Hiro's progress... or something else?

Friends and family are in a special category, but one of the things I used to do in Brazil that I miss here is watching some TV shows. I won't start listing them here, but "Heroes" is one of the series that I miss watching.

Recently, that topic "TV shows I used to watch" appeared when I was talking to a Japanese friend. So I started looking for information about the series on the internet to show to that friend...

And I stumbled on part of an interview with Masi Oka, the one who plays Hiro Nakamura in the series. That part is about a blooper about misunderstanding a word in Japanese... "shinpo", which means "progress", for another word which means... well, watch the video.



If you coluldn't get it (and also in case the video is removed), the second word is "chinpo".

Everyday life...

Some miscellaneous stories about what I've been through.

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According to the scholarship rules, we arrive here as "research students". That is a status of "non-degree-seeking" students. If we want to enter Master's or PhD ("degree-seeking"), we have to take the department's entrance exam. It changes a lot from university to university and from department to department, from those who require no exam at all or just a small exam for formality to tests and interviews that you have to study a lot to pass. The average seems to be somewhere in between, tending to the "study-a-lot" side.

Also, some require students to read and answer in Japanese, other allow answers in English. Some exams are held in August-September, and others in February-March.

That was a silly tutorial for the scholarship. Now, an interesting thing is that, although our visa in Japan declares us as "students", "research students" are often not considered students at all. Especially to get student discounts in trains, mobile phone companies and such...

Existential dilemma: We are told we are students, but some groups do not consider us so. Then what are we???

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There's a legend that foreigners who come to Japan never keep their weight. At least during the first months (after that it's up to each person). Men usually get thinner, while women usually get fatter. I don't know the reason for that, but I've seen some situations where that legend was true.

In my case, for example.

People say I don't have weight to lose... and I daresay they may be right. Sometimes I think I'm too thin. But in Japan, either when I went to Himeji or this time in Kyoto, I managed to someway lose more weight.

Much to my mother's concern...

I lost count on how many times she told me I'm too thin and that I have to eat more... I'm not starving... very far from that. But I have to concede that que quality of my meals have deteriorated.

But there was a new comment from her recently: "you look anemic" (based on a picture I'd sent her).

That's a new one...

And there's a friend in Brazil who says that Japanese, especially women, are "too white". They don't get a tan... in some cases, especially girls avoid it at all costs covering themselves even in the hottest of days. Parasol, gloves, long sleeves... on days when people would meld being naked. I imagine what's going on under that "armor"...

So, should I consider that "Japanese whiteness" is contagious and I might have been contaminated!?

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One of my favorite games when I meet new people, especially Japanese people, is making them try to guess from which country I'm from. Given my looks, people usually start guessing somewhere around East Asia. After that, they get puzzled when I say I'm not from anywhere in Asia. But they get it when I say I'm from South America... usually on the first try after the hint.

But I was caught in my own game more than once. People asking me to guess where they are from... and I've done stupid mistakes as well...

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It doesn't matter how long have you lived in Japan, or how well you think you're used to trains, there's always something stupid you can do...

I was going from my dorm to the main campus with some friends. Can't remember now to do what exactly. We have to transfer to another line for that. But as we were chatting, we didn't notice that we were waiting at the wrong plataform! When the train we were waiting for arrived, we had to rush to the other plataform... barely managing to make it on time. It was tougher for the girls who were wearing heels...

During the same trip, I guess our loud talk (in English) bothered an old salaryman. Before he left some stations before us, he came closer to me and said something (in Japanese) I grasped as being "Japanese don't baheve like that"... Why me!? I wasn't the loudest one! Oh... but I was the only Japanese-looking person...

Another story. Some stations have similar names. If you don't pay attention to where you're going or what ticket you have to buy, you may end up in Tenbabashi (Osaka) when you actually want to go to Tanbabashi (Kyoto)...

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Strange coincidences happen. One Saturday, after practicing aikido and studying at the university library, I met a friend on the way home. The Japanese girl I think I've mentioned during the trip to Keihoku-chou. She was going to a "nagashi soumen" party organized by a international exchange group and invited me to go along.

