Hardships in Italy

    

I was able to go to Vatican museum and Collosseo free of charge! What's more, I didn't need to wait a long time to enter either of them. Roman sightseeing spots are notirious for long lines. I thought what a lucky day!

But!

But!

BUT!

When I was in the street, a foreigner stumbled and spilled sweet tea on my clothes. He said "I'm sorry." I was going to ignore him until he gave a hand. I might have treated him coldly. He apologized a few times and left soon after that. I wore a waterproof trench coat so it was easy to wipe up spilled tea.

That evening, I applied some eye lotion at a bar because my eyes turned very red from lack of sleep. Then one of the shop assistants, thinking I had been crying, gave a worried look and handed some tissue paper. After a while, an Italian man spilled beer on me when wasn't wearing a coat, again!!!

I didn't want to listen to any excuses, so I rushed into a rest room to wipe off beer and then left the bar soon afterwards. Should I have charged him a cleaning fee for all my clothes? My clothes were soaking wet and I had very red eyes. If someone had seen me then, they might have thought I'd been in a terrible situation.


Nothing of mine was stolen, but I wonder if this is a new method for Roman pickpockets. I can't believe that I've been the victim of such an accident twice in a single day.

Hong-Kong, Italy, The Vatican and Setouchi International Art Festival

I'll go to Hong-Kong, Italy, The Vatican tomorrow.

Italian fashion week has just finished! A lot of fashionable people were supposed to come. After coming back to Japan, I'll go straight to the Setouchi international art festival without stopping by my house.

When I go on a trip, something usually happenes. This trip also seems like something will happen.

Have a wonderful day.

Am I Second Best?

My cousin stayed over my house last week. Most of our topics were about our past romances. It was super fun because we are only ladies.

When my cousin was a teen, she was going out with a certain man. She met her boyfriend more than three times over the course of one week. When six months had passed, she felt he sometimes would meet another woman and she said,

"You seem to be keeping something from me.
What are you doing with ANOTHER WOMAN?"

He siad,

"What are you talking about?
You are my SECOND BEST GIRLFRIEND!!!"


Oh........ orz


He was so honest but in a bad sence!
She was at a loss for words and decided to break up. She didn't realize her boyfriend was so promiscuous until she saw him with another girl. At that time, he fell in love in my cousin and rarely met his first girlfriend so she had never thought she was a second girlfriend.


It has been ten years since then.
She always tells a story in a very amusing way so I laughed out loud while I said, "I'm sorry, but you make me laugh."


In such a situation, what most woman expect a man to do is make an excuse, apologize,and say, "I love you."


After a while, she suddenly asked me

"Is everything alright? Are you sure you are not second best?"

I have no idea, but if my boyfriend were to say the same, frankly, I would be surprised if he didn't try to hide anything.

Speaking of which, I misunderstood "second best" for "second base" for a long time.
Even if you say "You are my second bese" to your boy/girlfriend, it may make a sense.

A Positive Light

Today's entry might be boring.

The following is about what my favorite chef and a painter have said.

The meaning of "positive" is to accept.
On the other hand, the meaning of "negative" is to reject.
What's more, to accept is to love.
If you could accept everything, even a person who has a different way of thinking, a person who rejects you, the past's failure, and the future's anxiety, it would be great. If you can do that easily, you will be happy.

I also believe in this.
This entry might be pholosophocal or seems like something out of the Bible.

Hands Drawing Hands

  

Have you ever seen the above pictures before? If you are seeing them for the first time today and are finding some tricks in the drawings, you may be able to enjoy them. These drawings were done by Maurits Cornelis Escher who is regarded as a famous trick art artist. If I had good painting skills, I also would create trick art like him.

I have been wondering whether I should buy his art book. Every time I go to the book store near my house, I read it because that one book has remained unsold for half a year, despite its discount price so I have been enjoying the book without buying it.

How stingy I am!

I feel sorry for the book store, but I hope nobody buys it.

The Sorrowful Truth?

This entry may be a little melancholy.

