Dorian JetSet has been renamed Dorothy Ann Writes and can be found here!
http://dorothyannwrites.wordpress.com/
Friday, June 29, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Welcome back! Also, packing for a month WITHOUT checking a bag!
Date: April 25, 2012
Location: Nashville
Listening: Billy Talent
Mood: Getting over Spring Sickness (tm)
Today, I had Orientation for my Study Abroad trip in the Fall. It
seemed like an appropriate time to start this blog up again; new and
improved, welcome to Dorian JetSet!
Since my trip to Prague is quite a ways off (125 days according to my countdown) I don't have anyhting related to the CR to post, so I want to cover a topic I've wanted to write about for a long time: packing. In the meeting today, semester-long students and short trip students got the same lecture: only check one bag. One bag? For the short-trip students, their adventures would be less than four weeks. This brought me back to my trip to Japan (also available on this blog) where I was the only one (of a group of 25 or so) who didn't check a bag. Everything I needed fit in my carry-on luggage. To be honest, a couple souvenirs I got traveled back to the US in a friend's bag, but if I didn't have that available I would have shipped them or not bought them.
My traveling to a foreign country for three weeks without checking a bag has become the stuff of legends for my friends and family.... which I frankly don't understand! You don't need to bring everything and the kitchen sink when traveling, and having less/ smaller bags makes airplane connections, subway rides, transfers between hotels, and walking down the street easier! You can wash clothes in laundromats or in the sink in your hotel, a lot of clothes can be worn more than once, and you can find shoes that work for multiple outfits (that seems to be the main thing that women don't get, no offense ladies. Speaking of ladies, my packing list is mostly gender-neutral, but some comments are for women, because that's the packing experience I've had.)
So, without further ado, packing for a three-week trip in one standard sized roll-aboard suitcase and one backpack. Let's divide necessities into three categories: clothes, entertainment, and personal care.
CLOTHES:
-Two pairs of jeans. For everyday wear. Jeans can be worn for 3-4 days without washing. If you're really not a jeans person, substitute accordingly, just make sure it can be worn with EVERY top you bring.
-One pair of sweatpants/athletic shorts. Sleep in them, wear them when you do laundry, whatever.
-One pair of 'nice' slacks or skirt, if you need them. For church, nice dinners, etc.
-Tops: three or four t-shirts, cotton takes longer to dry than synthetics. Remember that if you're visiting temples/cathedrals you want to be modest, so watch necklines, and probably bring a long-sleeved shirt too. If you're going out, remember a fancy top with dark jeans or slacks can look just as nice as a dress. Boys might need a button-up shirt and (maybe?) tie. I don't know these things.
-Socks and underwear: enough to last a week, and then another day. Plan on doing laundry once a week, or even every 6 days, but the extra is because laundry day always comes a little later than you think. Socks and underwear are especially easy to wash in a sink and dry on the shower curtain or towel rack.
-Warmth: this does NOT depend on the season, you WILL need a hoodie/sweatshirt/cardigan. Maybe bring two if you're picky. I think I layered mine in Japan. Airplanes, for some reason, are always freezing, and sometimes you can't control the temperature in your hotel. I highly highly recommend a large cotton scarf too. This is actually a tip I got from my mom (thanks, mom!) and it's super useful. You can use it to cover your shoulders for modesty, use it as a blanket when you're cold, cover your head when it's raining or cold and you didn't bring a hat. I brought 2 to Japan and bought 2 more there, which may have been an overload, but they don't take up much space. You might need a jacket/coat depending on the weather, but you'll wear that on the plane and use it as a blanket there, so it won't take much space in your bag. (If it's really that cold you probably want long socks and various other layers but I don't need to spell it out for you.)
-Shoes: Wear your most comfortable walking shoes for the plane, but you'll probably still take them off. Make sure to keep them on for takeoff and landing, in case there's an emergency you'll want them on. Pack one other pair of shoes in your bag. You do not need hiking boots or heels. I promise. The idea is lightweight and comfortable. You always walk more abroad than you do at home. If you need to be formal, flats will do, if you need to work out, sneakers are good. Even if you're going hiking, those heavy hiking boots will just hold you down (literally, especially if it rains.) Most people who hike the Appalachian Trail wear sneakers.
