Quinni on adventure

In Germany I never use the bike. Here I ride the bike all the time. On the wrong side of the street by the way. But I like it! When it is warm and the sun is shining it is the best possibility to explore Oita. Today I was chasing the sunset. I went to the river to see it, but could not see the sun because the buildings blocked my sight. So I drove around and wondered where I would have to get up to in order to see over the rooftops. Suddenly I saw a roof with a platform on it, which was pretty high. I found the entrance of the building, which looked like an apartment building. I tried the door, it was not locked... I went in, but I felt like I was breaking into someone's house! I am in Japan, and just walked into somebody else's house! It was so exciting, haha. I went upstairs and the door to the rooftop and the platform was open! So the result of my little adventure of chasing the sunset is here:

It felt a little bit scary to climb up the ladder - not only because it was high up, but also because I felt like a burglar.

 

But also on the train on the way from the Oita train station to the university the view from the train windows is pretty. Oita has a nice landscape. Everyday I am surprised by something new.

 Mountains ^^

 

 More mountains - yeah

At graduation day (think of Tag der Wirtschaftswissenschaften) Japanese students do not just wear some boring suit. On that special day Japanese graduating students wear traditional kimono-type gowns. Today a kimono-rental shop had free try-ons for their kimonos! We had to try it out ^^ I just love the kimonos, they are very colorful and just beautiful! Unfortunately, a one day rent is already around 200 Euros, so I do not think that I could afford to buy one...

 

This is the kimono, the underwear - the skirt and belt are still missing

This is the complete outfit, but unfortunately we could not try on the skirts

 

The sleeves are huge and display a detailed design

Wrapped like a chocolate candy

Drei Pralinen ^^

So these were my impressions from today. ^^ I see so much everyday. Yokatta!

J'ai vu la mer

I was on holidays today ^^ Who would have thought that Oita has such beautiful places? Lately, the weather in Oita has become the perfect summer weather. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and it is warm, but not too hot.

Miriam, Marion, and I on the way to the beach 

We went to the Tanoura beach in Oita

The breeze from the sea felt very good because the weather was so warm

Being at the beach is very peaceful and relaxing

Mountains in the background - yes I have a thing for mountains! 

 

And we also had much sushi today (look at the plates!) - so it was the perfect day! ^^

I start to really like Oita. The thought of staying here over the weekends is not scary and threatening any more. Having discovered more of Oita and things to do reveals a beautiful side of this city. I guess the constant rain, the cockroaches, and my sickness made my stay so horrible at the beginning. But now that I get used to the dirt in the Kaikan (haha), know the nice spots in Oita, and have many ideas of what to do here makes me feel much more like home now ^^ I have the good feeling that this semester could be as good as France or even better...

OITA TRINITA vs. SHIMIZU S-PULSE

Today we went to a soccer match, which took place in Oita's soccer stadium. It has a capacity of 43,000 (!) and is the home of the Oita Trinita soccer league. Even 3 FIFA World Cup games have taken place here! Inside the stadium I felt really small, and it is very impressive.

The Oita Stadium - called The Big Eye

You see mountains in the background - very beautiful

I have to admit, I am not interested in soccer and I had never been to a soccer match before. But today's match was really exciting. I wanted to see how Japanese behave at a soccer match. I have no comparison but I think they are similar to German soccer fans ^_^ We sat in the supporter spot where everybody was standing, singing, and cheering the whole time during the match. The energy around us was amazing.

The fans were very loud

Inside the stadium

Under the huge flag

Marion, Fabian, and I at the match. Fabian bought a Oita Trinita trikot ^_^

Cameraman aiming at a music performance before the match 

 A blue sign to be held up high by the supporters 

(I used it to shield myself from the sun, it was burning hot!)

Also we gaijins were supportive - the enthusiasm took us over

A young fan fell asleep

 

Barbecue

 That was fun!

And by the way, Oita Trinita won 2:1! Perfect ^_^

Should sick people eat delicious food?

I was just cooking my dinner, frying some vegetables and was about to put some salt in it, when it occurred to me that I do not smell or taste anything (due to my cold). So, does it even make sense to season my food? I do not taste anything anyways! Or should I still put effort into my cooking because even the thought of its great taste makes me enjoy my dinner more. Even if it is only psychologically?

Look it is even still steaming and looks delicious! I could technically still enjoy it even if it tasted like crap, right?

In the end my cooking honor won over and I cooked it like I normally would ^^

Just wanted to share that with you.
Yeah it's a slow night...

First Meeting of the German Club

On Wednesday we had our first meeting of the Deutsch-Club. It took place at Rei's house. She and Lisa made Yakisoba (fried noodles) and Yakionigiri (fried rice balls) for us. In order to establish the German purpose of this club we drank from Paderborn cups and listened to the "Paderborn Lied" ^^





It was so much fun to see Rei, Lisa, and Micchan again and be invited into a Japanese home and eat Japanese food! Next time we will make something German! We are thinking about fried potates - Bratkartoffeln... I cannot really think of a typical German dish that we could make here. Any suggestions? ;)

Do mandarin oranges grow on trees or bushes?

