Thursday, June 29, 2017
On My Way
Sorry for the lack of blog posts recently. I've been busy with packing for my trip to Japan, which I guess has now started. I'm flying down to LA to visit family for a day before flying 12 hours to Tokyo. Currently sitting in an airport using the kinda patchy wifi. Anyway, boarding starts in about four minutes so it's time to put away my laptop. Here's a picture that is hopefully visually interesting. Also, if you recognize the carpet, congratulations you know where I live near.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
DIY Travel Mending Kit
Sometimes your clothes get holes in them. This can happen for all kinds of reasons such as getting caught on a nail, moving weirdly, moths, a goat chewing on them, and so on. Whatever the reason, you probably want to fix it. At home I have a sewing kit so I can fix basically anything but while traveling I will have to bring a small mending kit. These are available in stores such as AAA and JoAnn's, but I couldn't find one I liked so I made one myself. Here's what I did.
Storage Container-something to put everything in
White Thread-most of the clothes I am bringing are light colored so this will work well. May bring black thread as well.
Safety Pins-four different sizes and a few per size.
Sewing Needle(s)-this is so you can actually sew stuff.
Magnet-something to stick the needle to so it doesn't get lost in the container.
Put everything in the storage container in some kind of order. What I did was put the thread on one side, the safety pins on the other, then put the magnet with the sewing needle on it on top of the safety pins.
Close everything up and now you have your custom travel mending kit! Throw this in your luggage and now you are prepared for most clothing problems.
Look at me trying to look legit. I'm silly, I know.
So the basics of a mending kit is thread, a needle, and some sort of container to keep everything together. I wanted to have some safety pins in mine too for when I'm too lazy to fix something or simply don't have the time.
White Thread-most of the clothes I am bringing are light colored so this will work well. May bring black thread as well.
Safety Pins-four different sizes and a few per size.
Sewing Needle(s)-this is so you can actually sew stuff.
Magnet-something to stick the needle to so it doesn't get lost in the container.
Friday, June 16, 2017
Clothes to Bring
If you are traveling somewhere you are going to want to bring clothes. Well, not everyone does. I saw a girl online that just brings an empty suitcase and buys a bunch of clothes while traveling but I won't be doing that and you probably won't be doing that either. Anyway, the weather and standards for clothing are different in Japan than where I live, so I have to keep that in mind while picking clothes. Also, this is mostly for girls because the standards aren't really any different for guys except for maybe put a little more effort into how you look. Maybe. It's much easier for guys.
So I'm in the land of 55 Fahrenheit/13 degrees Celsius and raining in the middle of June. If you don't believe me, here's a picture I took yesterday out the window of a bus I was riding to a lecture. Also I had to stand in that and get soaked.
Because of this, the majority of my wardrobe is t-shirts, long pants, and hoodies. There are a couple weeks during the summer in which it gets hot enough to want to wear shorts, tank tops, skirts, or dresses, but in those couple weeks I often just wear the same few things because I can't be bothered to have clothing I don't even have a chance of wearing 9 months out of the year. It was actually hot enough to wear a skirt a couple weeks ago, but it's cold again.
Enough of me talking about how rainy it is where I live. It's frickin' hot in Japan. Humid too. I'm not from a particularly hot or humid area so this is going to kill me for a while. Eventually I'll get used to it but there will be much suffering before then. Basically the majority of my clothing would simply overheat me so I have to bring mostly lighter clothes. Things like skirts and dresses are especially helpful for staying cool.
Now to talk about how standards for clothing are different in Japan. In America, v-neck or otherwise low cut shirts are completely normal and so are tank tops. Short shorts are becoming more and more common but still not considered completely okay. Now in Japan, any neckline below armpit level is too low cut, basically nobody wears tank tops, and shorts, skirts, and dresses are often quite short. While it's not too difficult to find good shorts, trying to find shirts that have high enough necklines can be quite challenging. I went clothes shopping the other day with my mom and sister to try to find some shirts and a dress that I could wear in Japan and it took all of us to find shirts with high enough necklines (just to clarify this is about how high I like necklines anyway). All the dresses were either sleeveless, too low cut, or both. I picked out a dress with sleeves but I'll have to wear a tank top under it. Light colors will reflect more light and thinner fabrics won't overheat you as much so keep this in mind when looking through your own clothes or racks at a clothing store.
So I'm in the land of 55 Fahrenheit/13 degrees Celsius and raining in the middle of June. If you don't believe me, here's a picture I took yesterday out the window of a bus I was riding to a lecture. Also I had to stand in that and get soaked.
Enough of me talking about how rainy it is where I live. It's frickin' hot in Japan. Humid too. I'm not from a particularly hot or humid area so this is going to kill me for a while. Eventually I'll get used to it but there will be much suffering before then. Basically the majority of my clothing would simply overheat me so I have to bring mostly lighter clothes. Things like skirts and dresses are especially helpful for staying cool.