Basically, the idea is to pack layers, things that all go with each other, and can be used for multiple occasions.
ENTERTAINMENT:
-Laptop/netbook/tablet. Load it with books, tv shows, movies, games that can be played offline.
-Adapter, depending on the power and socket type where you're going.
-One form of non-electronic entertainment... this means a book or knitting. You have to turn off your gadgets for part of a plane ride, and unfortunately batteries die sometimes.
-Journal/pen, you'll want to remember stuff, write down the train schedule, your room number, etc.
-Pocket phrase book. If you finish your book or knitting, brush up on the language of the country you're visiting.
PERSONAL CARE:
-I think this is how I get away without checking a bag... my #1 personal care item is cash. Don't bring full-size shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, etc. Bring the little 3-oz bottles you're allowed to take in a carry-on, they'll hold you through the first couple of days, and stop at a pharmacy or grocery store for the large size ones. Throw them away when you're ready to go home. Bam. Problem solved. If you're staying at a hotel you could use the ones they provide, too. Bring your own toothbrush and face cloth, hairbrush, etc.
-First-aid kit: you need band-aids. Even if you followed my comfortable walking shoes rule, you could still get a blister. You could fall and scrape something, you could cut something, etc. You want band-aids. You probably also want ibuprofin or asprin, headaches, etc. Pretty much anything else you can get at a pharmacy ("chemist").
-Do a little research about personal care products that you may need that might not be available in your destination country. I'm sorry if it's Too Much Information, but some countries don't believe in tampons. I've also heard disposable razors might be hard to find some places, so do your homework and pack accordingly.
-A little food. Trail mix, granola bars, those little boxes of cereal, goldfish crackers, whatever. The one useful/memorable thing I remember from the Study Abroad orientation today was "You don't want to be paying $30 for five peanuts at the airport." You might wake up at weird hours from jetlag and find that no restaurants or room service are open. If you don't drink plain water, you can get those little packets of kool-aid, gatoraid, lemonaid, whatever, that you empty into your...
-Empty water bottle. You can't carry liquids through security, but you can fill it up at a water fountain on the other side. A lot cheaper than buying bottled water everywhere. Do research about the water quality in your destination, though.
That's about it. Obviously everyone has different necessities, little things like jewelry to go with your outfits, etc, but this is my packing list for a few weeks abroad, and it should all fit in a regular rolly suitcase and backpack.
New entry coming soon- probably about packing for weekend trips, considering I'm going to be taking a LOT of those this summer, and then I'll cover packing for three months in Prague and then it's OFF TO PRAGUE!
Since my trip to Prague is quite a ways off (125 days according to my countdown) I don't have anyhting related to the CR to post, so I want to cover a topic I've wanted to write about for a long time: packing. In the meeting today, semester-long students and short trip students got the same lecture: only check one bag. One bag? For the short-trip students, their adventures would be less than four weeks. This brought me back to my trip to Japan (also available on this blog) where I was the only one (of a group of 25 or so) who didn't check a bag. Everything I needed fit in my carry-on luggage. To be honest, a couple souvenirs I got traveled back to the US in a friend's bag, but if I didn't have that available I would have shipped them or not bought them.
My traveling to a foreign country for three weeks without checking a bag has become the stuff of legends for my friends and family.... which I frankly don't understand! You don't need to bring everything and the kitchen sink when traveling, and having less/ smaller bags makes airplane connections, subway rides, transfers between hotels, and walking down the street easier! You can wash clothes in laundromats or in the sink in your hotel, a lot of clothes can be worn more than once, and you can find shoes that work for multiple outfits (that seems to be the main thing that women don't get, no offense ladies. Speaking of ladies, my packing list is mostly gender-neutral, but some comments are for women, because that's the packing experience I've had.)
So, without further ado, packing for a three-week trip in one standard sized roll-aboard suitcase and one backpack. Let's divide necessities into three categories: clothes, entertainment, and personal care.
