http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/rss Kaori's latest journal entries Lang-8 Inc. Sun May 19 05:58:23 UTC 2013 Sun May 19 05:58:23 UTC 2013 Lang-8 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Lang-8
It's been a long time since I posted a journal last time.

I've accepted to Tokyo University of Foreign Studies since this April.
I've moved to Tokyo and been very busy adjusting myself to a new life, trying to make out how things work at university.

Today, I had a lecture of translation studies (between Japanese and English).
It was a lot of fun! I'm so happy that I can mix with people who share common interests though almost all the students are, of course, much younger than me.
I feel like I'm 18 again!

The only thing that bothers me a little is that, with the age of 30 looming on the horizon, I might not be able to find a boyfriend for a while because I would rarely meet people of the same age... but it can be wait! ...Maybe.

Posted at Wed Apr 17 10:23:08 UTC 2013
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/271531178846831837216680638896272526606 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/271531178846831837216680638896272526606 Kaori Wed Apr 17 10:23:08 UTC 2013
In Japan, the school year starts in April and ends in March.
Students who wish to go to university or college generally have to take two entrance exams, first the National Center Test for University Admissions in January, and then the second exams in February or March at each university the student hopes to enter.

I sometimes wish the exams were scheduled much earlier and already finished. I want to go swimming, cycling and shopping. I need more exercising, so does my dog.
I do hope I will pass the exam. I’m looking forward to enjoy the freedom when I finish the second exam.


Posted at Sun Dec 30 00:49:08 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/244455021308245650492849880246491761875 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/244455021308245650492849880246491761875 Kaori Sun Dec 30 00:49:08 UTC 2012
I've been watching the American TV drama, "Brothers and Sisters". The story itself is sometimes so absurd but I like it.
I think I've watched the 8th episodes in the 3rd season 3 weeks ago. But I went to the store today and found they had cleared the DVDs of the 3rd and 4th seasons!
A clerk said the DVDs only come in sets of 5 or 6. Why?

I don't think I can watch more than 5 episode a week, nor do I want to.
Two episodes a week was enough for me partly because the drama is in English.
Maybe I need other good drama.

Posted at Fri Nov 09 11:42:49 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1771842 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1771842 Kaori Fri Nov 09 11:42:49 UTC 2012 The other day, I heard this song played at a cafe. It was in English and I don't know what it's called.

It sang, "I hear in my mind, all this music. And it breaks my heart, it breaks my heart".
In English, when you say "something breaks somebody's heart", does it mean he/she feels terribly sad and devastated because of that something?

Posted at Fri Oct 26 00:47:17 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1748089 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1748089 Kaori Fri Oct 26 00:47:17 UTC 2012
I like some of his works, such as "Hear the Wind Sing", "Hard-boiled wonderland and the end of the world" and "Dance, Dance, Dance". (Some say "Norwegian Wood" is the best, but I don't agree.)

What I like about his novels is that his world echoes even after you finish the book. I mean, the Murakami world doesn't end where the story ends and it feels as if the characters stay and exist somewhere in this world, sharing the sky with us.
I think I'm not putting it right. Anyway, I like his uniqueness and the hint of the Buddhist concept of impermanence underlaid his works.

Here's some interesting article about how people in both countries are reacting the border dispute between China and Japan over Senkaku islands. Haruki Murakami says "Nationalism is like cheap liquor".

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/10/03/china-japan-japanese-writers-urge-an-end-to-nationalistic-hyteria/

Posted at Fri Oct 12 00:50:13 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1723897 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1723897 Kaori Fri Oct 12 00:50:13 UTC 2012 Someone recommended it to me saying that I might find the show interesting since I have three siblings.

The drama depicts a family's adult siblings and it begins with the death of their father. Soon after he passed away, the children and their mother find themselves in a quite difficult situation because the father turned out to have embezzled their company's fund (they run a family business). In addition to that he had a secret mistress.

Most scenes consisting of family conversation, it's pretty good for learning daily English. I feel so glad when I understand their conversation without subtitles.
Now I'm watching the 3rd season. Most problems each character faced in the 1st season have been overcome, and there were also some twists in the storyline.