From the soumen article in Wikipedia:

"Some restaurants offer sōmen served in the manner of “flowing noodles” in the summer. Flowing Somen is called "Nagashi Sōmen" (流しそうめん, "Nagashi Sōmen"?) in Japanese. The noodles are placed in a long flume of bamboo across the length of the restaurant. The flume carries clear, ice-cold water. As the sōmen come down the flume and pass by, you pluck them out with your chopsticks and then dip them in a container of tsuyu. Catching the noodles requires a fair amount of dexterity, but the noodles that aren't caught by the time they get to the end usually aren't eaten, so diners are pressured to catch as much as they can."

So, it's wasteful... but very funny. Trying to catch the noodles; warning that a massive amount is reaching the end; people tripping and breaking the bamboo flume...

Writing a wish on a paper and hanging that paper on bamboo or a tree... (It was Tanabata... and considering the year, the combination 07-07-07 is catchy for those who believe in numerology.)

And a water small balloon fight that reminded me of some friends in Brazil...

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I had my first capoeira experience ever in Japan. Weird, huh? There was a workshop around, and a former exchange student invited us to check it out. I don't remember the name of the group, but I remember it was the "Angola" style (I didn't even know there were different styles...) and they usually hold their classes somewhere in Osaka.

With all our flexibility of people who spend most of their time inside their labs, some other Brazilian students and I decided to accept the challenge. I have to say it's interesting, but I don't have the disposition to make it a regular exercise. As an evidence that people can excel in anything they really feel like doing, there were some Japanese who did really great during the practice. It was a little embarassing that the Brazilians were the ones having more trouble... hehe.

The bizarre scene happened on our way to the place. We were a large group, so our block pretty much blocked the street when we were on one of the small streets. So, while we were walking, an old lady simply appeared out of nowhere behind us and pulled her way past the group walking fast...

A very "genki obasan" indeed...

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Recently, it was Chi-chan's birthday. She is one of my friends in Himeji, and as the Himeji Gang set a birthday party for her, I decided to go also.

But here Murphy shows himself again. It was exactly the day of the big earthquake in Niigata Prefecture. When I've mentioned that earthquake before, I said that "the only effect I've felt so far was a major delay in JR trains on Monday"... Guess to what event I arrived late because of that...

Well, people were considerate enough to save some food for me... hehehe. So, although I've spent more time going and coming back than actually in Himeji (I had to return on the same day, even knowing that it would be hard because of the trains delayed), it was worth the visit. Friends, cake and laughter... Exactly what one needs to forget all those hours at the train station...

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Foreign men are sometimes told that getting a Japanese girlfriend is a very nice thing, including a good way to speed their Japanese language ability. Even in my case I've heard such comments many times in Himeji and in Kyoto... from both Japanese people and other foreigners.

No, people. I'm in no rush to get a girlfriend. And I don't have preferences for neither Japanese nor non-Japanese. When it happens, it happens.

But one of those comments floored me... It was just the way it was said...

"Enjoy the local fauna"...

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Looks like my pet spider decided to move.

It used to destroy its web and build another from time to time. And until recently, every new web was at a diferrent location. In such times, it wasn't unusual for it to disappear after destroying the old web, only to reappear a couple of days later with its new web.

It has been weeks that I don't see it anymore. Guess it's found a better place to build a web, without someone who'd annoy it every week after laundry...

Gion Matsuri

From July 14th to 17th, Kyoto was the stage for the Gion Matsuri (祇園祭), said to be one of the three largest festivals in Japan. From a guide I've received from a Japanese teacher:

"The history of the Gion Matsuri is almost as long as the History of the City of Kyoto itself. In the year 869, national disaster struck Japan. Every summer, disease and sickness would infect the population, but in 869 the epidemic reached national proportions. In order to check this epidemic, the Emperor Seiwa requested the chief priest of the Yasaka Shrine to hold a festival. So, on the seventh day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar in 869, the first Gion Festival took place. The townspeople built sixty-six floats which they carried through the streets of the old capital. One week later, the deities of the Yasaka Shrine, which include Susano-o-no-mikoto, were placed in portable shrines and carried past homes to purify streets and protect the inhabitants from the evil spirits which had caused the epidemic. The Yasaka Shrine's status among the shrines of Kyoto and its prestige steadily increased from this date.

