...with Tokyo prices, I'm spending nearly that much as well.

I think Chinese students will be easier to teach than Japanese simply because they think at a faster pace. Japanese people are not accustomed to change and I find that unless they've lived overseas, speaking English  naturally is incredibly challenging for them simply because the difficulty they have switching between two languages and thinking on their feet. Many of the Chinese programs offer housing and cultural enrichment...but the salary is sooo low....I know it would be a really rewarding experience but after being spoiled in Tokyo, I don't know if I'd be able to handle China!

And I don't want to get my father's hopes up...particularly the one about my marrying a chinese man.