Japan Vol. 1

So I have been in Japan for all of two weeks now. These are my general impressions of this whacked out country that defies any expectations one might have had about it!

1. The men are hot. Gorgeous, in fact. Not only do they dress impeccably well, but their hair is constantly groomed and their faces are really beautiful. I never thought the men would be terribly hot, but turns out that practically all of them are hot. Although all I can think of is my beautiful Mac.

2. The dress sense. Amazing. From the outright whacky (men prancing about in skirts and leotards) to the really classy (oooo – the way the men wear their scarves. rowr). But the women too. From flitting about in skirts that barely cover their… erm…. vajayjay areas to kimono-clad women shuffling about in a hunch-like manner. It’s all so very different, and one finds oneself just people-watching because they’re simply so easy to people watch!

3. The sense of time. EVERYTHING is on time, and it’s literally to the minute. We South Africans are simply just not used to it. If a bus says that it is coming at 13h34, it will be there at 13h34. If it says it will leave at 13h35, it will leave at 13h35. It’s a bit odd. Especially for me, who has never really been a stickler for time and instead embraces the laissez-faire nature of African time.

4. The shopping. And, no, this isn’t just normal shopping. All manners and forms of practically anything can be found in crowded five-floor department stores. I think my favourite item of shopping so far bought has been the Y1000 (R70) fake glasses. The Japanese LOVE to wear fake glasses and experiment with different frames.

5. The food. You think Japanese food is sushi, neh? HAH! Sushi is but only a small part of it all. Sarah has been instrumental in expanding our conservative taste buds, having tasted everything from ‘Soup Curry’ to ‘Genghis Khan.’ And yes, it’s really called Genghis Khan.

6. The cold. Fuck me, but it is cold. And I far prefer the climate of sunny SA. I find myself scuttling from warm-place to warm-place because it is simply too cold to be anywhere else. We have had a few days of heavy snow here and there, and I have only managed to fall down once on the ice that inevitably forms after a day or two of snowing. It’s pretty, and I do love the snow, albeit only looking at it from the warmth of the Starbucks in the Susukino area of town. hehe

Of course I have many more observations of Japan. But I think this will be all for now.

Just one more thing… I passed all my courses (YAY!) and I now officially have a law degree. This feels a little weird to say because it makes me sound like I am 37. I am an old person now. sob sob woe is me.

But am excited for next year, and have been thinking about all the stuff I will be putting up in my new cubicle at work. Already I have a poster that I got from the ‘Brits Beats Club,’  which is this REALLY awesome miniature club in Sapporo with a live band that plays British music, and a calender from Japan.

That is all. I lovest you blog. Even thou I hardly attend to you. hehe

 

The Starbucks where I love to sit and watch the people crossing the street amidst the falling snow

Point-by-Point by Tom Cat: Volume 5 (Three WONDERFUL points!)

So whilst I am jamming to the sounds of Mango Groove, I thought it would be best to write a Point-by-Point post because a) I have not done so in a while and b) there are many points I need to update ya’ll on regarding my three-month disappearance into the abyss of deep, dark and scary Joburg.

1. My future is finally sorted out. I got articles at a small firm about five minutes from where I stay. I worked there part time for about 10 weeks or so (seems like longer, actually), and besides the really short commute to work, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. The people were really nice and friendly, but I felt my mind was being wasted on the work I was doing there. I didn’t feel challenged at all, and I don’t think that was because of what work I was allocated, but it was because I don’t think commercial law and general litigation excites me terribly. I kept on contrasting this to the work that I did at the law clinic in the Refugee Unit, and I really enjoyed that because I felt I was doing something more meaningful. One of the cases we had was an appeal for an asylum seeker who had been denied refugee status – hearing his story and crafting his case for him was perhaps one of the most satisfying tasks I have ever performed, and I felt this way because the work that I was doing would to a large degree influence the direction he takes in life. And so I decided then that the work I need to go into has to make me feel like I’m having an impact on the greater scheme of things, and feeling this way is important to me because (at least for now) it gives me a far greater sense of identity.

So you can understand perhaps that I was feeling rather depressed about the prospects of doing my articles at this firm for two years. I was dreading work because of the work I was doing. Which is why I was overly ecstatic the day I got the email saying that I had been awarded the SAIIA-KAS Scholarship. This scholarship entails me working as a research intern at an international affairs think-tank at Wits University whilst simulataneously doing a Masters in Human Rights law. I will mainly be involved in research, but also organising events (I think), so it’ll be at work that’s exciting and not mundane. I cannot tell you how delighted I am, and how grateful I am to the Karma that be that I have got this opportunity. It makes me smile just thinking about it, and that’s what I like to do when thinking about my future.

2. I am going to Japan in just over 3 weeks time. YAY! I am going with Shakti to visit Sarah, and we are all very excited. We are going to Sapporo, Tokyo and this small town called Ueno in the Kansai region, which is very near it seems to Kyoto and Osaka. Going to be there until the 9th of January, so will be there for a month and a bit. I’m hoping I’ll be able to blog there, and I think I will given the propensity of the Japanese towards technology and the widespread provision of free Wifi internet access.

3. I recently returned from an AMAZING trip to Cape Town. I went down there for a Model UN conference as I was tutoring a bunch of kids from Kimberly in the Northern Cape province. It was amazing because I met some wonderful people and we had a wonderful time! I finally got to explore Long Street, and find myself really enjoying this one bar called Joburg. hehe. But also had such an amazing time because they took us to tour some fascinating places, including the Holocaust Centre and Robben Island. It was ALSO amazing because I met a lovely British boy there who had taught all over the world and knew about a thousand languages. And so he would read to me in Spanish and French and I would go gaga. I also found him rather yummy. I think the best afternoon was the Sunday afternoon we went for sundowners at Camps Bay. It was not only filled with excellent company, wicked cocktails, sinfully divine ice creams from ‘Sinful,’ but the afternoon ended with this amazing sunset over the ocean. Sigh… I could so easily move to Cape Town. SO easily. Indeed it all ended too quickly (most unfortunately) and I had to come back to 3 weeks of hell at university. But I shall never forget it, and the best part of it all was that it was all paid for and that I’m getting paid for tutoring the kiddlie winks. SCORE, i tell you.

Some photos for ya’ll…

1. I love this shot of all of us at Camps Bay because I think it captures the essence of the fun we had.

2. The Boy, me (the gargoyle sunglasses still need to be replaced) and one of the teachers from Kenya.

3. My little tuttlings from Kimberly. They did an admirable job of representing Brazil on three topics – i) Climate Change (Brazil’s cows emit a lot of methane – bet you didn’t know that!), ii) HIV/Aids and stigmatisation and iii) Child labour.