Hello Kitty and festivals involving nudity and genitalia

First things first: I have a new article up Matador Trips!  I know you've all desperately wanted to know about Hello Kitty attractions in Japan and Taiwan, so I've gone through the very hard work of scouring the Internet to formulate the Hello Kitty Tour.  If you have spare funds you'd like to donate to a worthy cause, I would love to use your money to sleep in a Hello Kitty hotel and eat sweets shaped like cats wearing ribbons.

At left are Christmas presents from my host family to prove that, yes, I have a real addiction, and, yes, they do exacerbate it by sending me more Hello Kitty things than I could ever find use for.  I have Hello Kitty wine glasses.  Wine glasses.

Today is St. Patrick's Day, which for most college students is another excuse to drink heavily and engage in some reckless behaviors.  But for cleaner, more perverted fun, one could visit Komaki, a Japanese town shortly out of Nagoya. Every year on March 15, citizens gather to for a penis festival that celebrates fertility and the harvest.  Check out an article and slideshow about the event here; the girl in red on photos 12-14 is actually a friend of mine.

Unfortunately,  I didn't make it to the penis festival when I lived in Nagoya in 2008.  However, I did attend Hadaka Matsuri, or the Naked Festival, which is also held outside Nagoya.  Check out some of my photos, which surprisingly display no nudity.

The Stupidity of Comparing Experiences

Over the summer, one of the craziest things I was asked was whether I liked Korea or Japan better.

How do you answer a question like that? Two countries with a history of bad blood between them, and you want me to say I like one better than the other? I may be crazy, but I'm not that stupid.

Of course, it's a little more complicated than just picking a favorite, as well.  I had two completely different experiences in each country, and both of them were stressful at time but utterly fantastic.

Covering subcultures in Japan

I have a love/hate relationship with the mainstream media's coverage of Japanese fashion subcultures.

Sometimes the outlet does a really great job of portraying a subculture, such as this Wall Street Journal article and video on himegyaru and this fantastic New York Times piece on the lolita fashion circle in New York.

But sometimes, coverage of a subculture ranges from anywhere between sloppy and poorly reported to inaccurate and exoticizing.

Full disclosure: when I spent time in Japan in 2008, my interest in lolita fashion helped me make friends in Nagoya. At the school I attended, Japanese students had classes on the Japanese school schedule, where foreign students went to school for the typical September-May calendar common in America. For this reason, during the spring semester, it was months before we were on campus with any Japanese students.

I didn't really click with many of the other foreign kids, so my participation in the lolita subculture was a very vital way for me to make both Japanese and English-speaking friends. I estimate that I dressed in lolita fashion about twice a week.



Being a lolita myself and an admirer of other Japanese fashions such as gyaru and mori girl, it rubs me the wrong way when I see articles on youth subcultures that just aren't what they could be. But as a journalist, I can surely understand how some of these mistakes are made.

I'm sure covering fashion isn't the biggest priority for foreign correspondents. I can see how it could be seen as an easy article to pay the bills while working on something bigger and more important, such as an article about politics or social issues.

In my opinion, though, stories about pop culture are important, especially when thinking about how the media frames stories about Japan. Japan is seen as an eternal paradox: we think about the low birthrate, the conformity, the salarymen and then on the other side there are men who wear lace or carry around body pillows with pictures of naked anime girls on them. Japan is portrayed as either sexless or sex-crazed, conformist or just plain fucking weird. The in-between isn't really noted because it's not interesting. Journalists don't think of normalcy as news, and because of that, news about Japan tends to send a message that all of Japan is extremely polarized.

It is extremely crucial to take these pop culture stories seriously, if only because one-sided coverage can so easily push a story into that dreaded "weird Japan" narrative instead of humanizing people who obviously have a story to tell.

