Cosplay; Programs; Anime; History

So I have been absent again I know for a very good reason. I recently started editing novels for people since I didn't get into either JET or Fulbright this year... That way I can still build my experience and resume with things I've been doing when I start to work on applying to graduate schools. One author I met on SharedTalk has translated his own stories and publishes them on Amazon.  His pen name is Ryusei, and he is 45 years old. Here is his profile page if you're interested to read more about him or read his works. He is really nice and super knowledgeable about many things, as well as has great English.

Ryusei also introduced me to "The Tatami Galaxy" anime. I really want to watch it because of its unique visual style, but I heard that the subtitles are too distracting from the awesome visuals of the anime. If I do it in straight Japanese, I wouldn't be able to watch it with friends though... so I am torn on whether to just marathon it alone or not.

Last night when I was talking to Ryusei, he said that he was reading up on Kuroda Yoshitaka, a famous samurai. The reason Ryusei was reading about him was because he really loves history and prefers famous samurai who were of reputable character, unlike the samurai, Miyamoto Musashi, who couldn't even beat his rival alone in a fight. Then, because I'd mentioned Miyamoto Musashi and tara no shirako (a Japanese dish), Ryusei said that he was upset by our conversation. I joked two strikes, one more and I'm out and he mentioned that the third thing that would/could bother him would be just the state's shintoism as a whole because of some historical reasons. Bluh, there was no winning for me yesterday.

Since I didn't get into either JET or Fulbright and have pretty much missed out on applying to graduate school this year because of Fulbright and JET, I'm looking into Interac. Interac is another teach abroad program, like JET, that one can use to go abroad to Japan. I am considering applying to this program since they have their own system outside of the U.S. government and generally keep a rolling application process despite having two main application periods. I think Interac is a good program because it is well respected and an awesome opportunity, like Fulbright or JET, for people looking to engage themselves with Japanese society.

Speaking of Fulbright,  they have another amazing opportunity for people to study abroad. I think that there is great potential for applicants because it is more of a multi-media program that one can use to engage audiences of all ages through written research, pictures, visual media such as film, and more. There is so much potential in this program and if I had more time to prepare, I would have applied myself. I wish all of these applicants good luck because Fulbright is very competitive.

So I plan on cosplaying at this year's anime detour that is coming up in a couple of months. If I can get more hours at work soon or get accepted for a second job, I want to cosplay as both Kitsurubami from FLCL and Lal'c Mellk Mal from Diebuster. I think that they are both amazing and strong women who work independent from others and can think individually from their commanders. I want to cosplay them also because I really find their uniforms cute. I'm a little self-conscious because all of my body weight is either in my boobs or in my thighs (mostly my thighs) and I don't want to look frumpy. I know there are a lot of ways to not look frumpy, but spanx wouldn't be able to help my thighs for Lal'c.  If I do Kitsurubami, I will just buy the pattern to a Twiggy Bell dress and modify it. I might even do that for the bell sleeves of Lal'c depending on the funding. That's what I am thinking of doing currently, anyways.

Well that is all I have for now. I will let you know about my applications to Interac and what graduate schools I settle on applying to. I also wanted to remind everyone that there are ways to achieve your dreams, and here's a list to help motivate you all!

Thank you for reading~!

Notes....

http://shinpaideshou.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/going-on-to-graduate-school-for-japanese-studies/
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools

http://juicytip.com/funny/japanese-inventions-we-in-america-need-yesterday?page=1

http://www.fandompost.com/2014/01/10/new-sailor-moon-anime-gets-premiere-season/

Minamoto no Yorimitsu Striking at the Ground Spider” by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.




http://us.fulbrightonline.org/fulbright-nat-geo-fellowship

Catching Up; Literature, Pop Culture & More

So sorry I've been busy.