CLOTHES:
-Two pairs of jeans. For everyday wear. Jeans can be worn for 3-4 days without washing. If you're really not a jeans person, substitute accordingly, just make sure it can be worn with EVERY top you bring.
-One pair of sweatpants/athletic shorts. Sleep in them, wear them when you do laundry, whatever.
-One pair of 'nice' slacks or skirt, if you need them. For church, nice dinners, etc.
-Tops: three or four t-shirts, cotton takes longer to dry than synthetics. Remember that if you're visiting temples/cathedrals you want to be modest, so watch necklines, and probably bring a long-sleeved shirt too. If you're going out, remember a fancy top with dark jeans or slacks can look just as nice as a dress. Boys might need a button-up shirt and (maybe?) tie. I don't know these things.
-Socks and underwear: enough to last a week, and then another day. Plan on doing laundry once a week, or even every 6 days, but the extra is because laundry day always comes a little later than you think. Socks and underwear are especially easy to wash in a sink and dry on the shower curtain or towel rack.
-Warmth: this does NOT depend on the season, you WILL need a hoodie/sweatshirt/cardigan. Maybe bring two if you're picky. I think I layered mine in Japan. Airplanes, for some reason, are always freezing, and sometimes you can't control the temperature in your hotel. I highly highly recommend a large cotton scarf too. This is actually a tip I got from my mom (thanks, mom!) and it's super useful. You can use it to cover your shoulders for modesty, use it as a blanket when you're cold, cover your head when it's raining or cold and you didn't bring a hat. I brought 2 to Japan and bought 2 more there, which may have been an overload, but they don't take up much space. You might need a jacket/coat depending on the weather, but you'll wear that on the plane and use it as a blanket there, so it won't take much space in your bag. (If it's really that cold you probably want long socks and various other layers but I don't need to spell it out for you.)
-Shoes: Wear your most comfortable walking shoes for the plane, but you'll probably still take them off. Make sure to keep them on for takeoff and landing, in case there's an emergency you'll want them on. Pack one other pair of shoes in your bag. You do not need hiking boots or heels. I promise. The idea is lightweight and comfortable. You always walk more abroad than you do at home. If you need to be formal, flats will do, if you need to work out, sneakers are good. Even if you're going hiking, those heavy hiking boots will just hold you down (literally, especially if it rains.) Most people who hike the Appalachian Trail wear sneakers.
Basically, the idea is to pack layers, things that all go with each other, and can be used for multiple occasions.
ENTERTAINMENT:
-Laptop/netbook/tablet. Load it with books, tv shows, movies, games that can be played offline.
-Adapter, depending on the power and socket type where you're going.
-One form of non-electronic entertainment... this means a book or knitting. You have to turn off your gadgets for part of a plane ride, and unfortunately batteries die sometimes.
-Journal/pen, you'll want to remember stuff, write down the train schedule, your room number, etc.
-Pocket phrase book. If you finish your book or knitting, brush up on the language of the country you're visiting.
PERSONAL CARE:
-I think this is how I get away without checking a bag... my #1 personal care item is cash. Don't bring full-size shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, etc. Bring the little 3-oz bottles you're allowed to take in a carry-on, they'll hold you through the first couple of days, and stop at a pharmacy or grocery store for the large size ones. Throw them away when you're ready to go home. Bam. Problem solved. If you're staying at a hotel you could use the ones they provide, too. Bring your own toothbrush and face cloth, hairbrush, etc.
-First-aid kit: you need band-aids. Even if you followed my comfortable walking shoes rule, you could still get a blister. You could fall and scrape something, you could cut something, etc. You want band-aids. You probably also want ibuprofin or asprin, headaches, etc. Pretty much anything else you can get at a pharmacy ("chemist").
-Do a little research about personal care products that you may need that might not be available in your destination country. I'm sorry if it's Too Much Information, but some countries don't believe in tampons. I've also heard disposable razors might be hard to find some places, so do your homework and pack accordingly.
