With less than four weeks left in Japan, my time left seems all too short. With these short weeks, I expect schoolwork cramming, trying to pack in time spent with those I've grown close to, and reflection on this semester's experience.
On Friday of this weekend, I went to Ueno Park with Rachel, one of the most popular sakura viewing areas in Tokyo. This weekend marks the end of the full bloom here, so we wanted to catch them before they were gone. Unsurprisingly, everyone else in Tokyo (including the recent influx of tourists) seemed to have the same idea. We rented a paddle boat for a relaxing paddle on the lake within the park.
After a necessary uneventful weekend, Kaiden, Ian, Matt and I checked out Nakameguro on Sunday night. This is another very famous sakura viewing area, which features a river with sakura draping over the sides, and lanterns. It was extremely crowded, with many crowd control workers at each intersection. There were lots of food stalls, and it was definitely the place to be at this time.
In my "Mar 13: Melancholy" post, I made a list of all the things I dislike about living here. I figure it would only make sense to also make a list of the things I like about living here. 1: Everyone has amazing fashion here; children, elderly people, and everyone in between. The most averagely dressed person here would look handsomely put together compared to the majority of Americans. As you can guess, those who go beyond this baseline look fantastic. Seeing creative and successful fashion choices every day is exciting as well as inspirational. 2: Every single train station has a (relatively) clean bathroom. No matter where I am, I'm never worried about finding a bathroom, because I know there will be one next time I take the train. Interestingly, there are approximately zero public trash cans; however, there is also approximately zero litter to be found anywhere. There is also hand sanitizing stations everywhere which is nice in of itself, but especially nice when bathrooms often don't have soap. 3: In the last list, I noted how there was less variation in the food choices. While it can get monotonous, I think this really takes it easy on my stomach. The majority of dishes are some combination of meat and rice; that's it. My stomach feels much better here than in America. 4: Contrary to what I might have made it seem like before, I have come to prefer the smaller portions which are habit here. It gets easier as you get used to it, and I realize I didn't need to eat such grand amounts of food to feel satisfied. We can get by on much less than we are given in America, and it makes me feel better and is scientifically more healthy. Still, sometimes it's just really not enough! 5: For the most part, people are very quiet in public, especially on trains. It's nice to not have to listen to everyone's conversation in a crowd when you're just trying to get somewhere. When there is someone being loud, it's pretty jarring now. 6: Drinking in public isn't necessarily legal, but very normalized and won't get you in trouble. On weekends, it has become common practice for my friends and I to stroll around the city while drinking and hanging out. It's not always nice to be in a stuffy bar, getting overpriced drinks and listening to music you don't like. It's also not feasible to drink in our tiny rooms. It's freeing to enjoy a night out, out. On the same note, there are some great alcohol options here that can't be found in America. They are generally very easy on the stomach and the tongue. 7: The convenience stores here are on another level. They are always open, always stocked with what you need, and on every corner. I never feel worried that I won't be able to get something, because it will always be at a konbini. On the other hand, I am looking forward to them not being so readily available, so that I'm forced not to spend all the money I would at them! 8: As I've mentioned before and is easily deducible from my pictures, I think the cars here are super cool, and there is absolutely no shortage of unique ones to spot.
For my photography exhibition which will take place on April 16th, I've decided to stick with my original night photo series to display, and try to add to it with the time I have. Here are the additional photos I have captured.
Language Update: I have effectively given up my self taught pursuit of Japanese. As sleep lost, assignments, and squeezing activities in has caught up to me, I simply cannot find 30 minutes a day anymore. Besides this, I was already becoming less and less able to focus on my lessons and was therefore falling behind in my understanding of them. Because I never actively speak Japanese to native speakers, I'm never able to practice what I learn, and it doesn't become engrained in my memory. I am however happy that I now know all the survival terms for going to and ordering at a restaurant, which is the most common interaction I have with Japanese speakers. But, I feel that my cease of Japanese learning is justified in that I won't be using it at all when I return to the States and I don't know when I will be coming back, so I would lose all of what I had learned anyway. Funnily, the absolute most common Japanese term I use is "Thank You" ("Arigatogozaimasu"), but I feel that I have gotten progressively worse at saying it. Something about the strong "toe" sound right after a rolled "R" makes me stumble over the phrase almost every time now. At the beginning, I had really worked on its pronunciation and thought I had it down. Now, I guess I just got lazy and it comes out jumbled because I don't think about it anymore. Also, each time you check out at a store, they will ask you some questions; they might be one of the following: "would you like a bag?", "how will you be paying?", "would you like a receipt?", or "do you want this microwaved?" However, no matter how closely I try to listen when they ask, I still cannot decipher the syllables used for these questions and cannot tell the difference between them. All I hear is the "ka" at the end, signaling a question. At convenience stores, I will usually just respond with "Daijobu" (it's fine), since I don't ever want a receipt or a bag. At grocery stores, I usually stare blankly and brandish my credit card. Frustratingly, I will often leave an awkward interaction with a clerk or worker and realize that I actually knew how to say something that would have been helpful. But, since I'm so unused to speaking what I've learned, it never comes to my mind quickly enough.
Below: Miscellaneous pics from the week
