From the Midwest and Around the World

   I was about two years old when the Great Hanshin Earthquake occurred in Kobe, Japan. Hence, I do not remember any of the news reports, videos, etc. Today, I was able to go to the Kobe Memorial Museum which documents the earthquake itself, the trials of the victims, as well as hope and renewal in the face of evil.    First of all, I want to say that I recommend this museum for anyone who is planning on travelling in the Kansai region. The museum has excellent English translations for most of the exhibits (and some of the non-translated items are more visual than literary). I will warn that if one is epileptic or is prone to seizures and motion sickness he/she should skip the first video presentation which I will explain now.    The first exhibit was a short video with images, lights, and sounds from the earthquake. At first, as I was watching the ground dissolve and the buildings literally explode in the tremor, I thought that perhaps the film was embe...

   Hello everyone! It gets harder and harder to update, especially since I've fallen behind a bit in my posts as well as I've had a few busy weeks recently.    About three weeks ago, I visited Kyoto with some of the Japanese students who were studying English here at JCMU. We visited Yasaka Shrine and Kiyomizu Temple. Because much of Japan is very open (and semi-secular) about religion, but their faith is based in polytheism, there are many shrines (both large and small) and a lot of temples. It is not uncommon to see a very small shrine squeezed in the alley between two houses. As a Christian, I also have not gotten a chance to see inside another religion's house of worship.    Yasaka Shrine has a large white and bright orange gate. When you walk inside, there are food-booths and a lot of mini shrines. There is also a place where one can buy protective charms (usually about $10 or more), "mikuji" (which are fortune sheets...I will talk about t...

   I visited Hikone-jo (Hikone Castle) today. With my student ID, I get in free... Unfortunately, since it is winter here, things are kind of gray and muddy. However, the view was wonderful!      However, the climb up to the main castle was a haul (as it should be deduced due to the view).        The castle was also really intimidating, but in a different way. However, the stairs inside the castle leading to the top were little death traps. They could not be called stairs because they were more like really steep ladder steps. I went up forwards...but I had to go down backwards. With my luck, it was not hard to picture myself falling down flat on my head. But here is a picture of the exterior of the castle. I will probably go again and get more pictures:     It was a really good experience and now I am preparing to Skype with some friends from college who also did JCMU a few years ago. I also ha...

   Today was my first full day in Japan. I had a fairly restless sleep the night I got there, probably due to the time difference and jet lag. However, I forced myself to stay in bed until 6 AM. Then, I ate the bean bun I had bought the night before, which was very tasty. I also got some hot chocolate from the vending machine so I had a warm beverage. Then, I watched the sun rise and went for a walk with a bottle of hot green tea (again, from the vending machine). This is the view across the lake from the sidewalk outside the academic building. Here is the sidewalk. To the left is a Japanese-style garden outside the academic building.  <---Another view of the lake <---Here is the view outside my window. If I look to the right, I can see the castle in the distance    I had wanted to bike to the grocery store later that day, but since it is the weekend and tomorrow (Monday) is a national holiday, the person who is in charge of the bi...

   Well, I am finally in Japan! My plane ride was long, but it was fun to meet different people as well as watch movies and the "moving map" that shows what country (or ocean) the plane is flying over. I was in the middle of a three-chair row in economy comfort (so I had a little more foot room). Next to me, in the aisle seat, was someone who (I think) was French (based on his language choices on the screen). He seemed perpetually angry/impatient and was not too friendly...so maybe he was affected by the blizzard at some point as well and was just trying to get to his location, or maybe this attitude is just a French thing...In the window seat, there was a Filipino (who was very friendly and nice...but I suspect a little flirtatious as well). They kept us really well fed! We got three different "meals" (and all three of them were very generously sized). The first was "dinner" which consisted of Miso Yaki Beef, rice, a roll, shrimp cocktail (basically three...

   When this is set to be published, I will have boarded the plane and will be about five hours into my flight to Japan.    I am currently in Detroit, sitting at my terminal and charging my laptop so that it has full power going into the 13 1/2 hour flight to Japan. Looking out the window, the plane which I will be boarding in about two hours is quite big. It has two floors (the second being 1st class only), and has ten seats in each row. I am seated in the middle of the three-seat row (no window seat), but I have economy comfort seating, so there is more foot room. In a few minutes, I will go walk up and down the terminal so as too stretch my legs and buy a snack or two for the flight. For lunch I had Chirashi sushi at a Japanese resteraunt here at the airport...it wasn't great, but it was food and I need long-lasting nourishment for this long flight.    I am really excited for this trip and am prepared to be totally immersed in the language and cul...

   The Midwest blizzard that occurred this past weekend (January 5-6) affected travellers and news reports internationally. I was one of those unfortunate travelers that got stranded in an airport as I was attempting to get to Japan in time for orientation and placement tests. Unfortunately, I did not make it and a combination of weather and overbooked flights prevented me from actually leaving Indianapolis until Friday morning. I therefore missed one day of orientation, all the placement tests, as well as two days of class. However, I have to remind myself to turn my life-lemons into lemonade and I got about four extra days at home. I will also have to be totally imersed as soon as I get to Japan, as there will be no guide sent by the school to get me to Hikone. I also got to experience being stranded at the airport for 30+ hours because there were no taxis working and I was still hoping for a flight that would take me to Detroit.    One learns a lot while travell...

