sometimes you need vision.

The guy(?) who commented on my previous article replied me with this animation and I thought it is worth watching :) Thanks to royal gala!!!

SHUKATSU, not TONKATSU

SHUKATSU is a Japanese word meaning job hunting. However, today I want to tell you that it doesn't mean job hunting at all. It is all about following the rules of the "adult world" and losing all your sensitive senses.

The word contains so much negative image that not many people want to face this shukatsu season. Some say it is a time to face the reality, it is a time to say good byes to the long holidays, it is a time to be the slave of the company.

I've been hearing this term since freshman. My school is especially known for being good at this job hunting, and sending students to big and famous companies and institutions. Therefore, shukatsu is part of our school life and at the same time, what people don't want to face.

"Although I got a steady job, I would never do this again."

My senior told me when I was starting to know what this word actually means. Job hunting is something very important and affects your life. But for shukatsu, it is a whole different thing.

First of all it starts in middle of your studies. Japanese uni is for 4 years and this shukatsu starts from the middle of the third year when you actually getting used to your studies and when you want to study deeper. People have to skip classes since the seminar and interviews are on weekdays when the companies are running. Professors take it for granted that shukatsusei( students who do the shukatsu) are not attending classes. People usually apply for more than 30 companies, sometimes 50. My senior applied for 80.

Any business meetings, or seminars, of course interviews, you have to wear the shukatsu suit. In England, not many people wear suits. However, in Japan, they have the shukatsu suit which doesn't look sexy at all. ( Sorry I am a big fan of guys wearing suits) I call them onigiri, or konbini onigiri. They look plain and ready to be cooked in a big factory with all the other onigiris.

Well, why am I writing this horrible shukatsu story?? Because I might be one of them and it is not avoidable if you are seeking a job in Japan. Especially my friends who are in the same grade are facing this. So I decided to write about it.


It continues....

Money and Friend

I am quite surprised that I am still continuing my blog. There are lots and lots to write about but so few times that I actually try to write about them. No excuse, I have plenty of time, I just don't try to focus on matching the ideas together.

So, today I want to talk about how I have been living these days. January, I almost freaked out of looking at my bank account. I don't spend a lot in shopping or sightseeing. Although the balance was way too small. Did I get robbed? Is somebody using my credit card? No, I was the only one using it. I spent too much on eating out. People always told me that I have to bear the British cuisine. That's a big lie in London. Since there are so many Asian and European delicious food. You just have to avoid the real British food,haha. All my money went into my stomach.

So I decided to save up by not spending them. Yes, this means that I have to cook by myself. It's not my first time to do this, since I was living in a dorm in Japan, too. But it's definitely not my cup of tea! ( I shouldn't say this in Japan, or else I wouldn't get a husbandXD)

It went very well and I am now living with 6 pounds a day in average. That will be 850yen a day, including the weekends. I try not spend a penny in the weekdays and more in the weekends. This was not a easy thing to do, as most of the students know. It means that you have to cancel some parties, drinking, meetings, lunch and dinner. And what helped me a lot are my friends. I chose to hang out with people who are good at saving money and have the same idea, standards about them. Since then, I started to realize that the relationship between money and friend is quite important which means that it is hard to become best friends with someone who have a different standards. In Japan, this didn't really happen because most of the people didn't spend that much in my school. But in London, that cannot happen. How they spend on clothes, food, livings and travelling, really shows how different status they have. The gap is quite big unfortunately. That is when I realized how important friends can be.

However, I don't believe that you should stuck with the same friends all the time. You need variety of people to enrich yourself and understand the different circumstances. But your best friends are the ones who share the same idea and don't feel uncomfortable with it.

In another way, if you want to change your lifestyle or your way of thinking, changing your friends is a big step. Don't do it obvious because it is awkward.  It sounds harsh but actually in most cases, people are doing it unconsciously. Why did you stop hanging out with him? It's because you have changed or wanted to change. Friend is the reflection of yourself.

POSH AND SNOBBISH, there you are!!!

