Japanese Fashion Part 2

Lolita, or ろりた, is a style that is characterized by its Victorian influence, often including knee-length skirts with petticoats, knee socks, and a blouse with lace or ruffle detailing. A few subtypes include Gothic Lolita, Classic Lolita, Punk Lolita, and Sweet Lolita.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_street_fashion

 <--This is an example of Gothic Lolita.



This would be Classic Lolita. It incorporates traditional Japanese styles. Note the Kimono blouse. -->









Street fashion in Japan is popular in Tokyo, but is also especially popular in Shibuya, a special ward in Tokyo. Shibuya also refers directly to a shopping district in that area. Harajuku is also a popular destination for street fashion. It is actually next to Shibuya, and it refers to the name of the area around Harajuku station.

You may have heard of Harajuku, because of Harajuku Lovers, a brand of clothing and accessories which is actually heard-of in America.

If you are interested in seeing Japan street fashion for yourself, I would recommend "Japanese Streets," a blog that displays many aspects of street fashion.

There is something called the Harajuku Fashion Walk that occurs every two months. According to Tokyofashion.com, the Fashion Walk is an event where, "50-100 colorfully-dressed young people meet up in Harajuku and parade through the streets together, making friends – and lots of smiles – along the way." The participants are encouraged to wear whatever makes them happy.

Personally I think this is a great event It would be so cool to witness one of these events.

Now, none of this is to say that there are too much restricting social norms in America over clothing. Of course, you can find people with venturesome personalities anywhere. However (don't hold me to this), I find that in Japan, diversity in fashion is more common and accepted. I will probably be able to shed more light on that topic when I actually travel to Japan myself. :)

Japanese Fashion Part 1

As you may or may not have noted in my past posts, I am enrolled in Japanese as a foreign language. I am in my third year of study, and I have more recently become engaged in their trends and pop culture in the past few months.

As a side note, I will even be traveling to Japan this summer. *Note to self to blog about that upcoming trip later*

However, another thing I've been looking up and researching, is the fashion of Japan. One thing that can be noted immediately, is that Japanese fashion is very different from what is fashionable in America. Not necessarily a completely different league of its own, but rather a much more diverse and unique fashion sense can be found walking the streets of the big cities. People are much more okay with dressing in an outfit that may be considered over-the-top or extreme in America.

What you may not realize right away, is that most of the fashion trends in Japan are of western influence. In fact, around the mid-nineteenth century is when western fashion began to emulate in Japan. As of the twenty-first century, street fashion has developed. Street fashion is where you will more likely see the extreme clothing mentioned before.

Avant-garde would be a safe way to describe this "extreme" fashion sense. It is innovative, experimental, and pushes the boundaries of accepted social norms.

Lolita is one particular fashion style. It is seen widely in Japan, and has numerous subtypes on its own. Although, I think Wikipedia can explain it better than I, I will just briefly summarize it, and you can pursue the link I post if you are still curious.

My Sister's Keeper Part 2

*Continued from part 1*

In the book, Anna sues, and there is the same twist, that Kate just wanted to die. However, they get all the way through the verdict, and Anna's side has won. Anna is riding in her lawyer's car, on the way back to her house. It's actually a happy occasion, because the family has cried and made up. No one is mad at Anna. But while driving, they are struck by a truck. Her lawyer makes it out, but Anna dies from the accident. There is a very emotional scene where her father (a firefighter called to the scene, at first unknowing of who was in the accident) is trying to revive her.

Anna is dead. But her kidney is still intact. It is given to Kate, who undergos the procedure, and survives.

Then there is the epilogue, which is now, for the first time, from Kate's point of view. The transplant worked, and it's been 8 years since her last relapse. Anna dies, Kate lives.

Now...DO YOU SEE WHAT IS WRONG HERE???? The movie changed the ending so drastically, to the point that one person DIES when they LIVE in the book, and the person who LIVES in the movie, DIED in the book!

Unforgiveable. Even Jodi Picoult admitted that she wasn't happy.

I didn't like it, because the, "twist of fate," if you will, is what made the book what it is. The "switched" deaths of the two sisters contrasts what most would think to happen in real life(which is what happened in the movie). It gave a completely amazing and novel message. By changing the ending in the movie, they changed the message.

Not okay. Bye bye.

My Sister's Keeper

So a few years ago, a movie came out called My Sister's Keeper. This movie was based off of the book by Jodi Picoult. About a year before the movie came out, I read the book, and absolutely loved it. It was intense and emotional, with quite the twist at the end.