In the year 970, the Gion Festival became an annual event. By the end of the tenth century, it had assumed the pomp and splendor apparent today in the floats in the procession. Already by this date, two types of large floats, musicians, dancers, comic plays, and artistic treasures were part of the festival. The floats with protray both Buddhist and Shinto legends, had become representatives of the different guilds and sections of the city. The epidemic which had been the origin of the festival had long ago been forgotten, and the Gion Festival had alreadt begun to develop into a festival of the merchants and the common people.

(...)

From a beginning related to death and disease, the Gion Festival has become an expression of the joy and fervor of the people of Japan. Whereas Imperial festivals have waned in popularity, the Gion Festival, the supreme example of a peoples' festival, has constantly maintained popularity and interest among the people of Kyoto and the citizens of all Japan. It is today considered the most important of the Three Grand Festivals of Japan.

The Gion Festival encompresses the whole month of July. On July 1, people who are in charge of performing the festival gather in each block of floats to settle the procedure of the festival, people flock to Yasaka Shrine to buy amulets and good luck charms for good fortune in the coming year. The following day, the priests of Yasaka Shrine and Kyoto city officials meet to determine the order of the floats in the procession which marks the secular climax of the festival. Only eight floats are not included in this drawing for position, for their location is determined by tradition. On July 10, the portable shrines in which the deities are carried through the city are taken to the Kamo River for purification ceremonies. The most festive period begins the evening of July 16, and continues through the next day. People who live in the downtown area of Kyoto open their homes and exibit their family treasures to passersby who are touring the city, inspecting the floats which have been placed in whichever part of the city they represent. Then, the next morning, the grand procession winds through the city, completely halting the normal activity of Kyoto for a day. Finally, on July 24 the portable shrines, which have been standing in an especially bustling part of the city for one week, are returned to Yasaka shrine until the next year."


On July 14th I went there with my host family and the other international students of that family (a Chinese girl and an Argentine girl). A nice time with my "foster family", including a ticket to enter one of the floats (船鉾). The only problem is that, worse than being at a crowded place is being at a crowded outdoors place... when it's raining!

And it wasn't just any rain. A typhoon was getting close to the region (it hit Kyushu pretty hard), and that rain had its influence. If someone is worried, the typhoon didn't arrive here. It lost its strenght before that.

Back to the subject, it was nice because of the company and having my first taste of Gion Matsuri, but the rain forced us to leave earlier... after finding some place to dinner together.


The next day I went with other Brazilian exchange students (not only, though). With a better weather, the place was more crowded. Although less than the previous year, according to some people who went last year. Probably the typhoon made people from places away from Kyoto cancel their trips... I wonder...

Well, most of the girls (and Artem) decided to wear yukata, so they took longer to show up. But I have to admit it was worth the wait. I decided to avoid yukata this year because of the rain forecast (rain plus yukata is not a pleasant combination...) and becasue I don't know how to wear it. Maybe I should wear one next year.


I guess that day was an ordinary "enjoy the festival" day. We strolled around, ate something and had fun. What else can one do during a festival?

On Tuesday 17th there was the parade. And I went there to watch with Fabio (from Kobe) and Tiemi (Kyoto). She made us go to the station around 7 a.m. (something for which we still tease her) to watch the parade at the Karasuma-Oike corner. Well, at least we got good places to watch (except for all the people behind pushing us as the floats were passing...), since we arrived early.

There's a point on watching the parade at the corners where the floats have to turn (such as Shijo-Karasuma and Karasuma-Oike). The point is watching HOW they turn a float with more than 10 tons weight. Some bamboos under the wheels and some physical strenght do most of the work, but watching how they do it is worth the sacrifice of waking up early and being compressed in the middle of a crowd.


There were other unusual scenes, like some seniors who were having a tea during the parade while the rest of the group were turning the float...


After that, we still decided to enjoy the company of our visitor from Kobe a little more and strolled around central Kyoto for the rest of the day, including the place where the festival was held on the previous days and where we could see the floats being dismantled and The Museum of Kyoto (京都文化博物館).


Largest festival of Kyoto... checked!

Not "Hum..."! It's "Hai!"

One of the bad experiences that I was told I could experience in Japan was about people getting angry at you for making mistakes with Japanese honorific language. Especially because since I look Japanese (because of my descendence), people would expect me to use the language properly.

