Almost half way – hobbies

It’s the end of September. This means two things for the people here, school starts again and we are kind of half way. For me it’s a good wake up call too to try to enjoy the good parts of being here more and care less about the bad parts.

I have 6 more months to get better in Japanese because it will be a lot harder when I leave.

This also means the end is coming closer and closer so I have to start looking at job ads to see what could I get in to and start applying in the not so distant future.

Get back to enjoying practice.

The people like me who have a lot of hobbies just don’t fit in to Japan. Here people focus on one thing and they get good in it or at least try their best. For me, getting locked in to one thing is a small part of hell. I love to have all kinds of hobbies, different activities, variety. Yes, I become mediocre max in most of them probably but it makes me live while the other hand if im locked in to one activity it makes me fall in to depression and black thoughts in a matter of few weeks. So… well… there were hard weeks here. But I have a good enough “I don’t give a shit about what others are thinking” attitude most of the time to keep me free of the Japanese social pressure. Most of the time.
On the other hand I do like kyudo and to practice. So… working on a balance ๐Ÿ™‚

 

Issues – Plans

Lets start with some issues:

  • Having some laptop issues, but I’m working on it. Now it got some ram upgrade, the monster runs on 24GB now! Lightroom flies. I still have to get a good editing software for movies.ย  So you should see more of the photos I take soon.
  • Motivational issues for writing, photography and the rest.
  • Slacking of with Japanese
  • Being sick a lot lately. Its the local Kaze, or catching the cold. This covers kind of everything that is not semi serious. It just keeps me down a lot and missing kyudo practices too.
  • Japan is expensive

And some plans:

  • More time with people ๐Ÿ™‚
  • More scheduled times for tasks
  • Write. Write a lot. Get things out and share the adventures with you all. Starting right with this post ๐Ÿ˜›
  • Running
  • Big walks
  • Hikes
  • More planned photography, not just clicking away
  • Baito baito baito
  • More kyudo practice
  • Even more sadou time

Every Friday is … Sadou

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Next to the Thursday Edosenke Sadou classes at the Uni my sensei invited me to her official Friday classes. I am more then happy to go whenever I can.

It’s always an experience. I can sit with 3-5 old ladies and one of the senseis most advanced students who all are chatting about anything and everything and practice for a few hours. There are good ones and less good ones, but everybody is trying their best. It’s a 2-4 hours of seiza practice too. A lot of midori geiko (learning while watching) and 1 or 2 times I can practice too. So many steps and so many words. Sensei is strict on notes, she doesn’t let me take notes. The body has to remember she says. I try. Again and again. And she gently, with a low voice puts in a few words when I miss out a step or do not know what is the next step.

The next step in this particular set up. Because there are so many ways. I am getting more and more steps in mine. Until now there were two big versions. One on a tray, which is a more mobile, everywhere possible to perform version and one with a summer set up in her tea room. In this I had already variations in my practice too. Having the chairo (tea caddy) already inside or bringing it in, showing the used dougu (equipment) to the main guest after the tea or not. And I have seen an other version where the chairo is already in the tea room but in a drawer next to fireplace. Also I have seen koicha (thick tea) ceremony too, where the chairo is the ceramic version and comes in a little bag and we share a big chawan with all the guests and the main guests talks about the tea and the chawan with the tea maker. Today I have seen a ceremonial version of putting coal on the fire with a little bit of incense at the end.

And all this is just the surface of this one school. There are many mane more things like chabana, food preparation, winter set up, smaller one tatami tea room set up and many many more things.

You all know I am a huge tea guy but even I had no idea that this will be my island here, my best class, closest to my heart here in Katsuura.

I have to pick up as much as I can while I am here. I have all the help, I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher.

I remember not starting at home, I remember trying to go to Prague to meet Martin to start in Omotesenke and then I was placed where I should be. Its funny when pieces fit together after some time.

A good friend of mine told me a few times. Careful what you wish for because you will get it.

This year is about these pieces.

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Well… I disappeared :)

So… I had some time of from my blog it seems. But they always say when you don’t have time to write about it you live your life ๐Ÿ˜‰ I was trying to do that ๐Ÿ˜›

But I have a lot of plans about what to write here and had a lot of adventures in the last months I want to share with all of you. Catching up in the background slowly.

Look back in the coming weeks ๐Ÿ˜‰