-A little food. Trail mix, granola bars, those little boxes of cereal, goldfish crackers, whatever. The one useful/memorable thing I remember from the Study Abroad orientation today was "You don't want to be paying $30 for five peanuts at the airport." You might wake up at weird hours from jetlag and find that no restaurants or room service are open. If you don't drink plain water, you can get those little packets of kool-aid, gatoraid, lemonaid, whatever, that you empty into your...
-Empty water bottle. You can't carry liquids through security, but you can fill it up at a water fountain on the other side. A lot cheaper than buying bottled water everywhere. Do research about the water quality in your destination, though.
That's about it. Obviously everyone has different necessities, little things like jewelry to go with your outfits, etc, but this is my packing list for a few weeks abroad, and it should all fit in a regular rolly suitcase and backpack.
New entry coming soon- probably about packing for weekend trips, considering I'm going to be taking a LOT of those this summer, and then I'll cover packing for three months in Prague and then it's OFF TO PRAGUE!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Re-entry essay
My visit to Japan was simultaneously one of the easiest, hardest, most frustrating, most educational, and strangest experiences of my life. It was easy because I'd traveled before, so I didn't have as much trouble with packing, jet lag, etc as some of my peers; hard because I was completely out of my cultural comfort zone; frustrating because I didn't speak any Japanese; educational because of the dozens of cultural details I picked up; and strange because a lot of the experiences were completely unexpected. It's very easy, living in America, to forget that the rest of the world exists. We eat our McDonalds and play with our iPhones and assume everyone lives the same way. Well, in Japan they have McDonalds and iPhones too, thanks to us, but they also have Torii gates and three alphabets and respect for their elders. They have a different attitude and different traditional values, yet welcome us rude, fat Americans with smiles and polite bows.
I'm not completely sure why I'm fascinated by cultural 'quirks,' the little habits that one has to pick up to assimilate, but they were very enjoyable to observe in Japan. Placing the money on the counter when making a purchase instead of handing it straight to the cashier was one of the most predominant things, as I observed my peers ignoring the tray on the counter and holding the money out while all the natives looked confused. I'm not sure why money is exchanged this way, but now I know it is, and this became second nature to me. For the few days I've been back in America, I've been placing cash on the counter, getting irritated looks from cashiers as they have to make the extra effort of picking it up. There was also a set of etiquette surrounding chopsticks that I wasn't expecting, everything from not stabbing meat, to not inserting the chopsticks vertically in rice, to not passing food from your chopsticks to someone else's. These were a little more easy to explain than the money-on-the-counter thing, because chopsticks are placed vertically in bowls of rice for traditional Japanese funeral rites, so doing this in a restaurant is implying that the food is fit for dead people. Still, the eating etiquette we have in America is only used at formal dinners and cotillions, so remembering details while eating in Japan was something we weren't used to.
One of the things that has changed about myself from this adventure is the desire to be aware of what's going on in the world: yes, I have always known that an awareness of foreign affairs is important to the modern adult, but I had avoided it like the plague. Politics have always seemed sticky and irritating to me, and I'd pretty much lumped all international news under the 'politics' category. But after having experienced Japan (I did go abroad when I was younger, but this was my first time abroad where I felt like an adult) I am truly, sincerely aware that there are other countries out there with different cultures and different values. Re-reading this paragraph it sounds insanely stupid, but basically this trip has made me want to read the news and know what's going on in the world.
Japan also taught me courtesy. I had thought that I was a relatively polite person, but when compared to your average Japanese ten year old, I am still rude and uneducated. Being respectful not only of others' cultures, beliefs and traditions, but also of their personhood and opinions, is something I will be certain to focus on in the future.
If you're reading this on my blog, thanks for reading. If you're reading this because you're my teacher, thanks for taking me to Japan. I will never forget those three weeks.
Japan Journal Entry 12
Entry #12: Koya-San
“Everything around me seems so different than where I'm from..."The song is called 'Homesick' and while I wasn't homesick while riding the funicular, the lyrics resonated. You don't see things like this in Tennessee or Chicago- the mountains completely shrouded in mist, the palm-like trees right next to pine-like trees. It felt otherworldly and I was certain that this would be one of the highlights of the trip. I was right.
