CLASSES ARE OVER!!!....

Feels kinda weird now. Perhaps it hasn't quite sunk in yet that as of today...all my classes at Sapporo University are finished. The teachers have been real cool. Miyazaki's Monday Japanese classes were always helpful. A real nice teacher and pretty easy going. I always looked forward to Matsui's Society & Culture class for my weekly dose of "Weekend Japanology" and blatant sexist comments. Funny as hell that guy...Watanabe's Japanese class well...I know she had good intentions and all but there was just something about that class that made it not as fun as the others. Still...she wasn't too bad as far as teachers go. I've had worse. Then we have the bear...Yuriya...heh...perhaps the most easy going teacher I'll ever have. Hardly turned up to her classes...put little to no effort into the various assignments and exams...and I'll still pass her class!!...which are perhaps the most useless classes around. Not even sure what we were meant to be doing in her classes or the general point of those classes...both Society & Culture classes and the Tsuyaku (interpretation) classes. Did not take it seriously one bit...

In any case...classes are OVER!!...but the ICS assignments are not...and so with one week left before the biggie assignment is due, I still haven't started on the actual thing yet. I still got 2 more ppl to interview, the literature review is still incomplete and well...the actual 5000words of the assignment still to write!!

So while all the remaining exchange students can enjoy their freedom, I've still got this annoying creature buzzing around me. And to top it all off...it's Chris's b'day this Friday (which means going hard and gettin real trashed...and I mean REALLY TRASHED!!!...methinks...)...recover on Saturday...only to then head out to Otaru on Sunday...maybe...heh...It's possibilities at the moment. I mean I could easily pike all of these plans and focus on the final, 50% ICS assignment that's due next week!!!...but then that'd make me an anti-social bitch and well...an anti-social bitch I ain't. So if I still wanna make it to all these plans, I gotta get cracking at the ICS assignment. In saying that I'll bet you all wondering...what the fuck am I doing wasting time updating my blog when I obviously have more important things to do??? Because I'm procrastinating...duh...

(A little under a month now b4 I head back to Sydney...did I mention I really don't want to go back???...wonder when I'll come back to Japan...heh...haven't returned to Sydney and already I'm thinkin about coming back to Japan...)

Tour Guide for the family

Firstly...I hope people are still reading this blog. For those who are...thanks heaps but still can't understand why you'd want to waste your time reading the crap that I write...heh... And for those who aren't reading this blog - well...no point in saying anything to you because you aren't gonna read it...

Anyway...happy new year everyone. A little late I know but hey...I've been away from home for the last 2 weeks or so. I just got back last Saturday from taking my family around Tokyo and the Kansai area. And let me tell you...it's hella weird taking your family around these places. I mean...it's just...well...you know...weird!! After almost a year of living on my own, in a foreign country...a year of heavy drinking, all nighters and deviancy - to be back with the family and having to show them the normal, pretty, touristy side of Japan is well...anyway...you get the point.

Not much to tell really. No overly amusing stories. No deviant, exciting adventures. Just the usual touristy type stuff families do on famliy holidays. I will say though that my father seemed to suffer quite a bit of culture shock and I forgot some of the embarrassing things parents can do when in a place that they aren't familiar with. It's nothing overly bad...but it's the little things. And the constant complaining about prices, the food etc...typical asian parent type things. Coming from a place like Cabramatta in Sydney to Tokyo and Osaka...quite a difference. But all in all it was fun. I got to visit places that I didn't get a chance to go to during the summer. And got to see my family after 9 months away from home (although I'll be seeing them again in about a months time when I return to Sydney). Anyway...rather than bore you all with a description of what I got up to...I'll just post up some photos...


The Kougugikan...a sumo arena. What's so great about this place? Well if you're a fan of the manga "Hajime no Ippo" you'd know (fuck me I'm a nerd...)


The crowd we had to work through in order to get to the temple at Asakusa...note that this was the "end" of the line. Took us probably about an hour or so to get from the front gate to the temple...


Odaiba at night...pretty ain't it??


The family in Yokohama's Chinatown...give them a lil taste of home again...


Me outside the Guan Yu temple in Yokohama's Chinatown...where you gotta pay to light incense...and I thought temples in Sydney were out to make a buck...


The 70s never died...it is alive and kicking here...outside Osaka castle. Seriously...this was an awesome site. Imagine a group of people aged between 12-30, dressed up 70s rock style (complete with pink jacket and pompadore!!!) all dancing...IN SYNC...to 70s rock music. I only wish I got a better picture...it was a beautiful sight really...*sniff*


Winter at Kyoumizu-dera...no snow...no leaves...still pretty though...


Kinkaku-Ji...nothing else to say really...real pretty scenery etc


The Great Buddha at Todai-Ji, Nara...freakin huge...biggest Buddha statue in Japan...


Here's Aaron (my lil brother) gettin a close up shot of this deer whos checking out his camera...

And that's it for my winter travels. I'm now back in Sapporo, facing various exams and assignments...including a 5000word ICS research report for UTS which I havent started yet and really should get working on. On top of that, I've only got a little over a month left before I head back to Sydney...did I mention that I don't want to go back?? Well...I don't...but I have to. Anyway...expect a helluva lot more bitching about having to go back to Sydney as the time for my return draws near...