Take a break! English Summer Camp Nasu '14 Part I

This past week, I've had more fun than in the 4 months I've been in Japan. I was part of a 2-day summer camp for Japanese Junior High students, where I was expected to talk to them in English and also teach them about my country and make them perform something. After the camp, I had planned a day trip to Hitachinaka in the Ibaraki Pref and finally realize my year-long dream of visiting Hitachi Seaside Park (Google it, I'm sure the images wont disappoint). And when there's Tokyo, there's also dosa. So naturally, I wanted to eat at the South-Indian place I went to the last time I was here (the guy who runs it is now my friend. Yayy for free dessert!)

Since its a lot of detail to write about, I'll break down the entire week into multiple posts. The English Summer Camp  and Tokyo tripping (Hitachi and around Tokyo).

ESC!

Sometimes, you have to push your boundaries to see how far you can go. Being a part of ESC Nasu was one such life experience for me. I was a 'Captain', incharge of a group of 6 kids -4 boys and 2 girls. Taking care of one kid is no big deal. I've babysat my brother with no catastrophic consequences. But these are SIX kids! And we all know how boys are (rolls eyes). To add to it, I'm supposed to talk to them ONLY in English, and also not let on the fact that I can understand Japanese (because apparently, then they wont make an effort to communicate in English. Fair enough).

Though I dont have any pictures to show for it, I hope I can paint something with words and let your imagination take over.

Pre-Meeting

This was held on the evening before camp started, for all the Captains to be briefed about what to do/not to do and to get to know one another. We were 24 of us. Students from different parts of the world, some who have traveled a long way from home to live in Japan and experience the lifestyle here. There were people from Korea, Australia, Laos, Mongolia, Thailand, China, Nepal, India (me!), Pakistan , Macedonia, Sweden, Italy, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Honduras, El Salvador, the USA, Peru and Mexico! All of us sharing one common love- Japan.

Our foreign Chief was an American who teaches English here in Tokyo. 'Super-Genki!' became the buzz word for the rest of the camp. At no point were we to show any signs of tiredness/boredom..though that kinda relaxed later.

After 2 hours of meeting-shizz, we were on our way to the hotel where we were supposed to stay for the night. And Oh.My.God.WOW! I did not expect such a wonderfully cozy room all to myself!!!

                                                                           My room at the Akabane Plaza Hotel

I was so excited I couldn't sleep!! Which wasn't really a good thing, considering I had to be up at 5 the next morning. It pretty much set the pace for the next two days.

Day 1: Meeting the students and Shirakabaso Villa

We're up and about at 6 on a humid Wednesday morning, when we have to collect our breakfast- onigiri (rice balls wrapped in seaweed) and a bottle of ocha (Japanese green tea). From the hotel we went to the high school where we met the kids we would be camping with. After some speeches and introductions, we made our way to our groups and sat with the kids. They weren't talking much and the combination of their shyness and my attempt to initiate conversation (in English) was just plain awkward. Thankfully, it was now time to get on the bus to Nasu, in Tochigi Pref. A 3 hour ride in a bus full of kids who look at me like I'm the strange foreigner that I am. Oh fun! 

The ride wasn't so bad, actually. We played a dozen games of Uno and word building and got through it. 

Our first stop was at a local sightseeing spot. Called 'Killing Stone Site', it was a minute's hike up a wooden bridge..while our olfactory senses were assaulted by the sulphur from the hot springs. It was more like, hold your breath and run up the bridge. Click a picture with your group. And then hold your breath and run back down.

After this photo-op, we finally reached the Shirakabaso Villa. This is the place where we would be spending most of our time over the next two days. Either chilling in the Captain's room, eating in the huge dining hall or practising our moves for our International Cultural Performance (ICP), the highlight of the camp.

The Captain's room was really a great place to hang out. A large wood panelled room, with no furniture except for a table and low Japanese cushions, it had world maps on the walls with messages from Captains from previous rounds. Even the Villa itself had pictures of Captains on the walls and had encouraging messages from them.

The wackiest message though was from an Austrian that said "English is like a frog sitting on your head". And it was complete with a cartoon of a frog sitting on a guy's head.

What does that even mean? :/ I'm just as confused as you are. 

With these initial impressions of the camp, I'm going to take a break. But Day 1 isn't over yet! Part II of the post is coming soon and so are the remaining stories from Tokyo.

Keep the love coming.

XOXO

The Quest for the Dosa: Tokyo

<rant>Its an unimaginable hell living in a place where I have NO access to the food that define me as a Tam-Brahm..dosa-idli-sambar-vada-pongal. Everywhere I see, there's only ramen/yaki-soba/whatevs. None of which I can eat </rant>

Hi my pretties, so you all know that feeling when you just have to have that one.specific.food. And you just have to have it. And you can't find/make it. And you just want to rip somebody's head off. Yeah, that happens.
It was in this desperate state of mind that I embarked on a quest. To find dosa in Japan. Its actually as dramatic as it sounds.
So I reached Tokyo after a not-so-good night's sleep (night buses suck) and my friend, lets call him YD, was the self-appointed tour guide. Tokyo! Finally!! Woot!!! We walked over to the Emperor's Palace, the Government buildings and a wonderfully huge park right in the middle of the city. All this at 7 am.

Good morning, Tokyo!

I had a few places on my agenda, one of which was the Kitkat Chocolatory (see this link for the amazing Kitkat flavours you can get in Japan, opens in a new tab-because, hey, I'm so considerate). But the most important, dosa. First things first, though. I had to get a bit of sleep.

