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I'm home!!

I've been in Japan for a few days now and met a whole lot of strange people from all over the world! There is so much crazy here in Japan, cyber-toilets, floorwashing-cars that plays "Für Elize", vendingmachines for anything you can imagine! -And it's HUGE!!
My host family is very kind to me, though I understand very little japanese and though I'm unfamiliar with all the weird japanese customs they always try to include me and help me understand! My host brother is very excited and he wants to show me everything, today I've played badmington and baseball (baseball is extremely popular in Japan) with him in the temple garden and watched him shoot a golfball up on the temple roof! (That is quite an amazing experience!)
On the AFS-camp(it was a hotel) in Osaka I made friends with some awesome guys, I'm not going to write about them here now, because I can't know if they would appreciate it. -But these people are amazing and I miss them already! I actually learned more german than japanese in Osaka, -of course because I met some really nice germans, but I think I'll learn the japanese language sooner or later anyway^^

I will have to end this post here, though it is loads more I want to tell you, because I have a PC-limit of 1 hour a day and loads of people I have to email!

Japanese newsflash!

Devestating earthquake sets Japan back to year 2147! http://www.theonion.com/content/news/earthquake_sets_japan_back_to_2147

Japan spotted hovering over Algeria! http://www.theonion.com/content/node/32221

Japanese leaders say nuclear waste might have contributet to creation of giant monsters! http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39222



For more general facts on Japan go to: http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Japan

Politics

My head is boiling over, too much stress about Japan! To ease the stress a little I'm trying to focus on something different, politics usually does the trick. Here is the song "Idol Robin" from the album "Motgift" by Don Martin (known from Gatas Parlament and Samvirkelaget) and Supa Sayed (I think):

*Might be the best song ever*

Photomanipulating

To spice up this blog with som additional awesomeness I'll post some pictures I've created:

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manhackaturwindowtagged

striderwalktagged

sundowntagged


Amazing moving pictures!

My grandfather gave me a videocamera to use in Japan and I thought I might as well make a video-blog (much because I imagine no one bothers reading all this text!). I'm leaving 4 o'clock tomorrow morning, so it's not long before the first vid should be up!

The procedure

I have lately been thinking about making a list of the procedure of applying to an exchange program and all the beureaucracy that follows in it's wake.
Here goes:

1. If you have decided on a land use search engines like google, yahoo, etc, and search words like "Japan(or   
    country X)", "exchange student", "school year" and similar. You will most likely stumble across several  
    student exchange organization, remember that you are not limited to apply to only ONE organization, but in the  
    applieance-form they will most likely ask something like "Are you applying any other student exchange
    programs?". Ofcourse you will want to answer "No" here, it's easier to plead forgivness than allowance ;)
    (I only applied for AFS, but it turns out that the exact town I'll be living in has it's entirely own student exchange
    program that might have been cheaper for me:P)

2. Now you need recommendations. You should search out teachers that you know have a liking to you or think  
     your project about studying abroad is interesting. Remember: RECOMMENDATONS ARE VERY IMPORTANT!
     Your parents must also write some words, make sure they are nice.

3. You have now made sure that you have everything you need for your aplliance-form. Read through the papers 2      or 3 more times, just to make sure, but be quick about sending it. If you send your form late, the limited seats      on the flight to your dream country might be filled already.


4. Now there is a long wait ahead. You should use this time constrictively, learn more about the country you wish  
     to go to, find out more about where you can ask for financial support (the Sasakawa Foundation gave me
     15.000NKR when I said I'd write an article about my stay for my school, I made my Head Master sign a deal      and give me official stamp), what vaccines you need, learn language and so on.

5. Congratulations, your appliance was accepted, you are on the program! The long wait is over, brush the 
     cobweb out of your hair because now there is work to be done! Get your vaccine shots, check out different
     possibilities for opening a bank account in the foreign country (FOREX is a good choice), learn more language,      learn how to behave in the foreign country's social envoirment, politics, religions, etc. Talk to advisors at school      about how to arrange the year and if it's possible to get the year abroad accepted, though it might not      completely follow your country's curriculum.
    

More to come, believe me, there is a lot missing here! However I do not have time to write it all right now as I am supposed to actually DO all of this too!

The horizon is closing in

Israel continues their holocaust on the palestinian people (Something blonde bimbos in Norway choose to support by wearing pink and starcovered palestine-ish scarfs), Norway continues licking the US's butt and support their profit-wars with soliders and billions of norwegian krones while welfare progams gets raped because of the "lack of money"
and the world generally continues to be a pretty fucked up place. However, there is a twinkling light emerging from all this shit:
I'M GOING TO JAPAN KL.04.00 ON TUESDAY!!



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 This is where I'll live!

Living in a temple

Yesterday I got some additional information from the host family. They look really nice, tough their english is probably worse than my german, but what shocked me most was: They live in a buddhist-temple! How awesome is that!?:D The father is a buddhist "priest".
The son in the house looks really cool, hope I get to know him!
By his picture there was a description:

"A son likes to readings.
It likes commics very much."