Earlier this month, the New York Times ran a story called "Cult of the Living Doll in Tokyo" that contained several inaccuracies and did not present an educated view on Japanese fashion. The thing is, this is not an isolated incident, and reporters frequently make mistakes like this all the time. I've gone through the "Living Doll" article and pulled out some of the most glaring errors.

Back in Japan-- Kozo's view

I'm not done with Korea yet, but I figured that since my timeline is all kinds of screwed up, I might as well post a slideshow of the photos my host father took in Japan. Check out the captions for my running commentary!

Sorry Mom and Dad (NSFW)

After finishing camp and meeting the governor at a dinner, all of the teachers took a trip to Jeju Island. It was a really beautiful place that I hope I can come back to at some point. Honestly, my time on Jeju Island was strictly controlled and somewhat sanitized -- a twenty minute stop at some beach, a forty minute bus ride, a thirty minute stop at a park, and so on. All day. All tourist spots. I do have photos of these places, most of which I don't remember that well, and I'll get to posting them later. Forgive me if I sound ungrateful; going to the island was a great experience. But after working 10 days straight from 9 in the morning to 9 at night, I wanted to spend my time in Jeju peacefully, taking my time to see the sights I wanted and straying from the group of 70-something teachers to meet other people.

For the most part, this didn't happen.

Luckily, nights were free, and I vowed to myself that I would go to the place I've wanted to go ever since I looked up Jeju Island on Wikipedia.

I was going to Jeju Love Land.

Proceed only if you are 18+!

Danse de caractère

Over the summer, I've been working on contributions for Arabesque, a zine focusing on the idea of otome, which is Japanese for maiden. The zine is finally finished and is taking pre-orders!



More details and pre-order information here!

I contributed some photos and reflections about my time in Korea and wrote a blurb about the souvenirs from Japan that meant the most to me. The zine contains a little of everything: fashion, photography, comics, academic articles, translations of Japanese stories, travel reflections, and cooking tips. I hope you pre-order a copy so we can make another issue! I, personally, had a great time, and I want to see it keep going! Everyone involved is extremely talented, and I was so privileged to work with them.

Big Bang Class

It wasn't the landscape of Korea that made me love it. Rather, it was the handful of kids in my homeroom class.

Swear I'm Not Dead...Promise

I'll be back with at least one update tonight. Until then:



Now imagine a group of 12-year-old girls singing and dancing to that song.

That was my homeroom. I'll introduce you to them soon.

Continental Drift

So I'm going to be boarding my flight back home in about an hour or so.

The whole experience seems a little unreal. After all, in a month, I've come to Korea, taught elementary school students, was quarantined by the Korean government, and visited some of the country's most rural, urban, and exotic places. And then I went back to Japan, met up with my host family and a good friend, and visited a couple new places.

So many new experiences. Not all of them were fun, but none of them were bad. If anything, I've learned so much about myself in the small space I've had to think.

I wish there was more time to see more, meet more people, go out more, shop more, write more, take more pictures. My month of experiences is full, but woefully inadequate.

A week back at home is fine. Then, give me a plane ticket back, and let me plan the trip. Let me bring my people and adventure around. Oh, I can only dream!

Tadaima

I wanted to write a post a couple days ago, but I haven't had time to do much of anything.

Do I have to say how much I love being back in Nagoya? Honestly, this feels just as much a home to me as St. Louis. I haven't traveled here, I've lived in this city, studied here, had fun here, and was challenged more than I ever have been anywhere else.

The subways smell familiar. I feel comfortable in the crowds here, not crowded. For the past three days I've spoken nothing but Japanese, and even though it's been difficult, I haven't really noticed myself struggling to understand.

I wish I had more time here with my host family, with my friends, and with the city. I want to see it at night, in the early morning, go shopping, and walk around its streets all day.

I love Nagoya more than I ever expected to. It's so passed over; most people in America don't even know it exists. Yet there's a certain charm here and also in St. Louis. It's a city you want to live in, not visit. It becomes more beautiful and interesting the more time you spend, slowly unfolding its beauty like a flower in bloom.

