Stupidity at 10h30 am

This morning, I was watching tv and there was your usual eating competition taking place.  There is one every Wednesday morning between Garu sonne (who I can’t stand) and a group of people.  Today, one of the guest was a gravure idol.  These kinds of idols are women who pose in bikinis within a men’s magazine.  This one had large breast and this was driven by the show’s announcers and camera man.  They constantly kept showing her breast and zooming on them.  The model did not help, since she kept touching them and making them the center of attention.  Also, they compared her bra size to other people to show how large they were.  For all you curious people, she had a bra size of P in Japanese terms. I do not know what that is in North American terms, but someone out there surely knows.  I’ll admit that at first I was liking seeing the girl, but after a while it bothered me.  My main problem was the fact that this was happening at 1oh30 in the morning.  If it were the same time, but at night I would have no qualms with this.  Its just that I find overly sexual imagery so early in the day on a  channel that a child could see no problem is not right.  If it is on cable like say the Playboy channel, everything is normal.  But, when it is on  say the Today show and they are obsessed with a girls breast, something is seriously wrong.

You are probably wondering what they were eating.  Think an extra long spring roll.  So, the show played the sexual card a little too strongly for me for that time of day.  Like I said, I enjoy such things, but just not so early on a public channel.

Cold

Lately, the temperature has started to go down.  No big surprise there, since we are in the autumn season.  The thing that bugs me is the people who barely wear a coat or have a short skirt or very short shorts on.  It’s cold outside, but some people have to look fashionable even do their health is at risk.  I find it incredible that all over the world, people consider fashion more important than being healthy.  For myself, I have no problems wearing clothing that will keep me warm and keep the common cold away from me for a while.  Here the fashion for women is short shorts that often barely covering anything.  The girls wore these in the summer, no problem.  But now, they still do even do the temperature is around 12 degrees Celsius and that is without the wind chill.  To me it makes no sense.  The thing is, I never really cared about fashion and hopefully never will.

Garbage cans

Here in Tokyo, it is very difficult to find a trash can.  You have to walk for a long time and search like crazy to find one.  This is weird, when you constantly see messages saying to keep the city clean.  I want to, but they make it difficult when there are no public trash cans easy to find.  I have become used to this, but it still bothers me sometimes.  If you have garbage think in advance that you will not get rid of it so soon.

B-day week-end

Last week-end was my 27th b-day.  It was a very nice one, even do I am far from my family and the majority of my friends.  On Saturday, I went to see Blade runner: the final cut.  I did not know it was playing in theaters until that very day.  So, it was a nice surprise.  The movie has some slight changes from its previous incarnations, but still good.  The best thing was seeing all the changes and the improvements made to the sound and image on the big screen.  Afterwards, I went to a restaurant and ate a nice lunch.  This followed by the purchase of pieces of cake that were simply delicious.  That was it for Saturday.

On Sunday, I went to the Chinatown in Yokohama with my sister and some of her friends who I know.  I got a little cake from them and some cute presents.  I had to eat the cake with my hands, since no one brought a fork for it, but I did not mind.  It felt nice to back in time to when I was a small kid eating cake.  While in Chinatown, we took the time to look at all the stores and food sold here.  But, it was cold with the wind blowing constantly.  Because of this, we decided to go somewhere for a while before supper.  Finally, we decided to sing at a local karaoke bar.  Fun times, fun times.  I love karaoke and had not done it in a long time.  So, it felt nice to do it again.  After we were done, we all went to a Chinese restaurant and afterwards, left for our respective homes.

So all in all,  it was a great 27th b-day.  Also, I was happy to see b-day wishes from my family and friends in my e-mail account.  It is always nice to see that people have not forgotten me even do I am far away.  I have most certainly not forgotten them, since they are always on my mind.

Weird encounter and scared looks

    Yesterday, I walk around before going to McDonalds to study like I usually do.  On my trekking, I saw a group of young elementary kids.  One of them was a little girl who looked at me and suddenly grabbed the arm of her nearest friend while keeping an eye on me.  I was doing nothing to make her afraid of me at all.  Guess she was used to seeing a gaijin with a red beard and bushy hair.  It is funny and bothersome sometimes how people don’t seem to be used to seeing a person with a different skin color.  I have to admit, I expected such reactions, but after a while I don’t want them anymore.  Now, I would just like to be considered like anyone else.

Later in the day, I waited for my sister and her friend to go out shopping.  We gave ourselves a meeting point at one of the exits o the Shinjuku metro.  As is the case with me, I arrived there in advance and waited for them.  To help pass the time, I was reading a book and listening to some music from my mp3 player.  Sometimes, I would look around to see if they had arrived.  While I was looking, I saw a Japanese girl with big blond hair held in place with a lot of hairspray.  Also, she had a lot of makeup on with a pink flowery dress and pink high heels.  I can tell you it was one hell of a look and not in a good way.  Eventually, the people she was waiting for arrived… they had the same look as her…. freaky.

After this, I kept waiting for my sis and her friend.  At one point, two guys decided to come talk to me for some unknown reason.  I tried to ignore them by not giving them any sign of life, but they did not give up.  So, I stopped reading my book and listened to them.  They talked to me in English and presented themselves.  One was from Korea, the other guy I can’t remember.  Me, I only answered in French to all their questions, hoping they would give up.  Eventually, they understood to live me alone.  I spoke them in French from previous advice that came from my sister.  She had told me once to only speak in French, when some stranger tries to talk to you here.  So, I followed this advice and it worked.  The only thing is, my lie was weak, since I understood what they were saying and not hiding it.  Also, I was reading an English book in plain view.   Still, they bought the idea that I could not speak any English and left me alone.  In the end, my sis and her friend arrived and I did not get any other weird encounters yesterday.

