The God of Small Things

I didn't think I'd finish "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy before we left India, but I did. This is another look at life in India, but this time written by an Indian, and set in the current day. It is principally the story of two twins and their mother. The time line of the story jumps around a central event - a visit from their English cousin - showing the twins as children before, after, and latter as adults. The style of writing is superb, unlike anything I have ever read before, a bit like e.e. cummings had he written prose. Through combining somewhat random words into delicate phrases she brings out the minds of the children without seeming childish. She also uses repetition to set the memories of the children, which also helps the reader follow the time line. While there is much tragedy in the book, it ends on a good time. I highly recommend this book.

KIM

It's taken a while but I've finished up with "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling. The only reason I picked it up was because I remember that Kipling wrote the "Just So Stories" I loved so much as a child and that "Kim" is set in India. It was interesting because the book takes place in Northern India and Kim visits many of the places we have been, there's even a Lama involved. What was most amazing to me were the similarities between current India and the India described in the book, which was written over a hundred years ago in 1901. It really hasn't changed that much. So if you like Kipling and India check it out, but it's not on my favorites list.

The Universe in a Single Atom

I just finished reading "The Universe in a Single Atom" by H.H. the Dalai Lama and I really liked it. While the book opens with a discussion of current cosmology and quantum physics theory, as the title suggests, it quickly moves into the study of consciousness. With consciousness as the focus, more time is spent on topics like evolution, biology, and neuroscience. The final chapter, Ethics and the new genetics, is by far the most moving and demands out immediate attention. I like this book because it addresses the biggest questions facing since and humanity today without answering them. Buddhism, seemingly unique among world religions, is very accepting of scientific discovery, even encourages it, so that the religion can adapt to fit our modern view of the world. The problems Buddhism sees facing science are closed minds, jumping to conclusions, and not considering all the options. Fortunately science can change too, as the world turned from Newton to Einstein.

How The Universe Got Its Spots

I just finished reading (we're plowing through books here) "How The Universe Got Its Spots" by Janna Levin and of course it makes me want to be a cosmologist. It's an interesting mix of complicated physics and personal life in one book, sadly the asks many more questions than she answers and ends with us waiting for two future satellite missions to tell us the fate of the universe. But the book was written in 2002, so maybe by now those satellites have been launched. While "A Brief History of Time" by Hawkings may be a tougher read, you might learn more from it, though Janna talks more specifically about background radiation from the big bang than Hawkings does.

I think ten or thirty years from now when I look back at my journals what would I tell myself now if I could? You should start making jewelry immediately, you'll love it! Apply to film school ASAP! You know you always wanted to go to MIT, do it! Or will I just laugh at my own folly?

Tuesdays With Morrie

I am finally beginning to feel at ease in India. I like it here. We found a good cheap restaurant right by our ashram, there's yoga, food shops for peanut butter breakfast sandwiches, and fixed price clothing stores, plus an amazing lack of hassling rickshaw drivers. Did I mention I am reading "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom? Well, I finished reading it now. It's a great read, particularly because it is set in Newton. In reading the book I wonder if I will be able to do it - lead a good simple life - or will I get caught in the traps. I've read so much about going slow, focusing on emotions, relationships, and forgetting the material things. But everyone who is to be writing about this stuff seems to have already sought their fortune, realized the error of there ways, and are now financially secure enough to live a simple life. But what's a fresh start like me to do? Maybe positive doesn't have to mean poor, and I'm sure it is hard to be positive when your flat broke anyway. I don't think getting a shit job to support myself while spending my free time on good works is the right answer either, that goes against the whole idea, that's what society wants me to do so it can lock me in. Something to think about.

I remember a party I went to last summer when I was in San Francisco. I didn't know anyone and was sitting on the couch with a few other people watching a movie. Then this guy arrived, big guy, looked around the room, saw me, came right over extended his hand and said, "Hi, I'm David." It was one of the nicest things someone had ever done for me, and so simple. I wish I could be like that, so open, so unconcerned with rejection. I want to be a good listener, collector of voices, and story teller, too. A good person. I can try.