I'm a bit homesick in a way that's difficult to describe. I don't want to leave here; the thought of it makes me a little sick to my stomach. What if I never come back? What if something happens to my host family while I'm gone? And the biggest worry: when am I ever going to be able to bring my mother here with me? I want her to see this place that I've come to love so much. It's the one thing I'd love to give to her after she's sacrificed so much for me.

Nonetheless, I leave for Korea tomorrow. A night in Seoul, and then I'm back home and free to recount all of the stories I have piled up to tell you.

I Could Be a Contender...

Expect a full post later on tonight, but look:

How to Fight With Your Host Family

I'm a published writer!

When in Doubt, Dance.

I have great story about Tuesday to tell, but it's going to have to come later. It was just so strange, so epic of a day that I want to recount it for you with all of the details and pictures that a day like that should have. You know, those great days that come out of nowhere because the people you meet are so incredibly interesting? That's why I love traveling, not because of the great scenery. Although I have photos of that, too.

So far I'm really loving it here at Damyang. It's certainly not a big, cosmopolitan city with lots of things to do and places to see, but there's actually buildings, bars, cafes, grocery stores, cars, and people. If I venture out of the college, I pass a bamboo forest, walk down a bridge, and go past little stalls serving street food such as fried fish, barbequed chicken, and fried green tea pancakes that taste like funnel cake and are filled with melted brown sugar, honey and finely chopped nuts.

My camp is amazing, filled with such a great mix of energetic and laid back individuals. And I absolutely love my co-teacher, Ja In, who speaks great English and has been a very good friend and co-worker to me. On the first day we met, she offered to take me to Gwangju to shop, but we weren't allowed to leave until the principal arrived at camp. We missed our chance to go, but she bought me ice cream and chips at lunch that day. Later on, we went with Jessica, another co-teacher, and other native English teachers to a hof, which is what they call bars. We all had a bottle of beer and ate fried shrimp, melon, and fried pork.

The day I learned the Korean words for "beautiful" and "beer."

This post was written on Aug. 7th, and edited over a month later. I'm so sorry for the wait.


Life in Korea changed immensely for the better when we left Wando. In fact, the day we left Wando was one of those wonderful days that starts good (we're leaving Quarantine Island forever!) and ends epically.

This Quarantine is Over

If you would have asked me ahead of time what quarantine was like, my answer definitely would not have been middle school. And yet, somehow, that's almost exactly what this feels like.

Don't get me wrong, the other teachers are all very nice. But there have been some things happening lately that I really hoped I would have left behind in the U.S.

200 Pounds Beauty

On Wednesday night, I watched the Korean film 200 Pounds Beauty, a movie about a 200-pound girl with an ugly face. Hanna works as a phone sex operator and is the singing voice of Ammy, a mean, manipulative pop star. After a hurtful prank causes Hanna to lose face in front of Ammy's attractive manager, Hanna blackmails one of her phone sex clients into giving her total plastic surgery. She goes into seclusion for a year and works off literally half of her body weight (there are scenes with a newly beautiful Hanna jumping around the house in one of her legs of her old jeans). Her face is completely reconstructed.

I'd like a double cheeseburger with bacon and mayonaise, fries, a side of mayonaise, and a Diet Coke.

We're finally getting a little information about our situation.

Basically, we are going to have at least one of the camps, most likely the elementary one. Afterwards, the touring will proceed as usual and I will be able to visit my host family as scheduled. Of course, this is all subject to change.

This week has passed by so slowly, with only the internet and hiking as things to occupy my time. We're hopefully visiting a city at the beginning of next week, and our quarantine ends tomorrow. I wish they would let us take a cab to a city or something, but one of the Korean staff members here found out about some Wando residents protesting our presence. I doubt anything is in the cards until Tuesday.

