Yesterday after I finished my blog Karólína (from Iceland) and I meet up with another guy to go wonder the streets of Hirakata before leaving for Namba. We found a shop with towels and I was so happy! I also found some slippers and sun screen (something else I forgot). There was also a grocery store below it so we got some food for dinner and a yummy potato thing that I can't remember the name for. On our way back we ran into the 100 Yen stop and I got a new wallet, because my hard wallet is just too heavy for my little kitty purse.
We got back to the dorm and hung out will people in the kitchen and the lounge. Somehow we got started on Harry Potter and how it had so much potential...But that is not going to be ranted about here.
At 1 finally the rest of ouｒ group of people who were going to Namba with us get there and we headed over to the bus. There were seven of us wilｌing to take on the heat and explore the train systems. Lawrence (from Neatherlands) had the directions to get there. We took the bus to Hirakata-shi Station and on the way I got my first look at Kansai Gaidai. It's so HUGE!!! But also very pretty too. We got there and the bus driver was so nice, he tried explaining the buses to us.
In the station there was this guy singing La Bamba in Japanese. It was so awesome!!! He saw us all taking pictures and pointed to us and tried to sing it in English, which he failed. After that we managed to get our tickets to Yodayabashi (I think that's where it was). When one of the trains passed is, and it passed SUPER close, it made Emmanuel jump out of his seat.
We got to Yodayabashi and found out way to our transfer train, with the help of a really nice old man! When we got to the train he was so happy that we made it! This train was only for 2 stops and we got off at Shinsanbashi. We turned 2 corners and were there! We found the GIANT strip mall that had to have gone on for a mile at least.
I don't think I've ever seen so many shops in one place before! There were cell phone shops every other store, tons of clothes shops. I swear there were at least half a dozen shops that were just for socks! We found a BOOK OFF, which is a used book/CD/DVD store. I told myself I wasn't going to buy anything until at least a week or 2 of being here, but they had one of alice nine.'s CDs for 950yen! I've been looking for this one and I can't find it under 3,000yen anywhere because it's out of print.
We spent the next few hours just walking around looking at all the shops, completely overwhelmed! We finally got down to Du...I can't remember the name but shall look it us river. I got a picture of the Gilco running man, it was so awesome! I also saw the giant moving crab sign. And there was even a giant Arashi sign for their new album that I just had to take a picture of.
It was about 4.30 and our feet hurt and we were getting hungry. SO we found this nice little traditional restaurant and got Yakiniku (pretty much the same thing as Korean BBQ) It's was amazing!!! The Kimchi was so fresh tasting and the meat was so tasty!
After dinner we decided to go into 2 LARGE fancy department stores. Where of course everything is SUPER expensive. One of them had the top 2 floors just for restaurants. It also had a beautiful view of Osaka from the roof.
By the time we got out of the second depo store it was almost dark. We got a bit lost/turned around trying to find the train station again. Emmanuel got this amazing cake/yogurt/parfait looking thing while we were waiting for the bus. It just melted in your mouth!
Finally got back to Seminar House 2 and just sat around talking in the kitchen for a bit. I decided to register for my classes, but couldn't remember which classes I put on my major class list. So I ran up stairs to get my laptop and look, only to find it broke...It would turn on and I could hear it making noise, but the screen wouldn't do anything. It's just flickered a little bit...So today I'm going to see if there is a place on campus that can maybe fix it, if not I'll have to send it out to get repaired or buy a new one...
Other than the laptop thing, yesterday was AMAZING!!! And today will be great too!!!
Gilli
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Connecting flights
First of all I have to say that flying at night is so wicked!!! Seeing all the lights of the cities and stuff from the plane is amazing! LA was so big and bright! And I really don't think they had enough baseball diamonds...
Anyways, Thursday night I left Chicago and had a 3.5 hour flight to LA, wasn't bad at all other than the complete lack of leg room! I watched to episodes of MR.BRAIN. And of course as my battery is dying I end on a 2 part episode...Takuya Kimura is so amazing!!!