I told Alison that she's turning into a real hippy since she decided not to shower anymore on the logic that India is dirty and no matter how often she bathes she will only immediately get dirty again, especially when doing two classes of yoga a day (we hurt all over). But then she pointed out that in fact neither of us have shaved in weeks, I was the one wearing natural fiber clothes and had my hair up in an awful shaggy pig tail. We're having a great time, and after all the yoga, we are showering for sure.

The Kite Runner

I just finished "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. It was alright, but nothing special, filled with cliches, uninspired prose, and staged foreshadowing. Perhaps my problem is the struggle in the book, while great, seems small compared to the struggle in "Water Touching Stone". While set in Afghanistan, being in India helped me visualize the scenery better than I would have otherwise.
I should note that the edition I read, the Bloomsbury 21 version, had a huge misprint replacing pages 82-137 with a repeat of the first four chapters of the book.

Matthew's Sight Seeing Guide to Kyoto

Miyaka Messe ☆☆☆☆☆
Kyoto Folk Craft Museum
This place is a must see if you are at all interested in traditional Japanese crafts. Exhibits include: textiles, furniture, sake, kimonos, dolls, fans, and ceramics. The work is all top quality and each different craft has a TV playing a looped video that shows a craftsman at work. There is also a nice shop where you can buy things similar to those on display. They even have a library with books on crafts, unfortunately all the books are in Japanese.
No Photography Allowed.

Path of Philosophy ☆☆☆☆☆
A great way to get lost in your thoughts. A couple temples, shrines, shops, and cafes along the way too. Following the gentle brook also serves as a great way to avoid traffic when traveling North or South along Eastern Kyoto.

Nijo Castle ☆☆☆☆
¥600
Nijo castle has some great architecture and gardens. The nightingale floors are interesting, too.


Imperial Palace ☆☆☆
Reservation Required
The imperial palace is nice, but you can only see it as part of a tour. As such, you can not enter any of the buildings, a bit disappointing since none of them are in use anymore. You can see some nice screen painting from the outside, though.


Steam locomotive Museum ☆☆☆
¥400
The museum itself is rather small and has some mediocre model tables set up. But just outside they have a significant collection of real antique steam engines. So if you like trains, go for, but don't expect a whole lot.


Kyoto City Botanical Garden ☆☆
¥200
A nice park, but not so nice in winter. Good collection of Bonsai tree, though, if you're interested in that.


Kyoto Handicraft Center ☆☆
A place to buy really expensive Japanese crafts. you can see a few artisans at work, too.

Maruyama Koen ☆☆
We only stopped into the park briefly, but I would have liked to spent longer here. It is also probably nicer when the weather gets warmer and the leaves come out.


Nishjin Textile Center ☆
Kimono Fashion Show
Similar to the Kyoto Handicraft center, but the textile center has daily Kimono runway shows. Neat!


Notes: WH = UNESCO World Heritage Site. Prices may fluctuate with time.

Matthew's Sight Seeing Guide to Kyoto Shrines

All shinto shrines have the great benefit of being free and open 24 hours a day.

Fushimi-Inari ☆☆☆☆☆
伏見稲荷大社
WH Festival
This place is magnificent, my favorite shrine by far, and I would guess Christo and Jean-Claude's as well. The gated paths twist up a mountainside offering great views of the surrounding area. One path is lined not with gates but hundreds of smaller shrines where people leave candles and incense burning. Very peaceful and a good place for a walk.


Kitano ☆☆☆☆☆
Market
Kitano shrine holds many stone lanterns, but again, if you really want to see lanterns, go to Nara. The market here held on every 25th is great. It is not as crowded as Toji's, but there are many of the same venders. A bit smaller though. The shrine grounds are nice, too. There are many plum trees, and you may even see a maiko.


Heian Shrine ☆☆☆
平安
This colorful shrine is worth a look if you're in the museum district. Great roofs.


