いけばな

Last post of the semester!!

This post I will talk about いけばな. When I was in Japan, I visited a Buddhist monastery where there were many different ikebana presentations in this one room. とてもきえりいでした！そしておもしろかったです。It's so interesting because ikebana is so different from what the West does for flower arranging. In the West, bigger and more is better a lot of the time, so the prettiest bouquets might have a million different kinds of flowers in no particular order or arrangement, just bundled together. Of course, I love love love a dozen roses just as much as the next girl (hehehe), but there's something about ikebana that is so refined. Ikebana makes you think about the presentation and all its different elements -- it's not just something pretty or cute like Western flower bouquets. Even the simplest ikebana are unique and interesting:

For example, look at the ikebana to the woman's left. Just one flower, but in its container and with it's shape and color, it becomes something that you sort of are drawn to somehow.

(http://www.perth.au.emb-japan.go.jp/HIROBA/HirobaMarch/ikebana.jpg)

The containers that the ikebana are in are not just containers but are considered part of the ikebana itself.

For example, this one! The container is round and wooden and fluid and complements the yellow flowers and greenery inside perfectly. とてもおもしろいね！



(http://www.jsnw.org.uk/Gallery/Ikebana%2002.jpg)




"Kado [Traditional Ikebana] is a traditional Japanese art that has flourished since the 16th century. Its origin is said to date from the 16th century when Buddhist Priests offered up flowers before Buddha. The fundamental concept is to express the three elements of heaven, earth, and mankind in a balanced composition, using natural flowers. Natural beauty and one's feelings are expressed by using scissors to adjust the length of the stems and to modify the shape of the leaves and by using the hands to add curvature." (http://schools.4j.lane.edu/yujingakuen/pages/resources/culture.html)

The ikebana I saw in Japan were extremely elaborate and impressive, more so than any of the pictures above. I couldn't really find any pictures on the internet on the same scale, but here's perhaps a small taste of what I saw:
(Except this would be bigger and even more elaborate.)

（http://schools.4j.lane.edu/yujingakuen/images-culture/ikebana.jpg


Well, that's it! Hope everyone has not-too-horrible Reading & Finals Weeks! がんばって〜！

としこし Noodles of the World!!

こんばんは！

こんしゅうのきにょび、Toshikoshi (としこし）Noodles of the World Event があります！とてもたのしいです。
(This Friday, there will be a Toshikoshi Noodles of the World Event! It will be really fun.)

It is organized and led by Columbia Japan Society, and many other clubs will be there serving their own regional noodle dishes! Some clubs include the Romanian Club, the Thai Club, and AAA, among others.

It will be in the evening in the Broadway Room! Look around at the とてもすごい！！！ flyers for more details :)

So come by and relax and chat with friends while enjoying lots and lots of noodles, in both soups and other dishes! Since it will probably be とてもさむい, it'll be nice to enjoy hot dishes inside right before Reading Week. :)

てれびとうえいが！

こんにちはみなさん！

しゅうまつはどうですか。

Today I will write about てれびとうえいが。なにをみますか。。。てれびはなにがすきですか。(What do you watch? What is your favorite show?)

わたあしは Law&Order がだいすきです！！！It is my T.V. obsession - except I like the older seasons (reruns!!!!!!!! - I own several older seasons), and I don't like the spinoffs ("Criminal Intent"? What is that supposed to mean? Psha - not for me, thanks.) そして、Daily Show とう Colbert Report　が だいすきですが、いま writers' strikes です！ざんねんですね。。。That is the only thing I regularly try to watch because I don't tend to like many T.V. shows nowadays. Except, "The Simpsons" がすきですよ！でも。。。ときどきsome seasons あまりよくないです。But most seasons I do like.

I have never really been much of a T.V. watcher - I only watch very specific shows and those four are the only ones I have ever watched regularly or semi-regularly for any extended period of time.