Next was the flight from LA to Beijing, 12.5 hours. I actually slept on a plane!!! I wasn't planning on sleeping, but they turned all the lights off and I found a yoga channel on the radio that had beautiful, relaxing Chinese music playing. I ended up sleeping about 9 hours of the flight. The food was amazing too!!! It's airplane food, but compared to American airplane food, this was like a 5 star meal!
BEIJING AIRPORT IS HUGE!!! I was so freaked out I'd get lost, and I did end up just standing in the middle of a big open area looking around for about 15 minutes...Security took my snow glob that I forgot I had in my bag. Funny thing is that Chicago didn't even catch it, LA caught it but said it was fine, then China takes it away! I almost got it to Japan... But going back to how big it was, I swear it took me 20 minutes to walk from the security point to the gate where my plane was! It just had to be at the farthest gate from everything! Not to mention I got a huge blister walking there and a blister plus boots are NOT fun at all! Got my laptop charged up and started looking over grammar from my Japanese textbook, don't know why I did grammar when my problem is with vocab...
The flight to Japan didn't start off all that well, we got on the plane ready to leave and end up sitting on there at the gate for an hour waiting for the traffic control tower to give us the OK... Finally got to Japan and watching the landing was amazing!!! It was so pretty! And Osaka is HUGE...Maps don't do it justice!
As I'm standing in like waiting to get approved to be let in, I decided to take a change and guess that the guy next to me who was also on the same flight from LA to Beijing and Beijing to Osaka might have been going to Kansai Gaidai too. And he was, and there also ended up being about 5 people on the Beijing flight going to Kansai Gaidai. We all bonded a bit while waiting for our bags. I made it though customs without any problems, unlike when I came back from Japan the last time...
Meet so many people just on the bus ride. From Hong Kong, South Korea, Netherlands, bunch from US, and someone from Iceland. The trip to the dorms was about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
The dorm I'm staying in is very traditional, tatami mats and rice paper screens in every room! Once i got all my stuff put in my room, our RA lead a group of us to the store to get food for dinner. It's such a nice area around the dorms! Because we don’t have kitchen access I just got a bowl of Ramen and a HUGE jug of water! Over dinner we talked to a bunch of people and made plans to go to Namba today. I can't wait, probably won't buy anything yet, but I can at least look at the stores. I want to go into the SEX POT OSAKA shop so bad!!!
After a bit more talking I went back to my room and my other roommate was there. Even after only being here for not even a day I wish I would have stayed in the dorms rather than home stay, but that should be a great experience too!
Finally got to go to bed on one of the most comfy futons in the world! Slept till 6, wanted to sleep more but jetlag wouldn't let me. And so here I am writing this and waiting for a friend to get up so we can go shopping and just wander around before going to Namba this afternoon!
Gilli
...PS, I forgot a towel, so I have to find some place to get one and take a shower. I WANT A SHOWER SO BAD IT'S SO HOT!!!
Anyways, Thursday night I left Chicago and had a 3.5 hour flight to LA, wasn't bad at all other than the complete lack of leg room! I watched to episodes of MR.BRAIN. And of course as my battery is dying I end on a 2 part episode...Takuya Kimura is so amazing!!!
Next was the flight from LA to Beijing, 12.5 hours. I actually slept on a plane!!! I wasn't planning on sleeping, but they turned all the lights off and I found a yoga channel on the radio that had beautiful, relaxing Chinese music playing. I ended up sleeping about 9 hours of the flight. The food was amazing too!!! It's airplane food, but compared to American airplane food, this was like a 5 star meal!
BEIJING AIRPORT IS HUGE!!! I was so freaked out I'd get lost, and I did end up just standing in the middle of a big open area looking around for about 15 minutes...Security took my snow glob that I forgot I had in my bag. Funny thing is that Chicago didn't even catch it, LA caught it but said it was fine, then China takes it away! I almost got it to Japan... But going back to how big it was, I swear it took me 20 minutes to walk from the security point to the gate where my plane was! It just had to be at the farthest gate from everything! Not to mention I got a huge blister walking there and a blister plus boots are NOT fun at all! Got my laptop charged up and started looking over grammar from my Japanese textbook, don't know why I did grammar when my problem is with vocab...
