哲学 (Philosophy)

It feels wrong, making this entry. Everything I want to say or think about at this point is selfish - how could it be otherwise? In direct contract to the previous 4 months, I've spent the last two weeks completely... free. The second day here I was shocked when my host said he was leaving for the day, here's the house key, see ya. But what was I expecting? That he would take me by the hand and lead me around? Well, I suppose so. I had spent most of my trip in Japan leaning on others: teachers, friends, host families.

But that's fine. That's what made it so extraordinary, that so many people were willing to have me lean on them. And after only a few days propping myself up, I found it wasn't so hard after all. How thrilling it's been, to taste, almost exactly, what life would be like should I choose to live here. Of course, in my most brilliant fantasies, I have perfect Japanese - that's going to be something to work towards.

I could go on and on about my admittedly selfish things, but this is a recount, not a diary. Have some words, places I've been, and silly pictures. And maybe an anecdote.

Places I've been recently:
- Ginkaku-ji
- Kyoto Imperial Palace (when the Emperor lived here)
- Daimonji (and others)
- Lots of good ramen places
- Osaka (and purchased chocolate nato for my friend for Valentine's)
- Drinking shochu with my friend's professor (he invited ME, I swear)

Do you know what Setsubun is?
For Setsubun, a few of us gathered for some of the practices, but mostly just to hang out. One of the most interesting things we did was eat long maki rolls while kneeling and facing south-southeast and not making a sound during. It sounds completely random, but that's tradition for you.

Another of the traditions was for someone to put on a oni mask, and for the others to toss beans at it to symbolize the chasing out of evil spirits and the accepting of luck. In our case however, Mao commandeered the mask early on and played a character so endearing that no one even thought to throw beans at it.


Relevant words:
- kaiteki: comfortable
- shoubu: battle; match
- tebura: empty-handed
- oroka: someone foolish or ignorant to the point of inducing sympathy
- tendon: tenpura donburi; tenpura on rice (officially delicious)