Kaba desu ka?

kaba_ja_nai @ 2007-10-17T15:50:00

2007-10-17T19:55:50Z

!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/17/colbert.president.ap/index.html

oy

2007-01-05T06:45:19Z

I think I may have to take a rabbinic literature course this semester.

Now I know for sure that god loves laughing at me.

kaba_ja_nai @ 2006-09-22T08:31:00

2006-09-22T12:33:52Z

I can't seem to sleep lately.

At least I got an e-mail from Taiki, and another haircut. It's even slightly shorter than last time. If things progress as they are, I'll have a buzz cut in a few months.

kaba_ja_nai @ 2006-09-17T12:28:00

2006-09-18T16:28:21Z

I decided not to take the LSAT at the end of this month, I think I'll wait to take it in December of Februrary or later. I'll maybe wait to apply to law schools and everything too, that way if I study abroad another year nex year then I wont have to worry about getting a defferal or anything.

Maybe it'll be better when everything is less crazy

kaba_ja_nai @ 2006-07-30T20:19:00

2006-07-31T03:21:05Z

I drink piss and my kitchen smells like John Wayne Gacy's house.

kaba_ja_nai @ 2006-07-27T21:39:00

2006-07-28T04:49:55Z

I'm more or less officially moved into Ann Arbor now! No one else is living here at the moment, so it's kinda quiet. People should visit or something.

I'm still poor and jobless though, I need to do something about that. Regardless, everthing is going more or less well. Taiki's coming in this weekend, so hopefully we can have a big JCMU party soon!

Sunrise Sunset

2006-07-03T09:08:30Z

Everyone needs to watch this video. It is the most awesome thing that ever awesomed.

Bowser rules

2006-06-16T06:40:39Z

I wanna marry Jon Stewart. Even though he's already married. And Jewish. Everyone should read America (the book), its section on Japan alone makes it worth it.

Also, after however many years, I finally beat all my brother's high scores on Super Mario Kart (snes). My hand hurts, but I rock.

kaba_ja_nai @ 2006-05-31T22:12:00

2006-06-01T05:19:04Z

Trying to recall all my hiragana, katakana, and various kanji today made me realize just how much of my Japanese has slipped away in just over a month.

It did, however, provide me with something to do during my 900 billion hour LSAT class. Three and a half hours is way beyond my attention span.

kaba_ja_nai @ 2006-05-15T19:28:00

2006-05-16T02:35:47Z

I hung out with some friends today, one of which has a Japanese foreign exchange student. When discussing the rain with her (in English) I mentioned: "Yea, there's been a lot of not good weather lately".

I guess talking with a Japanese girl sent me back into Japanese mode, which unfortunately means stupid english.

kaba_ja_nai @ 2006-04-28T10:55:00

2006-04-28T18:01:21Z

Why does this still feel like it's not getting any better?

Gaijin no more?

2006-04-18T01:25:16Z

I'm home! The morning before the airport was insanity, but we made the train and flight on time and all that. I've been pretty tired due to jet lag, but it's not nearly as bad as when I first arrived in Japan. I'll be around Ann Arbor for the next few days trying to visit people and eat as much American food as I possibly can.

Also, I told my mom about my tattoo. She didn't disown me or anything, but unfortunately I will have to be buried with a bunch of dirty non-jews. Whatever...what's so great about rolling to Israel when the messiah comes anyway?

やった！

2006-04-13T02:27:47Z

I'm done with classes!!

And I'm coming home Sunday!!

And I'm 21!!

kaba_ja_nai @ 2006-03-25T20:08:00

2006-03-25T11:15:08Z

Breaking out into the hustle randomly at birthday parties, singing in Japanese class...my life is progessively turning into a musical. I`m hoping that next is a West Side Story-esque dance off. It`ll be gaijin versus Japanese. There`ll be ninja and martial arts and panty shots and it`ll be awesome.

kaba_ja_nai @ 2006-03-12T18:38:00

2006-03-12T09:46:19Z

Japanese is eating my soul, not to mention my english speaking skills. Having Japanese for three hours straight every day while learning things the way we do occasionally makes me want to stab something.

I think the only thing that keeps me sane in regards to Japanese homework anymore is the ability to create really random sentences using new grammar and vocab.

"忍者がたくさんいたから、戦い切れなかった" "Because there were so many ninja, I couldn`t fight them all".

Oh, and happy birthday Anne! I miss you and everyone else at home.

マドナ大学は、まあ、どんな大学？

2006-02-27T04:47:28Z

Alright, not to be one of those annoying people who break down every second of their lives and put in in their LJ, but this is basically all the excitement of the past week:

Last Friday we went to various elementary schools. I helped make takoyaki and played a game called "Fruits Basket", which really consisted of nothing more than a bunch of Japanese kids beating each other up. Phil would have approved. Friday was also Matt`s last day here, so we went to an Izekaya (izakaya?) and ordered lots to drink, or at least I did. I got fairly drunk and it was a good time. A picture was taken of my cleavage (unbeknownst to me) for a Japanese business man. On Saturday morning, though, Matt left and it was sad. That night Justin, Chris, Taiki, and I decided to go and drink in Kyoto, making that the second time I`ve been there for the purpose of drinking only. I broke a belt and got smacked by Chris, even though he denies it. I got no sleep and it was fun.

