Abroad: 頑張っている

ganbatteiru

(very difficult to translate; means something like "going for it" "making it happen" or "trying my best")

The new semester started on Monday, and so far it's be crazily busy. I've joined two "circles" on campus, basically student clubs. In Japanese university culture, the vast majority of students' time outside of their studies or alone time (so, hang-out time) is spent with clubs or circles. It's sort of the "group culture" idea, and it provides a framework for social interaction.
Anyhow, I've joined 「XXTRA!!」 (live rock band jamming/practice/performance circle) and [Melo Melo」("メロメロ"; a cappella singing circle, in small and medium groups). Both circles had parties yesterday, I went to a total of four dinners last week, and two practices each. Normally it's too much but once the new-student period is over (the school year just began here, actually) then it'll go down, but it's still a huge amount of time. Still, it reminds me about how important music is to me, and how I miss singing and just love live performance and all this kind of stuff.

That said, however, I'm tentatively in the higher-level Japanese class now, and it's already kicking my ass. I'm not so good at kanji/reading, though my conversation skills have improved a lot, so it means a lot of study.

Recently a few people have been asking me why I came to Japan and why I study Japanese, and my answer has come down to some combination of these points:
• I wanted to do something different. Something rare, maybe even innovative.
• I didn't want to do what my brother did.
• I always knew I wanted to study abroad.
• I wanted to challenge myself.
• I wanted to totally replant myself (despite having experienced this on a smaller scale many times before) to discover myself and some of my real interests.
• About Japanese culture specifically, I perceived a special emphasis on moments in time, an abstract idea that appeals to me spiritually and perhaps academically.
• An interest in Japanese culture on a sort of warm level, including food, video games, and motion pictures.

A few more pictures from spring break:

This is the famous Kobe Beef. It's called "Momo" which could be a name or could mean it has a sort of "peachy" flavor. This particular box is designed for gift-giving, and this particular cut of the beef is for barbecuing.

Seen in Osaka. Japanese clothing seems to be known for strange English.

Kyoto, in front of a famous mochi shop.

Miyajima, just south of Hiroshima (more on that later). This is known to be one of the three most beautiful sights in Japan. It's a torii (sacred gate) from a famous old temple.

I've been cooking more, and I finally learned how to make REAL teriyaki chicken, especially since I can't buy it here! haha. This was my emulation of an American-style teriyaki bowl.