But to me, it seems like the show is getting less interesting as it goes on. Lately the characters often act irrationally.
But I'm going to watch the rest of it. I hope my favorite character, Sarah, will become happy, just like another favorite, Kevin, found someone right for him.


Posted at Wed Oct 10 11:47:20 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1721073 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1721073 Kaori Wed Oct 10 11:47:20 UTC 2012
After reading “Never Ending Story”, I read some foreign literature. Wilde, Bronte, Jane Austin were my favorites.
It was lucky for me to come to like reading, because I had some health problems in my late teen and couldn’t go to high school. Books were console for me at that time.
But some 6 years ago someone told me I would never be able to appreciate English literature in translation. I thought, “Ok, I’ll try reading English literature in English.” I picked up one of my favorites, “Pride and Prejudice”. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” This is the famous opening of the novel. I had no idea what this sentence means. It was too difficult for me. Then I thought, “Ok, then I’ll study English again.”
Thus, I started studying English again. However, I can’t enjoy reading in English yet.


Posted at Wed Oct 03 10:47:57 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1709037 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1709037 Kaori Wed Oct 03 10:47:57 UTC 2012 Its aim is to help each other improve public speaking, communication and leadership skills.

The local club I've joined has around 15 to 20 members. There is a predetermined process each member should follow to become a good, fluent public speaker (in English). It starts from a self-introduction to an entertaining speech, dramatic reading or whatever one's goal is.

I am to give a four-minute long self-introduction at the next meeting. I'm excited and worried at the same time.
The last time I spoke in front of more than 8 people was when I was a highschool student, and it was more than 10 years ago.
I'm now working on a script. Maybe I should focus on one aspect of my life, one is enough isn't it?
I hope someday I can be a good speaker like other members.

Posted at Thu Sep 27 00:26:47 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1698351 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1698351 Kaori Thu Sep 27 00:26:47 UTC 2012 I want to improve my health. It's not that I have a disease but I easily get tired and get fever sometimes for weeks or months.

Next year, I'm going to take the entrance exams for some colleges next year.
I've wanted to go to a college or university for a long time.
Since I left highschool in my first summer, I've done a lot of thinking about what I like and what I'm good at.
I haven't come up with the clear answers for that. But I surely like studying English and learning about other cultures. So I decided to go to a college of foreign studies.

I have to prepare for the exam of English, Japanese, math, and sociology.
But most important of all, I need to get in shape!
I walk for an hour and a half everyday. But I guess that's not enough. So I'm thinking of taking up swimming or Pilates.

What do you think are the keys to stay in good health?

Posted at Fri Aug 10 00:56:44 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1619615 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1619615 Kaori Fri Aug 10 00:56:44 UTC 2012
It's been a long time since I wrote the last entry.
I've been kind of busy.

But the day before yesterday, I went to nearby beach for swimming and relaxing. That was wonderful.
Since none of my frineds doesn't want to go to the beach, I spent some time on the beach on my own.
My girlfriends say the sun is bad for the skin and they don't want to get a tan.
Keeping your skin fair is all very fine. But it's summer and the life is short.
We need something good for your soul, not only for your beauty!

Is it strange if a woman in her late 20s is swimming at the beach alone among crowd of families and couples?

Posted at Sun Jul 29 00:21:16 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1601514 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1601514 Kaori Sun Jul 29 00:21:16 UTC 2012
What I am worried right now is the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
TV news don't report about the possibility of this typhoon's hitting Fukushima, or what danger could be occurred in that case.
There is a feeling among people that we can't trust the Japanese government. They seem to have been trying to hold back some crucial information from its own people.

I heard this shocking news yesterday; The US government provided a data of the spread of radiation soon after the accident of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, but the Japanese government neglected it. Here's the story: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120619_01.html

Posted at Tue Jun 19 00:42:09 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1537661 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1537661 Kaori Tue Jun 19 00:42:09 UTC 2012
In the old days, Japanese people called the sixth month of the lunar calendar "Minaduki(水無月)". The meaning of each Chinese characters are; 水：water, 無：no, 月:month.
You could take 水無月 means "no water month". It's funny name for the rainy month, isn't it?