That's PURE awesomeness!;D

Appearantly they have a whole bunch of different hobby-\sport-clubs at the school, ranging from traditional japanese tea-seremony to rugby. Personally I think I'll join the kendo-club^^

RED ALERT: On the paper from AFS Japan it says "It is strongly recommended against bringing a PC/laptop", but on the paper from AFS Norway it's translated to "To bring a PC/laptop is not prohibited".
Those über-polite Japanese people XP -Though this is not a laughing matter, it may be difficult for me to keep updating my blog without the posession of a personal computer...

I discovered that it exists a Kasaoka International Exchange Association, I hope there are not too many gaijins in the area... http://www.k3.dion.ne.jp/~kiea/eng/english.html

prefecture

Guess I'll just have to pack my thi-ings and go -That's right!(8)

Okay, barely a month left to survive this cold god's forsaken land before my departure to Japan! -Time to decide on what I should bring, the maximum stuff allowed to bring on the plane is two collies of nothing more than 20 kilogrammes, plus hand luggage of 8 kilos to bring into the cabin.
I've decide that my PC, dictionary and Nintendo DS is the most essential to bring, toghether with clothes of course. In addition to this I'll need some sort of gift, something norwegian, like a suvenir or something to give to the host family... Any ideas!?

Any ideas on what I should\must bring is very welcome!

Picture for extra awesomeness:

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Finally a family!

At last I get news about a host family that wants me!
It's a little family living in Obirai Kasaoka-shi in Okayama-ken, it's aprox. in the middle between Hiroshima and Kobe. It's a father and a mother, both 48 years old, of a son(14), and the boy's grandmother lives with them too, she is 78 years. They have two pets, a cat and a dog, and that's really all I know about them for now.

I'm so exited I could burst!

Japanese commies

I've recently tried to look into the politics of Japan, and while the communist party of Hungary has been forbidden by law, France is removing worker's rights and the international corporations, with great help from the US and NATO, is tightening it's grip around the world, it seems that the socialistic spirit is still going strong in Japan.
Though Japan have been ruled mostly by the same conservative party since the war ended, my father told me that he was on a trip to North Korea as a member of the Pioneers(almost the same as scouts, exept it has political values instead of religious) and that the governor of Tokyo was there and she(!) was from the communist party of Japan. -This, however, was many years ago, but judging from these pictures it seems that it's still pretty strong:
japanesecommunistpartycentralcomittee1
The Japanese communists party's head quarters located in central Tokyo, Shibuya.
11 jppc1
The communist party on election campaign.            The Japanese communist flag.

Their english site: http://www.jcp.or.jp/english/

Here's a Japanese political debate(looks like a gameshow! XD):

Here's a english-subbed promotion for the party(OMG look at all the pink and light blue, and the fancy TV-shop music playing in the background while b/w clips of bombings is rolling over the screen. Japanese people are crazy!):
 

Commercial awesomeness

You know how commercials can destroy the whole experience of watching a film on TV?? -Well, in Japan I might even sit around and giggle knowing that very soon there will be a comercial breake^^ Japanese commercials are undoubtably amongst the funniest in the world, see for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-B52PV876I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBNM8V2GYyA&feature=related They say that Norwegians are born with skis attached to their feets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2hQGOOR5g0&feature=related Japanese fanta must be awesome...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OobrfR125uc

Japanese; POWER OF PURE COMMITMENT!

I recently saw a video on youtube that I had long forgotten. I felt like I had to share it with you, it's like a symbol of the Japanese people's extreme ability to put all their power and might into something obviously useless as anything but entertainment! :D
 
Aw, those Japanese people, their passion and devotion for useless stuff<3

Here's a clip showing extreme devotion to tetris: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwC544Z37qo

Honour to Osucaru-dono

After seeing my good friend Oscars fantastic blog sprouting of gaijin power I simply had to make my own! INSPIRATION- YOSH!!
Despite it might seem he has an unhealthy obsession with trains and railroads and the fact that no Japanese food has touched his tounge, his otakudom is pure and he has sublime inspirational skills^O^(It's over 9000!!!)
*PS: I make delicious sushi ;D

His blog is hidden amongst the shadows like a ninja at oscarijapan.blogg.no


One of the things I'm especially looking forward to in the land of the rising sun is the crazy gameshows on TV. You've seen human tetris, my mate??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll2kajMH2u0

Less than 6 weeks Oscar, less than 6 weeks...

The Ultimate Journey Through Time And Space!

18th of March. That's the date I will most likely cherish as my most beloved memorial day for the rest of my life. That is, of course, if I even get a host family anytime soon! >_<
You see, the 18th day in the the 3rd month in the year 2008 will be(pending on wether i recieve news of a host family soon) the day I'll be departing for the land of dreams; JAPAN! /Ö\

I'm travelling with the student-exchange organization AFS, and will be living in Japan, with a Japanese family and going to a japanese school for 1 entire year!

-More to come

03.feb.2008

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