Jackson gets Lost: a study abroad blog thing

Ninja desert. I got it when i ate out at Ninja, a nice little...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 07:07:24 -0500

Ninja desert. I got it when i ate out at Ninja, a nice little themed restaurant in Akasaka. There was also plenty of various stores and the like around. And let us not forget that less then 100 feet away was a Hooters, which was, at the very least, a sight.

Luffy from one piece. I used to read the Manga, and i thought it...

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 21:13:00 -0400

Luffy from one piece. I used to read the Manga, and i thought it was pretty good, but it has been around forever since then, so now i guess even if i wanted to start reading the manga, it would take me 10 years to catch up, and by then i would have to read another ten years worth.

In Japan, One Piece has the highest readership of any Manga, and it has broken records with how many people bought the books. Pretty much, it is the equivalent to the avengers perhaps? Or maybe easy comparisons with occidental material is pointless? whatever, this statue was kinda great.

It was inside the Shonen Jump store, which the group i was with wanted to see. All i wanted was Dinner, but had i the money, i would buy stuff all day.

This was the Tokyo dome area. It was real pretty up on this...

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 21:10:51 -0400

This was the Tokyo dome area. It was real pretty up on this ride. We went up real high, shutterbugged, and got shot right back down. Great view though.

Annual Festival of the Nezu Shrine

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 09:04:00 -0400

When we first arrived at the Ihouse, eyes still glazed over from a lack of sleep, we had our orientation. Important people whose jobs and duties were quite important explained to us that we had missed several big festivals, and talked about how great they were.

Then he explained that a festival was happening real soon, and that we should go! he also said we would get free Tabi, which are those neat shoe-sock-shoes.

so i went, got free shoe socks, and watched as twenty or more men lifted this great big shrine on their shoulders, and started reeling us along with them. Some people, who believed they were smart, knew that their shoulders would probably hurt, and stayed in the back, only to be coaxed into helping every so often, as they DID sign up for it, and getting free socks without doing stuff is never a good way to start a school year.

Other people, who also believed they were smart, jumped under the shrine without any real motivation for doing so, except that they got to become an actor in a cultural event (as opposed to an observer), only to be coaxed into helping the minute they decided they needed a break, stepped out of line, and got motioned back underneath by the nice people running the thing.

I was a part of the latter group. I was quite excited by everything, and i gave it my all, until i realized the carrying the quite heavy shrine was going to be a four hour task. Then i gave it my all against my will, because i was pulled into the panic again and again. And long into the night, dog tired, i still carried that thing on my shoulders.

and the more i carried, the more i started chanting with everyone and yelling and all that mess. And it was fun, even though i wasn’t quite sure what was happening, what everything represented, and all that jazz. But i do know that at one point, i was way up front, and the man asked what my name was. And when i told him, he started a loud chant for me, and everyone cheered my name for a bit. It made me feel like less of a Gaijin, which means foreigner.

In front of the shrine we carried, there was a group playing the taiko drums and either a Ryuteki or a komabue, which are traditional Japanese flutes. (if i’m not mistaken, i’m pretty sure they were a Komagaku group, which plays court music with solely winds and percussion.) Here is a little snippet.

Japanese Festival Sep 16th 2012 (by TheJacksoo)

Anyhow, It was all quite moving and different, and it was definitely a good way to start the year.

One fun thing is eating western type foods. This, for example,...

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 08:27:00 -0400

One fun thing is eating western type foods. This, for example, was a meal i ordered at a Hawaiian themed pancake place. It has Mexican chili, a salad, potato wedges, and it was delicious. At other places it was a similar type of mixing of familiar stuff, with us going to a family Italian place, where i ate cheese fondue and a hamburger steak combination. It was also good, but never would i have expected that.

This was a busy intersection in the shopping area of Shinjuku....

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 07:37:00 -0400

This was a busy intersection in the shopping area of Shinjuku. We were followed by this guy who looked like the band guns and roses put on one Japanese person (Slash Hat and axel rose hair so on.) We ducked into an eatery called YAI YAI, and not only was it delicious, i asked for the check “Betsu Betsu”, which was a pro move.