There are several theories explaining the origins of the name.
I remember only one of the theories. I liked it the best.
In the old days, Japanese people believed there was a heavenly world in the sky, where countless gods lived. People imagined that it rains so hard at the sixth month of year that there must be few water left in the heavenly world. So people started to call the month "水無月", meaning "the month when no water left in the heaven".

It's facinating how people used their imagination in the old days.

Posted at Sat Jun 16 09:40:55 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1533302 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1533302 Kaori Sat Jun 16 09:40:55 UTC 2012
I attend an English translation class every Wednesday.

毎週水曜日に英語翻訳教室に通っています。

In that class, we have some kinds of lessons.

教室では数種類のレッスンをします。

You hear English and translate it into Japanese, and other way around, Japanese into English.

英語を聞いて日本語に翻訳したり、逆に日本語を英語に翻訳したりします。

It is harder for me to translate Japanese into English than English into Japanese.

英語を日本語にするよりも、日本語を英語にするほうが難しいです。

Especially today, I had trouble doing it.

今日は特に難しかったです。

I felt like my brain stalled.

脳がエンストしてるような気がしました。

It seems like my English is still on the stage of bubbling.

私の英語はまだバブバブ言ってる段階みたいです。バブバブ…。

Posted at Wed May 23 10:33:33 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1491541 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1491541 Kaori Wed May 23 10:33:33 UTC 2012

Last month, I took a trip and stayed in Tokyo and Kyoto for 5 days. I will write about my second day in Tokyo.

When I woke up in the morning, it took some time to locate my foot and hands. I couldn't sleep well maybe because of the poor air condition of the hotel room.
But I was excited. I was in Tokyo and the new day began.

I hurried to the downstair restaurant for breakfast.
I love buffet style breakfast. The sight of lining dishes, several kinds of soup and bavarages makes me feel like I am pampered. There were sunnyside eggs, sausages, potato salad, pancakes, miso soup and so on!

After breakfast, I headed for Ueno with no particlar plans. There are many musiums in Ueno. On the way, a postar of a exhibition drew my attention. I read "Japanese Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston", Tokyo National Museum. http://www.tnm.jp/

During the Meiji restoration, the Meiji government had a separation policy of Buddhism and Shintoism. They destroyed many temples and buddhist artwork that should have been registered as nathinal treasures. Some arts were sold for very small prices.
In amid of this event, an American professor at Tokyo University played a great role in saving a lot of Buddhist artifacts. Now the museum of fine arts Boston owns his large collection of Japanese art. You can see some masterpieces in this exhibition.

I loved "Miroku, the Bodhisattva of the Future" and "Dragon and Clouds" the best.
I can't explain what they were like. All I can say is Miroku was just beautiful. In front of the statue, I felt calm, tranquility.
And the Dragon was breathtaking and... maybe you should see it with your own eyes.

When I left the museum, I felt so hungry. It took more than two hours to see all the pieces in the exhibition.
I went to Ameyoko and had kebab at a stall. It was a good day for my eyes and stomach and soul.


Posted at Sat May 05 02:18:41 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1460232 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1460232 Kaori Sat May 05 02:18:41 UTC 2012
Around of this year in Japan, you can see carps swimming in the sky here and there.

この時期日本では、空に泳ぐ鯉の姿があちこちで見られます。

Ofcourse, they are not real ones. They are Koinobor, carp-shaped socks flown to celebrate Japanese traditional event; Children's Day (Tango-no-sekku).

もちろん、本物ではありません。鯉のぼりという、鯉の姿をした吹き流しのことです。日本の伝統的な年中行事の一つである端午の節句を祝って空にあげます。

The origin of Koinobori dates back to Edo era, when the son and heir of shogun was born, they customly celebrated by putting up a flag with the family crest and five coloured streamers.

こいのぼりの起源は江戸時代にさかのぼります。将軍に跡取りが生まれると家門の付いた旗や五色ののぼりを立てて祝いました。

This custom spread to samurai families. They started to put up flags and streamers when they had a son.

この風習が武家に広まり、男の子が生まれた際に印として旗を掲げるようになりました。

Then why the streamers became carp-shaped?

ではなぜのぼりが鯉の姿になったのでしょう？

It represent parents' hope that their children will advance in the world.