Over this past week Meghan (my roommate) got sick with what may or may not be the same thing I had, and delayed her homestay. I`ve also had a couple other people come up to me who thought they might have caught what I had too. While I should maybe feel bad, it`s kinda cool to think of myself as a biohazard.

This past weekend I did a weekend homestay, which basically means I lived with a Japanese family for a weekend. It turns out they were a family of jockies and horse trainers, so I got to see the behind the seens of a race track and later got to visit the horse training facility.

I got bitten by a horse.

My host mother was really nice and took me on a tour of Kyoto. I saw Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, and Kyoumizudera. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I`m glad I didn`t do a long term homestay.

I`m sleepy and am currently half way through my study abroad. The weather is finally getting nicer here and that makes me happy. Everytime I look at the picture I drew it makes me happy too.

まだ病気けど、のどがもう痛くないから、大丈夫!

2006-02-16T05:22:12Z

To all those who were curious about my health state, you should be ashamed of yourself. Really, like a little thing like SARS could defeat me! Really though, I`m still supposedly contagious and whatnot, but since I`m not in pain anymore it`s alright. Although, the fortune I got in Todaiji did say I was going to die, so I may take a turn for the worst at any moment.

Anyway, I went to Nara this past weekend for a class. I saw a giant Buddha statue and a bunch of really big temples and all sorts of stuff. I also got pancakes. Since they weren`t Coco`s pancakes however, they weren`t as satisfying as they could have been. I drew a picture about my quest for Coco`s pancakes, and it`s the most awesome thing ever. And I do mean ever. If I scanned it your computer may explode due to it`s sheer amazingness.

I`ve been enjoying my internship at Kawase too, only I wish I could do more when I`m there. I got to grade papers this week though, which was cool on one level and crazy difficult on another. Since I don`t like having to give a bad grade to someone who seems to have put forth an effort, I tried writing nice comments for certain students. Although I don`t know if saying "You got a 5 out of 10 on this, but at least your handwriting is nice" is really consolation.

Tomorrow I have to work at an elementary school. Since I hate kids, it should be interesting. Saturday Matt is leaving, which is very sad. I think I might draw him a picture of something, but I don`t know if I can mimic the genius behind my first drawing.

I hope all is well on the other side of the ocean, ja ne!

Guess what I`m wearing

2006-02-08T08:03:21Z

Goddammit Japan, you gave me SARS.

Ok, not really SARS, but you did infect me no less. Here`s the story:

The Friday before last I woke up and noticed a bump on my neck. Being the hypochondriac that I am, I immediately assumed that it was cancer and that I was going to die. As it was Friday, however, I figured I would wait until Monday before talking to Karen (the person who takes us to the doctor).

The bump didn`t go away over the weekend, and although my roommate Meghan assured me that it was more likely a swollen lymph node than a tumor, I went to talk to Karen on Tuesday and on Thursday I went to see the general doctor. The first doctor I went to was a general practice sort of doctor and essentially told me that I had a scratch or something in my ear that somehow or another led my neck to have the bump thingy on it. He wanted to prescribe antibiotics to me, but as they make me sick, I decided to wait and see if it`d go away on its own. Apparently in Japan, doctors give out antibiotics like candy. Antibiotics practically rain from the sky here.

This past Sunday I awoke with a fair amount of pain in the back of my throat. Blah blah blah, I went to see a ear, nose and throat specialist on Tuesday. After the doctor looked at me and drew blood, I was diagnosed with having something called an EV virus. It`s apparently contagious and there`s no medicine to make it go away faster, I just have to wait for my body to do it on its own.

It hurts to do any activity that involves swallowing. (Um...you can insert your own joke here) And this is overall a fair amount of suckage. I have to wear a mask, which looks especially stupid on me because I`m white, and I have to gargle with this nasty medicine stuff. On the plus side though, I have painkillers! And those are always a good time.

Because I have no idea how long I`ve been contagious for and I only started wearing the mask today, I may have infected others. Oh well. If I have to suffer, at least I won`t have to suffer alone..

眠い…

2006-01-31T08:01:36Z

Today I was surprised to learn that the conversation test thingy that I had prepared for was actually on a different chapter completely. My partner and I were totally able to pull it off though. How? Because I just rock like that. Take that Japan.

I had a pretty busy past week overall. Aside from my visiting Kawase Jr/Sr High School on Tuesday, I also got roped into giving a tour to some High school kids on Thursday and I had volunteered earlier in the semester to assist some elementary school kids on Friday. Needless to say, it`s been a very Japanese kid filled week. The high school thing wasn`t so bad, except for the fact that I got paired up with the two pretty girls in the class for the smaller group activities. They kept on looking at me like I was a stupid, strange, fat American. Which I am, but that`s not the point. It was OK in the end though because I got chocolate thingies.