The news has been overflowing with reports on Fukushima. I know I should be worried because I not only want to return to Japan, but because I also want to move to the west coast and if there is radioactive material oozing into the ocean, that will affect the West Coast of America quickly. After the plant manager died of cancer (supposedly unrelated to his heavy hours in the plant after the near meltdown two years ago), there has been several reports in the weeks following that updating global citizens of what is failing and Japan's attempts to fix these grave problems. I really wonder how Japanese citizens view this and whether or not they're getting as much or (hopefully) more information daily about what is going on at this nuclear power plant. I also worry because I know that Japan's been trying hard to conserve energy since they had closed down their other plants (in order to one day not need run on nuclear energy anymore).

Then today I found out Utada Hikaru's mother passed away (maybe yesterday in Japan--not sure). I found out via Asian Junkie and one of my Japanese penpals that she is definitely deceased (and not just propaganda) and supposedly by suicide, but nobody knows for sure. I don't know how Utada is taking it since this just occurred, but I can only hope that there is some comfort in knowing that her fans and her mother's empathize with her. If you haven't had the chance to hear either of these amazing musicians, quickly go listen to some of their hits. I can only hope the best for Utada.

A roommate from last year posted this on another roommate's wall the other day. I know that instant ramen is becoming more and more common as daily meals in both America and Japan, and people love to mix up what they like. The reason that the first roommate shared This Article  on the second's wall is because we've watched her try hummus ramen, ramen as toppings, dry ramen, and more. She wanted to see if the second would try a ramen burger because of her experiments, but it was too much for the other one to consider.

At some point a few weeks ago I was reading Understanding Humor in Japan by Jessica Milner Davis because I read another book by a Russian in Japan that upset me. The Russian author stated possible facts about why the Japanese do things they do, why they view things the way they do, but without historical or factual explanations. There were no citations or any evidence to back up his statements besides his living there. I plan on putting up a more in-depth post on the book when I get the chance.

Davis' article was really interesting because she not only explains everything in detail for an audience who does or doesn't know anything about Japanese culture on top of relating and explaining historical context. I look forward to reading more of this book in the near future.

 Lastly I've begun prepping for applying to grad school and the Fulbright Scholars Program. I want to research Japanese culture and this is a great way to do so. It is really prestigious and I really hope I get in. I have an interesting subject I want to research and I hope they'll accept me so I can study and write about it. Since I can only research and not teach or get an MA or anything while I'm in Japan, I'm hoping that the Grad Schools I apply to will allow me to defer them for a year to do this researching (if I'm accepted *fingers crossed*).

Well, thank you so much for reading. Don't forget to comment and share with your friends. 

Maia Does Japan, Again!: Blog

So my friend Maia is about to head out to Japan in a number of weeks to start her new, amazingly awesome post-graduation life. She has successfully become apart of JET, going abroad to teach English I think. She's going to be in Hiroshima ken and I can't wait to see her pictures. Her old blog of when she was in Japan is This, but now I get to follow her Here. I am so excited for her. I hope I'm able to visit her while she's abroad.

Well I'm bringing her up because partly because she is she going overseas soon, but also because she and I were talking about great opportunities to get back to Japan. I've already done study abroad and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do. I was considering becoming a Fulbright Scholar, but I'm a little wary since I have been in Japan for ten months consecutively and am not sure whether that will hinder or help me in getting back there. We spoke of me maybe becoming a CIR (coordinator for International Relations) through JET or any other program, since there are so many opportunities out there. Maia said that CIRs essentially just help out around offices with English and stuff. One of our old peers from our college is doing that and he's loving it. Of course, we acknowledged that probably nothing in the world could have probably kept him from Japan in the first place and that he is thankfully having a great time there.

Then Maia brought up Interac which starts accepting applications in October/November. She said that it is for teaching English, which isn't really my cup of tea, but always a great opportunity. I will definitely look into this anyways because then I can really weigh out my opportunities. So there will probably be a post in the upcoming future about Interac along with all other programs I can find.

I can't wait to meet up with her once more before she goes back abroad because I know we won't talk as much while she's away. I hope she's able to stay out there more if she wants to too because I'm know she's an exceptional person to have around.

Thanks for Reading!