My mom had also read it, so when the movie came out, naturally we went to go see it together. We were accompanied by my older brother, Ben, who is quite the movie guru.

Progressing through the movie, I thought it was going pretty okay. But by the time the end of the movie came around, there was a change, so cruel, so unforgiveable, I walked out of the theater seething.

If you don't already know, My Sister's Keeper is about a girl named Anna, who's sister, Kate, has cancer. Anna was intentionally conceived, and genetically confirmed to be a genetic match to Kate. This was done so that Anna could give blood or a transfusion of some sort to help Kate.

However, the real plot starts when Anna SUES her parents, for "the right to her own body," because she doesn't want to keep giving transfusions, and more recently, one of her kidneys. Basically, Kate needs a new kidney, and Anna refuses, taking legal measures.

Thus the emotional and intense plot unfolds.

From here on out, there will be a spoiler. In order for you to understand the unforgiveable thing that the movie producers did. So if you don't want to know what happens in the book more movie, I suggest you stop reading.....NOW.

In the movie, Anna sues successfully, but there is a huge twist. Anna wasn't actually suing because she didn't want to give Kate her kidney. Kate asked Anna to stop undergoing all of these procedures for her, because Kate wanted to die. There is outrage, but many tears, and the family that became broken is being pieced back together. Kate dies, and Anna lives. The family gets through it together.

*Continued on next post*

Chuck Close

I am enrolled in Art History at my school right now. We are nearing the end of the curriculum, and are beginning review to prepare for the upcoming AP exam. In the class, we learn about many artists and art pieces throughout history. I am going to talk about one specific one that I've taken a liking to.

Chuck Close is an artist from the photorealism era of the 20th century. The main point of this style is to create a completely realistic piece, even tricking the viewer into thinking it's real.

This is such a great photo. Except not really. Because it's not a photo. This is a freaking painting. Ridiculous.

Chuck Close really wows me with his work. The particular painting above is a self-portrait done in acrylic paints. He also would do portraits of his family and friends, but never did any special effects with them. By that, I mean he rarely showed his subjects in flattering ways.






Oh yeah, and they were also always HUGE. I can only imagine how long it takes him to do each piece.



One specific technique that Close uses, is blurring the parts of the head that recede. You can usually see around the hair or back of the head, that it looks out of focus. This contributes to the realism of the painting, because the same effect happens in actual photographs, and real life.

Later in Close's life, he started a new kind of style. I'm fairly sure that this new style was mainly his own, but I do not know what it's called. So here's a few examples:






This new style makes use of a gridlike pattern, with what seems to be random colors swirled in each square. However, every color is carefully selected, because when you look from a distance at the completed piece, you can see the portrait that becomes of the color squares.

This is sort of the same concept of Impressionism, where the eye blurs together the brush strokes to create the whole image. Obviously, Close uses his own unique technique in doing so.

What's the deal with Romeo and Juliet?

Romeo and Juliet, the classic Shakespeare play, read by high schoolers all over the country. Some love it, some hate it. You can feel however you want to feel about the play, the language, or the rhyming. But one major complaint I've heard about the story, is that Romeo and Juliet are NOT in love.

Looking at it realistically, Romeo spots Juliet at a party, and realizes he's "in love" with her. Juliet shares the same feeling after merely seeing him. They kiss the first night, and mourn over the fact that they won't be able to be together. It is literally, a three-day relationship, including a sex scene, and a backfiring escape plan, resulting in dramatic suicides.

"They only looked at each other! You can't fall in love with someone after only knowing them for three days!"

Well, that's a reasonable argument.  If I had never heard of Romeo and Juliet, and someone told me the story, and told me it was true, I wouldn't believe it had been true love.

BUT. This is a fiction play we are talking about. Crafted by the gifted Shakespeare. Given this context, my philosophy is that Romeo and Juliet were definitely in love, because Shakespeare made it so. HE'S the author, so he is GOD in the story he writes. If he wants an 18 year old boy to fall in love with a 13 year old girl by simply looking at her, then so be it. No matter how skeptical or ridiculous the story is, the author has the trump card.

So yes, I believe that Romeo and Juliet were in love. A very classic, awkward, slightly creepy, fast-paced relationship, but still a real one, because Shakespeare says so.

Books

I love books. I really am a book person. My favorite series of all time remains to be Harry Potter, but yesterday, I was gifted with an experience I haven't had since first reading Harry Potter.

I had borrowed The Hunger Games, book one, from my best friend who had become hooked on the series. I trust her taste, and since we are both in love with Harry Potter, there was no way I could pass it up.

I realized I wanted to read the book eventually. Especially before I see the movie. I always believe that the book is better than the movie, but I recently started to reinforce that by inspiration of this website:
http://readit1st.com/ This site was produced by one of the Vlogbrothers, whom I have blogged about it in the past.
Did I actually pledge? Well, no. But I made it a personal goal to participate in the cause (can you even call it that?) as much as I can.

So I start reading, and I read, and I read. I like it. It gets to the beginning of the main plot, after introductions, and I like it a lot. Middle of The Hunger Games, I can hardly put it down. Then there's a twist, and I'm clutching the book at my side wherever I go. A surprise encounter in the story, and I lose sleep reading more.

It's a normal Monday in school, when I REACH THE CLIMAX of this wonderful novel. Or at least what I thought was the climax. It continues to climb in suspense, and I find the "climax" to be about three chapters long, each ending in a cliff-hanger. I am completely absorbed, and I have the urge to drop everything, and find a solitary corner where I can read, and do nothing else.

It felt weird walking in reality, when the majority of my thinking remained in the book. I read more at lunch than I ate. By fifth hour, I was doing more reading than schoolwork. My debate teacher, Mr. Tolly, was completely understanding, but still made fun of me. By coincidence, the guy sitting behind me was also absorbed in his book, which happened to be Catching Fire, the sequel to Hunger Games.

By the time I finished the book in sixth period, my mind felt hazy. These feelings were so reminiscent of how I felt reading Harry Potter, I became extremely happy.

This is why I LOVE books. And wonderful authors who can craft a novel that pulls you into their alternate-reality for a brief time. Like a dream. As opposed to a movie, which metephorically, I think is more like....well....a movie. I guess I don't see another way to describe it. Usually, I feel more involved in a book than I do a movie. I guess it's a bit harder to explain than I thought.

Mexico Part 5

The kids would always pick us to be the runners or taggers, so we rarely got a break. It was really fun though, because there were plenty of funny moments where we were just laughing with the kids. The language barrier had disappeared while playing the game.

On the first day we were at Gilberto Commacho, the principal invited us to spend an afternoon at a ranch that his brother owns. One of the teachers also invited us to have dinner at her home. We had done these same things last year. They were events where we could form a personal connection with the administrators of the school, and create a bond of trust. In addition, it was really fun.

On Wednesday, we brought supplies and applied varnish at a preschool and a secondary school. Shortly following, we went to the ranch. It was very large, and we had the opportunity to ride horses. There was also a creek that you can wade in. Polo, his brother, and a couple other teachers and their children(many of which attend the primary school) were also there. After that, we all went to the home of the teacher who invited us for dinner. She lived on a ranch too, and we had to cross a long bridge to get there. But not on car. No, this was a foot bridge.

Let me give you an image. Remember in the movie Shrek, where Donkey and Shrek have to cross the rickety bridge to get to Fiona's castle? Over the lake of lava? That's it. Except there was no lava. Just a big drop into a large, dried up creekbed. I'm not good at estimating measurements, but I'd say a 30-50 drop.

She was very kind, and we had DELICIOUS food. Rice, cooked beans, chicken, steak, and tortillas, and mango juice. Which is the best juice you will ever taste. All of their juice was excellent, actually.

After we ate, we played a game of volleyball with the children. We had to use a clothes line as a net, but otherwise, it was pretty functional. No one was extremely talented, but it was a very good game. One boy in sixth grade challenged one of my serves. I owned him. Everyone was so friendly and playful. It hardly seemed different to how we would eat, gather, and play in America. Except with a better view.

Mexico Part 4

At the school, we do educational sessions in each classroom, as well as applying varnish to every child's teeth. We use an empty classroom to do continuous varnishing, and a few of us go around to do education. Many kids are nervous about varnishing, but since we did the same school last year, most of them knew what to expect. We used a small paintbrush to apply the creme-like polish on their teeth, focusing on chewing surfaces and problem areas, such as spots that clearly show obvious decay. At the same time, the experienced dentists (i.e. Dr. Levy, Dr. Nash, Julie) would check on each kid, record their gender, age, and do a ten second check-up, writing down roughly how many teeth show decay or cavities.

This year, I mostly helped out with the education sector. I was joined by Marcela, and my friend Katherine from school. Marcela took care of all the talking and teaching (with her Spanish skills), and Katherine and I aided by using character puppets. I had a styrofoam tooth on a stick, named Diego. One side of him was clean and smiling, and the other was dirty, bandaged, and frowning. It was perfect for visual aids. Katherine and I also helped pass out the bags of toothbrushes and toothpaste to every student at the end of the presentation. The kids were so fascinated with us, and always grinned and waved when we walked by. They didn't always say thank you, but you could see it on their face.

My favorite times were when a kid would walk up and yell "HELLO" to me, because they remembered from the introductions that I don't speak Spanish. I loved it. They were always smiling. There were also students who would speak rapid Spanish to me with a gleeful face. It broke my heart when I had to say "no ablo Espanol," because it was always followed by a face of disappointment.

But I still interacted with them. They asked us to play with them at recess, and we accepted gladly. We played a game, where two people are selected. The rest join hands in a big circle. One of the selected people are inside of the circle, and the other is on the outside. The kids joined in a circle would spin while singing a song(what the song meant, I don't know). Following the song, the person outside of the circle pursues the person in the circle. The tagger may break through into the circle trying to get them, and then the runner would have to break out. The people in the circle itself are trying to protect the runner.

Mexico Adventures Part 3

Continued from Part 2.

Polo gave us a welcome greeting over the microphone, and Marcela translated. He was very happy that we came back to keep up with the dental program we installed last year. A common phrase we heard while there was, "This is your house," which is essentially the highest form of hospitality and welcome that you can give someone. While also translating, Marcela introduced the new members of our team that weren't here last year, and asked if the kids remembered the names of those who had come last year. They called out Christine's name easily, although pronounced it "Christy." I didn't expect them to remember my name, because for whatever reason, they seemed to love to flock around Christine(part of me thinks it might be how tall she is, and they find her height to be awesome). Even then though, after a hesitation, several kids on one side of the gathering yelled, "Emeeree." I really did feel very elated after that. I really like trying to connect with the kids, but it's really hard with the lanuage difference.

I was able to pick up on a couple phrases for minimal small talk, however. I knew, "Hola," "Como te yamas," "Como es tas," and "Bien." Basically that's the extent that my Spanish went. "Hi, how are you? What is your name?" The end.

I absolutely loved playing with the kids though. At their age, they are honestly fascinated by us. Comparable to being starstruck when you meet a celebrity, although I assume we are much more approachable. They love us, and love talking and playing with us. Even the shy ones.

The basic greeting for girls in Mexico is a handshake and kiss on the cheek. That means for a boy with girl greeting, and girl with girl greeting. Boy with boy is a handshake and sort of a close pat on the back, but it excludes the kiss. I was already used to this greeting from the trip last year, so it didn't take much to readjust. However, I can confidently say that I have never received as many kisses in one week as I did in that particular one. And possibly never will again.

Mexico Adventures... PART 2!

As I mentioned before, we stayed at a convent in Xicotepec. It is called the Cruz Azul, translated as Blue Cross. It also served as a meeting place for Xicotepec's Rotary Club while we were there. We got a large dorm filled with bunkbeds, and a bathroom with several showers and toilets. Nearly all of the walls of the Cruz Azul are painted a lime green, which you would think would be shocking, but it was really warm and welcoming. In the backyard there was an uncovered basketball court, and a covered one lined with bleachers. There was also a playground where smaller children can play.

The day after we went to the orphanage, our dental team went to Gilberto Commacho, a primary school(consisting of 1st-6th grades) in a neighboring area, about 45 minutes away. We were originally going to ride in a bus, but since there were only several of us, we piled into the seats and bed of a truck. I got the bed of the truck, where I was acquainted with the new members on the team. There was Monica, a dental student; Marcela, a pre-dentistry student, who was also fluent in Spanish(very helpful); Tariq, another dental student; Julie, a recently graduated dentist; Larry, a retired dentist; Dr. Levy, a dentist in Iowa City; and my friends Christine and Katherine from Interact Club.

The drive over to the primary school goes on a mountainside road, which wound, LITERALLY, on the side of a mountain. There were valleys next to us, some filled with clouds down inside them. It was one of the coolest things to think about, being above a cloud. And of course, we were in the back of the truck, so there was nothing between us and the view.

The school looked exactly like it had last year. It immediately brought back many wonderful memories. We got out of the truck, unloaded our stuff, and walked into the courtyard of the school. Several classrooms were lined up around like a strip mall. The windows were glass, but also had metal bars on them so you could have them wide open, and birds wouldn't get in.

All of the students were gathered around the basketball court in the center of the classrooms, where they had a speaker system set up. I saw many familiar faces of the teachers we met last year, including their hard-working principal, Polo. I also searched the crowd of kids to see if I could recognize anyone.

*Continued on next post*

My problem with Twilight.

I'm known among my friends as the one who is crazy about Harry Potter. It's truly my favorite book series of all time. However, there's also this image stuck to Harry Potter fans, that they all despise Twilight, and "Twihards" despise Harry Potter.

This stereotype is probably true in many cases. Then there are some who enjoy both series. Personally, I wouldn't stick myself under either.

When I first saw or heard something about Twilight being as good(or better) than Harry Potter, I disagreed (Let it be known here, that I HAVE read the Twilight series. All of it.). But more than that, I was confused. Why are they even comparing them? Yes, they are teen fantasies, but of completely different plots and standards. In my opinion, Harry Potter is in a totally different(and superior) league than Twilight.

Now that comment would spark a lot of conflict among certain company. But that's my stance on the topic. I also accept that Harry Potter isn't for everyone(although I would be happy if everyone tried), but on a ranking scale, Twilight doesn't stand a chance. But even then, it doesn't feel right to compare the two series. They are just too different.

Now, let me confess something. When I first read Twilight, I...(here it goes)....liked it. It was an okay read, and I got my usual week-long rush of enjoyment upon finishing the new book. But once the initial effects wore off, it didn't leave that much of an impression on me as a literary feat. I would be understanding when others admit to liking the series.

I've become a little more resentful of Twilight when they compared it to Harry Potter. I would now internally scoff when others claimed how amazing Twilight is. I was confused and angry for a while.

Then the movies come out, and it's insane. Girls freaking out about "Team Jacob" and "Team Edward". It just didn't sit well with me. Twilight was getting more attention than it deserved. Being made out to be more fantastic than it is. It became clear once I realized the most straight-forward way to explain how Twilight was viewed.

Twilight is overrated. It's not awful. It's just overrated. So if I meet someone who loves Twilight, they don't lose my respect just because they like the books. Now, once you say how much better it is than Harry Potter, then I'm done with you.

Goodnight.

Fascination of different cultures.

Recently, I've been interested in learning more and more about different cultures around the world. Having traveled to Mexico, I have learned about their culture, but I am also fascinated with Asian cultures. Particularly Japan.

I am enrolled in Japanese as a foreign language at my school, and have been for three years. What I really love about the class is that along with learning the language, we inevitably have to learn about the culture. This is because Japan in general is so different, and the language and culture are intertwined closely. For example, one of the first things we learn in first year Japanese is bowing. Bowing is a large part of their social customs, but we learned all about it because it always goes with greeting someone.

Our units are divided into different aspects of culture. We have had units on Japanese schools, homes, and technology. We learn different vocabulary in each unit based on what the unit is about. Of course, along the way we learn different types of sentences that we can incorporate those new vocabulary into.

Another great thing about my school's foreign language program is our fantastic opportunity to meet and get to know exchange students. Every year, we have exchange students who stay for the entire school year from various countries. Also, we have a sister school in Japan, called Narita Kokusai(成田国際）, from which they send more students on exchange for two weeks in the month of March. This is a really great opportunity for the Japanese students to get to know Japanese people. It's also an opportunity for both Japanese and American students to practice the languages they've been studying.

I had a friend who went on exchange to Japan for six weeks last summer, and a different friend that's doing the same thing this summer. Foreign opportunities really seem endless when you look at all the chances you may have. Getting to know the exchange students from Narita Kokusai last month was really fun, and sorrowful when they had to go back.

Last year, there was a year-long exchange student from Japan. I became very close with her while she was here. We still keep in touch with Facebook as well as Skype, but I do miss her a lot. It's also a really cool thing to have international friends. It's a neat feeling.

From a different aspect, I've also taken an interest in music and other pop culture items of Japan, as well as Korea. I've come to really like a K-Pop(Korean pop) band that I recently and randomly discovered on Youtube. It was also a surprise to find that my Japanese friend also listened them. That was one thing I was able to ask the two-week exchange students about while they were here. I found a few who also like the same band, so it was really awesome that we had something in common to talk about.

It's a cool thing to be able to travel and act as a tourist, seeing many different sights around the world, but to me, it will never match up with getting to know the culture. Being completely submerged in a culture that is different from your own is an extremely rewarding experience, and you take more from it than you would guess.