As for movies, I have too many favorite movies to list them all. However, some are "Sean of the Dead" とう "Pulp Fiction" とう "Fight Club" とう"Office Space" よう"When Harry Met Sally".... ああ、たくさんがすきですね！ I can't even remember what all of my favorite/most-watched movies are :) I do love Hayao Miyazaki of course!! みやざきのえいがはとてもかわいいですね。。。！！Also, わたしはDisney がだいすきです。It is such a little-kid thing, but they are my comfort movies - they remind me of when I was little and watched "The Lion King" and "Beauty and Beast" all the time!! Classic Disney stuff is the best :)

えいがは、なにがすきですか。Recently なにをみましたか。(What are your favorite movies? What have you seen/watched lately?)

じゃ、また！

にほんりょうり！

Food!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~ にほんりょうり！〜〜〜

In class today we talked about food for a bit... It made me so hungry!! I have eaten all the kinds of sushi we talked about except for the rectangular-shaped pieces... おもしろいです。。。they looked interesting!

Food is one of my favorite things - and Japanese food is one of my favorite types!!! Although I pretty much will eat anything :) I like to try as many things as I can... In this blog I'll talk about some of the things I got the chance to eat in Japan, or at Japanese restaurants in New York or California, where I'm from. Californians LOVE Japanese food, especially sushi :) It's everywhere (in city areas), and you can get really good sushi for pretty low prices, especially in coastal areas like San Diego (where I've lived for the past 7 years or so) because there's lots of fresh fish. Although, in California, you do find lots of "non-Japanese" sushi - obviously, California rolls, but also lots of other inventive things. Brazilian sushi is also おいしい！ Actually, back at home, I would go to lunch as often as I could to a Hawaiian-themed/-influenced sushi place called Aloha Sushi (かわいいね！）. It was very very good, especially for its prices, although it was not authentic or traditional sushi. One of my favorite things (which I miss dearly) was a roll that had うなぎ (eel) and tempura-ed banana, with some avocado, crab, and eel sauce. It may not sound very appealing but the eel and banana taste delicious together! ^_^ I haven't found that in many places...

さとうせんせいの blog talks for a bit about okonomiyaki. おこのみやきとてもすきです！！In Japan, you can go into a small restaurant and they grill the okonomiyaki on grill-like-strips built into the bar or table... すごいね。 It's unbelievably おいしい!! Everyone MUST try it sometime - it's one of the things I missed most when I came back to the U.S. because it's hard to find it here (although I have found it in NYC! Yay!). ニューヨークはすきですから、とてもおもしろいです。。。そしてとてもおおきいです。

Also in Japan I went to a restaurant in Kyoto that served すきやき (sukiyaki)! It is similar to しゃぶはぶ (shabu shabu), although I think I personally like すきやき better. Not only is すきやき delicious, but it is also a lot of fun! (as is shabu shabu!) It makes for a great group outing!




<-- Sukiyaki






Another thing I had a lot of in Japan was green tea ice cream. I went in the summer, and it got really hot sometimes, so I have lots of fond memories about green tea ice cream and iced green tea from vending machines. :)




<-- I think it looks cute...ね？









One thing that is also particularly interesting about Japan and eating in Japan is that most restaurants have dispays outside of plastic models of their dishes. It makes you hungry! And is also very useful if you speak and read NO Japanese at all - as I did when I went! I, with my schoolmates on the trip, would memorize some of the characters that were underneath the displays outside and point to them on the menu. That resulted in a very interesting eating experience, since lots of times we would mix up characters and get something totally different! But I remember everything being delicious!! (Of course, I will literally eat anything..)

The thing I ate most often was probably noodles/soup, like udon, even though it was often very hot outside, because udon was often relatively cheap and Japan in general is very expensive. My favorite udon was tempura shrimp udon - they give you tempura shrimp in the udon. Yum ^_^



<-- Tempura shrimp udon! Yay for comfort food. (at least it is for me!)





Finally, the most interesting eating experience... This was probably when I stayed overnight in a Buddhist monastery (とてもすごい！！). Obviously, the monks were all vegetarians (vegan actually), so I had two days of completely vegan food... I actually really enjoyed it, although I was I think the only one on the trip who did. They can do the most interesting things out of seeds and various roots and vegetables and whatnot. I ate lots and lots of tofu, of course! And other gelatinous, unidentifiable things... Actually, most of the time I had no idea what I was eating. Also, lots of rice - once we finished the rice, we would mix it into the green tea and drink the rest, so no rice is wasted. I think it also was for good luck or something - I don't remember exactly...

