The 1971-72 Global
Semester, Day by Day
Monday, December 27, 1971
Our flight left today just about on time for once (4:30 PM)
and we arrived at the kaikan at 9:30 PM. They didn’t weigh
our hand baggage and only spot-checked our baggage so we
got all of our contraband books out OK. We had a good
flight. JAL has very efficient service, clean planes, good
food, and cheap liquor.
At the airport we learned that
St. Olaf had not sent our room and board payments to Japan
until recently so that we will be hit badly by the dollar
devaluation.
The kaikan is an ultra modern structure.
We’re 5 or 6 to a room, tatami
style.
The toilets are the bombsight
“hit or miss” style and they smell like a lot of people
have missed.
Tuesday, December 28, 1971
We had to get up at 6:30 today and go the Buddhist worship
service at 7:00 at the Chishaku-in Temple next door. We all
nearly froze to death. The thing was all Japanese Gregorian
chant. Very interesting but boring after an hour or so.
Afterwards, they showed us around the place (the gardens
are 600 years old) while our stocking feet froze in the 30°
cold. They gave us some pamphlets, green tea, and some
puffed paper cookies.
We were sure glad to get back to breakfast. Breakfast here
is one boiled egg, fruit, a bottle of milk, and toast.
There are only 3 toasters, which are agonizingly slow, so
we have to stand around and wait to get ours done.
This afternoon we met some students from the English
Conversation School at the university. Don and I were with
three girls: one is a pharmacist, one is an English Lit
major, and the third is studying dress-making at the
university. They took us to some temples and downtown to a
nice place for hamburgers. We got back about 5:30. They’re
taking us out again tomorrow afternoon.
It’s in the 30’s here and
breezy and we’re just not used to it. I’ll have to buy some
mittens tomorrow.
The baths are great but you start to get heat stroke after
sitting in them for awhile. Tonight Erika and I were
sitting in there and were about to leave when two Japanese
ladies came in with two little boys.
{from Marylou}
Wednesday, December 29,
1971
Today we went with Keiko Fujimura and Tomoko Fuji to
Daitoku-ji (Daisen-in Temple) where they have some very
well-known Japanese gardens.
They took us to a restaurant
for some Japanese food: sushi and some rice and cucumber
rolled in seaweed and some shrimp, octopus, and raw tuna.
It was OK but all cold and the rice was very sticky.
At the temple a man served us whipped green tea which was
very good. He put some powdered tea in each cup, added some
water, and mixed it with what looked like a shaving brush.
The Japanese girls who are staying with us are really
sweet. Marina is living with Cork, Terry, Ann, Melanie, and
me.
Thursday, December 30, 1971
We had our tenth major Narum
lecture today. This one was on Buddhism.
They give us 616 Yen a day for food and we haven’t been
spending that much so we can use it for other things.
We had our second local lecture was today, this one on
Japanese Modernization. Our students haven’t much
appreciated these first two lectures. Book reading, letter
and journal writing, sleeping, etc., are prevalent during
lectures.
In the afternoon we went shopping downtown with Paul and
Dirk.
Friday, December 31, 1971
Today we went out with Yaeko, Tomoko, and 2 guys to the
Heian Shrine and the Gosho Gardens. It was a splendid day. Our “guides”
insisted on picking up all of the bills.
Some of us went to a nearby restaurant for
a small dinner before returning home for various parties
and frolics.
Saturday, January 1, 1972
Mrs. Narum had a FYORP party last night (Furnish Your Own
Refreshments Please). We played some excellent games: a
define the word game and an ink blot game. After that,
people gathered in groups and the drinking began. We didn’t
buy a big enough bottle of wine to get drunk but it was fun
watching everyone else. "Person A" was giving
everyone snuggies. "Person B" lay out on the grass
for hours before he came back in hiccupping and muttering
“damn” or “shit” between hiccups. "Person C" got
really funny, talking with a Japanese accent. We finally
got to bed at 2:00 AM. "Person D" never came back
until this morning.
I didn’t accomplish anything today.
Sunday, January 2, 1972
Another lazy day. In the
afternoon we took pictures of the kimonoed Japanese ladies
visiting Chishaku-in.
Monday, January 3,
1972
Our lectures today were on
flower arranging (ikebana) and kimonos.
Tuesday, January 4, 1972
The lecture today
was on Japanese gardens.
Wednesday, January 5, 1972
Today our lecture was on
Japanese architecture.