　　Well, it has certainly been busy! I have not had much time at all to really sit down and tell you all what I am up to. So, now I actually have time.         First off, I had a job at Sears and then I was too busy, so I just recently quit. School has been very busy (three 300-level classes and a 200-level religion class with a mildly crazy professor). On top of all that, I am maintaining a 2nd job, tutoring with Student Academic Services ($8/hour!). Grade-wise, because of timing (the job at Sears), I was not able to be as studious as I would have liked. However, I am hoping to bring some of those grades up in order to regain the scholarship that I lost as a freshman.           Currently, it is my last night as a teenager. At about 5:45 AM tomorrow morning (October 27), I will have officially lived 2 decades on this earth. In honor of this achievement, I finished most of my homework for the weekend so that tomorrow I can relax and celebrate/...

Note: This is a review at first, but afterwards it turns into a rant about societies ills...as I see them...so read on with caution!    The other night, I was able to finally see the summer movie "The Great Gatsby." Over the summer, I had read the book so as to better measure the accuracy of the film interpretation. I really appreciated and enjoyed Baz Luhrmann's modern/20's era hybrid. The film had the style, music, morals, and dance of the '20s...while also integrating the music, dance, and morals of the contemporary '10s.     However, are these two eras (separated by nearly a century) really that different? In this post, I want to examine the aspects of the movie that overlap and identify that the two decades are, in fact, the same. The social battles may not be the same, but the thought behind them is very much the same.    First of all, music. In the '20s, a lot of the young people's music that was new at that time was considered very cru...

Sunday: I woke up early and with my family drove from Indianapolis to Grand Rapids. I got all moved in to my single room and watched "Serenity" with a few friends in their apartment. Overall a nice, relaxing day Monday: Labor Day. Again, just relaxed, and mentally prepared myself for the beginning of classes on Tuesday. Bought a few decorating items for my room and went to Starbucks with a friend. Tuesday: First day of classes. Quite a busy day! I had three classes (two of which are 300-level classes). From 8:35-9:50, I had The President and Congress (POLS-314) which seems like it will be a very entertaining class. From 12:05-1:20, I had International Organizations and Law (POLS-309) which also appears to be interesting. After that, I had Oral Rhetoric (CAS-101) from 1:30-2:45. Seems like it will be a fairly easy, relaxing class. It was really nice being able to bike to and from classes. A lot easier on the feet and definitely faster! Wednesday: I only have two clas...

      Today was the first day of class and it was awesome! It was not too stressful or too busy (only 16 credits plus no choir is a big improvement in time available). First, at 8:35, I had POLS-314 (The President and Congress). The prof (Pyle) for that class is new to Calvin and he seems very entertaining. The class also happens to be very small (7 people), so we should have a lot of deep discussions (at 8:35 in the morning...I shouldn't be too optimistic). After that I had about two hours in which to eat lunch, organize, and start on some homework. At 12:20, I had POLS-309 (International Organizations and Law). I've had this particular prof before (Westra). The class looks very interesting. Right after that class, I went to CAS-101 (Oral Rhetoric). It seems like it will be a very easy class...we don't have any required texts...which in a class of 300/200-level classes will be a Godsend!      I have discovered how nice it is to have a bike on campus. I bi...

      People are rude. I understand that it is just a fact of life, but it always surprises me how rude people can be. This habit of rudeness is concentrated on the Internet. People believe that they can say rude and unnecessarily sarcastic things from the safety of their keyboard. I have certainly been guilty of being sarcastic on the Internet. However, I always attempt civility and rational thought when posting my opinions. I do recognize that many people bristle or consider it an affront to their intelligence when someone posits a reasonable and balanced opinion on the many forums of opinion. For example, the other day I commented on an acquaintance's Facebook status where she derisively shared an article written by a pair of conservative young women. Of course the usual liberal comments of "ew" and "lol" and even a link to an open letter written insultingly to these women. In my opinion, both the original article and the open letter article both had very g...

     The first few entries of these "Political Tuesday" posts will serve as an introduction to my political beliefs and why I believe what I believe. I love to get into political debates (as long as they remain civil) and this often gets me into trouble because I am often sarcastic (and it is surprising how many people do not understand sarcasm and think that I am being serious!).      First of all, a little bit about my basic political ideology before we get into the hairy debates that so polarize American society. I enjoy personality quizzes and I will start this series by taking the Political Compass Quiz (so that you, the reader, can get a general idea of my ideology). My political ideology on the compass is as follows. I am fairly economically conservative and barely libertarian when it comes to social life. While personality quizzes are never fully accurate, they offer a window into a simplified version of oneself.