Today we went on a field trip organized by the International Office of the University. All the exchange students and each of their tutors went, so we must have been around 70 people. We were driven around by two buses. I felt like a high school student again, going on a school field trip ^^
The trip was alot of fun. We went to two temples in Tomiku and Aki in the mountains and then to a tangerine (mandarin oranges) picking farm. I have to add that before our field trip we had an orientation meeting for the field trip. As I expected, this consisted mostly of rules and we were told several times to be punctual. And in the course of this day, I learned that they mean it! We were supposed to be at the entrance of our Kaikan no later than 8.30 or they would not wait for us. We were supposed to be at the bus after the Zazen at 11.55. After the picking of oranges we had to be in the bus by 15.50. And they rushed us to keep the schedule! As Germans we actually should not have any problems with this, but even for us it was a rush!

On the way we had a break and the view was really breathtaking

- there is no such thing at a German "Raststätte"

On our way we saw many rice fields. Japanese rice is so yummy! The area around Oita has a beautiful landscape.

In the first temple we were introduced to a Zen meditation experience. We sat silently with eyes half open (not closed so you won't fall asleep ^^) and had to breathe in a certain way. Animals breathe quicker than humans and have a shorter life. Breathing more slowly during this Zazen is supposed to be beneficial. It was very relaxing, because the sun was brightening the room, everybody sat quietly, you could hear ravens croaking in the background, and I kept thinking "Wow, you sit in a temple in Japan and do a Zen meditation"... Well, this reoccurring thought might actually have distracted me from a real Zen state, but I enjoyed it. (^_^)

The temple where we will do our Zazen

The sun is shining brightly

He only spoke Japanese, but fortunately one of the exchange students translated for us Germans (the only ones who cannot speak Japanese!)

All students actually concentrated and were quiet ^^


After the meditation it was time for some lunch. We were taken to a restaurant called Shimaru, which offered a Japanese traditional lunch. At the entrance we had to take off our shoes. The dining room was covered with tatami mats (they feel so good!) and we sat on them at low tables (no chairs). The lunch consisted of several small dishes, which I love, because I like to take a bite of many different things. The main dish was tempura. It is a Japanese specialty and I was told that it was invented during the Kamakura (samurai) period.





After lunch we visited another temple in the mountains. We did not spend much time there, but I enjoyed the scenery and the new things that I saw there. I love seeing things, that I never saw before (in Germany) and that are new to me. Too bad, that we do not go there in November because then the leaves of the maple trees will change color and turn into a beautiful bright red.





Our next stop was a tangerine farm. When we got off the bus I wondered why everybody was covering their noses and making a face. In fact, it smelled like dung (as on any good farm), but lucky me had a cold and a running nose, which does not smell anything ^^ Yosh! We could pick tangerines and eat as much as we want on the farm. I also picked more than 1 kg to bring home and I paid only 260 Yen! And I also had 7 tangerines in my stomach, so this was a really good deal ^^ Especially because fresh fruits (and vegetables) are so expensive in Japan. I eat so many fruits and vegetables, so I spend much more money in Japan on food than in Germany.









I really had much fun on this trip. I got to see many new places and experienced new things like the Zazen and the tangerine picking. I harvested my own food today ^^ And tangerines seem to grow on bushes. More!

I uploaded all of my pictures from today's trip on http://picasaweb.google.de/Quinni2005.

All in all I have to say that I still do not really feel at home here. I cannot explain why, I think so much about that. I am worried about it, because usually I make myself home very easily and very quickly when I am in a foreign city or country. So this awkward feelinf that I have here is really new to me. Besides all the fun things that we do the Kaikan, the University, and Oita City have not become my home yet. I hope that will change. I hope that it has to do with the fact that it rained so much during the first week and that I have been sick for more than one week now, stayed home and missed many activities. I am really looking forward to the next weekend where we will go to Kyoto! Hopefully I won't get sick again.

Life goes on...

I have been sick the last 4 days. But it gets better now. As I was confined to stay in my Kaikan prison, swimming in my ocean of frustration, I wondered how on earth it could happen that I do not enjoy my stay abroad?! I always thought that I would be the last person to not have fun during a semester abroad! I love going to foreign countries! That is the reason why I put myself through all that trouble to get to Japan in my last semester.

I remember that especially my first weeks in France were packed with so much action and so much fun. Usually the first weeks are the most exciting before the everyday routine starts to kick in. Japan is even a more exotic place than France, so where did all the fun go? If these first weeks are supposed to be the most exciting ones, I will throw myself into the Oita river. It is pretty there by the way.

But I seem to not be the only one who gets goosebumps at the thought of having to stay in Oita on the weekends. My fellow German travellers also got extremely frustrated at the thought of having to stay in Oita, when Fabian and I got sick, jeopardizing our travel plans. Today we actually sat down and made plans to travel as much as we can on the weekends. Oita is a pretty city when the sun is shining, but here is not much to do. One especially feels isolated in the Kaikan.

So on Monday I crept out of my sickbed and could finally join a bunch of people from the Kaikan to go to a festival downtown. It was a "living festival". I do not know what it means, but there were stands, which sold toilets and tombstones. The other 90% of stands sold food. That's were the fun part was. I was so thrilled that day to actually talk to people again, breathe some fresh air, feel the sun shining on my face, and eat some japanese delicacies.


Japanese tombstones

Japanese toilets

I guess the festival takes care of the living and the end of it, too.



Okonomiyaki!

Look who resides under the living again

So much food!





In the evening we went to the Oita river. It was warm, peaceful, and really relaxing. Many of the local people come here to go jogging and exercise. I was too happy to get outside that day to feel bad about not going jogging myself.

It is really pretty out here when the weather is good


Peaceful