Ahem... I'd really like to thank every single person out there who was praying for me or rooting for me! I would especially like to thank my Sensei - Ramesh-sensei and Shimizu-sensei. Both of them had such immense trust in my abilities and thanks to the gentle motivation I received from them, I felt loved and truly inspired to give it my all! 有難うご座いました、清水先生、ラメシュ先生！お蔭様で合格しました！
And I'm really really happy that I've finally managed to be good at something! Oh so happy! So very very happy!
皆、合格しましたよ！万歳！
Oooo... and there's a wee little puppy near my institute! I've decided to call him Pochi!
How often is it that we realize that what really matters in life isn't something that can be bought with money. And yet... it can be? Confused? Well, I'm talking of those instances when we lost ourselves as children in the frolics of Tom and Jerry, cheered Popeye when he gave Bluto a beating and laughed merrily when Charlie Chaplin tripped the bad guy non-chalantly! Those moments are stuff that cannot be bought no matter how much money you brandish. But one can get close! And if you're like me, you can get asymptotically close! You can get the DVDs or the Blue Rays of these cartoon series and atleast for a while, lose all inhibitions and become the child you once were.
I had the wonderful opportunity of doing just that a few days ago. I'd gone over to my cousin's place and she has the cutest and the naughtiest boy on the face of the planet! And he has one weakness - a weakness he shares with me! He loves watching "Tonari no Totoro". If this name means nothing to you and you were born in the eighties or later, I pity you... Your childhood has been depraved! But if you know what I'm alluding to, good for you!
I watched the DVD version of the movie and for the amount of time that it ran, everything was perfect with the world. I envy Satsuki and Mei from the movie! Their innocence is something that children these days seem to lose so fast! And Totoro... my darling Totoro! How I'd love to cuddle up to that huge mountain spirit and sleep like a baby!
And then there's the Catbus! That's hands down the best way to travel wherever one wants to go! And to think that Appa from Avatar was inspired by the Catbus! Excuse me while I have a moment of pride here! :P Seriously though, if we really did have something like the Catbus, wouldn't it be the AWESOMEST thing EVER?!!!!! Why can't it exist, god?! WHYYYYYYYYYY????!!!!!!
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It's Catbus!!!!
As expected from Hayao Miyazaki, Tonari no Totoro is such an enjoyable watch! The lessons one takes home from the movie are simple but to the heart. And in an age where fairy tales are misconstrued left right and center, one needs to go back to movies like these to remember what fairy tales were really like! This movie literally put Miyazaki into the spot light and he in turn shared that attention with the Japanese animation industry. And the rest... as they say... is history!
And speaking of Anime, I have another source of inspiration to share with you, my darling readers! If you've heard of Kenji Kawai and the kind of music he makes for Japanese animation series and films and numerous other movies and video games, you'll know what's coming up next! If not, don't worry... you don't know what's coming up next but you'll enjoy it none the less!
Kenji Kawai is the maestro who composed music for the Ghost in the Shell series and he infused traditional Japanese Shinto music to Western musical arrangements and the result is spellbinding! I find that the more I listen to his music, the more I am at peace with the world and the more I mourn for those around me... the more selfless I become!
Do give it a listen and you'll know what I mean!
Life's more or less like a see-saw right about now. But hope, I have! Bucketful of Hope! Do you want some? :D
The test today was a riot! We ended up mooting our answers and points and surprisingly, I learnt so much and I'm sure most of my friends from class are feeling the same way. It was such fun. It was so different from the usual "Gosh, I have to get better scores than him or her! I need to show I'm the best!" nonsense.
And I'm really grateful for the wonderful sensei that I have. Both Ramesh-sensei and Shimizu-sensei are such nice people! It really is a blessing that I can attend classes with teachers who are as passionate about what they do and can convey their passion for the language and the people in such beautiful ways! My sensei inspire me to be a good teacher myself. (This is true if I ever get the honour of teaching people Japanese, when I get better!)
Anyway, N4 Kikitori is challenging and tiresome. But at the same time, it's intriguing. I hope I get better at this before I give my actual exam! :D Ah, tomorrow is movie day and conversation. Now that, is what I call, a double bingo!
Today, we had a blast at the Japanese school! Shimizu-sensei had invited me and a couple of other students for the Vijayadashami Celebrations. There was a lot of press and not to mention photos! We had the Consul from the Consulate General of Japan, Kayako Furukawa. We also had Tetsuo Suzuki from Kubota Agricultural Machinery and Noboru Kato accompanying her.
By the time the new class was inaugurated, we were ready for the webconference with Japanese students and Professors from Iwate Prefectural University! It was unlike anything I'd ever done before! I got to talk to them in Japanese and they got to talk in English! It was funny... I kept answering their questions in Japanese while they answered ours in English. And they were all such wonderful people! :)
And Sensei has promised to lend me more movies and I'm really looking forward to seeing more Ozu and naruse movies in the year to come! :) Awwww... now I wish I didn't have to move out of Chennai! I'm gonna miss this city so much! And the wonderful people here... So... very.... much! :)
I'm one happy camper today! Absolutely happy. Today, in Japanese class, we watched Yasujiro Ozu's (晩春Banshun or Late Spring. And to be honest, I'm moved... I'm more than moved... I'm happy... sad... invigorated... and a plethora of other emotions that I can't begin to express.
I'd heard of the ethereal beauty of Setsuko Hara. But it wasn't until I'd seen her in the movie that I realized what they actually meant. She's the sort of woman for whom the world could yearn and yet never hope to attain. She smiled as she expressed her disdain... in a way that made one feel as though she were teasing. And when she's sad, her face changes like a full moon behind the clouds. If we could have one actress like her, I swear cinema would take on an entirely new meaning!
Ah... I wish I could explain poignantly what transpired between the story and I! It was almost like for three hours, I was a silent spectator in the middle of the lives of a doting daughter and her kindly father... the little quirks... the tears that flowed... the friends that came and left... it all seemed so real! And sometimes, I wished I'd remained in that world forever!
Even after class was over, I still could not bring myself out of the movie. And I cannot thank my sensei enough for what he's done for us today. By showing us this movie, he has given us something to cherish for the rest of our lives. And hopefully, I'll get to see Banshun somewhere else at another time... And for everybody who hasn't seen the movie, please do go see it. You will not be disappointed!
And in other news, after Japanese class, Mom took me for some impromptu shopping where I got a few tops and a pair of jeans aaaaaaand.... the most beautiful wallet ever! It's purple and has Sakura blossoms printed on it. And it's sooooooo roooomy! It has a gazillion compartments but everything folds right away to form the cutest wallet in the world. Right now, I'm googling wallets and scoffing at everything I see because my wallet is so much cuter and prettier!
I should hand it out to the Japanese. They can come up with some really weird but oddly addictive adverts. Check this out!
I'll buy you dinner and give you ten bucks over that if you can figure out the pun in this video! The hint's in the title of this post! :P LOL... awesome!