それには両親たちの子供に出世してほしいという願いが込められているのです。

There is an old Chinese legend that carps change itself into a dragon when they swim up whitewater rapids called the Dragon Gate Waterfall at the Yellow River upstream, .

黄河上流の竜門の滝と呼ばれる急流を登りきれた鯉は、化して竜になるという中国の伝説があります。

So carps symblize strength and success.

ここから、鯉は強さや立身出世の象徴なのです。


Personally, I loved Koinobori when I was little, though they're for my elder brother, not for me.

個人的には、私は子どもの頃こいのぼりが大好きでした。私にではなく、兄のために買われたものでしたが。

My parents would spread them on the floor before putting them up.

こいのぼりを上げる前に、両親が床に広げてくれるのです。

Then my sisters and I would get into the carps' mouth and pretend we were floating in the air. They were that big.

すると姉と私は鯉の口にもぐりこみ、空に浮いてるふりをして遊んだものです。それだけ大きな鯉でした。

Later, my parents gave the koinobori to an orphanage.　

その後、両親はその鯉のぼりを孤児院に寄付しました。

I hope childrens there like them as much as we did, and enjoy rolling in carps like we did.

そこの子供たちが、私たちと同じくらいその鯉のぼりを気に入って、私たちがしたように鯉の中でゴロゴロと転がるのを楽しんでくれているといいと思います。

Posted at Sat Apr 28 09:21:36 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1448784 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1448784 Kaori Sat Apr 28 09:21:36 UTC 2012

I had a trip to Tokyo and Kyoto, last Tuesday to Monday.
I have two older sisters living in Tokyo. That makes me a good reason to visit the big exciting city once in a while.

The first day, I headed for 千鳥ヶ淵(Chidori-ga-huchi), the northwest moar at the Imperial Palace soon after I had arrived the hotel. My sister had told me that the cherry blossoms there had been full bloom.

I walked for hours clutching my degital camera in my hand. It was quite a pretty sight. I was really happy about having bought that camera only for ￥10,000 at a sale!
I saw some pretty ladies in kimono. They made the senery even more beautiful and Japanese. I wished I had brought my kimono with me.

I also visited the Yasukuni shrine, which sometimes makes headlines because war criminals alongside those have died in wars are enshrined there. Some people say it is understandable or even natural to honor those who died for the country, renewing our vow for peace. But coutries like China, Korea, and North Korea express their fierce opposition to the fact the war criminals are enshrined. So whenever Japanese leaders visit the Yasukuni shrine, you'll have to see leaders of those countries huffing on TV, newspaper, and online. They won't never let us forget that we were the ones who had caused such feelings of hate to neighboring countries.

But let's forget such sad side of this shrine for a while.
There I just enjoyed the atmosphere.
The ground was covered with petals of cherry blossoms.
I drew omikuji, paper fortune. It read 「中吉(Chuukichi)」. It means average good luck.
"You have to keep your heart pure. / It will take more time for the person you have waited for to show up./ With a strong faith in yourself, you will success in any fields."
Not so bad.

The next day, I went to a concert, which my brother in law took part as one of the singers. He belongs to a chorus club. I will write about it next entry.

Posted at Thu Apr 19 12:51:34 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1432628 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1432628 Kaori Thu Apr 19 12:51:34 UTC 2012
I went to a park beside a library where I often visit, Miyazaki prefectual park.

The cherry trees are in full blossom.
People sat underneath cherry trees and they were just relaxing, chatting, laughing. Some were having lunch from their lunch boxes.
Children were playing in a shower of blossom.
That was a beautiful sight. Japan is now in its special moment in a year.

Posted at Wed Apr 11 13:43:03 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1417837 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1417837 Kaori Wed Apr 11 13:43:03 UTC 2012 I'd had one length long hair but I decided to I'd have bangs. Soon I regretted.
Now I have to blow my front hair with hair dryer everymorning, otherwise my bangs get too flat and it makes me look like a elementary school kid with aged face.
With no bangs, it was easy to make hair, and most of all, I looked more like myself.
So I'm longing for my hair to grow back.

When you like your hair, you can feel better about yourself, don't you?
What is your hairstyle like, and do you like it?

