The Floating World

It's been a while! Bonjour!

About school - can anyone say what is Japan's usual level of seriousness in studying? I've got a feeling that my host school is really high grade. We had a really huge meeting about the students future and universities, some speeches about international diplomacy and so on. It wasn't the first, nor will it be the last.

In Estonia it's just get-out-of-here-and-see-what-you're-capable-of-kind of attitude after high school. And speaking about Estonia, I might not be the first Estonian to land in Akita, but damn sure I'm the first high school exchange student here. PIONEERS FOREVER, BANZAI! Hahhaa!

Overall, school has been calm. Everybody's leading their usual chattery school life in which I've happily been included. :) Soon, after the tournament, I'll be able to enter my longed kendo club too. Finally! Also, I'll be going to a electric guitar class in the city centre. FINALLY! :D It's been a while since I've really been busy. I found out that I can't lead a life like that after all. :)

Have I mentioned that my school trip will be to South Korea?

Anyway, I will not go there. It's a bit sad, however I might have the chance to go somewhere I like in Japan during the time. I'm aiming for Kyoto, but nothing is sure at the moment. There are also some concerts that I'd like to attend... we shall see. :)

(I've also begun preparing my costume. There's a soon ending contest in the net with good prizes so I'd like to give it a shot. :) Tomorrow I'll start with the hat, which I can't wait!)

Sadly though, there's no feeling of summer nor late spring in Akita. Only rain (although I somewhat like that sort of weather too). But fortunately for me, I found some things that really cheered me up.

I found primulas, the usual spring flowers of Estonia in many people's gardens, also lily of the valley, another sign of spring. The flowers were seen some time ago, but today I stumbled upon my first Japanese wagtail [link]. It's a bit different from the pied wagtail [link] in my home country, but nonetheless dear to my heart. I just became unimaginably happy when I witnessed these small treasures around me. Definitely, all the small and all the grand things in the nature of Japan will never be forgotten by me. Everyday I happen to take a wrong turn in the streets but always I come upon something miraculous. Something beautiful. I just love everything in my home city. In my surroundings. Wherever I am. It isn't bound to any place.

As always, I never want to grow up. I'd be too tall to see the small wonders around me.

秋田より愛を込めて

From Akita with love

st. spl

I also put up some photos that I forgot to upload in April. Sorry for that!

PS Massive Attack's Heligoland is a must! Be sure to listen!

Guess what I will be when I grow up

Extravaganza! Outdoor vacuuming bonanza!

Anyway that was what I saw today when I was going home from school after doing my presentation on potatoes and flowers etc. In other words, my home country's characteristics, facts and all the other goods. It went really well - I got a few laughs and I didn't get a stage fright fever either. Although I would really have liked to receive some questions afterwards, all the firstlings (that was my audience - high school first years) shied away from the opportunity.

Since my last recording here, my life at school has went smoothly, happily and I feel really at ease. I actually managed to solve some exercises in maths too. I literally jumped of joy when I did it. Hey, I understood the question in mathematical Japan(a)nese. Plus, I've finished the basic level Kumon and soon am going to start the intermediate one. 必勝

Also, my class at school has begun preparing for the school festival in July. We are going to do a stamp rally, where some of us are cosplaying characters that our 3 groups A, B and C decided ((Pokemon), One Piece and Alice respectively) and are the ones to give stamps to the players and others are managing the contestants papers and other necessities for the game. Our endeavour's title and slogan are Come on and catch me! It's not so easy as you think! Our roles are going to change during those 2 days many times so everybody will do everything in the end. Anyhow, I belong to the Alice group and I'm going to cosplay...

THE MAD HATTER

Yes, I'm going to do the costume myself. :) I'm really psyched about it. I only have about 1 and a half month left so I'm going to think of the cleverest way to do it. The opening bang will be tomorrow. Going to search for a pink shirt. (God is in the details as they say.)

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I went to Akita Onsen today. The baths there are so great and there's one outside too, inside a Japanese garden. There was also a sauna and to be frank, it was impressive. The decor was usual, but a television set there was rather amusing. They really think of everything here. :) But what I really liked was the smell of wood in there. You could also smell it in the garden. It really cleanses you inside out.

Also, inside the onsen complex was a restaurant which serves the best curry udon so far! It was called ishiyaki curry udon which was served inside a thick rock bowl and the soup was still bubbling. It was a great experience! Hot as hell, but great in taste.

Okaasan ordered a fish dish called buri ishiyaki, which turned out to be a grilled gigantic fish head. It too was delicious, but we all had quite a scare when we first saw it. (Put some lemon juice on it and it will all go well.) Anyhow, the place really went into my heart so I wanted to share my thoughts a bit.

Until next time! 3-9!

Log out static

Yamagata Banzai Dango *update

GOLDEN WEEK (so far) HAS BEEN AWESOMELY MAGNIFICENT!