Don, Cork, and I went to a house for tea. It was
traditional Japanese with sliding doors and tatamis but
with chairs in the parlor, a TV set, and a modern kitchen.
The house was made entirely of
wood. It had originally been on another site and 7 years
ago had been taken apart and reassembled, piece by piece,
on the present site. They didn’t think the move was
unusual. The hosts were both in their 60s but looked
younger. They had been charged by the mayor of Kyoto with
the responsibility of entertaining tourists. The
hostess was so dainty, perfectly fixed up and gracious, a
very proper Japanese lady. He was an English professor at
the university. Both were a little hard of hearing. He did
all the talking but we could tell that she understood
everything that we said. She had an American cookbook (The
Joy of Cooking) and a French cookbook, both of which she
could read, and she made us chocolate eclairs and fruit
bread! She served us and he showed us how to drink the tea
(whipped green tea ceremony). They showed us their family
album. She is of the Ashikaga family, a noble one who built
the Golden Pavilion and Silver Pavilion here in Kyoto.
That’s 36 generations of direct line and she is the last
one because her father had no sons. Another interesting
thing is that they have Christian weddings in their family.
Officially, their family is Buddhist, however.
Thursday, January 6, 1972
We had a
discussion/lecture for the Narum class on Japanese history
and feudalism.
Friday, January 7, 1972
We visited three or four
temples in Nara today. Our guide had to speak through an
interpreter and was poor. By the end of his talk at each
place he had few listeners left. The temple with the deer
was entertaining – because of the deer.
Saturday, January 8, 1972
Don and I got our own room today. These rooms are very
comfortable for two people. I don’t mind living on the
floor but Don can’t sit on floors very well.
I’m finally getting use to the
toilets here but it seems like they smell worse every day.
Sunday, January 9, 1972
People are getting edgy. Last
night there was some sort of crisis concerning rooms and
roommates among the girls.
Monday, January 10, 1972
We went out with our Japanese student friends again. We
stopped at the Northwest office in the International Hotel
to make reservations for our flight to Minneapolis. Then we
visited Nijo Castle.
Afterwards we went to a
Japanese restaurant, casual type, where we sat on the floor
and fried our own “Japanese pizzas” on a table-like grill.
They consist of flour paste, cabbage, an egg, some spices,
and some thinly-sliced meat. They were good but had ginger
in them which I can’t stand.
Tuesday, January 11, 1972
We had a bus tour of Kyoto.
First we had a class lecture by a potter at his studio.
After lunch we went to the Imperial Palace, the Moss Temple
Garden, and Ryoanji. The weather was bad.
Wednesday, January 12, 1972
Our lecture this morning was
on Japanese literature: novels and poetry.
This afternoon we did some
shopping downtown and ate at the Asahi Beer Hall.
On the corner of Shijo and Kawaramachi streets in Kyoto is
a large pollution meter which measures CO concentration in
ppm, usually 14-18.
Thursday, January 13, 1972
We had our last major Narum
lecture today. Zen Buddhism vs. Pure Land Buddhism.
Today the local lecture was on
Japanese drama (Noh plays, kabuki dance).
We eat every night in a little “greasy spoon” restaurant
down the street. It’s family run and has a few small tables
and a TV set. We order something cheap and sit and stare at
the cartoon or adventure shows which are all, of course, in
Japanese. Some are just like our shows and some are quite
Japanese (e.g., people fighting with karate or swords).
Friday, January 14, 1972
The Japanese students who have
been so kind to us during our stay held a party for
us. We had to get up and perform so we sang our old
stand-by: “Swing Low” and led them in some others like
“Michael.” It was pretty lousy. We don’t sound too bad if
we practice with Mrs. Narum but we hadn’t practiced since
India.
Saturday, January 15, 1972
We have been working on
Narum’s stuff yesterday and today.
Today we went across the street to Sanjusangendo where the
annual archery tournament was being held. The contestants,
using odd, asymmetrical bows, shot at targets about 130
yards (temple length) away.
Sunday, January 16, 1972
I’ve got all my reading done now and 3 questions written so
I’ve just got my long essay left to write.
Monday, January 17, 1972
The lecture today was on
Japanese literature "from a comparative point of
view."
Tuesday, January 18, 1972
I have just finished my paper
for Narum and Mary is recopying hers. We have been working
on them for a couple of days now and are glad to be
finished. The course was excellent.