Kamigamo ☆☆☆
上賀茂神社
WH
another peaceful mountain side shrine. The shrines are nice because it seems like they get more use by local people than the temples. Everyone is welcome here.


Nyakuoji ☆☆☆
I found this little shrine while wandering down the Path of philosophy. Cute statues. It's nice to go to the smaller shrines and temples because they are not so crowded and you can often get the whole place to yourself.


Yasaka ☆☆☆
八坂神社
Festival
We visited Yasaka Jinja for hatsumode as our first shrine of the year. It was a nice introduction to the culture, but we didn't understand a bit of it.


Yoshida ☆☆☆
吉田神社
Festival
We only saw this place at night for a Setsuban Festival, it was packed! We couldn't really see what was going on, but there were demons.


Shimogamo ☆☆☆
下鴨神社
We often bicycled by this place to and from down town. Peaceful and a nice detour, but nothing spectacular.

Notes: WH = UNESCO World Heritage Site. Prices may fluctuate with time.

Matthew's Sight Seeing Guide to Kyoto Temples

Ginkaku-ji Temple ☆☆☆☆☆
銀閣寺
¥500 WH
Ginkakuji, the silver pavilion, was by far my favorite temple. It has a nice mix of rock gardens, moss gardens, and architecture. I particularly liked one building that has a mixed Chinese and Japanese style.


Ninna-ji Temple ☆☆☆☆☆
仁和寺
¥500 WH
I really liked Ninna-ji. The main attraction is an old palace that was relocated here. The palace has some great screen paintings and an elevated walkway through a beautiful garden. But the palace is just one of several buildings in the temple complex. There are meditational halls, giant gates, a pagoda, and many other smaller buildings, a great survey or Japanese temple architecture.



Chion-in Temple ☆☆☆☆
知恩院
Chion-in is nice to visit because it still has active monks, or monks that are active even while tourists are there anyway! We caught them spinning a big prayer wheel. The fountains and incense burners are particularly nice.


Kiyomizudera ☆☆☆☆
清水寺
¥300 WH
A lot of buildings here, many of which are painted in bright vermillion and can be seen for free. As you hike up the hill there are some great panoramic views of the city. There are so many tourists, though, this place is very crowded, and has many stairs and hills. I got off the beaten track a bit and found this beautiful run down pagoda. There is also a bigger freshly painted pagoda on the premise. If you don't have a lot of time in Kyoto it may be worth going here as there are so many different types of buildings and many bronze statues, too.


Sanjusangen-do ☆☆☆☆
さんじゅさんげんど
¥600
While there is sonly one building here it holds over 1000 human sized wooden Buddha and guardian statues. There are also detailed descriptions of each guardian in English and Japanese. It is a spectacular sight; 1000 is a big number.
No Photography Allowed.

Tanukidaniyama Fudo-in ☆☆☆☆
Festival
Aside from having a great osake festival, this place is quietly pulled back from Kyoto's busy streets and high in the mountains. Nice for walking, thinking... and drinking.


Honen-in Temple ☆☆☆
This little temple resides along the Path of Philosophy. It has a quaint peaceful atmosphere, and you can see a few locals coming to pray.


Kinkaku-ji Temple ☆☆☆
金閣寺
¥400 WH
Kinkaku-ji, the golden pavilion, is similar to Ginkakuji in layout, only there are no rock gardens and less moss gardens. What it does have is a gold plated building, but it's not as impressive as it sounds.


Ryoanji Temple ☆☆☆
¥400 WH
In terms of zen rock gardens, this temple has THE rock garden. Built in the 1500's, the small zen garden here is the basis for all other rock gardens world-wide. Besides the garden, there is not much else to see.


Nishi Hongan-ji ☆☆
西本願寺
WH
This temple is very near Kyoto station making it a tourist hotspot. Unfortunately it's main building will be under construction through 2010. It boasts a very large wooden building, but if you want to see a truly colossal wooden structure go to Nara.