The flight to Japan didn't start off all that well, we got on the plane ready to leave and end up sitting on there at the gate for an hour waiting for the traffic control tower to give us the OK... Finally got to Japan and watching the landing was amazing!!! It was so pretty! And Osaka is HUGE...Maps don't do it justice!
As I'm standing in like waiting to get approved to be let in, I decided to take a change and guess that the guy next to me who was also on the same flight from LA to Beijing and Beijing to Osaka might have been going to Kansai Gaidai too. And he was, and there also ended up being about 5 people on the Beijing flight going to Kansai Gaidai. We all bonded a bit while waiting for our bags. I made it though customs without any problems, unlike when I came back from Japan the last time...
Meet so many people just on the bus ride. From Hong Kong, South Korea, Netherlands, bunch from US, and someone from Iceland. The trip to the dorms was about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
The dorm I'm staying in is very traditional, tatami mats and rice paper screens in every room! Once i got all my stuff put in my room, our RA lead a group of us to the store to get food for dinner. It's such a nice area around the dorms! Because we don’t have kitchen access I just got a bowl of Ramen and a HUGE jug of water! Over dinner we talked to a bunch of people and made plans to go to Namba today. I can't wait, probably won't buy anything yet, but I can at least look at the stores. I want to go into the SEX POT OSAKA shop so bad!!!
After a bit more talking I went back to my room and my other roommate was there. Even after only being here for not even a day I wish I would have stayed in the dorms rather than home stay, but that should be a great experience too!
Finally got to go to bed on one of the most comfy futons in the world! Slept till 6, wanted to sleep more but jetlag wouldn't let me. And so here I am writing this and waiting for a friend to get up so we can go shopping and just wander around before going to Namba this afternoon!
Gilli
...PS, I forgot a towel, so I have to find some place to get one and take a shower. I WANT A SHOWER SO BAD IT'S SO HOT!!!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Getting ready
So since I leave for Japan a week from Thursday I've been getting ready by packing, fixing somethings, staring off into the abyss because I'm so overwhelmed, and downloading a bunch of Japanese dramas (to help get me used to Japanese again).
As of right now I have an extra bag, 2 pairs of shoes, a book, and a HUGE pile of clothes siting on my floor ready to be packed. I can at least say that I got all my pants that were torn up fixed. And I'm almost done sewing my purse (tis a kitty with hidden pockets and chains! x3)
I have come across some interesting drams though. Like I mentioned in my last blog I finally finished watching all of Hana Yori Dango(花より男子) or Boys Over Flowers after buying it over a year ago! One of the first dramas I came across was Tsuki no Koibito(月の恋人) or Moon Lovers, it just so happens to have Matsuda Shota(松田翔太) and Tsuyoshi Abe(阿部力) who were both in Hana Yori Dango(花より男子). Matsuda Shota is starting to become one of my favorite actor, he's a wonderful actor and I like the characters he plays. It's also amazing how beautiful his Chinese is! I can't wait to take Chinese next year!!!
I also watched the first episode of Beautiful Love ~君がいれば~. Sadly it was only 10 minutes long, but it had Yoochun(유천) from DBSK(동방신기). After seeing their other dramas where they were all adorable and sweet, it was awesome to see him playing a stuck up jerk for the first time!
The other drama I got is a teen drama called Yankee-kun and Glasses-chan(ヤンキー君とメガネちゃん). Naka Riisa(仲里依紗) is so cute in it!
Now that I've put of packing I'm going to start up again...
Gilli signing off...
[PS]
Once I leave/get to Japan posts will start being in English and Japanese(and Korean if I'm up to it afterward...)
As of right now I have an extra bag, 2 pairs of shoes, a book, and a HUGE pile of clothes siting on my floor ready to be packed. I can at least say that I got all my pants that were torn up fixed. And I'm almost done sewing my purse (tis a kitty with hidden pockets and chains! x3)
I have come across some interesting drams though. Like I mentioned in my last blog I finally finished watching all of Hana Yori Dango(花より男子) or Boys Over Flowers after buying it over a year ago! One of the first dramas I came across was Tsuki no Koibito(月の恋人) or Moon Lovers, it just so happens to have Matsuda Shota(松田翔太) and Tsuyoshi Abe(阿部力) who were both in Hana Yori Dango(花より男子). Matsuda Shota is starting to become one of my favorite actor, he's a wonderful actor and I like the characters he plays. It's also amazing how beautiful his Chinese is! I can't wait to take Chinese next year!!!
