reasons why I love this place

I think it's really easy to forget the bright side and to write only the complaints in life. Although, sometimes the complaints tend to surface more prominently, I think the little nicities of life make it worth living. I really love my life here in Japan, and I was recently thinking that if I could do anything over again or if I could be someone else, I would continue to do exactely what I was doing. I am looking forward to eventually going back to the States, but I love my life here in Japan. Japan has some great attributes, which I would like to talk about a little bit.

1. Oba-chan. This is the phonemonon of absolutely kind-hearted, loving and crazy old women in Japan. Sometimes they have purple hair and sometimes they walk slower than a snail, but they are such a joy to interact with. I have several which are my "Japanese moms," and I really enjoy talking to them here. On Thursday (which I originally did this post, but then I lost it because I'm not very bright), I ran into a group of them at a bus stop where I was waiting to go home. They were so giggly and acted like a bunch of schoolgirls. I overheard them commenting on how tall I was, so I started talking to them and it was just a ton of fun. You should come over here and meet them sometime! They know everything about the towns that they live in, and they'll make sure that you're well fed and that you've seen all the important things in the city. I just love 'em!

2. Public transportation. The clustered, villiage-like setting of the cities in Japan makes getting anywhere so easy. I ride my bike, walk, or take the train or bus practically everywhere. A car is virtually unnecessary in many of the areas of the country, which is great for exercise and the environment. I know I've managed to stay in shape here merely because of the amount of walking and biking that I do.

3. Japanese cuisine. The food here is delicious and healthy! I absolutely love traditional Japanese cooking, as well as some of the more modern dishes too. They use a bean and vegetable base in everything, supplmeneting with meat and lots of delicious seafood. The prices are unfortunatly extremely high for eating out at most good places, but you can make the food yourself too. Oh, and I don't ever think I'll be able to eat American rice again!!

4. The language. Japanese as a language is absolutely fascinating. I love studying it and expanding my communication abilities through increased understanding fo the language. Above all, kanji makes everythign written extremely interesting by providing a means of understanding words not only through pronunciation but also through pictoral means. When you are reading, you get a deeper understanding of what the author is trying to tell you because he or she is able to use the visual meaning of the kanji as well as the words themselves. It's hard to understand if you haven't studied it, but it's really a means of expanding the mind to greater literary depths. It's also relaxing and fun to practice calligraphy of the characters. I've been doing this quite a bit and enjoying it as a semi-hobby.

5. The arts. The more I am here, the greater I come to appreciate the variety of Japanese arts. Ikebana (flower arrangement), tea ceremony, calligraphy, and pottery are some of my favorites. It's great to try doing them myself as I develop an appreciation for what others have accomplished. I am particularly fond of those arts which emphasize nature and try to use the arts to increase an appreciation for the earth.

6. The history. Compared to America, this history here is thousands and thousands of years old, with ties to many parts of Asia. I learn something new every day about the history, and it's really amazing to come here and see a lot of the historical remnants and sites that many people take pride in. I highly suggest studying Japanese history if you have the chance.

There are many more things I could write about, but that's just a sampling of why I love my life here so much. Teaching every day at elementary schools is really giving me a greater insight into the culture and local communities. I will be sad to leave it all behind in 7 months or so.

Kris Corner

Just a little something funny that I noticed... There's a website that really has the URL www.kriscorner.com, but this is all you'll find. My site's so much cooler.

Matrix Revolutions

We just arrived back from seeing Matrix Revolutions. I don't want to ruin the plot or any surprises, so click on if you want to read on....

Anyways, regarding the movie, I have several opinions.

1. I must first say that there was some absolutely unnecessary scenes in the movie, and in this I am specifically referring to the club scene where everyone is wearing tight leather, S&M clothes and doing nasty nasty things before the camera's eye. What a good way to spoil a good movie. I hate movies that test the lines I have on what is and what is not acceptable. Unfortunately, I have only the rating system to rely on for things like this, which is proving itself to be utterly unreliable. I will have to do a little more seeking out of information re: movies before I see them. But then again, I was warned before seeing Matrix II about its risque scenes, but I wanted to see the movie enough to subject myself to the scenes. How do I deal with this conflict between what I want to see and what I don't want to see? My sense of independence tells me to do as I want irregardless because I am not subject to any boundaries except those which I place on myself. Then again, I did place boundaries on myself with certain things, including looking at pornography. That movie was definitely beyond those boundaries. I wish I could see a special "censored for Kristen's taste" version of the movie. Too bad that doesn't exist.