To-ji Temple ☆☆
¥500 WH Market (☆☆☆☆)
We went for the market on the 21st of each month, and if you like markets this one is great. You can get anything at any price, from antiques, to wood tools, to lacquer ware, to kimonos, to food - you name it, but it is very crowded. The temple itself did not seem that impressive. There is a tall pagoda, but due to the temples downtown location it is hard to get a good view of it.
Too crowded to get my camera out!

Higashi Hongan-ji ☆
東本願寺
This temple is very near Kyoto station making it a tourist hotspot. The temple was built to compete with Nishi Hogan-ji. It doesn't.

Tofuku-ji Temple ☆
¥400
I wandered around here for a while trying to find the entrance to the temple but am not sure I ever did. Looked good from the outside, but similar to many other Kyoto temples.


Notes: WH = UNESCO World Heritage Site. Prices may fluctuate with time.

Dororo

On Friday night we met up with friends and went to see a Japanese movie. DORORO is a Japanese flim based on a Manga story. Although we didn't understand what was said, the acting was very exaggerated and visual and therefore decipherable. Chikako (our friend) also gave a brief and simple discription of the story line before the movie started and also described certain things during the movie, which I then parcipitated in the telephone game and transfered the information to Matthew. So I'm not sure if our interpretation is accurate, but here goes.

The main character, Shibasaki, is a female warrior(although she doesn't seem to play the main role. Her parents were killed during a war and she is forced to grow up as a man (although she doesn't try to look or sound like a man, she just has a kind of a boyish, annoying way about her). She meets Hyakkimaru, a young warrior that was born without 48 body parts because of a pact that his biological father made with 48 demons. His father promised his son's life to the demons for the power to rule the country and bring peace to the land. He, indeed ruled the country, not by peace, but by violence and self-indulgence. Hyakkimaru never knew his real father, because he was abandoned at birth and raised by a witch doctor that gave him the body parts that he lacked but with special features. His forearms could detach and underneath there were swords! He had the ability to see other people's memories and sense much more than other people could see.

So the story is about Hyakkimaru fighting demon after demon to gain back the parts that he is missing. Shibasaki tags along and occasionally helps him to fight the demons, when she is not causing him more trouble. By the end of the movie, Hyakkimaru finds out that his father is the ruler of the land and that he has a brother. His brother tries to kill him because Hyakkimaru threatens his birth right as ruler of the country. But we all know that our hero must prevail! So he unwillingly kills his brother. Next, his father comes into the scene with the intentions of killing him as well because of the promise of the demons to give him more power. And of course the father dies instead. But gives him the options to get his son back if he gives his body to the demons and therefore giving them the power to directly rule the land. He father agrees, but his soul manages to fight the demon and tries to kill the demon and his self. He is unsuccessful and begged his sons to kill him and therefore kill the demon that dwells inside of him. The one son is a wimp and a coward and doesn't do anything. But Hyakkimaru understand what is at stake and kills the demon and his father.

So I think Hyakkimaru is now the ruler of the land, but I'm not really sure.

Oh i forgot to say that each time he kills a demon a body part painfully falls off and a new one grows back on. It was very strange. The demons low budget latex monsters. And if I were the warrior I would want to keep my sword arms instead of real ones. Also he had the ability to heal himself, which came in handy many times. What will he do when he because entirely mortal?

So he only fought 24 of the demons and I am assuming that there will be a sequel for the next 28.

And the girl tagged a long playing her drum and screaming a lot.


Kind of a confusing movie to explain, but understandable even without knowing Japanese

Invisible Man

Running around today trying to back up our photos with no luck, but I found myself at an internet cafe with a coffee somehow, so I thought I'd review "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison.