I also watched the first episode of Beautiful Love ~君がいれば~. Sadly it was only 10 minutes long, but it had Yoochun(유천) from DBSK(동방신기). After seeing their other dramas where they were all adorable and sweet, it was awesome to see him playing a stuck up jerk for the first time!
The other drama I got is a teen drama called Yankee-kun and Glasses-chan(ヤンキー君とメガネちゃん). Naka Riisa(仲里依紗) is so cute in it!
Now that I've put of packing I'm going to start up again...
Gilli signing off...
[PS]
Once I leave/get to Japan posts will start being in English and Japanese(and Korean if I'm up to it afterward...)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Band rant
I'm really pissed off right now!!!
I was looking around looking for Arashi 嵐 stuff, because finishing Hana Yori Dango 花より男子 got me wanting more Matsu Jun 松本潤 and Arashi at the moment. So I come to a site and happen to go too far and into the comment section, I just so happen to stop on one comment about bands breaking up.
Apparently this person seems to think that a band is judged on if their together or broken up. Now this wouldn't have gotten to me if they had a realistic comparison, BUT NO!!! They decide to go with comparing Arashi to DBSK 동방신기! I have a HUGE bias towards DBSK because I've listened to them durring a lot of hard times in my life, but that doesn't mean I don't like Arashi. In fact Arashi is one of the only Japanese Pop bands I will listen to (KAT-TUN and Koda Kumi are the others).
My bias aside, there is no way you can judge Arashi and DBSK by one being together and the other not! DBSK has been named the #1 Pop Band in Asia! And this person was saying that Arashi was better than DBSK because they haven't broken up!
What this person seemed to be implying was when a band breaks up that means their no longer good! There are so many AMAZING bands that have broken up. To name only a few: THE BEETLES, XJapan, The Police. While there are SO MANY shitty bands that are still together!
I wouldn't have minded so much if this person had said they preferred Arashi because of some reason or another but to say this...It's an insult...
And for that person's information, DBSK didn't want to break up, they were semi forced to! When and band is in a situation where their bastard of a company forbids them from having contact with each other at any time, AKA when half the members can't talk to the other half, and they are clearly unhappy with this situation and forcing smiles for the fans, it would be best for them to break up. Most bands perform for the music and their fans, when they have to deceive their fans in order to stay together, any fan who would prefer them unhappy and together is not a good fan! As sad as I am to see them apart, I'm happy they can continue on in a happier way!
And now I feel like doing a comparison for DBSK and Arashi! BEWARE!!!
* First off pictures:
DBSK
Arashi
* DBSK's voices are perfect with each other! Together they sound amazing and solo you can sell who's singing. While in Arashi I can't really tell who's singing, but together they sound amazing too!
* OK DBSK can't act to save their lives (well Yoochun and Jaejoong aren't too bad), Changmin hurts so badly to watch. But I've seen all Arashi (except Sho, and I don't have much faith in him) act and they are amazing! Nino makes me cry in Letter from Iwo Jima every time!!!
* Changmin(DBSK) is a personal bias. He has one of the most unique voices! Raising Sun's "Why" says it all, any 15/16 year old that can reach that is amazing.
* Yoochun(DBSK) is another personally fave. He has amazing range, both low and high notes! Not to mention his fashion sense is gorgeous!
* Matsu Jun(Arashi) wins! After playing Domyoji in Hana Yori Dango I have a soft spot in my heart for him, I don't think anyone could pull off Domyoji like he did!
* Comparing Leaders...I don't see Ohno as much of one, he didn't really wanna be the leader so all of them kinda share the role. While Yunho is so good, he looks after the others so well and protects them (I'm remembering a few depressing interviews from around last Xmas...).
* One thing they both have is someone with AWESOME HAIR and LIPS!!! I want to steal Yoochun and Matsu Jun's hair!!! So amazing!!!
