Ikebana: Week 15

Another Shinputai arrangement – this one really looks like there’s a wind a’blowin, no?  Shyu: Baby’s Breath (1st); You: Nyursairan leaf (2nd); and Ashirai: Toruko Kikiyou (maybe Turkish something? 3rd in) *In other news, I’m leaving tomorrow for Beijing and hiking the Great Wall during Japan’s “Golden Week” holiday.  Will be back with more news [...]

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The Ins & Outs

See this month’s Travel Go Girl Post here!

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Ikebana: Week 14

Another Shinputai arrangement.  The Shyu: Gladiosa flowers (1st in); the You: Okurareruka stalk-like leaves (2nd in); and the Ashirai: Tamashida fern (last in).

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The Month of Brownies

Gift giving is an well-meaning, complicated, and rewarding obligation cultural practice here in Japan.  But just sometimes, it can get you into a spot of trouble. A month or two ago, I brought a pan-full of Ghiradelli Brownie Mix brownies to share with my Ikebana class one night, which anyone who has tasted a Ghiradelli [...]

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Funori Tori

“Please come to school by 7:30 tomorrow.  And bring rain boots.  No, you don’t have rain boots? [Pause.] What did you do all winter? [Pause.] No, rain boots. They will get wet.  What size are your feet? Okay, we will arrange something. [Pause.]  Okay. See you tomorrow.  Goodbye.” The phone rings again: “Oh yes, and [...]

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Ikebana: Week 13 – The Lord, The Business & The Treatment or ‘Not Jersey Shore’

We learned a new style of arrangement this week in class, called Shouka Shinputai, which literally means ‘a breath of fresh air.’  The arrangement, rather than based on height and width dimensions, is based on the following: shyu (lord), you (business), and ashirai (treatment).  The flowers are arranged in a row, so as to appear [...]

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Oh, the places you’ll go!

Even in the darkest hours of December, I thought to myself, There are way worse people with whom I could be stuck in the middle of nowhere Japan. And while I’ve made friends, missed friends, spent many an hour writing emails and talking on skype, in the end, it’s been me in this house on [...]

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New backpacks, sneaks, no.2 pencils and….cherry blossoms?

The return to school is often coupled with the reminder of butterflies in my stomach, a carefully-chosen outfit, new sneakers, and most poignantly, the crisp feeling of a Maryland Fall morning that warms up as the day progresses.  I recall, year after year, proudly shouldering my newly purchased backpacks, folders inside still clean and shiny, [...]

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Ikebana: Week 12

Probably one of my favorite arrangements so far – creating ‘playful lines’ from the Leeks. Reminds me of sitting by the pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel. “Tree” or line: Tancho Ariamu Leek (1st); Leaf: Monstera (2nd); Flower: Mt. Angel Tulip

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Spring Break Kazama! or the Week in Numbers

This past week, and up until Wednesday, is Spring Break in Japan.  On Wednesday, the new school year begins.  Instead of taking paid vacation leave, I elected to stay in town and have a low-key, quiet week of work returning emails, studying Japanese, and preparing for the new semester.  Turns out, that was a pipe-dream. [...]

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