Staying overnight at the temple was unlike anything I'd ever done in my life. I was surprisingly okay with the unusual rooming situation and found the tofu dinner rather tasty. The language barrier made me feel slightly lost at some points, but in general the monks got their points across as far as how things would work. The schedule was a little more strict and defined than it had been most of the trip, but I got the feeling that is how things work for these monks. A bath before dinner, tofu dinner, and then they probably go to bed so they can wake up early for chanting and meditation.
The chanting was also a unique experience, mostly because I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I was reminded of a time my parents and I went to Mass while we were in Italy: the only words I caught were 'panne et pesce,' so I knew it was the Gospel about loaves and fishes. But sitting in an incense-heavy room, with unknown iconography all around, listening to foreign, incomprehensible words was a surprisingly familiar difference. The difference between a Catholic Mass in Italian and a Buddhist chanting ritual in Japanese, however, was that I know the parts of a Catholic mass, I know when to stand and sit and I know, in general, how things go. With a Buddhist morning chant? I was clueless. I didn't know if we were supposed to stand when the monk did or chant along with him or bow or clap at certain times. Luckily for me, our role in the chanting was extremely passive: we sat quietly in the back of the room. That was pretty much it.
The breakfast was, again, tofu-based, and then it was time to shoulder our backpacks and continue what by then was starting to feel like a pilgrimage. It was raining and miserable but we trekked through a Buddhist mausoleum to see Okunoin, the burial place of Kukai. While the mausoleum was beautiful and it was an honor to be able to see Kukai's importance, it was wet and cold. So I was very relieved to get back on the funicular headed towards society.
Now I'm sitting in the Narita airport hotel and this adventure is winding down. I think these journals could have been better-written, but I don't have time to fix them. Seeing the western-style bathtub in this hotel reminded me that in 24 hours I'll be back in my own apartment in Nashville, able to read every sign and understand every conversation I overhear. It's kind of a sad feeling, for some reason...
Friday, May 27, 2011
Brief reactions to Hiroshima
I'm not sure if I have time for a polished blog post before going off on adventures (today is a free day and my friends have planned to visit Osaka, Nara and a fantastic store in Kyoto, it's gonna be pretty busy!) but I figured while I have a moment I'll jot down/ copy out of my paper journals some reactions to our visit to Hiroshima yesterday. You'd have to be blind or shockingly uneducated to not be aware that Hiroshima is the city where the United States dropped the first Atomic bomb back in 1945, and that the destruction was complete, brutal, and terrifying. It was a pretty emotionally traumatic day, and here are the notes I jotted down while visiting:
After seeing the A-Bomb Dome:
I've seen ruins before. I've seen Pompeii, which was destroyed by a volcano, and the Coliseum which was destroyed by time. I've seen the effects of flood and hurricanes. I've seen buildings left to crumble because their repairs couldn't be afforded. But I had never seen the direct results of war until today. Even the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC is just a replica, not real like this. The A-bomb dome, a building hollowed out close to the epicenter of the explosion, (#), is a real building where real people worked and died, incinerated by the blast less than 500 feet away. It's one of a handful of buildings that was still standing in downtown Hiroshima. According to Wikipedia, the radius of total destruction was one mile, with fires spreading 4 more miles, decimating about 70% of the city's structures in one fells swoop. This is a reminder of an atrocity that my country committed against this one, of how evil humans are with no thought for the humanity of others. I am ashamed to be the same species and nationality as the people that did something like this.
Between the A-Bomb Dome and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum there were two or three monuments to children who were killed in the blast or from resulting radiation sicknesses. They featured millions of paper cranes (#). Inspired by a belief that folding 1,000 of these cranes would make a wish come true, Sadako Sasaki (main character of the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes) and other leukemia patients began to fold thousands of them, their only wish being to live. To this day (# these were dated the day of our visit) students fold thousands of cranes and hang them in these memorials, as a way of honoring those innocent lives. There is also an eternal flame that will burn until all nuclear weapons are disarmed, which my friends and I could only shake our heads at, hoping and praying that it would be extinguished in our lifetime, but knowing that is unlikely.