Now to talk about how standards for clothing are different in Japan. In America, v-neck or otherwise low cut shirts are completely normal and so are tank tops. Short shorts are becoming more and more common but still not considered completely okay. Now in Japan, any neckline below armpit level is too low cut, basically nobody wears tank tops, and shorts, skirts, and dresses are often quite short. While it's not too difficult to find good shorts, trying to find shirts that have high enough necklines can be quite challenging. I went clothes shopping the other day with my mom and sister to try to find some shirts and a dress that I could wear in Japan and it took all of us to find shirts with high enough necklines (just to clarify this is about how high I like necklines anyway). All the dresses were either sleeveless, too low cut, or both. I picked out a dress with sleeves but I'll have to wear a tank top under it. Light colors will reflect more light and thinner fabrics won't overheat you as much so keep this in mind when looking through your own clothes or racks at a clothing store.
Monday, June 12, 2017
Small Things Number Twenty Two: Put Travel Alerts On Your Cards!
Despite Japan being a rather cash based society, I would recommend bringing a credit card or two with you. You can use them to get cash once there and I believe they can be used to help get you a traveler's visa. From what I have heard, a traveler's visa is what you get when you are in the country for less than 3 months and can prove you have enough money to support yourself during that time, usually that means having a credit card or two.
Most cards nowadays have the function of where if suddenly you are making purchases in a different place than expected they will freeze your card in order to protect your funds. However, that is a very bad thing if you are traveling in a different country. The solution to this is putting travel alerts on your accounts. Basically you either fill out a form, call the company, or see them in person to let them know when you are traveling and where to.
For my Discover card I just searched travel alerts and it took me a page where I could enter in the days I'm gone and where I will be. It was quite easy. It also shows me what to look for in stores and ATMs that will mean I can use my card. Pretty nifty.
My other card is currently annoying the hell out of me but I set up travel alerts on that as well by emailing the company.
Basically just make sure to do this before you try to use your card so you don't suddenly get your account frozen. Planning ahead is very important when it comes to traveling, especially far from home.
Most cards nowadays have the function of where if suddenly you are making purchases in a different place than expected they will freeze your card in order to protect your funds. However, that is a very bad thing if you are traveling in a different country. The solution to this is putting travel alerts on your accounts. Basically you either fill out a form, call the company, or see them in person to let them know when you are traveling and where to.
For my Discover card I just searched travel alerts and it took me a page where I could enter in the days I'm gone and where I will be. It was quite easy. It also shows me what to look for in stores and ATMs that will mean I can use my card. Pretty nifty.
Basically just make sure to do this before you try to use your card so you don't suddenly get your account frozen. Planning ahead is very important when it comes to traveling, especially far from home.
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Stories From Japanese Class Part Three
Next week is finals week so soon I will be saying goodbye to my group of goofy dudes. Yesterday was our last day of regular class and next week all we have is the final, which is a brochure. Probably won't be getting up to too many antics next week but we've had a lot of fun this past week.
So we often mess around during break and while waiting for class to start. We have done everything from look up the origin of the word poopdeck to playing Cards Against Humanity. Last Monday Bulbasaur-san decided to show me a video of the Jurasic Park theme song played on a recorder but as the song started playing the teacher had us stand up to bow at the start of class. Took a couple tries to turn off the video so once again the teacher was staring at us for doing something weird.
Our final is a brochure and in the second half of class this week we were working on that instead of doing regular lessons. Three of the people at my table brought their computers but Charmander-san was just playing a game on his Nintendo. His argument was that he didn't have his laptop with him so I pointed out he could write stuff out in his notebook. To further encourage him, I picked up my notebook and shook it near him saying "ノート！” (nooto) which is notebook in Japanese. Bulbasaur-san also picked up his notebook and said "ノート！” and basically ever since that day every time the teacher mentions you need to get out a notebook we shake our notebooks at each other while saying "ノート！”...it's really dumb but that's why it's so funny.
My Japanese teacher does this thing where she will ask various questions and students can raise their hands to answer them. In an effort to be a good student I try to always raise my hand to answer one because I'm not too scared of messing up (learning is shouting out the wrong answer with confidence, folks). My teacher asked the question ”きのう、テレベで何が見ましたか？” which means "did you watch TV yesterday?" Now the other day I decided to start watching a kdrama series so I had been watching that the night before so I decided to raise my hand and answer saying that I did watch TV yesterday. However, apparently my teacher had asked ”きのう、テレビで何を見ましたか？” which means "what did you watch on TV yesterday?" Being the honest person I am, I awkwardly said kdrama in an effort to answer the question correctly but before I could get that far the whole entire classroom, and especially the teacher, were laughing their heads off. It was embarrassing but hey I did enjoy the show and as long as the teacher still has a good opinion of me I don't mind.