I sometimes read a certain site that is written about the author's daily life and sometimes old Japanese poems. She usually writes an entry in modern Japanese, but she writes a sad entry in old Japanese once every few months. I'll translate five sentences into English.

-On a winter night, someone's words helped me when I nearly went mad.

-After he left and I had nothing to do, I realized that I loved him

-On a rainy winter day, I asked you "where are you?", but I received no reponse.

-It has been raining for a long time and I have no where to go, so I wish I could become a bubble of a stream.

-I run after you again and again, but I can't catch up with you, and I found a cluster amaryllis in the street in autumn.

The second one was quoted from old Japanese literature. Reading only these sad entries again, especially the last one, I noticed these sorrowful meanings because a cluster amaryllis reminds Japanese people of graves and death. Anyone who has not studied old Japanese would not recognize the meaning of them.These sentences are writer's original except a quotation.

I think she might have written it in old Japanese to make it more ambiguous. I'm not sure if this is a fiction or a true story.

I can show you only on excerpt:
ある時は　ありのすさびに　語らはで　恋しきものと　別れてぞ知る

If you are a Japanese learner and memorize this sentence, you already would be an Japanese expert. You can't use that phrase anywhere though.

Don't Print Such a Strange Word on It, Please!

I tidied up a closet yesterday and found two things in a box that my mother sent last month. One of them was a T-shirt.

When I was a studnet, I got the T-shirt as a premium at a festival of some sort. I wore that T-shirt instead of pajamas in a dormitory because it design was not so good. On that night, my friend called me,"Hey, spleen!" I didn't know that she was talking about at first, but after seeing her looking at my T-shirt, I understood.

Right up till then, I didn't know what the word meant. I don't understand why the designer would put such a word on a T-shirt. Native English speakers also found such a word strange, moreover it was about spleen. Speaking of which, "Go for it!" was in small print on the back. What a dowdy T-shirt!

Since then, we have a habit of reading the words printed on people's clothes.

My English Habits And Intermediate Japanese Learner's Habits.

When I'm tired and speak English, I sometimes feel bothered in paying attention to grammar and in saying the English words which are omitted in Japanese so I omit subjects or objects of a sentence unconsciously as I would do in Japanese.

It's the same for Japanese, I often see some intermediate Japanese learners omit neccessary Japanese worlds in a sentence incorrectly. Japanese subjects can be omitted in a sentence, but I think it's difficult to omit words correctly. So if you are not used to writing a journal in Japanese and you would like to write something like a Japanese native speaker, I recommend that you write a journal correctly and then ask to the correctors what the words you can omit are.

If you learn Japanese from only your girl friend or only one person, your way of speaking may be womanly or may have some habits. I don't know about other languages, but Japanese has various types of ways for talking, so I have noticed a certain man learned Japanese from whom when he talked, because his way of talking was womanly. So I think we have to talk to various types of people and have to choose our favorite talking way.

To The Place Where My Favorite Musician Is

My plan to go to the UAE at the beginning of last month has vanished because my friend who lives in the UAE had to come back to Japan, so we could meet at our hometown.

I was wondering if I should go somewhere else. Then, as I was listening to "John Boy" of Brad Mehldau, an American jazz pianist, I comfirmed that his schedule is during a period that I can take holidays. He will be in London for his music tour!

The airline ticket for London was already all booked and there was just one seat left for the return to Japan. For this reason, I'll go to London by Eurostar after staying in Paris a few days at the end of last month.

He is a jazz pianist, but his music is close to classical music. If you are interested in jazz, why don't you check out his site?

He might even come to your town and then you could enjoy his music. The cost of a ticket to his concert is quite reasonable.

http://www.bradmehldau.com/

I'll report about my trip next time!

Marriage Or Common-law marriage

There is a system called the PaCS in France (PaCS=Pacte Civil de Solidarite)
This system provides social security for every couple, including gay couples and common-law marriage couples.

If you get merried to someone, which is the better:

marriage or common-law marriage?


If its system were also enforeced in Japan, I may choose common-law marriage. However, Japan is rather conservative regarding this.

Sometimes, tension between a couple can be a good thing, if the tension is not limited to within the boundaries of the marriage.

I found some interesting sayings about marriage, so I'll post it!


Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit each other now and then.
Kathrine Hepburn


It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriage.
Friedrich Nietzshe

Indeed.

An Emcee VS Me

"Could you give your advice on married life to them?"

"Absolutely not!"


Last weekend, a certain emcee asked this question to me while attending my acquaintance's wedding party to play some musical pieces. He asked the same question to other ensemble members. After we played some pieces, he requested a congratulatory speech from one of the members. The next moment, he said:



"Ari, could you give your advice of a married life to them?"



My outlook was overly optimistic because he had asked another member so I thought I could avoid the request!

"To be honest, if someone knows the answer, I'd like to know it, but according to ---san, the emcee, one of the important things in married life is kissing every morning and night."


What a stupid question! I talked about the emcee's story which I heard in an anteroom before the party started. I was the youngest of the ensemble members, moreover the groom was around fifty years old and this marriage was the second time for him. I'm not so stupid that I would advise on married life to someone who has more experience than me. I wonder why only my question was for advice not a congratulatory speech.

After the party, "I'll ask you a question if we meet somewhere again," he said so and left. His word reminded me of something. I asked one of the members if we had met him before and she said,


"Don't you remember him? He asked you a question in a charity event a few years ago like today. He seems to enjoy teasing you."



"Ahhhh! I have met him."



It's difficult for me to give a speech to someone whom I don't know well. I might as well play some musical pieces as give speech. I'll never forget him, and I'll repond well when he aska me something next time!

Creepy Voice

"..........girl..........girl !!"

When I wan going down the stairs at the station, I heard a strange voice. The strange voice seemed to speak to the person who was behind me. However the person passed by me quickly. Moreover, the person was a man, not a girl. Then I heard the creepy voice again, and the voice was getting closer.

"Doughnut girrrrrl, doughnut girrrrrrrl ....."

He meant me!!
I ran away from the voice pursuing me to the platform. It was very scary. When I arrived at the platform, one cheerful foreigner spoke to me.

"Hi, I like doughnuts. Are they for your dessert?" and so on.

I wanted to hide the doughnut's paper bag right away. So I put it into my bag with a frightened face. I simply responded to him, but I couldn't concentrate on his speaking, and kept worring about the creepy voice. The foreigner went away somewhere. My attitude might have given him the impression that I did not want to speak with him. I really wanted him to help me because I wanted to hide myself behind someone.

The owner of the voice showed up at the platform, but he couldn't find me and he left there.
I didn't know what he wanted.

There are a lot of strange people in Tokyo!

Loving At First Sight To Cherry Trees.

After buying some books, I impulsively bought a double flowering cherry tree which was two or more meters tall at a powdered green tea shop on Thursday night. The shop that I often go to, sells floweres of the season.

I had forgotten that I come there by train. I had to take great care not to prick the other passengers with the twigs. The tree wasn't heavy but too long. Carrying the tree to my house was so hard but my impulsive action was not for naught.

The next day, a lot of buds bloomed beautifully!!

I made powdered green tea and am reading a book in front of a beautiful cherry tree this morning. How comfortable! I buy a lot of things on impulse recently. I don't usually like to read library books, because they have been used by many people. So I can't borrow books and I have to buy. A lot of my favorite things, strawberries and flowers, come out at this time of year, so it's a beautiful season, but I'm getting poor.

Do You Like To Hug?

My friend brought me as a guest to a New Year's party which was held by her English teacher last month, because she knows that I study English.

I was talking with a foreigner about rambling topics like " Which do you like better, the New Year's party or the year end party?" This question was funny for Japanese. I think most Japanese people have never thought about it seriously. He left there for a while, and he was getting closer to me, raising his arms and saying "hey Ari~". Instinctively, I gave him high fives with my both hands to avoid a hug.

It seemed as if bears were fighting. I felt sorry for him after that.

After the party I heard that my friend was laughing inwardly at the scene from a short distance.

I manage to hug in business, but in private, I can't get used to hugging a person whom I met for the first time, because we don't have such a culture in Japan. I guess that there are a lot of woman like me in Japan, so even if someone avoids your hug, that person wouldn't mean to hurt you.

Have a nice weekend!

Birds of A Feather Flock Together

I stayed at a hotel in Rome for a few days for my business trip. When I was leaving the hotel, I met an elderly man from Switzerland in the elevator at the hotel. After the business trip, I was going to go to Paris for my short vacation. It seemed he is familiar with Paris, so I asked him where I could find a delicious restaurant, after words he said, " Have a nice trip."

In the evening, I was at the restaurant that he mentioned. Just then a gentleman who wore a well tailored suit walked up to me. It was the man whom I met in Rome. He said with a smile to me,

"I'm interested in your business. We share a common interest, so I'd like to talk with you more."

He came to Paris from Rome by his private jet, and his limousine was in front of the restaurant. We had talked about each other's business at a bar until late at night. The next day, he came to see me off at the airport. He gave me unforgettable advice, " We rarely have private time. Use your brain, and do the nicest things."

This is a model's true story, not mine. It's difficult to write this story as an outsider. Therefore, I replaced her with me and changed the point of view.

Woman would be glad, if someone pursue from the reason like him. Even if it is on foot. Though, in the case of on foot, it's like a stalker a little. The lady by the name of Kurara Chibana also works as an officail suppoerter of WFP. She re-entered a university and studies dietetics now. She is not only beautiful but also an intelligent polyglot.

Looking at these two people, I think of the phrase.

"Birds of a feather flock together."

To Japan From NY

I came beck to Japan last Saturday. Manhattan was marvellous!! The people were more marvellous than the land. When I was looking at the map, someone always helped me. On the other hand I was asked the way by a lot of people. I couldn't help them though. It took me a short while to notice how reasonable the map of Manhattan is. It is so multinational that foreigners can live there easily.

To be honest I had never talked to someone who are looking at a map in Tokyo, but if I found them next time, I'll help! I guess transportation in Tokyo is the most complex in the world, so it's easy to find people who have lost their way.

I had little time for sightseeing but my favorite place was the New York public library. If my English was at a native level, I could spend the whole day there.

Do you know Ms Sarah Kate Silverman? I saw her in a talk show at an Apple store of Soho. She seems to be popular in America.

I was able to meet my dear friend, she often comes back to Japan though, I was able to enjoy NY!!

To a lot of kind New Yorkers, thank you for helping me!

Hedgehog

I saw eight movies on a round-trip plane between NY and Japan. It was too many, but I was able to find an interesting one. I'll show it to you!

That movie is "LE HÉRISSON" It's a hedgehog in English.

The story was about an 11year old girl growing up with rich parents but she can't see her future so she plans to die on her 12 th birthday. She dicides to make a film before dying.

I've just started studying French, and her birthday is the same as mine, so I felt as though it was something like desitny.

The author is a French lady who likes Japan, so this movie includes some Japanese elements. She teaches pholosophy at a college and only writes novels during the college's holiday. If you see it without expectations, you might be albe to enjoy.

This is the video clip.

Peacuful Music and My Grandmother

Jan 13th was my late grandmother's birthday. My grandmother and I often talked about how beautiful this music is, so this music reminds me of her smile.

"Do you enjoy your second life in heaven with my grandfather? I present this music to you. We are proud of you."
Mahler Symphony No,5 Adagietto

At a funeral service for my grandmother, her friends from chorus said to me that she was a really nice person. One lady whom I had never met until then came to her funeral service. She had not been meeting my grandmother for the last few decades, so my grandmother's news shook her badly. She talked to my family while crying. They were classmates in primary school, and she had named her daughter after my grandma.

How wonderful! Nobody ever knew that. It is really nice to be able to meet someone whose name I want to name my baby.

By the way, Dennis Stock who was a member of Magnum Photos past away on Jan 13th. I pray his soul may rest in peace. The photograph above is his work.

You Must Know These Things Before Livign in Tokyo, Japan.

1) There are some regions 0 meter below sea level around Tokyo. So a lot of measuring instruments of subsidence are in the area as well as an electric light pole. Compared with other towns, these towns have some risks, so the residents can take some good treatments from government.

In case of Urayasu-shi of Chiba Prefecture, one of the good treatments is that medical expenses of children is free until 15 years old. Moreover, a residence tax is cheaper than other town. Also, in these areas, rent isn't expensive.

2) The residents in Tokyo rarely apologize even if they run into a stranger in a street. After I moved to Tokyo, I became such a person temporarily. But I had been feeling that this situation was not good, so now my behavior took back a former custom.


3) You must not wear perfume when you go to sushi restaurants as well as French restaurants. Even if it was not restaurants Japanese are weak in strong perfume. I like perfumes though.

The Prank.

When my friend left his cell phone at my house, I did a prank on his phone. I changed all of the names in his phone book into famous Japanese historical people.

There were about 200 contacts in his phone book, so it took two hours to change.


After a few hours he came back to my house to get the phone, and no sooner had I given it back to him then he left. I was thinking that when he notices the prank, he would call me to complain, but he didn't call. And I realized that he couldn't find my name because I changed my contact into the prince Edward, so he couldn't call me.


I replaced the name with world famous people.

ex:
Myself, the prince Edward
Friend A, Madam Curie
Friend B, Sennno-rikyu (He was a pioneer who established Japanese TEA ceremony)
Friend C, Thomas Alva Edison.
Restaurant A, Versailles Palace
Restaurant B, Empire State Building.


The next day, we met at work and he said, "Stop pulling such pranks. I didn't know who she was, and I got an e-mail from Sennno-rikyu last night. "Let's have TEA from now.""

What a prank!!

But it's fun. This story was spoken on TV by the Japanese entertainer who likes pranks. It might take a long time for him to restore to it to his previous phone book. He might have asked to everyone. "I'm sorry you're.... who's calling?"

Enneagram Test.

Have you ever taken the Enneagram test?
It's one of those phychological tests. I quated this explanation from wiki.

"Each Enneagram personality type expresses a distinctive and habitual pattern of thinking and emotions. The behavioral characteristics of the personality are less distinctive. By recognizing their personality pattern a person may be able to use the Enneagram as an effective method for self-understanding and self-development."

I took it on both sites, English and Japanese, yesterday. I think a slight difference in description of the test, it was interesting to get the same results.

My partner enjoyed it and said, "That makes a lot of sense and is applicable to me."
In my casem it's not quite applicable. According to this test, it seems that I have the following personality.

Characteristic role: The Individualist
Ego fixation: Melancholy
Holy idea: Origin
Basic Fear: Being commonplace
Basic Desire: To be unique and authentic
Temptation: To beat themselves up and withdraw
Vice/Passion: Envy
Virtue: Equanimity

If you are interested in this test, would you like to try it out?
http://www.9types.com/newtest/

A Good Friend !

You may have already known this pianist but he is the winner of a first prize at the 14th International Chopin Competition in 2000. Nobody could win in this competition for 15 years, so he was the first winner. I really like his play style.

I'm writing this entry while listening to his music and having delicious tea. How comfortable it is!

I met my dear friend after a long separation and talked a lot with her. I had never met someone who has a similar taste in food. Our nationality is different but I feel that our personality closely resemble. Although we can meet only once in a few years, she is my precious friend to whome I can talk about foolish topics.

She transterred from another college to my university when I was a student. Most of Japanese want to know their friend's age when they become friends. I have asked her age but she said "A stupid question," so I don't know her true age even now. I know only her birthday. I think a few years older than me.

She encourages me anytime !

I hope she keeps her nice personality even when she gets old.

She was surprised that my English became worse. I have to restart my English seriously.

An Illusion ?

After finding an interesting book of paintings at a book store, I checked about the artist.
I found another interesting illusion video. So I'll show it to you.

Which direction is she turning ?

First, you can only see her turning clockwise, but you can actually see her turning counterclockwise too. If you can't see her turning counterclockwise, look at the counterclockwise shade of her legs, or fast-forward and rewind the video several times, then you can see it.




Please don't watch just her bust, but also her legs !