Journey to Japan: An Indian American Tale

承福寺の滞在

2005-07-06T22:34:00.000+09:00

I can`t believe it either but I am actually making a new post! About 2 weeks left. Less than 2 weeks. So what do I have to say after such a long `hiatus`? Well, honestly I am only willing to expose one quite recent experience that I have gone through. What about everything else you may ask. Wait. About 2 weeks. Don`t worry you`ll see me. No matter where you live.

Anyways. What does the title of this blog say? `(My) Stay at Jyofukuji (Temple)` roughly. Temple? Yes, I stayed for three days in a Zen Buddhist Temple from Monday till Wednesday. And it was great - to sum it up in a word. Unfortunatly, I didn`t get to experience the full weight of `Zen Buddhist Training` because I had to go see some of my fellow exchange students off to their respective countries in the middle of it all. The cool part is that the temple`s only monk/priest runs a surprisingly well-maintained website at: http://www.jyofukuji.com . He even put stuff about me on the site.

Here, let me guide those who cannot read Japanese. I`m in his picture posting section here: http://www.jyofukuji.com/sh/picbbs/picbbs.cgi. (Posts: 2005/07/06(Wed) 21:53 No.1911,2005/07/05(Tue) 06:15 No.1908)

The first post (with my meditation picture) reads:
Title: Exchange student Rahul`s Entrance/Introduction (to Jyofukuji)
Post: Rahul Syamlal, an American exchange student, has come to stay for three days at Jyofukuji temple in order to experience a Zen Buddhist temple one more time before he goes back to America. In the afternoon, he did some sweeping and cleaning outside and in the evening he participated in the Buddhist religious service and Zen meditation.

The second post reads:
Title: Rahul...Gokorosama(I can`t translate this word very well but I can translate with a humorous tone like `You did good, kid`)
Post: You did very well on this short 3 day introduction to a Zen temple. Today, you put your efforts into Shakyou (hand-copying sutras, Buddhist scriptures). Please find something meaningful in your last days of your high school life in Japan. (Refering to the picture below) In darkness of the evening, Rahul on his way back to his host family.

If you click the link on either post, you are taken to the `From the Priest`s Room` page where there is an entry of me (2005年07月06日(水) 21時40分) which reads:
Title: Exchange student, Rahul`s Shakyou
Post: Third day of his stay. Today was Shakyou and Zen Meditation. I was surpised when just as I showed him the Japanese translation of `般若心経` (Hannyashingyou, a Buddhist scripture: `Perfection of Wisdom`) he immediatly started using his electronic dictionary and started translating it into English. I have great admiration for his vigorous thirst for knowledge.

I guess I posted this because I have a low self-esteem and need to post other people`s praise for me in order to feel better. (j/k) or (just kidding, for you non-tech folk) But I do highly respect the priest`s words because I highly respect Zen Buddhist priests.

Less than 2 weeks.

久しぶり

2005-05-05T22:56:00.000+09:00

Yes, it`s been a long time. I had been feverishly (every three or four weeks or so) trying to write down what had been happening in the past. And then I just stopped. But I assure you that my day-to-day life here in Japan is and has been just as full of activity as it was when I actively wrote and posted to this blog (which was probably 5 months ago).

In the interrim, I have gathered a rather large collection of pictures which I have gone through and posted `random` selections representing these past 5 months. The internet connection here randomly shuts off (wireless connection) so I wasn`t given much time to write the captions.

It is coming down to about 2 and half months before I leave Japan, and I am trying to take every oppurtunity to absorb it all. My Japanese has improved enough to start attending regular classes with my classmates: Politcal Science and Econmics is one of my favorite classes, but it tires me out because of the amount of concentration and translation it requires.

And through it all I have found many oppurtunities to avoid posting to this blog which is why it is in the state its in. I am afraid it will most probably stay in this state until I get back, because of it`s low ranking in my list of priorities. It`s almost as low as writing my Rotary reports.

2005-05-05T22:52:00.000+09:00

The city of Nagasaki with Glover Garden in the foreground

2005-05-05T22:51:00.000+09:00

5/4/05 - Visiting Nagasaki with the Asadas

2005-05-05T22:49:00.000+09:00

5/3/05 - Hakata DonTaku - Fukuoka`s huge Golden Week festival - these cute kimono-wearing girls asked to take a picture with us

2005-05-05T22:43:00.000+09:00

5/1/05 - Visiting a monkey mountain in Beppu with my 4th host family the Asadas

2005-05-05T22:40:00.000+09:00

Riding gondala-like boats in Yanagawa

2005-05-05T22:37:00.000+09:00

4/17/05- Fukuoka District meeting in Yanagawa - the entire exchange student crew inbound/outbound

2005-05-05T22:15:00.001+09:00

3/14/05 - Birthday dinner with my third host family the Izus

2005-05-05T22:15:00.000+09:00

3/6/05- Kyoku no Sui `Bending Water` at Dazaifu shrine. Rotary Exchange students and their host families were given coveted front row seats to this famous ancient poem-writing event.

2005-05-05T22:11:00.000+09:00

2/19/05 - Spotting a humble `No Smorking` sign at a Bagel & Bagel

2005-05-05T22:10:00.000+09:00

2/16/05 - Seeing the German student Niels (in the orange) go back early because of conflicts with his German school

2005-05-05T22:09:00.000+09:00

2/11/05 - Spotting an anti-Iraq war (US) demonstration in the downtown of Fukuoka city

2005-05-05T22:07:00.000+09:00

2/5/05 - The amazing mess that was my second host family`s kitchen on the day I left

2005-05-05T22:05:00.000+09:00

Speaking to all 400 or so 2nd year students as their representative in accepting the ski school`s certificate of achievement

2005-05-05T22:04:00.000+09:00

One of several pictures with random 2nd year students in the Ski Resort Tangram

2005-05-05T22:01:00.001+09:00

On the slopes in Nagano, my classmate Sasaki learns how to ski

2005-05-05T22:01:00.000+09:00

1/31/05 - First day on my highschool`s ski trip to Nagano - with the guys in my class

2005-05-05T21:59:00.000+09:00

1/29/05 - Viewing the early ume blossoms with Misuzu

2005-05-05T21:58:00.000+09:00

1/4/05- Visiting Kokura Castle with the oyabus

2005-05-05T21:54:00.000+09:00

1/1/05 - Traditional Japanese New Year`s meal with my second host family the Oyabus

2005-03-08T21:56:00.000+09:00

Tokyo: huge, commercial, some old, mostly new, sprawling, relatively safe, tons of people, beautiful, ugly, bay, young people crazy, old people crazy, salary men a plenty, packed trains, shopping malls on top of shopping malls, Tokyo Tower, Disneyland, Ueno Zoo, big, huge, massive, gigantic, mammoth, enormous, HUMUNGOUS.

2005-03-08T21:48:00.000+09:00

WE HAVE ARRIVED IN TOKYO! The two Japanese men on the left were Rotary members who chaperoned us, and then...From Left to Right: Sony(Taiwan), Neils(Germany), Me, Amanda(USA), Graham(USA), Sean(Canada), Igor(Brazil), and Matthew(USA)

2005-03-08T21:46:00.000+09:00

On the bus ride to Tokyo Disneyland

2005-03-08T21:45:00.000+09:00

Welcome to Tokyo Disneyland!