The Confessions of a Gaijin

Hey, it's an update . . . yeeeah

2006-06-21T13:47:00.000+09:00

so, does anyone actually reads this anymore (after 8 months of silence I can't imagine why) ? Still I felt like posting something here before I go home (on next sunday). I'm not really glad to be going home, I'd much rather stay here longer. There are lots and lots of reasons why, and I don't really feel like going into them. Anyways this blog is probably defunct as of now (as if it wasn't already). I may start a new one, but as you can see I'm not really good at updating these things. so bye bye whoever may actually check this.

So . . .yeah . . . about that . . .

2005-10-13T10:56:00.000+09:00

Okay so promising once weekly is going to be harder than I thought. It's jsut hard to find a nice time to sit down and pour myself onto the paper (electronic mass distributed paper in this case). I wish I had my own computer than I could update more often.

Anyways what has happened in the last week-ish? Well I caught ANOTHER cold. Yes I am like fly paper for viruses it appears. My presence sends all microbial life into I feeding frenzy where my cellular tissues are the poor little fishies.

My contacts have yet to reveal themselves. (NOTE: My typing is horrible today, I am sick and my wrists are very stiff) My Rotary club is apparently very nervous about getting them for me, I have already told them my parents are fine with them and that they are willing to pay for them if need be. I can do Kendo without them but I can only get so good, my lack of vision makes me disoriented and just makes the whole experience very difficult.

I went for lunch with Geoff of Donkeymon.net he's a cool guy. He's been here now for three years and told me about Pizza hut's half price sale on the 8th, 9th, and 10th of each month. This may not seem big to all of you but when Pizza costs $30 a pie it's HUGE. I can go in get a medium (US small) for $10! WEEE! More over Pizza Hut has this Korean pizza called Puroki . . . something I forget, but it is absolutely DIVINE. It puts to shame all the filthy pizza you have had in the past, it sits up there with Papa Dell's as some of the best pizza in the world. Thankyou Geoff I will now too wait every month expectantly for the 8th, 9th, and 10th to come around and I shall gorge myself on delicous pizza.

So on Tuesday-ish I switch host families. Time has really flown here. I like it here, I feel used to the family, the house is in a nice location, with a nice view. The mother may be hard but It's not really all that different from home. Oh well My next host family is filthy rich, and the host dad is a really nice guy, we'll see how I deal.

Nothing all that important happened for now. I'll try and talk to you all again soon.

A long post

2005-10-04T16:07:00.000+09:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. It's been busy and all that.
UPDATES: I got the phone all is well, kendo is fine for now but I'm looking into gettting contacts.
the following is basically a carbon copy of the letter I sent to my Rotary CLub a few minutes ago (I know I'm lazy but if sums up the last month pretty well).

So Septemeber was a busy month. I started school on the 1st, Where I gave a short speech to the whole school, which went well Everyone was very impressed that I could even speak Japanese. I started Kendo Club Which meets every day, so I've been a little tired. I got a bad cold about two weeks ago, got over it, and now I have a bit of a stomach flu, but It's going away. School is good, I have some interesting classes like Visusal Design, Calligraphy, and Music. I also have about an equal number of English classes and Japanese Private lessons. English class is interesting because there is some teacher-student interaction and I get used as a teacher now and then. The Private lessons are also very nice because they give me some one-on-one Japanese study. Classes sometimes get boring though, it's mostly because here the teacher just lectures while the students sleep making a not so active enviroment (hence my mentioned like of english classes, that and the American teacher here is a really fun guy). Oh yes the teachers are very helpfull. My homeroom teacher speaks very good english so he often helps me out with all the important stuff I need to do, like preparing for the school trip in late October.
At home things are fine. I change host families on the 18th (Yeah they change families every two months here in Saitama Prefecture!). My next Host Father looks like a fun guy, he took me and a former exchange student out for sushi last friday and It was a lot of fun. I've made friends here and I sometimes hang out with them on weekends or when I don't have Kendo practice, We often go to the big shopping areas or sometimes I go play basketball on a street court near school. Biking to school can be miserable when It's raining (also gave me that cold a few weeks ago), but unfortunately thats the way they do it here so I have to live with the soaking wetness. A raincoat helps but it's still not pleasant. We started wearing the Winter uniform last week, but it's not really very warm so I hope that let us wear coats in the winter (This may seem like a silly worry but based on my experience so far with their dress code I wouldn't be suprised if they didn't let you). I have meade friends with a lot of former exchange students (all Canadian) and a english teacher who lives a couple blocks away. Life here is pretty good I can go to lots of places just by taking the train (I've be to Tokyo a couple times, and last sunday I was sent by my self (as a kind of challenge) to Nikko a World Heritage spot about an hour and a half north by train). I'm generally happy, ocassionally in the evenings I get a little down ( I miss my friends who are all now in college) but School the next day all ways makes me feel better. At the moment the only issue I have is with getting contacts. Basically with my horrible eyes playing Kendo is difficult so we are working towards getting some contacts for me to use during practice. Anways things are good and I hope you all are doing well.