That's all for now! Sorry for the long post - I have lots to say about たべもの。

What do you guys like to eat??

Composition #2 Letter

やまださんへ、

はじめまして。わたしのなまえはケイトシュルツです。わたしはアメリカじんです。じゅうはっさいです。コロンビアだいがくのいちねんせいです。コロンビアだいがくはニューヨークです。ニューヨークがとてもすきですから、とてもおもしろいまちです。まいじゅう、あたらしいところへいきます！しゅうまつちかてつできのくにやへいきました。きのくにやはにほんごのほんやです。しゅうまつにほんごのレストランへもいきました。わたしはにほんりょうりがすきです！すしとうどんとおこのみやきがとてもすきです。そして、もちとおちゃがとてもすきです！

コロンビアだいがくは、むずかしいですが、たのしいです。コロンビアだいがくはふるいもですが、とてもきれいなだいがくです。わたしのがくせいのせいかつはとてもいそがしいです。あまりひまじゃありません。ときどきにぎやかですが、ときどきしずかです。わたしのりょうのへやはちいさいですが、すてきです。わたしはじゅうごかいです。とてもたかいですね！

わたしはしちがつついたちににほんへきます。それからおせわになります。はちがつむいかにアメリカへかえります。どうもありがとうございます！

よろしくおねがいします！

ケイト　シュルツ

This is my Sunday night procrastination

こんばんわ！

Lately I have been starting to think in Japanese sometimes. Just with certain phrases, like たいへんですね、そうですか、そうですね、はい、いいえ、ざんねんですね、ちょっと。。。and maybe a few more. Sometimes I blurt them out in conversation accidentally because they've been so imprinted in my brain! I think it's starting to weird out some of my friends....hehehe...oops! Anyone else similarly brainwashed?

Oh and I hope everyone who went to Tsukimi Sushi Night had a blast! Way more people showed up than we expected so unfortunately after the first hour we started to run out of things and we started having to turn people away... すみません if you came after that and were turned away. So sorry!!! But for those who did come in time, I hope you had a great time :)

SUSHI NIGHT!!

Hey guys!!

This Friday Columbia Japan Society is putting on Tsukimi Sushi Night!! (Tsukimi is referring to the moon-viewing festival in Japan.) It is $5, all-you-can-eat sushi!! In addition, there will be a live, short performance of shamisen at some point during the night - すごいね！！！ I encourage everyone to come, especially since this year we're busting it out and making it bigger and better than ever with even more food that previous years! So come help eat it! =D

Tsukimi Sushi Night
Friday, October 26th
6:30-8:30 pm
Lerner Party Space

favorite sites in Japan?

こんばんはみなさん！

I am wondering how many of you have been to Japan before? I went three years ago during a summer and LOVED it! One of my favorite things (if not my favorite thing) was visiting shrines and temples. So きれいな！Here are some pictures of some of my very very favorite shrines and temples. Visiting these was so amazing, and still looking at pictures makes my heart skip!

This is, I think, my very favorite. It is Itsukushima Shrine, in the Hiroshima Prefecture. You go to it by ferry and see the torii gate in the water! Look at the bright red!


Look at the bright red buildings!

This is at low tide.

Another of my favorites is Meigetsu-in! It is known for its あじさい、or hydrangeas. It's so beautiful and calm! It is in the Kamakura Prefecture.

This is Kiyomizudera in Kyoto. It means "pure water temple" (it is a Buddhist temple). People can go here and collect the water, which is said to convey health, long life, and success. (I'd go for that!) You can see an amazing view of Kyoto from here!

