Monday, May 14, 2007
No photos until after the weekend.
I suppose it's time something was added to the blog.
This time around my apartment appears to be a wee bit larger. Not much larger, but enough to make a difference. There are two sliding doors that lead to an L-shaped balcony overlooking both an elementary school yard, and the wide-open girl's entrance of the school gymnasium. I guess this is what happens when everyone lives within millimetres of one another.
During late morning of my second day at the apartment, while trying to organize my belongings, the doorbell rang. (All apartment doors lead directly outside, and therefore easily accessible by anyone.) I opened the door to find myself being ferociously attacked by two Watchtower wielding Jehovah's Witnesses. However they managed to find their way into Japan I'll never know.
Every morning at school the children do calisthenic style exercises while accompanied by J-pop music. A dark side of this are the militaristic chants being forcefully recited. However, if you listen carefully, many kids deliberately chant too late or too early or perform other "this is pointless" protestations.
Pretty nice weather -- I've already given myself sunburn.
On Sunday I watched a bunch of sea hawks at Ohori park. They were grouped together, sunning themselves on a picturesque tree. Personally, I was under the impression that hawks, falcons, and other birds of prey tend to be territorial. I guess sea hawks are an exception.
Yesterday, while walking around Tenjin, I had the displeasure of hearing the loudest busker in the world. He was crouched in the shadows, strumming on a guitar, and screaming some very, very off-key lyrics. Pedestrians and onlookers were tittering amongst themselves, while other buskers looked rather annoyed that they could not be heard under this nasty wailing.
To be truthful, I'm not sure if anyone was actually busking. There was neither up-turned hat nor open guitar case in front of any of them. Perhaps it was simply a case of "something to do".
The usual assortment of street artists were also present. In fact, I'd swear there was almost double the amount from last time I visited.
School is definitely a lot quieter than last September, but the busy season will be fast approaching, or so I've been told. Other students include a Nova Scotian, Chilean born Norwegian, some woman from San Fransisco with a Japanese name and unidentified accent, a young woman from Singapore, a young German martial arts guy, two old Australian women who only talk to one another and ignore everyone else, and a few other unidentified people in higher classes than myself.
Until next time...
This time around my apartment appears to be a wee bit larger. Not much larger, but enough to make a difference. There are two sliding doors that lead to an L-shaped balcony overlooking both an elementary school yard, and the wide-open girl's entrance of the school gymnasium. I guess this is what happens when everyone lives within millimetres of one another.
During late morning of my second day at the apartment, while trying to organize my belongings, the doorbell rang. (All apartment doors lead directly outside, and therefore easily accessible by anyone.) I opened the door to find myself being ferociously attacked by two Watchtower wielding Jehovah's Witnesses. However they managed to find their way into Japan I'll never know.
Every morning at school the children do calisthenic style exercises while accompanied by J-pop music. A dark side of this are the militaristic chants being forcefully recited. However, if you listen carefully, many kids deliberately chant too late or too early or perform other "this is pointless" protestations.
Pretty nice weather -- I've already given myself sunburn.
On Sunday I watched a bunch of sea hawks at Ohori park. They were grouped together, sunning themselves on a picturesque tree. Personally, I was under the impression that hawks, falcons, and other birds of prey tend to be territorial. I guess sea hawks are an exception.
Yesterday, while walking around Tenjin, I had the displeasure of hearing the loudest busker in the world. He was crouched in the shadows, strumming on a guitar, and screaming some very, very off-key lyrics. Pedestrians and onlookers were tittering amongst themselves, while other buskers looked rather annoyed that they could not be heard under this nasty wailing.
To be truthful, I'm not sure if anyone was actually busking. There was neither up-turned hat nor open guitar case in front of any of them. Perhaps it was simply a case of "something to do".
The usual assortment of street artists were also present. In fact, I'd swear there was almost double the amount from last time I visited.
School is definitely a lot quieter than last September, but the busy season will be fast approaching, or so I've been told. Other students include a Nova Scotian, Chilean born Norwegian, some woman from San Fransisco with a Japanese name and unidentified accent, a young woman from Singapore, a young German martial arts guy, two old Australian women who only talk to one another and ignore everyone else, and a few other unidentified people in higher classes than myself.
Until next time...
# posted by thom @ 9:51 PM 