Back in high-school I remember reading "The Battle Royale" short story, which at the time, I had no idea was from this book, so I was quite surprised to find its words included in the first pages. The Battle has a special meaning to me due to its inclusion into the graduating class of 2000's senior show "Bust Wide Open." The book is a tale of self discovery for a young Southern African American man in the early 1900's and his role in the education and civil rights movements. Through out the book people at home, school, and later the Brotherhood in NYC control the way the narrator thinks, and he easily bends to their wishes, not really knowing for himself what he feels is the right way to move into the future. The writing is exceptional, especially for someone's first novel, and the book is hard to put down. Something is always happening, there is action and danger around every corner, but it is all despite of the author, not because of him. He begins to realize he is only a prop, and not a person with his own motives. The beginning and end of the book come full circle with the narrator isolated in a bright white or dark black room acknowledging his own invisibility.

While at the beginning of the book the narrator, and even I, wanted to follow the dying grandfather's advice, "Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open," by the end neither of us are sure. The message is still unclear; who is 'em? Was the old man's profound wisdom no more than senile babble? While a lot happens in the book, almost all the questions raised are left unanswered, perhaps they are unaswerable, but we get the story of one man's trial.

I've begun to notice a trend in the books I find exceptional, They are are struggles with the self. Each person fights to find out who they are - and when they do, they are trapped or die and the book ends, the story is over. Is that our purpose in life? To discover ourselves and die?

Books that I have read

So Matthew is rapidly publishing post after post before we leave for India, so I feel that I should do my part to add to you everyday reading material. While traveling around I have amazed my self at how much I have read. In the past it has been very difficult for me to read books just for the sake of reading. But that has all changed now! SO here are some of my thoughts on the books that I have read, but I will try not to give too much away.

Australia reading:

Legacy of Luna

During out time at Windgrove I thumbed through many different books, but didn't start reading any until Matthew handed me the Legacy of Luna. He highly recommended it and since I listened to her speck at RISD, I thought it only made sense. The book was a quick read (I read it in 2 days) and it was extremely motivational. She writes in such a way that you are able to feel her ups and downs and her determination. I would say that if you every want to be motivated to change the world by tree sitting in a large Red Wood then you should definitely read the book!

Bend in the road

by Nicholas Sparks

This book a type of romance, detective novel. If you are in the middle of the bush with nothing much to do besides build some furniture and listen to the koalas, then it is a great read. Otherwise I wouldn't go out of my way to read it. The plot is very predictable for the first half, then it takes unpredictable and somewhat unrealistic turns. I have to say that the book did hold my attention- not that it had anything else to compete with.

Dragons of Autumn Twilight

I have not really been an avid fantasy book reader. However I really do like reading books that require little effort to read and are very entertaining. I enjoy escaping into a complex different world. I have never read a dungeons and dragon book before, so I thought I would see what all the fuss is about. I was very entertained! The story was very complex and moving. The characters' personalities seems realistic and compelling. I was surprised at how many times there was a climax in the story that included fighting dragons and armies, but none of the good guys would die and a few pages later there would be another fight that seemed just as important if not more. Needless to say my emotions and adrenaline were constantly on a superman roller coaster. In the end the book was very enjoyable. It served it's purpose while I was at Wild Mountains and I was very sad when I turned the last page.

Lord of the Rings

As our time at Wild Mountains came to an end, I started reading the first of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I have watched the movies, but never saw the need to read the books. Since I was on a reading kick, Why not? So I started and at first it was a little difficult for me to get into, maybe because it seemed so daunting. But I quickly found myself obsessed and wanted to read as much as possible before i left. I regret that I was only able to finish part of the book and will have to pick it up again during another trip of sorts.

Water Touching Stone

by Elliot Pattison

I started this book at the beginning of our stay in Brisbane. I would say that so far this book has been one of the best reads. It is a fictional story based on the Tibetan struggle. The novel is made up of many different layers and I really liked the writing style. I mainly like the writing when I don't notice it, when the descriptions and the story pulls me into the books reality and I no long notice the words but am experiencing the tale. I encountered many feelings of happiness and extreme sadness. It is also a detective type of story- a former Beijing investigator tries to bring to light the mystery about dieing children, missing lamas, secret Americans and the secrets of the Muslim clans. the book encourages the reader to be very self-reflective. If you have the time, please do read.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

This book was quite long. It was entertaining, but didn't raise many questions. It mainly told the strange story of a family that started and ended the town of Macondo. If you like magical story telling then it is a good book.