Oh, and I am curious - for those who have been to Japan, what is your favorite city? Mine is definitely Kyoto. (I am a culture/history junkie!) I actually can't really stand being in Tokyo for more than several days - it's so crowded and insane. Nara and Mt. Fuji are also beautiful :)

what I did last weekend (I am a boring person)

せんしゅうのきんようびは　わたしのおとうさんコロンビアのだいがくえきました。いっしょにトルコのレストランえ　いきました。わたしは　どようびにべんきょうしました。にちようびも　べんきょうしました。たいへんです！

obsession...

こんばんわ！

I'm assuming most, if not all, of you guys have checked out m2m at least once... if not, do! I can't stop myself from going in there at least every other night. I have an addiction. Especially to the 2 liter bottles of Itoen green tea!!! おいしいですよ！！ I can drink an entire bottle in a night. Not very good, ne?
my love


And of course, their little jello packets and mochi ice creams are perfect for those late nights studying katakana... yum. not to mention roasted wasabi covered peas. Am I the only one who loves those? They probably give you cancer or something.

death at 35


Anyone else have nightly Japanese junk food eating habits? If so, what do you eat / recommend? I'm always looking for new paths to obesity.

Procrastination anyone?

こんにちわみなさん、

This is pretty amusing. To me, at least (I'm entertained very very easily!) Anyway, this is a robot that Japanese researchers have been developing, apparently. It's yellow and squishy-looking and it "dances"! And responds to you if you look at it, or something like that. I'm not sure if it does much else... but what more could you want?? :) But I think it's pretty すごい！

Composition ＃１

はじめまして！わたしは ケイト です。アメリカじんです。サンディエゴからきました。コロンビア だいがくのいちねんせいです。わたしのせんこは EALAC/MEALAC です。どうぞよろしく！

Japanese vending machines!

こにちわ！

I couldn't think of anything interesting to write about, but then I remembered this paper that I wrote in high school about, of all things, ...Japanese vending machines!! (Yes, I was an Asian studies geek even in 10th grade.)

First of all, these things sell EVERYTHING, from pets to hot noodle soup to toilet paper to alcohol to flowers (and even more things which I won't mention). When I visited Japan, I saw these everywhere - even in small towns in the mountains! They're just randomly plopped down on a sidewalk, every few blocks or so.

Did you know...?
-There is one vending machine (or jidoo-hanbaiki) per every 23 people in Japan! (This is according to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturer's Association.)
--> That means that there are around 5.5 million vending machines in Japan! (There are about a million more vending machines in the United States, but think about how large the U.S. is compared to Japan!)
-In fact... There are about 37 vending machines per square mile in Japan, or about 15 per every square kilometer!
-The first vending machine was made in 1904 of wood! (go here to see a picture of it near the bottom of the page.)

Here are some pictures of jidoo-hanbaiki...

These are typical drink and cigarette vending machines. These are the most common.

This is one that sells pet beetles! So convenient!

This one sells toilet paper!

That's it for now! If you guys want to know more (or look at more fun pictures) here are a few links:

"If it sells, Vend it!" (This is a good article.)

And... Pictures!

じゃまたあした！


P.S.
To respond to some comments...

-The only other language I have learned before is Spanish. I started out in kindergarten, though (being from California), so I am very used to European languages.

-I'm not sure why I find Japan more interesting than China! I think it's partly because I have never been to China - although I have taken both Japanese studies and Chinese studies classes. I think that Japanese history, especially, interests me more in general - I find that Chinese history, until the 1800's, can be very repetitive with all the dynasties. (Although I find Chinese history from about 1900 onwards extremely fascinating - even more so than modern Japanese history!!) Also, in terms of modern culture, Japan's is definitely one of the more unusual or interesting of the world, what with all the mixing of old and new. I love that in Kyoto I can find the Japanese equivalent of a 7/11 across from an ancient wooden Shinto shrine. Omoshiroi ne?

First Post

This is class is very fun so far (way more fun than high school language classes!). I am taking it because I am interested in an East Asian Languages and Cultures major, even though I am only a freshman right now, and in general I find Japan more interesting than China. East Asia has always fascinated me all my life (I'm not sure why). I might also get a Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures concentration, to learn more about the rest of the non-Western or Asian/Eurasian world.

Have fun learning!