Dealing with the elementary school kids on Friday wasn`t as bad as it could have been. Especially since anyone who knows me knows that I`m horribly awkward around young kids. It was overall alright though, aside from the fact that I kept on getting laughed at by 12 year olds because I can`t tie a top. (Um...the toy, not the article of clothing)

I also went to Osaka and Otsu this past week. Osaka seemed very cool, it kinda sucks that I was super tired and not really in a mind set to appreciate it. Otsu was not as exciting. On the plus side though, I totally got to show off my mad Japanese skills by helping translate to and from English with one of the government officials who worked in the office. Justin and I also went to some out of the way Okonomiyaki place for lunch. The guy who worked there was a strange old man who thought my Japanese was pretty. Of course, "Japanese" may have been some sort of code for "boobs" or something. Who knows with old Japanese men.

In other news, if at any point I say or type anything that doesn`t sound like proper English, it`s probably because my English speaking skills are deteriorating. Seriously. I stop and listen to myself speak sometimes and realize I`m using words that don`t actually exist. It`s really weird.

あなたは外人だから、多分これを読めない。でも、これを読めて分かったら、あなたはとてもかっこいだよ！

2006-01-19T05:49:09Z

Last night I went to Sugimoto`s again-and no, I didn`t fall or crash or anything while riding my bike drunk this time. Overall it was fun, I was the super-huggy drunk that I normally am, and I had a long argument with some random Japanese guys about whether or not it`s OK to refer to a grown dog as a puppy. I suppose that doesn`t translate into Japanese very well...

In other news, I signed up do a weekend homestay. This means that pretty much for just one weekend I`d be living with a family, which is pretty convenient. I likewise will be doing an internship this semester. I`ll be at a Jr/Highschool as a teacher`s assistant or something. I`m not sure how it`ll go, but I`m pretty sure that if life is anything like a manga (and it of course is), I`ll likely wind up developing magical girl powers and saving the universe from the forces of darkness or godzilla or something. I`m greatly looking forward to it.

Overall everything`s been going fine. I`d write more, but I`m tired and I have to go grocery shopping at some point. If you ever want a super happy fun time phone call from me at some point, just let me know and I`ll call you if I love you enough. That`s it for now!

Dedicated to the fallen bike and lost earring

2006-01-11T21:02:18Z

Week 1 update:

So tonight I learned a lesson: Riding a bike while drunk may not be the best idea. Haha, I`m alright overall, other than a what will likely be a large bruise on my leg, and I have no idea whether or not my bike is OK yet. I`ll check that out in the morning, though since I was able to ride it after my accident it can`t be too bad off.

Other than my alcholic mishaps, everything is going alright here. I`ve gotten more used to the time difference, in spite of what the clock thingy on this post says. (Yes, it`s about 6 AM here. Anyone who knows me knows that alchohol makes me wake up early). I got placed in to third year Japanese as well, which is nice as it means that about half the class we`ll be reviewing a book I already used for a half of a year.

Hikone (where I`m staying) is quite pretty albeit quite cold. I already went to Kyoto once, hurray! There were cute Brittish guys there, it was nice. Mmm...Brittish accents...

Anyway, that`s it for now. I hope all is well on the other side of the world!

=O

2006-01-04T19:41:20Z

I just wanted to let everyone know that I arrived in Japan alive and mostly in one piece. I`ll post my room phone later for those who actually love me enough to call me when I`m here. Everything is fine so far, except for fact that my room is a bit cold and it`s almost five A.M. and I can`t sleep. Oh well.

I hope everything is going well back in the states, I`ll update again when more stuff happens and my mind isn`t so fuzzy from jet lag and lack of sleep.

P.S. I took an Ambien on the plane and I had funny hallucinations.

OMG first update!

2005-12-30T04:12:41Z

Hurray! This is my "日本にいる時" live journal! As I'm obviously not yet in Japan, this is actually the pre-departure entry. It is currently the 29th, and I will be leaving four days from now on the third. As this notably leaves little time left before my departure and my four month plus stay in Japan, now would be a good time for any last minute jokes, gifts, money, or secret love confessions. I would especially appreciate money. Not that I wouldn't like a secret love confession--but well, you know, love confessions won't buy me that Mustang convertible I've been after. Unless the person with the love confession is rich...hmm...

Anyway, apologies for the layout being so uncolorful and rather stark at the moment. I'm too lazy to figure out how to design a proper LJ layout, and I'm rather hoping a friend of mine will do it for me (*coughMelissacough*). Also, "Kaba ja nai" (河馬じゃない) for those who don't speak Japanese means something to the extent of "not a hippo". It sort of goes back to an inside joke from high school, but more generally I chose it because, well, I like it. So there.

I hope to be able to fill the vast online pages of this journal with tales of my various adventures that are bound to happen in Japan. My aim is to make sure this LJ only consists of interesting and preferably funny stories. In the unlikely event that absolutely nothing interesting nor funny should occur, I will likely just make it up. This will be kept public, and anyone who feels like keeping up with me while I'm away or simply just wants to stalk me is more than welcome to do so.

That's it for now I think. Over the next several days I will be packing, saying goodbye to people, eating as much greasy American food as I can, and possibly crying because you (yes, you) are not currently calling me to spend these precious last few days with me. That's all for tonight, hopefully my next entry will be from Japan. Double hurray!