Yeah I'll try and keep a once a week update schedule from now on. Oh yeah if you need something to do go to my deviantart account (Link in Upper right corner of page) or here: donkeymon.net/donkeymon this guy lives two blocks from me a teaches english here he's pretty cool so go check him out and wish him well!

school and stuff

2005-09-02T17:31:00.000+09:00

Yesterday was teh first day of school but it was only a few hours long. Today was the summer homework exam, and classes for 3rd year students. but after was the first club meetings. So today was also my first Kendo practice. For me it was horrible, first time in Hakama (which was actually better for the legs but worse on the arms) but the worst part was that I had to take of my glasses to wear the Men. Now I have a -4.25 perscription so I was completely disoriented and very confused, that added to the fact that the called out the exercises in Japanese and spoke very softly had me lost. The other problem is some of the members (it a very small club 6 now 7 people) are almost 2/3 MY HEIGHT! You see I`m used to slamming into Brian (taller than me) and Abe (my height) so when I slam into the students here my fists are much to high. All of this added together made me very nervous confused and unfocused, and as Brian and Abe surely have noticed when I lose focus my technique goes straight to hell. I`m going to ease myself slowly back into Kendo that should help alot.
Anyway, I FINALLY GOT A E-MAIL FROM CHISAKO!!!! WOOT!! She was my host sister in Tokyo who I hung out with alot, It took like 15 or 20 e-mails but she finally got one. YES! This is very good news so you can leave happy now, now go away! AWAY WITH YOU!

Phone-ey

2005-08-29T21:23:00.000+09:00

Well I`m trying to shop for a cell phone, but I need one the works on prepaid (no contract) and my Japanese and the store clerks english is not good enoguh for them to understand what I`m asking and what they are saying. So I`ve e-mailed someone who should be able to help, but nonetheless this thing is is one big SNAFU. well eventually I`ll figure it out. がんばれ！

Typhoonee

2005-08-26T06:50:00.000+09:00

yuck . . . I can`t sleep right now because of this damn Typhoon. it`s right on top of us now and my window keeps on going "BANG! BANG! BANG!". Yesterday we spent the day in Tokyo, lots of fun but kind of rainy. I said goodbye to two new friends, Daryll and Brian, Good luck with married life, the new house, and some little babies! Well till next time またした。

The new Jack-o

2005-08-24T07:46:00.000+09:00

Dear Mr. Jack Thompson (please excuse any typo`s or odd characters, this Japanese keyboard is slightly different),
I do not want you to die, killing is wrong. I oppose killing, especially is the name of "justice" or "retribution" (also called revenge). But what you do is also wrong, you lie and you manipulate, you are a hypocrite who insults people, they`re parents, and they`re intelligence. You use crude tactics derivative of a child going "You`re stoopid[sic] and your mother smells like poo[sic]" while kicking said scion of the odd smelling mother on the ground. And when the kid tries to get a teacher you just scratch yourself and claim that you were attacked and that the poor kid gave himself those bruises to get attention, JUST LIKE YOU YOURSELF ARE DOING AT THIS VERY MOMENT JACK THOMPSON. On behalf of all the people who are insulted by you, outraged at you, and disappointed in you I ask you to CEASE AND DESIST. I don`t want to hear another word concerning the man known as Jack Thompson ever again. I am not even twenty and you are giving me an ulcer. Please for the love of peace and the love of my sanity if not everyone else's, go live in the mountains and forget about this world, in the end it won`t matter. In fact right now I feel like going for a nice stroll and playing with my niece Saya, she has so much to hope for, and I don`t want you to make her think that all the world`s people are mean and crude. Instead I would like her to grow up in a world of loving and welcoming people. Goodbye Mr. Thompson I hope that I can meet you some day a world where you and those like you can leave the rest of us in peace.