Yes, I went to Cambridge for the first time last Sunday. I knew a person who was living there so she showed me around. The city was full of CAMBRIDGE UNI-SMELL. There were many colleges merging into the town. Very quite atmosphere, I guess for the students to study well. Living in London, I hear the sound of the ambulance almost every day. I cannot imagine London as a quite city. However, Cambridge had few nightclubs and places where student can fool around ( Sorry I didn't know well, but I can guess from the sight). To enter the colleges, they required some money even though we were not going into the building. Cambridge owns many houses around the city, too. They even own some houses or flats in London to run their business. Yes, it was a perfect place to study and calm down and think about philosophy, but at the same time, I couldn't imagine this place without spending so much money. We students in London might pay for going out at night or eating junk food or paying the bill of our flats and dorms. But this was a whole different story. Every old building, statue, field, book, garden, gate, and so on, there was money and pride behind it. And then I realized that it is a hierarchal world. The educated must have money. Because of the diversity of the students in SOAS, I sometimes forget that UK is still a class divided society until a came to Cambridge. This was representative of the wealth or the future wealth. That is when the word posh naturally came into my mind. I enjoyed Cambridge and was fascinated to see another side of education, but I was relieved when I came back to London and saw the redbus rushing into the streets, people dressed whatever they wanted, dirts on the streets, and of course noisy sound of the ambulance. For me, this was the real world where people are living and suffering and all those feelings are just squeezed into one small space. The big city, London. Welcome back, me! ( And I have to say that, for each person, their Real world is different and I understand that, its just Cambridge was not my type:))

Extra...
I went to the house of the curator of TATE. I guess he is dead already but the house remained as a gallery. It was creative and beautiful. My dream house was there. I enjoyed this moment the best.


Here are some pictures of Cambridge uni colleges and TATE curator's house...

THE HOUSE

How important are Japanese lives?

Seven dead Japanese were announced in the news yesterday in Algeria. It was a surprise since the news were telling there were some hopes for them. The Japanese workers in Algeria were held hostage for about a week and then found dead. This became a big news in Japan and so many people were sorrowful about this. 

I heard this from my friend in Japan and quickly searched on the website called asahi.com. Asahi is one of the major newspaper companies and I regularly read their news online when I am abroad. I prefer this company because it is slightly left but almost the middle, if you know what I mean. 

Then I was more shocked to see the headlines and the words written.

" The Seven dead Japanese told by Japanese PM"

"Seven Japanese dead, three non-Japanese dead."

I was shocked because of how they reported the news. It was as if the Japanese lives were more important than any other nation's people's lives. Of course I felt sad and horrified by the news but it looked like I have to feel this way because I was Japanese and they are Japanese. Other people's lives were mentioned as Non-Japanese's lives. Non-Japanese was my translation and actually they wrote "gaijin" which literally means alien.  They were only the numbers of the dead. But for Japanese, it was more like our siblings or families were dead. 

I understand that the government have to take care of their citizens first but why do we have to care only about our country? We can never compare the lives of people to determine which is more important. However, people are unconsciously doing this. 

Globalization is accelerating and we often realize how we cannot think nationally any more in many cases. However, we are still trapped in the nationalistic ideas at the same time. Don't take it for granted that you need to care only about your nation. The real problem is behind that.

May all the people who suffered from this incident rest in peace. And I wish the missing people to be found as soon as possible. 

TATE THE SECOND

Today I went to TATE again. My friend's friend came to study and work here for a month. So I met him for the first time and showed TATE around. It was freezing outside and we needed a place to stay for a long time.

His occupation was concerning medical issues which was not my field at all. I tried to ask as many questions as possible because I can't help knowing what I've never studied before. It was interesting because we came to a point that helping developing countries which I want to do in the future, and helping the patient was kind of a similar job although they look so different.

After our deep conversation, we headed to TATE to enjoy some art pieces. The two exhibitions were Daido Moriyama and Klein's photography and The bigger splash. I enjoyed Daido's art pieces the most. I like how he doesn't hesitate to take pictures. His works are like the sliced cheese which is eaten at the best moment. I don't know if I made myself understood by saying this, but well... I just was attracted to his works.

Also I couldn't help taking the photos of people watching or not watching the art. I wish there was no sound on my ipod touch! The perverted Japanese should be responsible for this you know!!!!

People

 The killer smile

 The attractive

 The brave

 The trigger

 The unknown

 The Chinese speakers

 The believer

 The story teller

 The peter pan

 The honest

 The reader

 The dreamer

 The happy

 The hippy

 The Dinwiddies

The rainbow

The distance