Written just outside of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum:
I knew it wouldn't be fun. I wasn't expecting a particularly happy scene. I've been to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, but that is thousands of miles from the tragedy it represents. This museum is less than a mile from the epicenter of the bombing. Seeing the charred school uniforms of children killed by the bomb, the pieces of buildings burnt and melted, while standing where these things were found was unbelievably difficult. Reading testimonies of people, many of them my age or younger, who saw their whole families suffer and die from the explosion and radiation, made me break down in tears. A whole exhibition of these stories and the items that accompanied them was the most painful thing I've seen in a very long time, if not my whole life. I can't begin to fathom a piece of a burnt school uniform or a lock of charred hair (or the bicycle a young boy was riding when he was incinerated, #) being the only token I have to remember my whole family by. The suffering, the agony these people went through.... One of the predominant thoughts in my mind was "I hate being American, I feel like a monster." However, this museum thankfully wasn't aimed at vilifying Americans, it was aimed at exposing the horrors of nuclear war and encouraging visitors to fight for disarmament.
Written the day after the visit:
Although seeing Hiroshima and especially the artifacts from the victims was incredibly, unbelievably painful, I understand why this visit was necessary. I find it difficult to believe that anyone with a soul, after seeing these kind of things, could ever make or support the decision to drop another nuclear bomb. Over 53 million people have seen the museum since its' founding in 1955, and while I wouldn't exactly hop on the train to go see it again today, I am glad I went.
Here's a thought.... can we just send the presidents/ rulers of the US, India, Pakistan, Russia, France, the UK, China, and North Korea (I think that's all the countries with nuclear weapons) to this museum together? And then at the end, have a treaty for disarmament ready for them to sign.... If it weren't for how complicated and messy politics are, if it was only based on the humanity of the leaders, I'd be certain it would work.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The Sand Garden, reactions to "The Sand Garden" by Italo Calvino, and the most painful anime.
I'm not sure these entries are properly numbered anymore. This covers 5/25 and class on 5/26.
The rocks rose up from the carefully raked sand like harsh islands from the sea. I squinted against the glare of the sun and didn't understand what I was looking at. There was some sand. Some rocks. I didn't get it. It was too harsh and bright, and the most peaceful moments on this trip for me were in shaded, green forests, surrounded by natural and animal noises, not groups of schoolkids. That was yesterday, when I spent no more than a minute looking at the rock garden before moving on to the moss garden and the landscapes around the temple. I just snapped a picture (#) and moved on. Today in class, after reading "The Sand Garden" by Italo Calvino, I realized where I went wrong in my experience. Not only did I not sit down to contemplate the rock garden, but I was too concerned with my own personality and ego. I just went through a breakup, I wasn't feeling well, I was tired and stressed. I was focusing on myself. I was thinking that serenity or enlightenment would hit me in the face, and I didn't take the time to 'become only a gaze' as Calvino puts it. What a silly mistake. Here are pictures of the moss garden (#) and surrounding landscape (#) that I took much more time to ponder. Also, I touched a tree that didn't want to be touched (#).
Luckily, the 88 Temple Pilgrimage was much more satisfying. We hiked up this incredible mountain, (#) polishing our Japanese-number-reading skills ("San Ju Hachi... temple thirty eight! We're almost halfway there!") by counting the temples. The 88 Temple Pilgrimage was modeled on a pilgrimage on a different island that takes months and months to complete, but this one can be done in less than an hour if you're in decent shape. For some reason, I think because my friends were taking a picture of every single temple, I didn't take a picture of a single one. I did, however, try to capture a shot of the view of Kyoto: (#). The whole hike up the mountain I had a mini rosary that my great-uncle gave me in my hand, praying that my knee would be okay (the last time I hiked I blew out my knee pretty badly) and that I wouldn't feel so ill I'd have to turn back. This mini rosary is a metal circle and reminds me very much of the Buddhist prayer beads that pilgrims use on the 'real' 88 temple pilgrimage. I thought that was a cool cross-cultural link.