So after some lunch, YD showed me around the University of Tokyo (I'm a nerd. That's how I got here in the first place). Its such a gorgeous campus with a wonderful history. Some of the buildings are pre-WWII and we can see the amazing Victorian influences in the buildings. The hallways have stories to tell and I would have stuck around all day to listen to them. But..we're in Tokyo. And there are things to do.

With the nerd in me finally at peace, we went in search of this mystery Kitkat store. We did manage to find it, but were let down by the lack of variety. They had only Chilli and Green Tea-Sakura. Though I was apprehensive of the Chilli, it was..unexpected! When you bite into it, it tastes just like any regular kitkat. But as the taste of chocolate fades away, it replaced by a hint of heat. It doesn't overpower, it just stays there for a few seconds as you're wondering what's going on. Brilliant stuff.

Being the chocolate-fanatic that I am, the basement of the Ikebukuro department store was a psychedelic heaven. Teeming with chocolatier kiosks from all over the world, I would have definitely carried out a heist..had I the resources.

Macaroons, fondants, truffles..OHMYGOD So.Much.Chocolate!!!

After the Kitkat chocolatory (that's what its called), YD and I decided to drop by and say hi to Japan's rich and famous at Roppongi Hills. In the midst of all this, we realized that we might not have enough time to have dosas and make it to the bus that would take me back to Kyoto.
But hell naw! I'm eating that dosa or I'll take the next bus.

And what's a sunday without drama? We took the wrong subway, ran through the streets of Tokyo like crazy-demented-foreigner peeps and finally ended up at the restaurant which turned out to be a few minutes away from Roppongi, where we started. And there it was!! Beautiful, fluffy vadas. Crisp, melt-in-the-mouth dosas. Sambar to drown your sorrows in. It made everything worth the while.

This. This is what I live for.

This country is insane in every way. But moments like these, make me value the good times more.
I took so.long to type out this post! Sowee. More Japan stories coming soon!
Cheers!!!

Why, Japan? Why?

Now that I've been in this country for two whole months, I feel sufficiently qualified to point out its fails.

1. No big fat notebooks!

They have notebooks, alright. But they're all so thin, they wouldn't last a week given my propensity to scrawl/doodle/make paper planes/whatever. I've searched every stationery store in the city and they're all the same thin ones.
What I want is a big. fat. notebook. That will last atleast a semester. Why do you do this to me, Japan?

2. No giantass bottles of lotion..

Is this like, a size thing? The largest bottle here, is what the rest of the world would call medium-sized. And it costs more than a bento dinner.
Again Japan. Fail.

3. No vegetarian food.

This is a personal peeve, as my other friends are reveling in the abundance of everything meat and fish.

But this country might as well put up a signboard that says, 'If you're a vegetarian, turn around and go back'.

There is nothing, repeat, nothing for you unless you're a touristy person with deep pockets.

4. Extremely inappropriate use of English/French

Its fine when you label stuff in English. I'll accept that. But whyy do you have to come up with a ridiculous description of said product in English?

For instance: 

And I found this in my uni parking lot. It made me cry.
(If you can't read it, it says 'fromage'. Who the hell wants to call their bicycle 'cheese'?)

And then,

Uhhh...whaaat? o.O

But then, I also live in a country that has these:

Though you drive me crazy, Japan. You're not all that bad.

The One Month Milestone

Yes, I do write cliched posts. So stop sniggering and read.

Its been an entire month since I've moved to Kyoto (what was I thinking?) and you'd be glad to know that I haven't yet adjusted to the whole living-by-yourself thing.

Since this is an important milestone post, I decided it should be lessons I've learned/experiences this past month. It might seem Thought Catalog-ish, but this is what it is.

1. Bills, dirty dishes, laundry and the garbage do not go away when you ignore them
I've tried it. And believe me, it doesn't work no matter how much you bribe the little elves to come out in the middle of the night and clean your apartment.

2. Never, ever keep your phone in your back pocket
Umm..yeah. While I did get my phone back (thank you, anonymous person!), it was the 12 most miserable hours of the month.

3. You cant buy whatever and still expect to have money in your wallet
Yeah, it looks good..and you can see yourself in that dress already. But that's no excuse to forget that you're a poor grad student. Its either that dress/shoe, or the month's rent. The era when I could afford to buy stuff (or eat at nice places) ended when I got on the plane.

4. Oh the joy when I see vegetarian food on the menu!
Of the few things that really get on my nerves is the complete and utter lack of vegetarian food. There are cheap lunches at convenience stores (called Bento), inexpensive ramen restaurants or just any restaurant..none of these places are vegetarian-friendly. Luckily I found a site that lists the few veggie places around here, or I'd go nuts from my terrible cooking

And that's my one month in Japan!
Here's a picture for y'all. That's the Kamo River and cherry blossoms in spring. Gorgeousness overload!

Going Far

So I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog for quite a while. I had also been considering a vlog (an after-effect of watching Lizzie Bennet Diaries), but then I realized there was no way I'd end up doing all the editing shizz. So its back to the written word.

And there's a tiny story behind how my blog came to be called so.
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together"
I stumbled upon this quote on another blog..and I knew I had found the perfect title. Because on this journey I'm taking you all along with me.

Oh, by the way, I'm a grad student living in Kyoto, Japan. I'm basically Indian, which explains my love for chaos, disregard for traffic signals and road rules and my love for all things food (though being a vegetarian in Japan is quite a challenge).

I really hope to keep this blog updated frequently..peppered with the quirkiness of living in Japan and sciencey tidbits.

So, here's to the start of new things!
Cheers!