Child-Like Wonder

No matter where in the world I may be, one thing NEVER changes…

I need to take time out of my hectic life and just act like a kid.

In the past two weeks, I have had some pretty epic child-like adventures.

Sunday before last, I went to Ueno Zoo. The trip was originally just going to be a day at the park, but once we discovered how cheap the zoo was there was no turning back. We spent the the afternoon wandering around the zoo, being silly, and taking pictures. At the suvenior shops there were headbands with the ears of various animals. Needless to say there were numerous pictures taken.

I think we spent at least 20 minutes watching the red pandas. They are sooooo much cuter than giant pandas!

Don’t get me wrong. I still love giant pandas, but when it comes down to it they are not the most exciting of animals. Although, they do lend themselves to adorable caricatures.

We also spent quite a bit of time watching the penguins. There was this one penguin who kept walking to the edge, acting like he was going to jump in and then would just walk away! I wasted so much time trying to get a picture of him mid-jump. The other penguins picked up the slack and put on a good show :)

The next Sunday, the Buddies (students from the university that are paired with the international students) threw us a welcome party at Yoyogi park. It was a blast! We sat on tarps and shared food, drinks and laughter. After a while the toys came out. Some people played with various balls and Frisbees, but I could not be torn away from the jump rope! We had one of those long jump ropes that can fit 4 or 5 people at once. It was so exciting and utterly exhausting :)

To round out my child-like adventures last week we visited the Studio Ghibli Museum. Coolest museum ever. Studio Ghibli is like the Disney of Japan. They make animated films for various age groups. My favorite is Kiki’s Delivery Service :) Some you may have seen or heard of are Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howls Moving Castle and Ponyo.

The museum is like one big Alice in Wonderland style house. There were loads of random animated windows and projectors, different sized doors, rooms that led nowhere, spiral staircases and even an area that was set up like the founder’s studio.  The studio rooms’ walls were covered in sketches, watercolor landscapes that look like photographs, and transparencies painted with the moving items in the scene that would then be put on top of the landscapes to create the final image. The museum was a place of wonder and silliness. I ended up buying stuffed animals at the souvenir shop. The first is the cutest piece of soot you will ever see (from Spirited Away) and the second is the cat from Kiki’s Delivery Service.

I have realized in the past few years that you cannot be serious all the time. If you don’t indulge in some child-like moments, you begin to lose that sense of child-like wonder and excitement that makes everyday a joy. I urge you to take an afternoon off. Do something silly and rediscover your child-like wonder. It could be as simple as a day in the park, watching your favorite childrens movie, or playing your favorite childhood board game.

Have Fun!

-Caitlin

Faffing around the Dorm :)

There are a little over 20 students and 2 caretakers who live in the dorm. The caretakers are one of the nicest couples I have ever met. We would never try to go around any of the dorm rule because we would not want to disappoint the caretakers.

As for the students, we are from all over the world: America, England, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Germany, Switzerland, and France.  About half of the students are from America and England. Overall, everyone is really nice.

My closest friends in the dorm so far are the students from England and another American.  Dan, Emelie, Sophie, and Zara are from Oxford Brooks University, Olga is from Manchester University, and Chandler is from the University of Vermont. Chandler may go to the school in the north, but she is really a Southern girl : ) She grew up in Georgia.  It is so nice having another Southern girl around. Olga, Zara and I have been watch episodes of TV shows or a movie almost every night. Although, that has been a bit harder to do now that school has started and we are about to run out of episodes of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Dan has decided he wants me to have a British accent by the time I leave. I must say it is coming in quite nicely.

I have been learning all sorts of British English. You can catch me saying Uni instead of University now. But my new favorite word is definitely “faffing”: ) It means to just waste time doing nothing in particular. Dan is a master faffer. He is always faffing around when me need to leave.

I knew there were differences between American and British English, but I never expected we would have a 15-20 minute conversation of word confusion. The British students were trying to explain a specific word to Chandler and me. They told us they missed squash…so we automatically thought of the vegetable and were like ok…that’s strange. Apparently, we were very wrong. Squash is a flavor thing you put into water. I equate it to a liquid crystal light and even that still is not right.

As for the dorm a building, it is really nice. We take our shoes off at the entrance (SO JAPANESE :P) We have two shoe cubbies and a mailbox by the door. To enter the door you use a keypad by the door. Instead of a key we use a code.

The rooms are big! I have a bed (with a futon for a mattress-it is more comfortable than the mattresses I had at Falls Hall at Texas State), desk, chair, file cabinet, and a very large closet.

(the view from my room)

Each floor has a restroom, but the showers are on the basement floor with the laundry machines. Also on the basement floor are the kitchen, dining area, and courtyard. The kitchen is large and small at the same time. The majority of the space is taken up by the shelves that serve as our pantry. We are each assigned a basket for our pantry items, a shelf in the refrigerator, and space in the freezer. The only downside to the kitchen is there is no oven…I had to make a birthday cake in the microwave the other day…tasted surprisingly good.

The dining area is where we all hang out. There is a large TV for us to use. In the mornings while we eat breakfast, we watch Japanese children’s programs. I think I will know the ridiculous dance that ends the program by the end of the year :) Japanese TV really deserves a blog all to itself, but I am going to just give you the highlights:

-Every other channel is a food program

-Even the hard hitting news is broadcast from a studio with a brightly colored set that hurts your eyes and uses little pictures and diagrams (watching them explain Japanese politics is hilarious)

-Almost every show has a panel of famous people to watch the show with you. Their reactions are shown in a box in the corner.

-There are so many strange game shows. Our favorite so far has been a show where a panel of famous people has to guess if the person standing in front of them dressed as a girl is male or female.

More to come :)

-Caitlin