* Two words..."Sexy Counting"... (Youtube if you are lost...)
* I HAVE A DEEP DARK LOATHING HATRED FOR ARASHI'S KITTO DAIJOUBU!!! I dare you to listen to the first 30 seconds of that song 50+ times a day, everyday for a month and tell me if you don't feel the same way...
That's all for now...I feel surprisingly better after writing that and looking though pictures!
Signing off,
Gilli Phoenix
---
There will be no Japanese or Korean translation for this...
I was looking around looking for Arashi 嵐 stuff, because finishing Hana Yori Dango 花より男子 got me wanting more Matsu Jun 松本潤 and Arashi at the moment. So I come to a site and happen to go too far and into the comment section, I just so happen to stop on one comment about bands breaking up.
Apparently this person seems to think that a band is judged on if their together or broken up. Now this wouldn't have gotten to me if they had a realistic comparison, BUT NO!!! They decide to go with comparing Arashi to DBSK 동방신기! I have a HUGE bias towards DBSK because I've listened to them durring a lot of hard times in my life, but that doesn't mean I don't like Arashi. In fact Arashi is one of the only Japanese Pop bands I will listen to (KAT-TUN and Koda Kumi are the others).
My bias aside, there is no way you can judge Arashi and DBSK by one being together and the other not! DBSK has been named the #1 Pop Band in Asia! And this person was saying that Arashi was better than DBSK because they haven't broken up!
What this person seemed to be implying was when a band breaks up that means their no longer good! There are so many AMAZING bands that have broken up. To name only a few: THE BEETLES, XJapan, The Police. While there are SO MANY shitty bands that are still together!
I wouldn't have minded so much if this person had said they preferred Arashi because of some reason or another but to say this...It's an insult...
And for that person's information, DBSK didn't want to break up, they were semi forced to! When and band is in a situation where their bastard of a company forbids them from having contact with each other at any time, AKA when half the members can't talk to the other half, and they are clearly unhappy with this situation and forcing smiles for the fans, it would be best for them to break up. Most bands perform for the music and their fans, when they have to deceive their fans in order to stay together, any fan who would prefer them unhappy and together is not a good fan! As sad as I am to see them apart, I'm happy they can continue on in a happier way!
And now I feel like doing a comparison for DBSK and Arashi! BEWARE!!!
* First off pictures:
DBSK
Arashi
* DBSK's voices are perfect with each other! Together they sound amazing and solo you can sell who's singing. While in Arashi I can't really tell who's singing, but together they sound amazing too!
* OK DBSK can't act to save their lives (well Yoochun and Jaejoong aren't too bad), Changmin hurts so badly to watch. But I've seen all Arashi (except Sho, and I don't have much faith in him) act and they are amazing! Nino makes me cry in Letter from Iwo Jima every time!!!
* Changmin(DBSK) is a personal bias. He has one of the most unique voices! Raising Sun's "Why" says it all, any 15/16 year old that can reach that is amazing.
* Yoochun(DBSK) is another personally fave. He has amazing range, both low and high notes! Not to mention his fashion sense is gorgeous!
* Matsu Jun(Arashi) wins! After playing Domyoji in Hana Yori Dango I have a soft spot in my heart for him, I don't think anyone could pull off Domyoji like he did!
* Comparing Leaders...I don't see Ohno as much of one, he didn't really wanna be the leader so all of them kinda share the role. While Yunho is so good, he looks after the others so well and protects them (I'm remembering a few depressing interviews from around last Xmas...).
* One thing they both have is someone with AWESOME HAIR and LIPS!!! I want to steal Yoochun and Matsu Jun's hair!!! So amazing!!!
* Two words..."Sexy Counting"... (Youtube if you are lost...)
* I HAVE A DEEP DARK LOATHING HATRED FOR ARASHI'S KITTO DAIJOUBU!!! I dare you to listen to the first 30 seconds of that song 50+ times a day, everyday for a month and tell me if you don't feel the same way...
That's all for now...I feel surprisingly better after writing that and looking though pictures!
Signing off,
Gilli Phoenix
---
There will be no Japanese or Korean translation for this...
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