At least this does not happened on a regular basis.  Yesterday, just seemed to be a day where people noticed me more for some unknown reason.

Construction

All around me are construction sites.  Just outside of my house,  they are redoing the sidewalk and across the street doing I do not know what.  Ever since I have arrived, I constantly see work sites for renovations to a building or making new one.  The only thing is they don’t seem to let one finish, before starting a new one.  But the worse,, is the hours that they work.  One team works during the day, while another one goes at it late at night.  To be more precise, you can hear them at around 1h am using a pile driver.   You  would think the construction would be done faster, since they have two teams working in rotation.  But no, as far as I can see they go just as fast as anywhere else.  Hopefully, they will soon  finish the work that is being done near my house.  So, I will not have to hear construction late at night.

Sumo part 2

Yesterday was the start of the Kyushu Sumo tournament.  I only get the end of it, but it was still worth it.  I got to see the Mongolian Yokozuna compete and lose.  This is his second tournament as the head of the sumo world and both times he has not won on the first day.  The previous time he had bounced back to win it with a 13-2 record.  I can’t wait to see if he will do this again.  The fun thing about watching it on tv is the fact that at 5h pm until the end the commentary is given in English.  I love this, since I don’t have to guess what is happening all the time.  Furthermore, the announcers give some interesting information on the athletes and the sport during the broadcast.  I am not a huge fan of sumo, but I find myself interested in watching it.  I just hope this tournament will be as interesting as the previous one.

Update on me

For this post, I will not write about something I have seen or my opinion on a specific matter.  I will just give all of my friends an update on how I am doing.

I am still looking for a job.  For the moment, nothing is clicking, but I do get some callbacks from companies.  So, I at least get noticed when I apply to them.  Currently, three websites help me to find job openings in many companies.  Even do, I do not have any experience teaching a language to someone, I do have some teaching to kids.  That is why, I usually aim for schools who’s clientèle is children, since I have taught to them and I enjoy it.  Yesterday, I applied to one that looked good and I got an e-mail from the website that posted the position.  It told me that there were 7 other people vying for the position so far.  This is good, since there were times that I was the 200th person trying for the job.  So, I am a foot in the door in some places.  Just to make sure that I can get the rest of my body in.

On the Japanese language front, I am still studying on a daily basis.  I try to revise what I have learned everyday.  Furthermore, I attacked a new chapter from the book I am using once a week.  I am doing it this way, since it was the method used by my former Japanese teacher and I liked the method.  Also, the book I am using was recommended by her. Therefore, I have no doubt that my progress in learning will continue.

So far, I have learned a few Kanjis, but there is still a long way to go.  The number of recognized Kanjis by the government is around 1,900 words.  I have memorize about 10 or 15.  It is not many, but it’s a start on the right path.  To help me improve, I have decided to try to read the manga Death note.  I have seen the two movies that were based on it and I enjoyed them.  I do not know enough yet to read everything, but on the right side of each kanji is its hiragana version.  With this, I can check in my english-japanese dictionary and see what the word is.  Hopefully, my comprehension will grow faster this way.

In the end, I am staying strong and working hard to succeed here.

Sport fans

Yesterday, I was watching a volleyball match between the Japanese team and the Thai team. The thing that got most of my attention was the crowd of people supporting the Japanese team. They were backing them 100%, which is what you would expect from the host country when their team is playing. Still, they went further than what I am used to. During the entire game, they would constantly chant Nippon and bang two sticks three times together in rapid succession. Furthermore, the whole crowd was doing this in perfect harmony. This is nothing new for people who have seen crowds of fans at baseball games in the States (with the towels) or a hockey game in Montreal. The difference is the fact that they never gave up the chant, even when the their team was not in the lead. Usually, fans quiet down when they are losing, but not the Japanese ones. They keep pouring it on.

I was impressed to see such enthusiasm from the people. Also, this is not limited to volleyball, but to all sports practiced in Japan. When Japanese people love something, they give it their all and that is something that has an impact on me. It helps me to keep my chin up, during the difficult times. For example: my studying the language. It is far from easy, but I love it and I am not giving up. Especially, since I can some progress on my part and I am now able to read a few kanjis. Something, I was not able to do before my arrival here. Just seeing, those fans in an uproar made me smile and surprised me.

Kabuki theater

Today, me and my sister went to see one of the traditional theater art forms of Japan.  Kabuki is well known for its overacting and simple sets, while the No is known for slow movements and masks on the faces of the actors.  We both did not feel like seeing the latter, that is why we went for the extreme acting.  Usually, plays in this format lasts for hours and are not cheap.  But, you can buy a one act ticket and only pay 1000 yen or less for it (it amounts to about 10$ or less).  An act lasts for about an hour, so you get a good idea of what it is within this time.  I have to say, that an hour was sufficient to me.  The first part, of the play that I saw,  consisted in a celebratory dance that has some influences from the No theater.  The movements were graceful and calculated.  At certain precise moments, the performer would stomp the wooden floorboards or make a drastic move.  The music was performed by an on stage band that plated the shamisen and some small drums.  The performance was good, but got a bit boring after a while.  But, I was wearing an earphone rented from the theater to understand what was happening all the time.  This helped a lot, because without it I would have not figured out anything that was taking place on the stage.  After the dancing, there was a brief intermission, where the stage hands prepared the stage for the next part.  This one consisted in a brief piece of a larger play that has not been performed in its entirety for a long time now.  The second piece of the act was more fun to watch, since there was a story taking place and not just a dance.  It consisted of two men who become Tosa, which an important title for painters in the old days of Japan.  Both of these men, perform a feat that is supernatural in nature.  The play was fun to watch, but was a bit too long for my taste.  Even do, I felt bored at certain moments, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience of Kabuki theater.  Especially, since this kind of performing is not found in North America.