Goodbye, I am hoping for something better,
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Tomek
P.S. Follow the link above to see and interesting story about yourself. I`m sure your enjoying the attention.

ONSEN!!!

2005-08-22T19:12:00.000+09:00

So I went up to the mountains the past two days after staying with my host family`s daughter, her husband, and her oh so very cute daughter aya~chan. Then I went with Mr. and Mrs. Aoki and Ono along with Darrel (former exhange student to Japan) and her husband Bob, to Nasu (which by the way also means eggplant!). The onsen (hot spring) was great. Today we came back and stoppped at every attraction on the way, so now I am very tired, goodnight, oyasumi!

Greetings from JAPAN

2005-08-20T12:55:00.000+09:00

Hello everybody I am now in Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan. I:m tired but excited. well as I am tired, thats all for now, till next time.

It's time

2005-08-18T14:59:00.000+09:00

Well tommorow (well actually today) I leave for Japan at 10:00-ish. I will try and keep in touch with everyone also if you want to talk to me:
t3hjackofspades@gmail.com
or leave a comment with your e-mail in it. I hope to see all my friends soon and stay strong! Ganbare!

Pretty Pictures

2005-08-02T03:05:00.000+09:00

Hello out there. This post isn't really about me going to Japan (at least not directly) instead it is about my artistic endeavors. . . I was sitting around tnking of somethign to draw an I decided to draw Link from The Wind Waker, I'm thinking about drawing a doujin (parody) while I'm in Japan ( <-- see CONNECTION) based on the Legend of Zelda. Anyways the first image is pre-colour and only has minor digital editing, the second is full colour, and looks spiffy. This was drawn on 8"1/2 x 11" acid free paper with a .5 mm mechanical (I know I know, I just like the precision) pencil, and then inked with felt inking pens, scanned on 1 bit colour (B&W) on 300 dpi, edited in PhotoStudio 5 (like PhotoShop only shitty) and then resized to 550x(about 760). enjoy:

Link in (mostly) original ink

Link in full colour

And there you have it . . . yes now say something nice or go away. Seriously.

UPDATE NUMBER ONE!!!!!

2005-07-26T14:51:00.000+09:00

Well then, time for a brief updae on my status. I have a few Rotary-related things left: Getting my flags, printing bussiness cards, making my powerpoint presentation. I am also waiting on my Visa and my travel times. What else . . . Oh yes need to finish repainting the garage so I can make cash. . . playing Prince of Persia Sands of Time. Good game, hell ass anoying when you lose your dagger (Now Rewinds!!!). Anyways till we meet again!

An Aquaintance With Genius

2005-07-22T04:53:00.000+09:00

What is this? What IS THIS?!?! Why it is a blog you fool! have you not come across this phenomenon whilst perusing the interweb? If you have not let me inform you as to the dealings of this illustrious machine.

The "Blog" (short for "Web Log") is a form of electronic journal capabale of easy viewing by many people in many places. Some are trite, and consist of the petty struggle of middleclass suburbia. Some pathetic, consisting of the emotional and vengefull whinings of young girls and boys who mistakenly feel others care about there deep and obviously genuine angst and suffering. Yet others are the wonderful fictional writing of literary geniouses such as the besplendid Turbo Greg. But this Blog is something else, something else indeed. This monumental history I shall proceed to catalog shall bring life to the most listless realms of thought and fantasy, it shall redefine the meaning of literature, it shall be more than anyone ha dared to dream of, this shall be my "Confessions of a Gaijin"! Yes in the following year you shall be awestruck by my first hand account of life as a foreigner in the exotic nation of Japan. I shall regail you with stories of ancient customs, tales of great excursions, and my own observations over the course of the next year.

Now I do believe introductions are in order. You shall refer to me as "Archiver of Wisdom", "Sage of Knowledge", or "Chronicler of Travels" under formal situations. If you are unfamiliar with me you may adress me personally as "Tomasz". If you are familiar with my personage you have the wonderful privelige to call me by the name: "Tomek". Feel proud o wise few who I bestow this honour upon, for you are they who will inherit my legacy.

NOW GAZE UPON MY BEING!

Feel free to introduce yourselves. Pictures are acceptable though they shall all pale in comparison to my flawless facade.

In the future I shall continue to publish my writings. During this next month they shall consist of my preperation for departure and possibily and certain amount of events unrelated to my departure or Japan but that I deem worthy of mention. Goodbye until we meet again.