Some explanations, the Japanese honorific language has various degrees. One should select which one to use according to one's own social status and their listerners'. So, for example, a student is supposed to use polite forms when addressing a professor and use the humble forms when talking about himself to him.

Although some parts of the honorific languages aren't heard often and many Japanese youngsters have problems using that language nowadays, the fact that one speaks in different ways to someone superior (目上) or inferior (目下) in social ranking than oneself is still part of the Japanese culture.

By social ranking, one of the main criteria is seniority. Elder people are usually regarded as "higher-ranked". Within organizations, it's usually determined by position or years inside the organization (while quite often the two factors are linked). More details can be found in many internet sites, such as this.

Back to the subject, although the warning, I spent almost a whole year in Himeji without having any trouble in that aspect... a fact that amazed me somewhat, since I spoke to professors, elderly, students, etc. and I'm sure to have made mistakes quite often. Sometimes, the listener didn't even know that I am not Japanese (foreigners tend to be forgiven for such slips more easily).

In the end, my best guess is that being a foreigner student (two status that help people to be more forgiving), older than most students I've met (remember the seniority rule) and being in the Kansai area (people here usually are more informal and friendly than, for example, in Kanto) helped me to avoid problems with that.

Well, that invencibility was broken.

Not that I have problems with that. It was taking too long to happen anyway, and I want to be able to use honorifics better (the only problem is that I find it difficult to become friendly with someone having to talk using formal language...). I'm just a little irritated with what caused that problem.

During an aikido training, "kouhai" ("junior", or less graduated members) usually go after a "senpai" ("senior", or more graduated members) to practice. So, I went after a "senpai". As he was explaining the technique, he suddenly became angry with me...

What I did wrong?!

The answer: during the explanation, I was asserting that I was following what he was saying with sounds like "hum...", "ah...", "aham...". I know that the standard Japanese word for that kind of situation is "hai", and that's the one he wanted me to use.

What?! I was expecting complaints against using wrong words, using plain form when I was supposed to use polite form... but that!?!?

The problem is that I don't "decide" what sound to say... it's mostly something unconscious. Besides, as I have to shift between many languages often, I use those "hum" rather than any specific sound because they're understandable in any language.

Saying "hai" during a conversation in Portuguese would be strange at least, and while saying "ok" would be fine in any language I know, the frequency that showing acknowledgment is needed in Japanese is different... too much for me to use "ok" always.

In the end, he called my attention many times becasue I "shouldn't address a senpai in such a disrespectful manner", although I was being careful to, apart of my acknowledgment remarks, try to keep my language formal.

To his defense, he also said it'd be ok to use those marks outside the dojo, but that wasn't admissible during training... (so I guess he's usually that severe only during trainings)

I was told to correct my way of speaking, but the detail that he complained about isn't easy to change. Besides, I don't even think it's worth it...

Using the "gaijin escape" ("I'm no Japanese, so I'm not supposed to follow your rules") wouldn't make me any better, though. In fact, that would make me even more authoritary than him ("That's my way! Live with it!"), especially because I'm on his territory.

Still, I don't think its something worth trying to change. As "I can't be everything to everyone", I don't see any meaning in changing that, since he's the only one who complained about that so far.

That remings me of a situation during a judo tourneament back in Brazil. As competitors were being called to check their weight, one of my friends was called, and he asnwered:

"Here!!"

One of the sensei (who had the reputation of being strict) answered:

"It's not 'here'!! It's 'hai, sensei'!"

That's something we laughed at for a long time... after. Even so, I can concede more in this case because:

1- Answering to a call is something of "higher importance" and easier to measure the words used.

2- It was a sensei calling.

I know that reason number 2 has some "gaijin escape" in it... and my personal opinion of not liking the "senpai-kouhai" relationships much. Especially in the part where "senpai/kōhai relationships generally last for as long as the two people concerned stay in contact, even if the original context in which the senpai was senior is no longer relevant" (from Wikipedia). I like to get more informal with people as we're getting closer... even though it may be my Brazilian background talking.

But, again, my Brazilian background is part of me. And as I don't comply completely with Brazilian culture, I don't comply completely with Japanese culture either... Only because I'm in Japan, doesn't mean that I have to concede everytime... I only have to find the correct balance.