I'm back from Yamagata and feeling absolutely tired. But it was so great! I have so much great memories that I think I'll forget to tell all of them. Do I make sense?

(Looking at the photos will give you a better picture (literally) about my trip. This will be a short summary about my feelings and thoughts.)

Overall, the ride from Akita city to Yamagata city, where my (host) aunt lives, is about 4 hours, but we made many pit stops along the way. Firstly, we went to visit otoosan's mum in Akita's southern part. Really an epic grandma I must say. She served us really great sweets and gave us an awesome bentou for the ride. She makes the best imoten in the world! (Sweet potato bread-fry)

Afterwards we visited a sakura park and many road stations (sort of souvenir shopping malls along main highway's) and went to an amusement park of pet animals. It was sort of a children's zoo with a lot of cute little animals. We also went to see a river nearby and ate lunch there.

(now my mind is blank)

And so we went to the aunt's place where we had a huge and delicious dinner. It's just unbelievable how much effort they (the Japanese) put to everything! It really is a huge cultural leap for me. WHO~~OU!

Later that evening we went to see the cherries at night. It was really magical - there was a bit of lighting around the trees and little sparkly bugs were hovering between the branches making it all look like fairy dust. After that - sleep.

The next day we went to a lot of places, but the main two were a central hill in Yamagata city with a lot of magnificent cherry trees and later Yamadera mountain temple. Both were breathtakingly beautiful with cherry blossom rain. Yup, it's that time of the year in the far north Honshuu. We spent the later afternoon completely in Yamadera, climbing the hills, seeing the temples and shrines and later we ate kakikoori (shaved ice with syrup) and rested a bit. That evening's dinner wa syet again (go figure) HUGE.

The final day was sakura day. We went to see the 1,200-year-old cherry tree in Kubo-cho and the surroundings. The tree was just gigantic! It was supported by numerous pillars and looked like a well cared for senior grandma/pa.

Later on, it was goodbye to the aunts, uncles, nieces and grandparents and off we went to finally get our hanami dango. It is a small but famous shop in Ooishida city, where average waiting time is a little under an hour (if you're lucky to arrive there before it's all sold out). Because of that we thought to go to eat something because it had been a while. During the ride, I noticed a great spot under the cherry trees by a riverside and at that moment we all decided that this will be the spot for our hanami.

And that's that.

*5th May, Kodomo no hi (Children's Day), I went to a local freemarket about 30 minutes ride away from home. It was in a dahlia park in which were a lot of cherry trees too and that was the place where we ate yet again a hanami lunch. The air was unbelievably thick with the smell of blossoms which were hanging from the branches over our heads. The petals were dancing in the wind and occasionally dropped on our onigiri (riceballs), which was just like in the movies I've seen too much before coming to Japan. Haaa~~~ah!

Later, we went to Akita Central PArk, which is a huge place with thick forests covering many mountains and also your usual park that runs through a university campus. That place was filled to the brim with sakura trees and there we rent bikes for a ride in the surroundings. Fubuki (petal rain) was really magical and the forests looked a lot like my homeland's. It felt really heartwarming and soul freeing. The ride lasted for an hour, but it felt like ages. A trip of a lifetime.

The whole day, I felt really moved by the views of Akita. I'm just unbelievably glad that I happened to be sent here into the countryside of Japan, because that's where I think you can really feel the heart of a nation. The root of it, stripped from bureaucracy etc. NATURE.

And that's that.

Now I'm home, have finished half of my F level Kumon and really put a lot of effort in creating this entry and putting up all those photos on FB. I hope it gives you a bit of joy to see some pink in your everyday computer surfing.

Nice of you to have dropped by!

BB and good night!

And off we go!

Hey boys and girls! (and family :))

My last post was a tad short, so I'll post another short one! Gag.

Anyway, I've gone to see cherry blossoms twice already, but just passing through kind of way. In Senshuu Park and in Kakunodate samurai village to be specific. The latter was today. Why did I go there twice? Well, I wanted to draw a picture, that's why. And I did it. But the thing isn't quite finished so you all need to wait a bit until I polish it and load it up. :)

Also, my real hanami (with picnic) will be in Yamagata, the neighbouring prefecture to Akita. I'm going to visit okaasan's parents there. I hope I understand the local dialect because my family assured me that they will definitely be speaking it. I'll be staying there for 3 days, so for the most part of the Golden Week. Yes, it's already started! There's no school either! BREAKTIEM! The grandparents house will be about a 4-hour ride from where I'm currently located. But we have a really long and interesting schedule made, e.g. we'll go to a Japanese sweets shop that otoosan thinks is the best, afterwards onsen, then an amusement park etc etc.

So for that time I won't be updating around here.

Everybody enjoy yourselves and thanks for dropping by!

BB