After returning to Otsu we took some time to rest our feet before all gathering together to watch the animated movie Barefoot Gen. This was a way of preparing us for our impending visit to Hiroshima tomorrow. It's the story of a 6-year-old boy who lived through the atomic bombing, complete with graphic (despite being animated, the fact that it is an autobiography and this really happened made it incredibly painful to watch) details of the bomb's destruction, radiation sickness, and the narrator's baby sister starving to death. More than a few of us were crying and cursing the movie, not to mention the teachers for suggesting/requesting that we watch it. (I know, my teachers will read this, but since it's a journal I think I'm allowed to be honest.) I've been to the Holocaust museum in Washington, DC a few times and have read a few books about the Holocaust, not to mention I've seen Schindler's List, but Barefoot Gen was honestly more painful than those. I'm not sure I'm emotionally prepared to visit Hiroshima, but it's going to happen whether I like it or not.
Dr. Paine said, "You will not be the same after you have been to Hiroshima, but let it happen." in class today, and I'll admit to being afraid. The things that humans have done to other humans are truly unthinkable, terrifying, and disheartening.
Dr. Paine said, "You will not be the same after you have been to Hiroshima, but let it happen." in class today, and I'll admit to being afraid. The things that humans have done to other humans are truly unthinkable, terrifying, and disheartening.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Reading Response: Reactions to Basho
We learned in class today that our class journals are expected to be mostly responses to the reading, which I've been doing very few entries about. So I'll post a catch-up sightseeing entry later, but here's a reading response for now. Not very fascinating, unless you like American teenagers parodying Great Poets.
5.23
I'm somehow struck with the sinking feeling I'm going to be the only person in my class that isn't head over heels in love with Matsuo Basho. I've seen a couple of facebook statuses so far tonight "oh man, Basho is like the Japanese Robert Frost" or "Haiku are so much cooler than the whiny Gossamer Years." But I'll be honest: I don't get it. Maybe I'm not in the right mood for it but seriously? The guy's chosen penname means 'banana'. And to me, his writing style seems like this:
"We left on the such-and-such road heading south. We hiked up the such-and-such mountain and saw the such-and-such temple. So-and-so the famous poet once wrote this haiku there:
I am at / a temple / the wind blows.
So I sat and wrote this haiku.
The wind blowing/ reminds me that/ the seasons change.
On our way down the mountain, so-and-so who once knew so-and-so asked me to write a haiku on a card for him. I thought that was very classy of him, so I wrote,
I have hiked/ to the temple/ where the seasons change.
We then went into town and stayed at an inn. The innkeeper was very nice. I wrote him a haiku."
I'm sorry... I just don't get it. I'll try to look at it again in the morning, maybe meditate on one of the haikus, but I read a few chapters and I still don't understand why this is considered one of the greatest works of world literature.
5.23
I'm somehow struck with the sinking feeling I'm going to be the only person in my class that isn't head over heels in love with Matsuo Basho. I've seen a couple of facebook statuses so far tonight "oh man, Basho is like the Japanese Robert Frost" or "Haiku are so much cooler than the whiny Gossamer Years." But I'll be honest: I don't get it. Maybe I'm not in the right mood for it but seriously? The guy's chosen penname means 'banana'. And to me, his writing style seems like this:
"We left on the such-and-such road heading south. We hiked up the such-and-such mountain and saw the such-and-such temple. So-and-so the famous poet once wrote this haiku there:
I am at / a temple / the wind blows.
So I sat and wrote this haiku.
The wind blowing/ reminds me that/ the seasons change.
On our way down the mountain, so-and-so who once knew so-and-so asked me to write a haiku on a card for him. I thought that was very classy of him, so I wrote,
I have hiked/ to the temple/ where the seasons change.
We then went into town and stayed at an inn. The innkeeper was very nice. I wrote him a haiku."
I'm sorry... I just don't get it. I'll try to look at it again in the morning, maybe meditate on one of the haikus, but I read a few chapters and I still don't understand why this is considered one of the greatest works of world literature.
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