Well, I've not met that senpai again. Which is good because I still haven't decided if I'm going to play his game or be stubborn. Two good opinions from friends were

1- Try to reason with him. It may not work, but understanding each other's reasons may help both parties.

2- Talk only in English with him. There's also some "gaijin escape" in it, but at least in English I can avoid problems with my acknowledgment remarks (because they're allowed in English).

I'm open to more suggestions.

Ah, and I'm still going to the aikido practice. No hard feelings against the group. Only that awkward situation with one member... one senpai.

Disaster Report

Last Monday (Sunday in Brazil), a strong earthquake hit Niigata Prefecture hard. For more information, follow these liknks for information in English or in Portuguese.

Some friends have mailed me asking if I'm ok, if the quake affected me in any way, etc.. That's why I decided to write this entry to tell everyone I'm ok, and the quake didn't affect Kyoto much (the only effect I've felt so far was a major delay in JR trains on Monday).

This time I can say that, fortunately, I still have no earthquake experiences.

Talking about disasters, Brazil also had its worst air disaster ever this Tuesday (Wednesday in Japan). Some links with information in English and Portuguese.

Some say it was coming because of a previous accident which triggered a crisis. More info about the crisis can be found here. Other than the lack of investments in infrastructure I see little correlation between the two accidents... but there may be the core of the problem.

Anyway, I have a test tomorrow, so can't go deeper now.

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Added on Jul 19th
I've got a word that a former Brazilian exchange student who studied at Kyoto University was in that plane...

Protection or Denial?

I think I mentioned Outpost Nine posts someday in this blog. Well, it was about experiences of an American living in Japan as a JET English teacher. As his stories were funny and showed a side of Japan that people usually don't know, I used to check it quite often.

Times change, people too. That guy is not a teacher anymore, but still is in Japan. His blog also moved to Gaijin Smash. As I resumed reading his posts recently, I found one talking about Japanese people (or should I say "government") feelings towards WWII (World War II)...

The war is largely regarded in Japan as - "there was a war in the Pacific, and then we got a-bombed." That's it. Japan's involvement with Hitler and the Axis Powers is rarely ever mentioned. Their imperialistic marches into China and Korea and given a footnote at best in historical textbooks. And Pearl Harbor is also little more than a fleeting thought. If you talk about WWII in Japan, the conversation goes straight to the a-bomb and how pitiable Japan is.

I don't mean to play down the bombings, not at all. They were horrible, tragic losses of human life. Even if one wanted to say "the ends justify the means", these means were indeed, truly horrendous. We should hope that such an event is never repeated in human history ever again.

But that sentiment doesn't just go for the bombings. It goes for all of the terrible things that happened in that war. Of which, the Japanese participated in quite a few.

However, when it comes to any of Japan's faults during the war, their tune suddenly changes. The Rape of Nanking "wasn't that bad", or "you can't prove all that stuff actually happened." Other horrible atrocities committed in China and Korea are also flat-out ignored. Some politicians would have you believe that the Japanese were over there "helping" their Asian neighbors. Japan forced thousands of women into sex-slavery during the war; some of these survivors and their descents have been trying unsuccessfully to get recognition/compensation from the Japanese government about this. The government's response? "You can't really prove that the government sanctioned this" (despite there being proof otherwise) or "you girls weren't slaves, there was no coercion". Some will even go as far as to say that America forced Japan to bomb Pearl Harbor.

Textbooks are altered to completely gloss over these things. Recently, the government moved to strike any reference to the Japanese military forcing civilians to commit suicide in the Battle of Okinawa. Of course, anything else - the comfort women, the atrocities in China and Korea, are nowhere to be found. These things don't seem to matter that much. If you're Japanese, all that matters about WWII is how poor Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed.

For the full post, check here. It may be worth reading.

I've never tried to engage in a discussion with a Japanese person about those subjects, but I know that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are a high issue here. They should be. I don't know much about their opinions about the reasons of the bombing or about the Japanese war crimes, so there's not much I can add in that aspect. Although I've heard that even some Univeristy professors in Japan have points of view like the "Japanese opinion about the war" mentioned above, and they're not open to discussion.