This sign meant either “if you touch something with...

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 07:32:00 -0400

This sign meant either “if you touch something with Gun-finger it will explode” or “Train runs on static shocks from commuters like you”. It was great.

At the train station i found a Dragon Ball Z energy drink! it...

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 02:58:00 -0400

At the train station i found a Dragon Ball Z energy drink! it tasted alright, but i got Yamcha flavor, which is guaranteed to make me a terrible fighter.

Daihondo Hall at Narita temple. After about a hundred steps, I...

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:58:00 -0400

Daihondo Hall at Narita temple. After about a hundred steps, I made it onto this big old platform, which was huge and impressive and pretty moving. They had a service when i went, which is to say, they chanted and smashed a gong.

One more before bed. This guy had no takers. I hope he was in...

Mon, 28 May 2012 02:36:12 -0400

One more before bed.

This guy had no takers. I hope he was in the business of delivering babies, not just wearing creepy shirts.

Goodnight!

Ok, This was after a lame party. Maybe. Or maybe our boy band...

Mon, 28 May 2012 02:06:00 -0400

Ok, This was after a lame party. Maybe. Or maybe our boy band just played it’s last show. Who knows?

Me, Floyd, Mike, Clint

And this is my nephew. We live in suburbia, we think this is...

Mon, 28 May 2012 02:02:00 -0400

And this is my nephew. We live in suburbia, we think this is cute.

These are mah pals! They have names. Jairus, Mike, Me, Aleena.

Mon, 28 May 2012 02:01:08 -0400

These are mah pals! They have names.

Jairus, Mike, Me, Aleena.

I just woke up, and then there was a deer. Good morning Jackson,...

Mon, 28 May 2012 01:48:00 -0400

I just woke up, and then there was a deer. Good morning Jackson, how was sleeping in the really cold in the park? It was cold and rewarding.

Moneys for airplane tickets

Mon, 28 May 2012 01:26:19 -0400

Moneys for airplane tickets

I recorded this with a tin can, sure. The quality is kinda...

Mon, 28 May 2012 01:24:56 -0400

I recorded this with a tin can, sure. The quality is kinda terrible sure. But it was a Saturday well spent.

Introductions.

Mon, 28 May 2012 01:21:07 -0400

Hello. Nice for you to drop by. This is the warm up for a project i am going to do. I like to think its me starting and getting past all obstacles of habit.

I mean, the hardest part of anything is starting, right?

Let me explain. I am going to Japan. While there, i am going to have this as a public journal (my private journal will be hidden, no peekin at it). And i want to actually use it. I suppose i don’t care if i have an audience. But this is me working on the use of my FILDI.

Anyhow,

Here i will say, “Look at me, i am in a different place with different customs and a tenuous grasp of the language! isn’t culture wonderful?”

And i will hope to say that by “showing” you my trip, Not just telling you what i do!

Telling you is kinda boring. It gets all that info across, sure. But where is the romance? Where is the adventure? Where is that journey i am trying to take you on with me anyways?

Well to answer myself, it is going to come around in September. Then i get to walk around wide eyed and silly faced everywhere i go. Making friends. Getting angry at shy people (the kind that go out of their way to be shy, not the shy-by-nature-people). Drinking a bit i suppose. Ok, drinking the appropriate amount.

And you get to come along with me! It will be fun, promise. I’ll find art and show ya, I’ll record videos and shows and neat things! I’ll also talk about real interesting sociocultural concepts as i adjust to life in japan!

For example, Right now i am fascinated with the construct of traditional gender roles as they relate to power. So the question is, how related are they? And all that.

Ans: (pretty much completely)

Anyways, until then, i am warming up.

Which means i will just talk about myself, review movies (not like “this movie was awesome! :P”, but like, actually study movies), talk about politics and abstractions and the news. So on, so forth. Really, whatever i wanna do.

Alright. See you soon. Loves ya.