I came across an article about how men think of women with bangs the other day when I was browsing on the Internet.
It said; "Bangs say to us that a woman is trying too hard to convey her intellectuality." And it follows "Almost every woman with bangs we’ve ever met has a screw or two loose."

I'm impressed how different people's views are when they are in different cultures.
In Japan, to my knowledge, at least, bangs are considered to make a woman look young and less intellectual, or even immature.
I know a beautiful woman who takes pride in her long black hair. With large almond-shaped eyes and firm lips, she looks intelligent.
She has something cool about her, maybe too cool and some people take it coldness. But she's not cold.
She didn't want to look intelligent and cold. Her solution to this was to make bangs. She's now happy that she looks more approachable. And she doesn't have any screw loose.

Hair and fashion can really change women and maybe men.
It can be really good to your soul.
But it's funny people take things differently, sometimes quite opposite.


Posted at Wed Apr 11 08:31:57 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1417309 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1417309 Kaori Wed Apr 11 08:31:57 UTC 2012
Do you know one of the oldest Japanese folkstories, 'Kaguya-hime'.
Maybe you can call it 'Tale of the Bamboo Cutter' in English.

As I was browsing at a bookstore, I came across with an ad of 'La Princesa Noche Resplandeciente'. It's a beautifully illustrated children's book by Philip Giordano, based on Japanese fairy tale of 'Kaguyahime'.
Although I don't understand Spanish language, I'm delighted to know that a Spanish illustrater picked our beautiful and sad legend.


Posted at Mon Apr 02 11:07:23 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1400871 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1400871 Kaori Mon Apr 02 11:07:23 UTC 2012 It was primary a date of an event relating to Shintoism (神道 - Shinto). Shintoism is, well... it is um... I will write about Shintoism perhaps another time. According to Oxford dictionary, it is "a Japanese religion whose practices include the worship of ancestors and a belief in nature spirits."

Vernal Equinox Day is said to have been originally a day to pay homage to nature and prepare for your future. Many people visit their ancestors' graves in about a week centering around the Spring Equinox or Autumn Equinox to show respects and gratitude to them.

My mother and I visited my grandmother's grave lastweek. 14 years have flown by since she past away. For me, it's always like going see her to tell her how things are going, rather than consoling her spirit.
It was such a sunny, pleasant day that we felt like as if we came to the graveyard for a picnic. The sun shines, the birds sing, and a nail is in the sun on my grandmother's gravestone...
After cleaning the grave, we changed flowers and light incense sticks. There are two vases stalled in front of each gravestone. Then we prayed for my grandmother putting our hands together.

After I took the snail to a nearby forest, we left the graveyard and went back to our everyday life.

Posted at Thu Mar 22 05:28:01 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1377108 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1377108 Kaori Thu Mar 22 05:28:01 UTC 2012 A successful Japanese 'salaryman', who has everything he hoped in his life, but lost passion. One day, he got up his nerve to sign up for dancing lesssons and gradually became passionate about dancing.
I saw the movie some years ago and I started to think I'd love to try dancing.
I've never taken lessons or belonged to any dance circles. The last time I danced was maybe the folk dance at the sports festival at junior high school (中学校の運動会).

In Japan, the fiscal year starts April 1st. So spring is the good season to begin new things.

After weeks of thinking (I couldn't decide whether I want to lean dancing, and if I do, which one I'd like to learn) I visited a belly dance lesson at a local culture center last week. And today, I went to another culture center to take a look at a ballet lesson. I guess ballet would be better for me. But I'm afraid I might be a little overweight for ballet...
I'd like to sign up for lessons by the end of this month.
I hope I will find new enjoyment like the movie "Shall We Dance?".

Posted at Wed Mar 14 12:57:37 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1364152 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1364152 Kaori Wed Mar 14 12:57:37 UTC 2012 When I was watching TV, an emergency earthquake alert popped up on the screen.
And now they are trying to find out if there have been any damage or fear of tsunami.

I hope the everyday life will come back to those in the quake- and tsunami- affected area.

Posted at Wed Mar 14 12:16:26 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1364083 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1364083 Kaori Wed Mar 14 12:16:26 UTC 2012
We come across a lot of warm messages from all over Japan to the peaple in Tohoku, on TV, online, or in magazines. "Kizuna (bond)" has become 2011 Word Of The Year.