One of the things that I regret not doing the first time I came to Japan was taking classes about Japanese History or World History. It'd be nice to learn those under a different perspective. Not that I'd understand much with my Japanese language ability at the time... even now it'd not be much better. That issue about Japan during WWII made me more eager to check a World History book in Japanese someday...

In fact, many are concerned about the movement of the Japanese government to wipe out of History books some of Japan's past wrongdoings. One of the most common justificatives is that, this way, children would feel more proud of being Japanese.

Putting my feelings about nationalism aside, now what is that!? So, one country must have a beautiful History for people to have pride for having been born in it?

Sorry, that's not how I think it works. If that's "patriotism" you're looking for, the current situation of the country may influence that more than its past. Or, in another point of view, kids won't have pride if they are bullyied at school. And I don't think what's happening today may be because the bad roles of Japan in History were taught...

In fact, looking at the past may help to understand the current situation and try to solve it... At least it may be true for Brazil, where violence in some places, for example, now rise to levels close to civil war after decades with little efforts to control economic inequality, among other reasons.

Another point of view is that wouldn't you feel proud to know that, although your country was in bad situation and had done bad things, it was able to overcome it, improve and evolve, like the "Japanese miracle" of becoming one of the most important economies of the world even after all the destruction during WWII?

I can't think of a country that has never done anything wrong. Every Germany had its Nazis (and it's interesting to compare how most Germans and Japanese regard the war), every US had its Vietnam. Brazil had/have things like slavery (brought from Africa mainly, although even today there are some cases here and there...) and discrimination (against African-descendents is the most talked, although most immigrants suffered it too).

Internationally speaking, I remember the War of the Triple Alliance as some kind of "mistake". I'm not a historian, so I may be ignoring facts or distorting something, but considering that Paraguay had a growing economy before the war, with some chances of catching up with some of today's "developed countries" and was destroyed after the war, with some considering it as a "Chinese products retailer" wasn't Brazil responsible for that in some way? (Brazil's situation after the war wasn't good as well though...) Also, it may be intersting to check the Wikipedia entry for that War in different languages... there are some sensible differences sometimes.

My examples are feeble, in part because of my lack of deep knowledge of History. I just hope I made my point clear.

But it's true that it hard for a government to really admit what it did wrong and really apologize (I put the word really because sometimes the apology has no real meaning). Brazilians may know it well from the current political situation... I couldn't find a good link in English, but let's say that corrpution is becoming commonplace and no one ever admits involvement. US also has Iraq invasion as an example. And even if they do recognize, the government tries to minimize the situation, at the moment or later.

Not only governments, people are like that as well... It's easy to feel proud of one's accomplishments, but it's hard to admit and compensate for one's wrongdoings.

There's the saying that people should learn from the past to avoid making the same mistakes in the future...

Maybe that's why it's also said that History repeats itself...

京北町 (Keihoku-chou)

So I went to 京北町 (Keihoku-chou) on June 30th and July 1st with the iAT group. Keihoku-chou is a place where it's said that "the beautiful nature and (traditional) Japanese culture exist in harmony".

iAT comes after "International Afternoon Tea", probably because their usual event is an afternoon tea held weekly at the university's student lounge. The objective of the group, as I've heard from a professor that went together for the trip, is helping Japanese and international students to meet each other, since that professor was often asked that by both sides.

Anyway, this is a post about a trip, so I'm listing the places where we went.

For the first day, we went first to Imaki's house. That's not exactly a touristic spot, but someone's (Imaki's) house. The house was first built hundreds of years ago (around 400 I think...), moved to its present location some fewer hundreds of years ago and kept relatively unchanged. The roof was changed to ceramic, and the base was also modified someway... but even so it keeps its traditional atmosphere.

Some details are interesting, like the smoke from the fire used to heat the house during winter being responsible for the dark colors of the wood used in the walls (I'm not sure if I'm being clear here...) and also contributed to the impermeability of the roof (the traditional one). And also opening some fusuma (sliding doors) creates an air current inside the house that makes air conditioners unnecessary. It even makes the house looks like a living being adapted to the conditions of its environment.

The hosts were wery kind to the students horde... including serving tea and (handmade!) sweets that are really good!!