Our final is a brochure and in the second half of class this week we were working on that instead of doing regular lessons. Three of the people at my table brought their computers but Charmander-san was just playing a game on his Nintendo. His argument was that he didn't have his laptop with him so I pointed out he could write stuff out in his notebook. To further encourage him, I picked up my notebook and shook it near him saying "ノート！” (nooto) which is notebook in Japanese. Bulbasaur-san also picked up his notebook and said "ノート！” and basically ever since that day every time the teacher mentions you need to get out a notebook we shake our notebooks at each other while saying "ノート！”...it's really dumb but that's why it's so funny.
My Japanese teacher does this thing where she will ask various questions and students can raise their hands to answer them. In an effort to be a good student I try to always raise my hand to answer one because I'm not too scared of messing up (learning is shouting out the wrong answer with confidence, folks). My teacher asked the question ”きのう、テレベで何が見ましたか？” which means "did you watch TV yesterday?" Now the other day I decided to start watching a kdrama series so I had been watching that the night before so I decided to raise my hand and answer saying that I did watch TV yesterday. However, apparently my teacher had asked ”きのう、テレビで何を見ましたか？” which means "what did you watch on TV yesterday?" Being the honest person I am, I awkwardly said kdrama in an effort to answer the question correctly but before I could get that far the whole entire classroom, and especially the teacher, were laughing their heads off. It was embarrassing but hey I did enjoy the show and as long as the teacher still has a good opinion of me I don't mind.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Look What I Got Today!
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Comics Are Back!
Well I haven't done comics in a while. This sheet was actually started nearly two months ago and I just finished it today. I know a lot more Japanese now so hopefully I can start doing these more.
"What do you want for your birthday?"
おたんじょび？：your birthday? (or something like that)
ごはん：rice
CL おんがくビヂオ： CL music video
くつ下：socks
チョコラート：chocolate
When asked what I wanted for my birthday and what I was looking forward to I said I wanted rice, chocolate, and socks and that I was looking forward to being able to watch the music video for CL's "Hello Bitches" because it was age restricted. I got all of these things (and the awesome ninja candles I didn't know I needed in my life) and got to watch the music video, which by the way is just like normal American music videos.
"Kpop dance club"
ヤー and ヒェー: screaming noises
なにですか？：what?
わかりません：I don't understand/I don't know
ダンスクラブ： dance club
So I'm in a kpop dance club at my college and for some reason or another we scream a lot while dancing, especially when dancing "Oh NaNa" by KARD. One day a new girl showed up and was wondering why everyone was screaming and to be honest I don't really know either. It's just fun. There are seven girls in the group but a new girl joined after I drew the comic so I put her in the title panel because she is awesome.
"Amazing bookstore"
本やすごいです！：amazing bookstore!
私は本やに行きたい: I want to go to the bookstore.
In the roommate search process for my university, I met a Japanese girl and have been emailing her. She sent me a picture of an amazing bookstore near her house with very tall bookshelves and a plant running along some shelves and it was very すごい and made me want to go there.
"Good at bad at"
私はりょりすることが上手です。： I am good at cooking.
私は車をちゅしゃすることが下手です。： I am bad at parking the car.
This is just me practicing what we learned in class. We are starting to learn more complex sentences so I've been trying to use them. Not necessarily the most interesting comics, but they are fun to write and draw.
"What do you want for your birthday?"
ごはん：rice
CL おんがくビヂオ： CL music video
くつ下：socks
チョコラート：chocolate
When asked what I wanted for my birthday and what I was looking forward to I said I wanted rice, chocolate, and socks and that I was looking forward to being able to watch the music video for CL's "Hello Bitches" because it was age restricted. I got all of these things (and the awesome ninja candles I didn't know I needed in my life) and got to watch the music video, which by the way is just like normal American music videos.
"Kpop dance club"
なにですか？：what?
わかりません：I don't understand/I don't know
ダンスクラブ： dance club
So I'm in a kpop dance club at my college and for some reason or another we scream a lot while dancing, especially when dancing "Oh NaNa" by KARD. One day a new girl showed up and was wondering why everyone was screaming and to be honest I don't really know either. It's just fun. There are seven girls in the group but a new girl joined after I drew the comic so I put her in the title panel because she is awesome.
"Amazing bookstore"
私は本やに行きたい: I want to go to the bookstore.
In the roommate search process for my university, I met a Japanese girl and have been emailing her. She sent me a picture of an amazing bookstore near her house with very tall bookshelves and a plant running along some shelves and it was very すごい and made me want to go there.
"Good at bad at"
私は車をちゅしゃすることが下手です。： I am bad at parking the car.
This is just me practicing what we learned in class. We are starting to learn more complex sentences so I've been trying to use them. Not necessarily the most interesting comics, but they are fun to write and draw.
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