Feeling More Adjusted

Working in the schools fields. We picked eggplant, peppers and watermelons.

I am starting to feel more at home in Nara now, more able to deal with group time, and better settled into my classes and such.

 The first week had me grumpy, and missing familiarity. I also had the strong sense of missing specific people especially. That's not to say I don't miss them now, but now I can deal with it easier and it's less intense.

A view from a large hill near Kasuga Yama

Kasuga Yama forest shrine

Kasuga Yama forest shrine

I really underestimated the comforts of art, even if it just means drawing a picture for my homework or working on DIY postcards. Art has been a big comfort for my brain. So has my bike, it is really comforting to know I don't have to walk 30-40 minutes to the grocery store and lug it all back, since I have my bike I can get there in like 10-15 minutes and put my goods in my basket :)

Lots of personal quiet time, or individual exploration time too have been helpful for me, since a lot of our time we are around other American students at school and other international students when we are at the dorms. Quiet time in the Library here is as close to meditation as I have gotten so far.

At Kasuga Yama area

Also I have had time in the school's agriculture fields where they grow rice, and vegetables, but the area which is so close is a healing natural place that I really enjoyed. I even saw some huge red crayfish near the rice fields in the deep culvert ravine things that line most of the roadways here.

They are to prevent flooding of the roads since we are at the base of a few mountains, so when the rain comes down hard and fast it goes into the culverts and not the roads, but many of these are uncovered and I wonder about people who don't pay attention to where they are going, since it would be really easy to fall in the 3 foot deep trenches.

A view of the school's rice field, the mountain and one culvert.

Here's a quick sketch of the culverts that line the roads.

Classes at first were a different style, and learning not only what the professors are saying but also what they are looking for was a challenge and still can be, but now it is easier for me to cope. The style of teaching while varying among professors also is slightly different than what I had experienced in Michigan.

It is amazing though to be learning about Japanese history since in America we typically never learn other countries' history, and our country is so young in comparison it just seems so much richer than I thought it would be. I guess I never really thought I was missing out on learning other cultures histories, but now I keep thinking what about all the other countries and their rich backgrounds? Why haven't we learned more about them?

The school's rice field.

Kasuga Yama forest shrine

Do we perhaps spend too much time focusing on inane details of our own history and end up leaving out key facts about what others were doing before during or after us? I know it is a problem with news in America, that we lack international coverage and yet we somehow know intimate details about celebrity love lives.

On another note am also glad for the abundance of foods like mushrooms, natto (fermented soy beans), my home made nabe one pot stews (with veggies, mushrooms etc.) and the like that are not only healthy, but also relatively cheap in comparison to buying easy to go foods from the konbini.

Now that I am more settled, I am able to better enjoy the old architecture styles from around our area. There is a festival that started today, that maybe goes on this weekend I want to see with dragon boats and the area has vendor stalls with all kinds of cool stuff going on.

Next week I will be volunteering at a traditional festival called Bon Odori which is celebrated at various times around Japan in each area. Nara celebrates it later than many other cities that tend to celebrate it in August.

A view of the forest through a hole in the tree roots

I will be wearing a traditional yukata, which some people call a cotton kimono, and I will be manning the popcorn or cotton candy stand. If I have a say in which, I will take the popcorn stand gladly, but either way I am stoked to be participating!

Kasuga Yama forest

I am also planning a 2-day trip to Toushi Island (either in mid October or November) with a group led by our advisor here. We will be staying at a family owned guest house Ryokan- or traditional hotel bed and breakfast style, which may have hot springs.

There we will enjoy the traditional seasonal foods, tour the town, and meet the clam ladies as I call them who are famous for clam diving in their white suits. We will also be going fishing off of the boat there and I hope to catch some fish for breakfast! I need to catch at least one fish to be satisfied with the experience.

Last week seemed to drag on slowly as I tried to cope with the changes and adapt to my new surroundings, now this week seemed to go by faster and I seem to be coping with all the differences in a much more graceful way.

From this I learned how powerful time, art, nature, alone time, and other comforts can be in dealing with such a large adjustment.