2. It was nice how everything came into place with the plot. I pretty much expected it to, as I had essentially understood where the plot was going after watching the second film. It was very well written. Kudos to Wachowski brothers. I wish I knew more about them, but searches on the Net produced very little. Apparently they like to remain secretive - I probably would too.

3. The graphics were amazing. I have no idea how much was digital and how much was real, though I am guessing there was a whole lot of digital. What an amazing job they did. The movie is like a mini-Matrix in concept - reality and imagination become one entity.

4. This movie made the Animatrix so much more interesting. I really like the idea of using the Animatrix as a way to fill in some of the smaller questions of the movie. It would be interesting to watch it again now... maybe I will.

5. There, of course, are many philosophical questions to ponder over the movie. Maybe I'll read a book recently recommended to me by my cousin, The Matrix and Philosophy. There's not much written yet on Revolutions (it takes some time to absorb and discuss before publishing papers). In the meantime, check out whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com's philosophy section and this selected reading.

I'm going to think a little bit more about the movie and maybe put out some philosophizing of my own. I've been thinking from a more philosophical viewpoint lately, particularly regarding the Japanese education system. More to come later.

More movies...

one more quick comment. How can anybody like the movie Punch Drunk Love???? It has got to be one of the worst movies I've seen in a while, but it's getting reviews for being absolutely funny. I am actually known to like dark humor, but this is as unfunny as they come. Almost like a freaked-out, plotless drama. Maybe. So, if you like it, please explain why because I don't understand!!

Movie day!

I'm off to see Matrix Revolution. woo hoo!! I hope it answers all the questions left from the first two. Especially in Reloaded, which I just watched again last week. There are a lot of questions in that one such as why did Agent Smith unplug himself, what is the Oracle (i.e. good or bad) and other spectulations. Craig and I have come up with a theory that because the Matrix is run through humans, all the programing is in their heads and can remain in their heads whether or not they are actually connected to the Matrix. This is why that guy that Agent Smith infected in the Matrix went back into Zion to do all sorts of dirty deeds. Smith programed his mind. This also explains why Neo can do stuff outside of the Matrix. Or maybe they're in a Matrix in a Matrix (in a Matrix in a Matrix). I hope that movie has some answers!! Only one and a half hours to go until I find out!

Shoe Stores

The ABC shoe market nearby our house just had a huge closing sale. It lasted for nearly a month to sell all their shoes. It closed for about 2 days and then as we walked by today we saw the same store, open as usual, with a new large sign saying "Renewal Opening Sale!" ummm...something doesn't seem quite right here...

First Hosted

Craigsirk.com is currently underway and alive. I should start posting there, but I love the minty chaos of this site. We have our first hosted site, a fellow Fulbrighty - Doug. He's doing it in Japanese and English, so it's fun to check out. His project is on consumer rights in Japan, which will be interesting to read about in the future.

Also, new to the blogging world is my little bro. Check it out yo yo!!

Today

It's been amazing here recently. Great weather, great kids at school (well mostly great), great husband (as always!), great friends, great food....the list goes on and on and on. I got some of my pictures back, and I really liked about half of them (which isn't too bad I guess). I still have more that I want to take - hopefully this weekend I'll get some good clicks. I learned a bit about night photography during the Kurama no Hi Matsuri - most of my pictures turned out like sh** but I got ONE good one. one. But it's SWEET! It's the first picture I've taken with a really long exposure time, and I am so excited about it. I'll put it up soon - as soon as I feel like dealing with my annoying scanner. I was going to put a good link on here too of some night photography information that I read a while back, but I can't find the dang site! I think Xian sent me to it at some point in time...

Throwing trash away in this country is craziness. We have this crapped out monitor now (thanks to little Shisa-chan), and it will cost us probably $30 just to throw it away - plus shipping to the place that takes old computer stuff. Thank goodness the students at Kyodai (Kyoto University) have a "student dump" behind one of the old decrepid music practice buildings. The monitor will join it soon.

I have to stop typing now because Shisa thinks that my moving fingers are a game, and it's nearly impossible to finish a word.