I am so sick of the food here. I'm sure Korean food is great, but this cafeteria food is driving me nuts. All I can think about is eating a big cheeseburger, some fajitas, thick slabs of cheese and salami, or some pasta. I think my trip to Nagoya will definitely involve a visit to Mos Burger for two teriyaki chicken sandwhiches, fries with mayonaise, and melon soda. Toward the end of my stay in Japan, a friend and I would eat lunch there once a week and get donuts afterwards. Somehow, despite the globs of mayonaise, I still kept losing weight. Hooray for an active Asian lifestyle, right?

I'm sorry this post is so boring; but I feel as though this week has been boring. I'll be posting a review of the movie 200 Pounds Beauty tomorrow; that's about as near Korean culture as I've come this past week.

In the meantime, how about an adorable Chinese song?

No News is Good News.

So I was pretty lazy today and didn't do much but sleep and go on the Internet. It's raining super hard here, so I didn't get to go hiking or anything fun.

I did learn two things that really made me happy, though.

1. An editor from Matador Abroad, an online travel magazine with really great articles, contacted me to let me know that she wants to publish the article I wrote. I'm officially a paid travel writer, guys! It's a small start, but a good one, and I'm ecstatic. Of course, when it's finished, I'll be sure to link it here.

2. I've lost ten pounds since I've come to Korea about a week ago. I was really surprised, but I guess I shouldn't be. I lost 15 pounds in Japan (most within the first month), and gained about 25 on my return because I didn't really take care of my body. This time, I'm really going to work hard to maintain a healthy weight that I'm comfortable with.

On the downside, something is wrong with my camera. Everything looks fine, but when it takes pictures everything is all white. I'm really worried I'll have to buy another camera (probably a less expensive one that isn't as nice). Ugh. I have horrible luck with technology.

Here by the sea and sand, nothing ever goes as planned.

Here's an update on our status.

• Last night I got my swine flu test results back, and I am negative. Unfortunately, the other two who were tested were positive.
  
• Today a group of workers were dispatched to clean all of our rooms and wipe down any visible mold with bleach, which should help a lot.
  
• Construction on the building has stopped, and all the trash in the back should be gone by tomorrow.
  
• We are all starting Tamiflu tonight. Tamiflu won't prevent swine flu, but for those who have it and haven't shown symptoms, it will help fight the virus quicker. Most of us have decided to take Tamiflu, and we all will be tested for swine flu in five days. Those who pass the test will be able to move on! This is incredibly exciting to us, because we thought we could be quarantined indefinitely until seven days after the last confirmed case of swine flu.
  
• After the quarantine, we will be given the choice to go back home early. Our first camp is cancelled, our second is probably cancelled, and after the quarantine our group will be touring Korea for a period of time. Which sounds great, except if someone starts showing signs of swine flu again, rumor has it we may have to start over.
  
• We will be getting compensated for the first camp, and our two representatives are working to make sure we get compensation for the second as well.
  
• We have contacted the U.S. Embassy and have someone working on our case. She's making sure most of our requests are met and has been sending daily updates.

I Was Cured, All Right

Right now I feel like a mixture of this:



And this:

Swine 09, What a Fine Time

I'm about to go gonzo journalist all up in this.

So you know how I was joking about swine flu?


Guess what? Three of us have tested positive for it. The announcement was given today, after a talent show and pizza dinner amongst all of the teachers. As you can imagine, the atmosphere in the room went from positive to almost completely downcast. About the only thing that has remained the same is my fellow teachers' solidarity. Everyone is concerned about everyone who is sick, saddened that we probably will not be able to teach the first camp, and a little pissed off at the lack of answers we have been getting. I cannot fault the Korean staff or the American head teachers; all have been great advocates for us. But we've been stuck quarantined on an island in a moldy building going through construction with only each other for company. Some of us have mold allergies or sicknesses agitated by the poor state of the facilities here, so another week of quarantine here is an absolutely foul idea, in my mind.