The Tale of Geniji

I am currently reading The Tale od Genji. . .

Sons and Lovers

The last hostel we stayed at in Brisbane had a book exchange, so I left Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country" for "Sons and Lovers" by D. H. Lawrence. In brief the book is about a son's relationship to his neglected and overly affectionate mother and how it controls his relationship to his two lovers, one spiritual, one passionate. Lawrence considered the book somewhat autobiographical, and this flavor comes out in the rich detail of emotions felt by the characters. The relations and emotions are so deep and unfamiliar to my modern eyes. The quality or the writing is exceptional; often I could not tell if I was reading the next page because I wanted to find out what happened in the story or because I wanted to see the vibrant combination of words used by Lawrence. My favorite chapter was "Strife in Love." I liked the book so much that I have added it to my list of five books you must read to understand me as a person. The others include: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, The Runner by Cynthia Voigt, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein, and A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin.

I also found many similarities between my current state of affairs and the sons in the book. One feels as though he has no purpose in life even though he is successful, and with no passion in life he grows ill and dies. The other, the artist, thinks to much, is left alone in the end, and can not decide whether he'd rather be beaten by life or beaten by death. That's the depressing part, but before their ends these characters really lived. They experienced everything available to them, and lived and loved deeply, with flames in their eyes and hearts. Who could really want anything more than a burning existence?

I particularly like the title of the last chapter, Derelict. There are many excellent quotations I could share, about sleeping, recklessness, and carelessness, but I will give only this one about loss.
"Everything seemed so different, so unreal. There seemed no reason why people should go along the street and houses pile up in the daylight. There seemed no reason why these things should occupy the space, instead of leaving it empty. His friends talked to him: he heard the sounds, and he answered. But why there should be the noise of speech he could not understand." (p.357)

I leave acknowledging this, everyday I can be great or wait to die. It is my decision.

KICC Japanese Language Class

Of course the best way to learn a language is to take a class, and the Kyoto International Community Center offers 1.5 hour Y50 classes everyday of the week except Mondays, often offering both morning and evening classes. Each class is divided into three groups based on skill level, so there is usually a 4:1 student to teacher ratio or less. Often you can even get individual attention. The classes are taught based on the text book Minna No Nihongo, but you do not need the book to take the classes as they generally photocopy everything for you. That said it seems like a pretty good book, comparable, if not better than the AJALT books. It is also available in Kana and Romanji, but may be difficult to find outside Japan. While we were here we would go to class three times a week, with Tuesday mornings and Wednesday nights being our favorites. The beginner's group focuses mostly on need to know and basic grammar stuff, like where you are from, telling time, and calendar stuff. The mid-level is more conversational, and perhaps the most helpful. We never made it to the advanced class. The only problem we ran into with the beginner's classes was to much review of old material, I guess we were afraid to make the jump to the next level! The whole program is run by volunteers.

AJALT Japanese for busy people, Kana version

When we got into Brisbane we had this sinking feeling that the Japanese we knew from Pimsleur wouldn't be enough to get us by in Japan, so we headed out to a Barnes & Noble and picked up this book. It's pretty good. It's divided into Units, which are further divided into lessons. Each Unit deals with a grammatical element, and the lessons illustrate different sentence structures using said grammar. Each lesson begins and ends with a short dialog that you can read and / or listen to on the included CD. Then there is a brief section of vocabulary that will be used through out the lesson, which is also on the CD so you can nail the pronunciation. Finally there are many repetitive exercises to drill home what you are learning. We got the Kana version so that we could start to learn to read and write basic Japanese as well as speak it. This was a blessing and a curse. While it helped to know some Kana for reading a few signs and menu items, it really slowed down our process in getting through the lessons. You have to learn it sometime, but trying to learn to write, read, and speak all at the same time is too much, and it would be better just to get the Romanji version so all you're focusing on is the speaking. We also picked up AJALT's Kana work book, which really would have been enough to get the basics of reading and writing. Aside from the Kana hang up, this system works pretty well, and there are two more books in the series to grow on.

Pimsleur Language Tapes

When we ditched Rosetta Stone we picked up the Pimsleur Language Tapes. These tapes are available for many languages, come in tape, cd, and even mp3 format, and are carried by most public libraries. Pimsleur works by listening to a 30 minute lesson everyday. The lessons involve you listening to and repeating sentences that get more and more complex as you go along, repetition of earlier material is built into each lesson to help you remember, and the last few minutes are spent in a mock conversation. To make sure your pronunciation is correct, the first time you hear a new word it is repeated broken down into syllables and assembled again. The first ten lessons are very helpful for getting a grounding in the pronunciation and learning key phrases like: I don't understand, where is this street, I'd like some water, etc. As the tapes progress they start to lose their initial charm, however. The sentences grow very complex, as they should, but they are no longer key phrases, and without seeing them written out the breaks between words and particles become confusing. This makes it difficult to substitute in other words you know to try to say a different sentence with the same structure. In addition, the vocab is only explained in English the first time you hear it, which is great, but it means that sometimes five lessons from now a word you don't quite remember will come up and you have no real way of back tracking to figure it out. For me, a grammar book, even something explaining Kana (Japanese phonetic alphabet,) would be extremely helpful when used with the Pimsleur tapes to heighten your ability to identify sounds and particles in sentences. Unfortunately, Pimsleur loves its audio learning technique, and has no print material of its own, so it would be difficult to find a book that covers the same ground as the tapes.

Rosetta Stone Language Software

While I'm thinking about language learning I thought I'd right about Rosetta Stone, the American Governments language education software. Rosetta Stone was the first method we tried to learn Japanese with back at RISD, and the first we abandoned. I can't say for sure because we only tried the demo, which is free. The problem we ran into was the complete lack of English, one of their selling points. It all sounds good in theory, looking at pictures, listening to simple descriptions of the pictures in Japanese and seeing the Kanji, or Romanji, transcription. But when we got to lesson five or so they pictures started showing a ball resting on a table, or a boy standing under an airplane wing, and we realized we didn't know if they were say the ball is on the table or the table is under the ball, or the boy is under the airplane or the airplane is above the boy. With no english to set us straight we were lost and it only got more confusing. So if you do try Rosetta stone you will at least need a good to way dictionary, but a grammar book would probably be more helpful.

Klexon Language Exchange

When we first got to Kyoto we we looked into many different volunteering and language exchange programs in an attempt to improve out Japanese as fast as possible. One of the organizations we discovered is Klexon. They meet almost every Tuesday night downtown for two hours. You have to apply to join and go early the first time for an interview, but they are very welcoming of native English speakers. It's free to attend if you are a foreigner, but the Japanese members pay a fee to cover the cost of renting the space. The first hour is spent in a series of ten minute one on one interviews with other members on a predefined topic, like "where do you like to go shopping?" or "where did you go this week?" The next hour is spent playing a kind of Japanese pictionary and free conversation. The program is very helpful as foreigners speak in Japanese and the natives speak in English and we correct each other. The best part is afterwards we all go out for a beer down the street, so it's a good way to socialize and meet Japanese people and other ex-pats.

This weeks pictionary topic was "draw your ideal life," rather ironic I thought given recent events in my life, but this is what I got:

If you can't tell, it's me writing poetry with a cat in a small cabin in a pine forest near a train station within bike distance so I could get into the city if I wanted to. Sounds nice to me.

WWOOF, in review

Before I get to far removed from it, I thought I'd put up a review of my wwoofing experiences to assist anyone who is considering the program.

I think wwoofing is a great way to get to know local people. The ideal length of time to stay with a host, in my opinion, is two weeks. It takes one week to get to know the people and work you will be doing, and one week to enjoy it. By the third week I was sick of it. Farm work is hard, physically and monotonous at times, so certain muscles would get very sore, but by switching it up and doing different work on different farms I was able to let parts of my body recover. Pick macadamias is hard on your neck and back, while weeding garlic is hard on your knees, for example. For this reason, if you have any trade skills that you enjoy, such as carpentry, painting, networking, or web design, look for hosts who need this kind of work done. Not that there's anything wrong with farming, just that if you will be wwoofing for a long time it is nice to mix in work you enjoy. Maybe you enjoy farm work.

Also, I would recommend taking a break between wwoof experiences, say a weekend every two weeks. While woofing you won't generally get days off, and even if you do you're likely to be stuck out in the bush unless you have your own vehicle. So take some time off to see the sights, get into the city, and interact with other people who are not your hosts. I don't know about you, but being around the same four people for over a month without seeing much of anyone else makes me a little antsy. I'd recommend places that are withing walking distance to some kind of public transportation to get into town in case you want to get away. Many wwoof hosts are very rural, which is great if you like country landscapes and woods, but part off wwoofing is getting to see the area, and unless your hosts are willing to drive you place, not that likely, or you have your own transportation it will be tough to get around. Many hosts will pick you up from the nearest train or bus station however, so getting to and from your host is usually not a problem.

Pay special attention to your housing, too, as this plays a significant role in your comfort, both physical and mental. Generally accommodation in the same house as your host is preferable. This makes you feel very welcome, gives you more opportunities to interact with the family, and the rooms are usually in good condition. While the privacy of self contained or caravan housing my sound nice, it's never worth it. The hosts rarely inspect the facilities to make sure the roof doesn't like, the holes in the walls are plugged to keep out animals, or the mold is cleaned away. Or they do check, but don't care, since they're not living there. There is also a sense of isolation when you live apart from the hosts, which negates the getting to know the locals benefit of wwoofing. I often found myself wondering when I was allowed to enter the house, and when I should leave after meals. This is particularly tricky at night since your caravan or mud hut won't have it's own bathroom and you need to use the one in the house.

While wwoofing can make traveling less expensive, it may not be as dramatic as you think. In Australia I wwoofed at a bunch of different places in Tasmania over three months and took three weeks off for sight seeing. In Japan I've done no wwoofing for two months and have my own place and cook my own meals, but I've spent the same amount of money in Japan as I did in Australia! The transportation between hosts can add up very quickly, and all that work makes you want to play hard when you have the time off. Just something to think about.

If your planning to wwoof in Tasmania, please feel free to drop me an email or comment and I would be happy to go into more detail about the different hosts I worked for. Another program worth looking into is the HelpX network. HelpX is very similar to wwoof, except that it is not necessarily organic, it is free, you can read reviews of hosts (a big plus), and is limited to the English speaking world, while you can wwoof in almost any country.

Kyoto Seika University

We had a great time going to Kyoto Seika University today. We took the long way around, trying to follow the railroad tracks, rather than go over the hills. (Last time we went over the hills and never found the school.) This was a bit difficult, though, as there was no road that followed the tracks, so we did a lot of back tracking. It was wonderful, though. It was so warm today, around 57 degrees, that it was enjoyable to be riding outdoors, despite my late start (2PM). We rode through all these little side streets, neighborhoods, and gardens. So lovely. It made me really love Kyoto. Like all the expats we meet say, you could get stuck here. Everyone is nice and polite. It made me feel really good just biking around, not really caring if we found the school.


The school was very nice, too, when we got there. Great facilities for their four departments of Manga, Design, Humanities, and Fine Art. Very new as well, built in the sixties and they're still adding to it. We got a great tour from Ken in the International Office, an Ausi himself. It was good to hear that the buildings were designed by their architecture faculty, and a lot of the equipment was designed by their product (ID) faculty. And it was nice to see the study spaces where a lot of the work from the grad show we saw the other day was made. It made me want to go back to school, or teach. I'd love to teach 3d Foundation somewhere and set up a Japanese Honors Program. If I wanted another design degree I'd consider Kyoto Seika, alas, I don't.