目茶CICADA

One of my main goals and focal points in Japan was to note the differences in native wildlife in such a wildly different part of the world. Of course, in a less scientifically worded statement, that means I want to see monkeys running around, but that will come later, and I wait patiently. In the mean time, I must be content with things like cicadas, bats, and big spiders.

Recently though, we made a day trip to the original capital of Japan: Nara. Yes, we originally went to see the time-sensitive treasures displayed from the Nara era, objects over a thousand years old, the famous To-daiji temple housing the daibutsu - giant Buddha - and see hundreds of pieces of ancient Buddhist art and sculptures, as well as pagodas and ponds surrounded by incredibly halcyon scenery, but the real star of the show was the wildlife - deer, to be precise.

Lots of deer.

And they were just, like, there. No cages, no walls. They ran across streets and were just as wild as the deer one might see in Vancouver, but certainly less timid. Thankfully, the locals were kind enough to provide what appears to either be a warning to be careful around the deer, or a manual on how to kick a human's ass as a deer.

Press 'X' to Butt!

 

 

Following that trip, I made a second visit to Japan's second capital(Kyoto), spending time doing what has so far been my favourite activity in Japan: just hanging out with real Japanese people. Of course, being the middle of November, it is leaf-changing season, and we were able to see a lot of momiji - Japanese maples in the midst of changing colours - while touring around the city.

There were also various live acts, such as traditional dances put on by students ranging from elementary school to university, going on everywhere, from temples to train stations. The only downside was being an obviously white person amidst many other kankoukyaku - sight-seers.

Mao found it especially pertinent that I should learn Japanese quickly, and decided not to use English for most of the day. It was harsh(as I was at my limit just listening to her and parsing her sentences, so most of my responses were just a nod and an "un") but it certainly worked wonders as a motivational tool.

A little anecdote mostly for Dave:

I feel I should mention that last week, we were subjected to a "cultural sports day"(I hesitate to call it by its title because of how it actually turned out), which followed the cultural... THINGS day we had a while back(remember how I was teaching students how to attend a hockey game in Canada?). Last week was the Japanese students' turn, and we played a host of games that all resembled games that we were familiar with(Duck Duck Goose, Freeze Tag) and ended up playing a rousing game of dodgeball. 

This week, however, was the Canadians' turn to come up with something. We were at a loss for some time(hockey wasn't really an option due to the lack of basic equipment); California Kickball was nixed due to them already having it(kikkubeisu - kick base) and Capture the Flag seemed too complex to explain in another language.

Long story short, the night before(while we were drinking and cooking takoyaki at one of the student's houses - what else does one do on a weeknight?), I simply stated "Ultimate.", and it was decided. Yeah, it turned out amazing. We spent 10 minutes or so buffing up their disk-throwing skills beforehand, and then the rest of the class turned into a surprisingly fun and intense game. They really got into it, developed strategies, etc. Yay!

End of transmission.

Random photo dump: