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I got to the airport and checked in without too much of a problem. A guy from my program was in the same line as me, though I'd never gotten to know him and he was on a different flight. I checked in and did a little duty free omiage shopping before heading through security and getting to my gate. When I got on the plane, the stewardess who greeted me was American. The sight of her shocked me a little, since I haven't seen white people in any sort of service job since last September. The announcements were all in English first and THEN Japanese. It freaked me out. THe inflght movies were TERRIBLE, and I was really considering asking for a rebate for having to watch "Failure to Launch". I guess no one realises that Sarah Jessica Parker CAN"T act. The upset was stupid, the acting bad and everything just TERRIBLE. Thank God the airlines have barf bags. When I got to LA, I knew I was in America. No one looked the same, nothing was in kanji and the airline attendants all had that gruff but friendly kind of American way about them. Not nice, not polite, but very real and not cold. The customs agent welcomed me home just as I looked up on the wall and saw a portrait of George W. Bush. I laughed and nearly cried. The first thing I did? Buy a giant coffee while I waited for my transfer flight to Philly. There was like, a student group or someting and a few big women from Jersey, so I had to sit listening (overhearing) to stories about bible study, girls weekends and meeting someone who was in your second grade class in loud obnoxious horrible American accents. It was SO ugly. SOOO UGLY. Why? Why would people be allowed to sound like that? Do I sound like that? Ugh. Got onto the plane for Philly and passed out until about half an hour before landing, just in time to see fireworks from the air. It was the fourth of July after all. There were a lot of little shows all over the starry nightlighted earth. They were so tiny though; the biggest one wasn't even the size of a penny. (I changed my money in LA and was taken aback by the look of pennies.) It was awfully humbling. Fourth of July fireworks look so giant from the ground-- so loud, so impressive, so awesome. And here they were, the size of ladybugs fluttering their wings. Landed and I saw right away my parents-- tanned from the beach, bleached and looking just like the picture of the typical American couple. At some point I had realised how though I looked somewhat counterculture and weird in Tokyo, with the extentions, the puffy vest over a tank top and the tight jeans... I looked like hillybilly trash by American standards. Hahaha. So, we piled into my Dad's pick up truck (That's right, pick up truck.) and headed on home. My house has changed of course, new carpeting, wallpaper, etc. We had no tea. I didn't understand that at first. It was like... wait, what? No tea? ... No... tea? Have I left? Have I been anywhere at all? Miguel, Marcos, Keli, Yoav, Lucie, Meco, the maids, the mimes, Prof. Pinnington, shirataki, Harajuku, Nakamura-san... all part of a dream? No, not a dream, but it's over nonetheless. I have no regrets; everything ended the way I would have it. Jaa, mata, neh?
- Mood:
goodbye tokyo
( Saturday )
( Sunday )
( Monday )
The next morning, I cancelled my cell phone contract and headed to the airport. Miguel went with me as far as the train to Narita, where he had planned to meet his friend coming from Spain to travel with him anyway. Thank God for his help with my bags. Seriously, he is TOTALLY my hero. Next stop, the airport.- Mood:
nostalgic
- Mood:
gradu-facated
- Mood:
yay for pink!
Perhaps the last Japanese class of my life. We took a grammar test (for which the teacher left the room), then played games and watched a Japanese horror tv series and left a half hour early. I said goodbye to Keli, Mario and Elliot-- Eric-kun skipped today for the first time ever. It was weird. But they'll all be coming to the graduation on Saturday, so it's not completely goodbye yet. Later today, bunraku puppet presentation and getting extentions. Yay. Later.
Btw, everyone who likes creepy things, find 日本のこわい夜 (Nihon no Kowai Yoru, Japan Scary Night) episodes online or wherever. It rocks.
Speaking of my boss, after we were all done closing up, he suggested we take a quick drive around Tokyo in honor of my last day. I had time, so of course I said yes. So, me and Soba piled into the backseat of his convertible (Volkswagon) and cruised around the humid Tokyo highway with the top down. Tencho (my boss) somehow knew a lot of history about when and why all the roads were built and explained it all to me in English, which was very educational and cool. One interesting thing was that a road we drove on used to be a river, but they filled it in for the Olympics so that people could get off the highway to shop. Tokyo looks much different whizzing past a car than from walking or a train. All the buildings looked like CGI, and I kept hearing Ghost in the Shell soundtrack music playing in my head. Tencho took us to a port that you can only really get to by car from which you can see most of Tokyo across the river. It was beautiful, all lit up and flashing, and I didn't want to ruin the mood by mentioning how they have no stars in Tokyo. They have all the flashing lights and billboards and street lamps you could ever need, but all those lights block out the stars (light pollution) and secretly, I was thinking how happy I was that when I was a kid, I'd look up and be shocked at all the twinkling lights, not over.
Tencho dropped me off at Tokyo station in time for the last train, but unfortunately, it only ran as far as Ikebukuro. That is two stops farther than usual; a 40 minute walk from the station to the dorm. Of course, I run to and from Ikebukuro often, so I didn't think much of it. It's not even a full run, it's like, half the distance of an average run. Also, I'd worn sneakers and the weather was nice, so I didn't mind. As I walked, I passed this wholesale food market I always see when running but never stop at cus, well, I'm running. It was miraculously still open, so I checked it out. Does everybody know how much I love shirataki (a kind of juicy noodle made from... good question, what IS it made from?) Anyway... I got a kilogram of the stuff for less than 2 US dollars. BAM! I think I'll pack it to take back to the US, since I've never seen it ANYWHERE in America.
Just now, I was unpacking the stuff from my box and I found the goodbye letter Soba wrote me. I didn't read it before because her handwriting requires a little bit of concentration, but after reading through it, I'm feeling particularly nostalgic. It's all about how she's glad I came to work at the cafe and how I'm cute and good at Japanese and fun and how she won't forget me. Oh Soba! When I got dropped off at the station, she was starting to tear up. It just still hasn't hit me yet. I'm not a maid anymore. I'm certainly going to miss everyone at the cafe: my bosses, the girls, even the customers who come twice a day everyday. What job can I have that will ever top this one? I got paid to dress up in costume, take pictures, serve coffee and pratice Japanese.
Tomorrow, I present my bunraku puppet and get pink extentions. The day after that is Friday, my last day of class. Time is moving all together too quickly and too slowly to get a grip on where in my own life history I am.
- Mood: melancholy
1) Suddenly Marlyn Manson seems normal.
2) They ain't no Sunday Mail.
3) Hair bands live on!
4) I STILL don't believe they weren't girls.
5) Review of the Visual K concert.
I went with Sara from Singapore to a Visual K concert tonight. Visual K is a genre of music in Japan with a loud heavy metal/punk sound, predominantly female fan base and boy bands/hair bands that dress in the most OUTRAGEOUS costumes and makeup. Sara insisted through the whole show that I was going to get a lot of attention for being gaijin, but I didn't notice. It was certainly an experience though and I wished I had pictures, though none would have turned out with how dark it was there. There were four bands in total. My favorite was the second, Pure Q+A. They consisted of the lead singer in a top hat, pink ribbons, facial glitter and a heart wand; guitarist (male) in a school girl uniform; guitarist (also male) in a tux with pinned on pink crown and HEAVY eye make-up; bassist in fur pants and vest with exposed midsector and scary scary face and the drummer in all torn up pink and black clothing. Other costuming highpoints were the GUY in a full wedding dress, barefoot KISS wannabes, glittery silver pants and tube top on the skinniest lead singer in the history of the world and hairstyles that would put anime characters to shame.
Now on to the fans. There were MAYBE two guys in the entire audience. The rest was crazed little Japanese things: maybe school girls, maybe Gothic Lolitas, maybe ganguro or garu, maybe normies. The especially fanatic ones stood right up front and held onto a bar that went across the stage. At certain points during every song, somehow they all knew to jump up onto the bar at the same time, with their heads hovering above the stage and balancing on their stomachs. Then, it's apparently cool for the people behind them to JUMP ON THEIR BACKS like in a mosh pit. I do NOT condone this sort of moshing; I saw one girl hit her head and I feared for the spinal safty of the rest. Also, instead of screaming or bopping with the music or whatever, enthusiasm for the music was shown by a display of rhythmic hand movements, which were different for every rhythm of every song. I caught on quickly and had fun with the little macarena style hand dancing. Head banging was also acceptable, so of course I banged around. Sara was surprised that I knew how to head bang and figured I must be into this kind of music. I was confused. Everyone knows how to head bang, right? Apparently not! None of the other people she's introduced to Visual K (all Europeans) had any clue what it was or how to do it. Did Wayne's World not hit European markets???? Well, the lead singer from Pure Q + A threw the heart from his wand into the audience at the end of their set, and I got it. After the show, I had him sign up and mostly faked my enthusiasm for the music and overcomplimented everyone in the band. Then, as we were leaving we were stalled right in front of where he and his friends were hocking pictures and it was a little awkward. Earlier, I had explained to Sara how the Japanese "don't-stare" at me, which means they look everywhere but at me so obviously that I feel not only conspicuous but so hideous that no one can bear the sight of me. She understood what I meant after we started moving again, since the guy was "not-stare"ing at me. Of course, I didn't mind that so much, since everyone does that kind of stare when you're not sure if you should act like friends or strangers. All in all, very fun and I wish I'd gotten into this scene earlier, though then I would have been a lot poorer. Christina, if you're reading this, I know you're proud of me.
- Mood:
amused
6 days until I move out of the dorm
5 hours of work at the cafe left
4 papers/presentations/tests yet to do
3 days of classes left
2 days til my pink extensions
1 year in Japan is coming to an end
Finished Anna Karenina btw.
- Mood: nostalgic
- Mood:
making myself less attractive
- Mood: nostalgic
- Mood:
peeved
Alzheimer's Vaccine Shows Promise
June 13, 2006
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An experimental vaccine is showing promise against Alzheimer's disease, reducing brain deposits that are blamed for the disorder.
The deposits have been cut by between 15.5 percent and 38.5 percent in mice, with no major side effects, researchers said Monday in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Tests of the DNA-based vaccine are under way in monkeys, and if those are successful, testing in people could begin, perhaps within three years, said lead researcher Yoh Matsumoto of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience in Japan.
If all goes well, this type of treatment might be available for people in six or seven years, he said.
Scientists estimate that as many as 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia. The illness, named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German doctor who studied it in 1906, involves the parts of the brain that control thought, memory and language.
Its cause remains unknown, and while there is no cure some drugs can slow progress of the illness in people in the early and middle stages.
Other efforts to develop an Alzheimer's therapy also are under way.
Two years ago, trials of a potential vaccine that seemed to help slow the memory decline caused by the disease were halted after several participants developed brain swelling.
Matsumoto said that problem did not occur in the tests of his vaccine.
The brains of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease are cluttered with a plaque made up of a small protein called amyloid beta, or Ab.
In the mouse tests, the Ab deposits were reduced overall, and in certain parts of the brain the reduction was as much as 50 percent, the researchers said.
Dr. Sid Gilman, a professor of neurology at the University of Michigan who has done research in vaccines for Alzheimer's, said the new research showed the vaccine was efficient and safe in the mice.
He cautioned, however, that it's very difficult to compare the level of efficiency from one trial to another, "so how effective this may be compared to other approaches is debatable."
The reasons for the brain swelling in the earlier tests have been determined, Gilman said, and new forms of that therapy are now being tested.
A variety of clinical trials are under way looking at other potential treatments for Alzheimer's including a hormone that might prevent brain cell death, several drugs, antioxidants, cholesterol-lowering medications and antibodies.
The Japanese research was funded by the ministry of education of Japan and the Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
- Mood:
devious
- Mood: caffinated and in a rush
- Mood: wahoo!
In other news, prior to the game, I met up with Lauren (before her delayed departure to Beijing), Steph and Matt today. We had milkshakes, fries and yogurt (guess who got the yogurt) at McDonald's then saw Lauren off. From there, we decided to go get some hooka out in shinkitazawa, but when we got there, we discovered the joint was closed. Steph stayed in the area for a beer; Matt and I went to Roppongi for some sightseeing. We walked through a great deal of Roppongi, mostly not seeing anything extraordinary except a large population of foreigners. Seriously, it was really weird to see so many FAMILIES of white people-- Mothers pushing carriages, kids playing in the park with Japanese kids, etc. We mainly talked about nerdy things like the difference between binobos and chimps, post graduate plans, medical morality in Portugal and how we were kinda losers in high school. He may come visit my class tomorrow; I am worried that the sad state of my Japanese class will bring me shame. I mean, I love the class, but it's not a place for anyone who's serious about learning, and besides, my Japanese is bound to be much more remedial than his. Meh, I suppose, neh? This weekend, Miguel's birthday and kabuki. Let's hope I come out of it with some good stories.
- Mood:
meh
- Mood:
okay
- Mood: crazy
- Mood:
Look at the Disney magic!