The next stop was Joshokoji (常照皇寺). Quoting the temple's description from JMode:

Joshokoji is a hidden temple located about 8 km north from the town center. The Kokonoezakura (nine-layered sakura) is a noble tree registered as national natural monument, which in spring produces exuberant small pretty blossoms adding elegance to the ancient air.

There's more to that temple. It seems that a former emperor for something like that got tired of the political life and moved to that temple and some more things... For those with some knowledge of Japanese history and fluency in Japanese, the guide's explanation was nice. There was an English translation (by the professor who went together), but I don't remember the details of what was said...

The highlight of the next day was Kayabuki Village (芹生の里). According to the Kyoto region sightseeing website,

... dotted with 250 thatched-roof houses (as of 2005) near the pure waters of the Yura River flowing through the green mountains, is famous throughout Japan as the quintessential ancestral hometown. In the northern part of the town are some fifty houses lining an area which measures 600 meters east and west by 300 meters north and south. About half of these house have thatched roofs. There is a higher residual ratio of these houses here than anywhere else in Japan. In December 1993, this area was designated by the national government as an Important Traditional Building Preservation District.

The place has a nice countryside atmosphere and some beautiful views. Although strolling is all we did at the time, it seems there are some festivals held there (ok, and tell me a part of Japan that has no festivals, huh...).

There was more than just sightseeing. For example, international students were asked to make a presentation about their countries. Now, I don't like to think of myself as some kind of ambassador of my country, I prefer to think of it only as my background rather than something that defines myself (even because I'm way out of the Brazilian stereotype)... But it was a good chance to show some other things other than the "carnival-soccer-Amazon" image some people have of Brazil.

I'm not sure if I succeeded, though.

Of course, as nothing is perfect, during the "yakiniku dinner" at Kyoto Seminar House (a good place for a group to stay) there was beer. I'm not intolerant of alcohol as I was years ago, but some people know what comes from the equation Japanese plus party plus alcohol (I admit that's not exclusive of Japanese, but I have a feeling that they overdo it more often)... and what I think of that.

Anyway, it was an overall good trip, visiting beautiful places and talking to nice people. Especially a Japanese girl and guy from South Africa very pleasant to talk to.

Little Spiders?

Observing my little pet spider, while also entertaining during boring days, also provides some surprises.

First, it occasionally destroys its web to rebuild it. More than once I thought it was moving or that something had destroyed the web, just ro realise later that it was all the spider's own doing.

Strangely enough, the days when it destroys its web are the days when I have more problems with little insects inside my room... coincidence?

Some other day I found a different scene...


Now what's happening? Do spiders change skins?

Oh, wait, both parts are moving...

Two spiders? Yep.

Ok, so what the hell are they doing?

My best guess after watching the show for a while is that I was a voyeur watching the ritual to create little spiders...

After I returned from my classes that day, the show was over, and both spiders were there. The female (I believe it's the bigger one that was here from the beginning) destroying the web (again). But the male is not moving...

I would like to know what happened. At first it looked like it was protecting the eggs (it was a long time ago since my Biology classes in high school, so I suppose spiders lay eggs...), but the next day there was only spider #1 with a new web... and no signs of eggs whatsoever.

I was considering aborting my observation studies and shooing the spiders if there were eggs... You know, a bunch of spiders like that is not the nicest thing to have at one's veranda. Besides, rooms here are for one person only (in theory at least), so I couldn't have an entire family as neighbors (heh...). But there is no evidence so far that little spiders may be on the way... or what happened to spider #2. If it had died, I think it would be laying somewhere on the floor, what didn't happen.

Well, back to observation. It's more interesting than I thought...

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Added on Jul 5th
After looking better, I found spider #2 corpse. It was at a place where it couldn't be if it only had fallen from the web. It either walked there or was transported. I wonder what happened... Is that spider some sort of black widow when it comes to mating?

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Added on Jul 6th
After a comment telling that spiders do change skins I decided to recheck the evidence I had. So it might have been just an exoskeleton change after all... The movement might have been because of the wind. What's felt of the "corpse" really looks more like an empty exoskeleton, and it explains why I've seen no eggs... But I can't really say for sure. I hope it happens again, so I can find that out.

Living and learning... and I hope it teaches me to be more analytic before drawing to conclusions.