Today our group visited the Urasenke tea school. We learned
the importance of sliding doors, paths, ceilings, tokonoma
alcoves, and tokonoma pillars.
Wednesday, January 19, 1972
The lecture today was on
Japanese Buddhism.
Thursday, January 20, 1972
We’re done with classes and it’s nice to have nothing
important to do. Mrs. Narum is sitting on the floor in the
hall playing Monopoly with Marylou and a couple of others.
One of the girls is trying to sell rings and baskets that
she has bought because she’s broke.
We’re worried that our luggage will be overweight and that
we’ll have to pay extra. None of the airlines has weighed
us yet. Our standard policy is to scatter when we get in
the airport and Dr. Narum tells the airline people that
we’re all over the place and it’ll be hard to find us to
individually weigh our stuff.
Wrote letters. Read David
Narum’s Hardy Boys book.
Friday, January 21, 1972
{from kaikan hosts}
Saturday, January 22,
1972
We had our party last night. They had a college bowl game
with questions based on things on our trip. Don was on the
winning team with Kit and Ellen. After that, Rosie and Jim
did their dirty old man (Tyrone Horneye) routine
{from Marylou}
and Jeff, Ann, Paul, and Jim
sang “Green Grow the Lilies” in country western style. Mrs.
Lokken, a former Ole, sang some cute songs that she made up
about lizards on walls and water buffalo. Don and I drank
almost a whole 550 ml of Akidama wine and I got pretty
dizzy. The room spun counter-clockwise for about 2 hours
afterward. I don’t think I’ll ever drink that much again.
Each of the group received an
“award.” Mary’s was for consecutive days of abstinence
during a honeymoon. I received two: the Father Flanagan
award for enforced celibacy and the John Cameron Swayze
award for my continually reminding everyone, whether they
asked or not, how long it was in days and hours until we
reached Minneapolis. Mrs. Narum won the Pat Pepsodent award
for the effect of her teeth gleaming off the glazed
eyeballs of airline officials. One of the girls got a book
award of “Only Through Surgery”, published by the
Preparation H foundation.
This morning Mary and I slept in and ignored the kaikan’s
chime wake-up routine, skipping the early morning Buddhist
service that was expected of our group.
Our flight to Tokyo was pretty
good. We got seats on the left side so we could see Mt.
Fuji. The dining room here is really fancy with candlelight
and dinner music. Our dinner cost 2200 Yen (about $7). Real
steak!
Sunday, January 23, 1972
Our tour today was pretty boring. Half a dozen people didn’t go at all and
several of those who did go left at the first chance. We’re
just templed-out now. Most of the group is broke, tired,
and anxious to get home.
We
walked around the outside wall of the imperial palace,
which wasn’t as nice as the one in Kyoto. Then we went to
the Tokyo Tower where we paid 250 Yen for a view of the
smog. Then we saw the Olympic ice rink and the National
Museum which wasn’t much better than the one in Kyoto.
Kit has been almost left several times because she gets so
absorbed in her new camera. Today she was left. We went
back and got her though. She could never have found her way
back by herself. She’s usually so sensible and responsible
that it’s hard to get mad at her.
Monday, January 24, 1972
Today we went shopping on the Ginza. We have to be checked
out at 12:00 tomorrow so we’ll just sit around and be bored
until we leave at 7:30 tomorrow night.
Tuesday, January 25, 1972 (first one)
We went down to the Sony building and looked around. The
smog was terrible and gave me a terrible, throbbing
headache. The rooms don’t have any ventilation and opening
the windows only lets in the pollution and the noise. I got
unbearably hungry about 3:30 and went down to McDonald’s.
We had to check out at noon so only 2 rooms were open to
put our hand baggage in and to rest in. I just had to take
a nap so I went in the girls’ room which had people two to
a bed and on the floor. Eventually I got a corner of a bed
and slept for a couple of hours. My headache only got
worse, however, and my stomach got upset from the aspirin.
When it was finally time to go at 7:15 I didn’t think I was
going to make it. I took some Dramamine but it didn’t seem
to work. I got up the stairs at the terminal and thought I
was going to throw up so I just sat down on the floor with
all my baggage and told Don to find a bathroom. He did and
I ran into it and just then it disappeared and I felt fine!
The Dramamine must have just taken effect. My headache was
still there but it left soon after we took off. The flight
itself was good. We each had 3 seats to spread out on. I
slept about 4 hours.