Haiti Relief, Sweet Tea & Homesickness

I figure that at this point I can safely leave snow out of the titles – it kind of goes without saying by now, don’t you think?

Last week I joined a student organization called Global Concerns Forum to work on a campus-wide fundraiser to benefit the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti.  We’re currently raising money on campus, as well as planning a snow candle ceremony to wrap things up at the end of the week. More here and here.

(I’ve also assembled a few videos of heartbreaking footage for the sake of our fundraiser, so if you don’t know how badly Haitians need help, have a look – warning, graphic content)

Like some friends have said, it would be better if we would help our fellow man whenever we are able (John Wesley said it best).  But then if we at least help when the need is great, it is certainly better than never helping at all. I sincerely hope that everyone will provide whatever assistance they can. If you want to do your part and you are in need of some inspiration, take a look at google’s Haiti Crisis Response page.

Lately we’ve had some really gorgeous blue skies, and when coupled with the deep snow and the beautiful mountains I feel compelled to get outside. Sometimes when we take walks we use the snow to store our snacks or drinks in for a moment.

This weekend I managed to recycle a huge bag full of cans that I’ve collected over the past three or four months (keeping in character, some were rescued from trash bins). I’m also reusing some glass jars to store grains and dried beans in, as well as incense. And speaking of grains, I finally managed to try out the buckwheat and quinoa recipe that Donna gave me, in my rice cooker. It turned out wonderfully!! I also added a tiny bit of soy sauce and some chopped green onion. This may become my favorite breakfast.

School is going very well, although I’m busy. I am the closest to homesick that I think I’ve ever been in my life. I miss my family, and my cat. I really want one weekend to spend with my mom, drive to the store in my car, eat at a mexican restaraunt, and then watch some nice shows on demand together with Virgil curled up nearby. The closest thing I have found is eating my only box of macaroni and cheese and watching tv on my computer. Poor comparison, but hopefully I will get my fix in this department over the summer.

And, because it just would be the same on my blog this winter, here are some pictures of the lovely snow that is the IUJ student’s daily backdrop.

New Favorite Shampoo

Sometimes it really is the little things that make a difference, and make you happy. In my most recent trip to the supermarket I was on a mission to get some body wash before I run out of what I currently have. See the empty bottles in the photo? You’re supposed to buy those medium large bottles for about one dollar, and then buy your shampoo, conditioner, body wash or whatever in the plastic envelopes and fill the sucker up! You can also buy each product in its own bottle, as I did, and then just purchase refills whenever necessary. I think this is awesome. Literally there was a whole aisle dominated with refill envelopes!! Here you can see only a small view of what was available.  This is also the system used for hand soap, dish soap and the like. Rather than having refills available in hard, thick plastic bottles, they are sold in envelops or bags made from a thinner plastic.

The other awesome thing is that I sort of gambled on a shampoo conditioner combo pack from a brand called Asience (the asian essence? asia science? I don’t know what exactly the name is supposed to evoke), and it turned out to work really well for me. When I lived in Osaka sometimes it seemed that I could never get my hair truly clean, and I always assumed it had something to do with the different water over here, but changing shampoo made a huge difference. Seriously, I think that my hair has almost never felt this nice before. You know how smooth and luxurious hair looks on the girls in shampoo or hair dye commercials – well that is how my hair feels right now. It is pretty amazing. And, since I primarily chose this brand because of the price and the bottle shape (it is a good size for the basket I use in my shower), it all feels quite serendipitous.

Also, I feel a bit odd posting about shampoo. It is out of character I think.

Taking a break in Nagoya

I was in Nagoya for a couple of days, and it was so refreshing after having been in Tokyo for so long.  Tokyo I think is a very interesting place, jam packed with people and  tourist attractions.  I’m sure those who live in the city find a lot of charm in their neighborhood, and many good places to spend their time.  But for me, Tokyo is not terribly exciting.  I think my favorite thing about Tokyo is simply people watching (I recommend the bird’s eye view from Starbucks of the famous Shibuya crosswalk).  I enjoy the novelty of it when I visit, but of all of the towns and cities in Japan that I have visited, Tokyo is probably where I would least want to live.  Compared to Tokyo, Nagoya is very relaxed, and people seem to mosey rather than the eternal rush Tokyo people seem to be in.

In Nagoya, most people stand on escalators, and there are even signs specifically telling you not to run on the escalators.  That wouldn’t fly in Osaka, let alone Tokyo.  Also, Nagoya has an interesting coffee breakfast culture.  In Nagoya coffee shops, you go to purchase a drink like coffee, tea, or café au lait and it will be accompanied by toast at the least or a breakfast set at the most.  Oh, and did I mention that Nagoya is much less expensive than Tokyo? Yeah, that was a relief.

So I’ve been catching up with my good friend Risa who lives in Nagoya, and she has been nice enough to let me stay are her place.  We did so many nostalgic things together, such as went to Izakaya, went to Oasis 21, shopped at Rote Rosa & El Rodeo, ate at Kushiya, went to Karaoke (they even now have a Maneki Neko in Nagoya, newly opened! Bara, I used your card & signed as you! Thanks!) and took purikura.

We went shopping in a few used clothing stores (古着屋) , which was great.  I bought a cute striped long sleeve shirt in of them, a store called さぼてん (Saboten).  This store was great, and the selection was discriminating and well organized.  I was also impressed with this store  because they reuse all their tags rather than wasting any square of paper. When I made my purchase they popped the tag off and neatly added it to a rubber-banded stack of tags for the same amount.  I could probably write an entire post just about the recycling here.

photo scraps + collage = postcards

I had mentioned earlier about using all of the scrap material I generate in art for new purposes. Well, I believe that the first way I did this was through using all of the test strips I produce in the dark room to make small, photography collage postcards. Since you must use at least two or three test strips when printing a photo manually, I have managed to accumulate a sizable amount of these little scraps of paper over the years. Also, I’ve found that since photo paper is rather thick, when they are adhered with spray adhesive to the back of a 4×6 note card, the resulting postcard is plenty durable to survive the postal system. I have made countless of these during the past few years, and either sold, gifted, or written letters on the majority of them. Luckily, I have finally begun to document them, so here and below are a handful of the final products. These represent mostly those made within the last year, but a few are favorites I have held on to since 2005/2006.

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More postcards after the jump.