Nevertheless, the piles of rubble remain undisposed. Only 10 prefectual goverments are actively considering accepting rubble from ravaged area. Many are afraid of the radiation and skeptical about the safety which government promises.
Without disposing of rubble, there's no rehabilitation.
It is said that if all the prefectural governments in Japan accept rubble, it will be disposed of within about 6 months.

If we really believe in "Kizuna (the bond)", it is time to seriously consider what we really should do for Tohoku and ourselves, and take action.

Posted at Sun Mar 11 00:23:02 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1357877 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1357877 Kaori Sun Mar 11 00:23:02 UTC 2012 But it was a drama revolving around a pioneer of cinema, Georges Méliès. No magic or fantasy. It seems like I was mislead by the trailer and the Japanese title "Hugo no hushigi-na hatsumei (The mysterious invention of Hugo)".

Personally, I don't think it was fantastic. I expected it to have more depth and humour.

One thing I'm glad about is that I saw the film in 3D. Now I got what it is like to see a 3D cinema. I felt like I became a ghost and was floating in the air in town of Paris. It was beautiful especially when it started to snow :)

Posted at Wed Mar 07 09:34:22 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1352075 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1352075 Kaori Wed Mar 07 09:34:22 UTC 2012
The Japanese is famous for its special affection for cherry blosssoms. But long, long time ago, the word "hana (flower)" in tanka, which is classical Japanese 31-syllable short poem, meant "plum blossoms". Later, though, it has been replaced by cherry blossoms.

Last week, when I was in my yard, I smelled something sweet in the air, looked around and realized. The plums are in blossom.
I love plum blossoms for its special scent. It always makes me smile somehow.

My favorite tanka;
春の夜のやみはあやなし梅の花色こそ見えね香やはかくるる
In the spring evening / the darkness means nothing
It hides the plum blossoms / from our eyes
but can it hide the scent?

Posted at Thu Feb 23 00:32:38 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1329110 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1329110 Kaori Thu Feb 23 00:32:38 UTC 2012 Before I started taking driving lessons, I was so worried that driving wasn't for me. Because I've always been slow at everything, from eating to talking. Some people even thought I was brought up in a forein coutry because of my way of talking. (Should I start taking Japanese conversation lessons?)

But once I sit behind the wheel, I found driving quite fun!
Today, I had a lesson on how to park. My driving instructor is so helpful and I was able to pararell park on the first try.

I'm looking forward to hit the road with full licence.
Now seaching for someone who would sit on the passenger seat!

Posted at Wed Feb 15 12:50:05 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1316934 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1316934 Kaori Wed Feb 15 12:50:05 UTC 2012 Do you have any sweet memories which make Valentine’s Day even sweeter for you?

Unfortunately, it’s an ordinary day for me this year…
Instead of complaining about one of my boring days (or even worse than boring since I have a cold), I’d like to write about a book I’ve read.

Have you ever read “Himitsu – The secret”, written by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki in 1911? In this short novel, a young man, who withdraws to a monastery in an obscure part of Tokyo, secretly goes out every night in female disguise. He finds a mysterious pleasure in observing the nights in town as someone other than himself. One night, he meets a beautiful woman with whom he had had a shipboard affair some years ago. She suggests an assignation with some conditions, and he consents to come blindfolded to a place of her choosing. The key element for them both is that she is thus "a dream woman whose position and circumstances you do not know". When the young man finally discovers where the woman lives and sees her at a window during the day, he abandons her at once.

So, in this novel, Tanizaki writes how “secrets” make things look beautiful and captivating. I wouldn’t say I Love this novel, but I have to admit that there is some decadent beauty in it.
I myself never had such an experience as ones in this novel, of course, but I think in relationships, secrets or things you don’t know about your boyfriend sometimes have an important role, even if it’s nothing decadent. Because of them, maybe there seems to be much more to accept and love each other.

I hope every one of you had or will have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Posted at Tue Feb 14 09:28:49 UTC 2012
]]> http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1314957 http://lang-8.com/358868/journals/1314957 Kaori Tue Feb 14 09:28:49 UTC 2012