I have a lot of entries to post from my notebook, they shall be posted soon.
What I've realized about life, since being here in Tokyo, is that friendships and other personal relations take careful cultivation to maintain. Unfortunately, because of the extremely short time-span of this eventful semester, friendships and bonds that can take years to properly form are forced upon you as a "now or never" mentality. You're forced to undergo a frantic search for the "right" group of people to hang out with, meet some Japanese friends, and hopefully make the most out of who you're with here in Tokyo. At this point, this point of reflection before the last push for finals, you start to begin to realize how much effort it really takes to "socialize." School life, drama, all condensed into some sort of pseudo-campus and into a mere couple of months. Truly a grueling, yet satisfying experience, this whole "making friends" deal. I'm glad I've been able to meet the people I've met while here in the middle of this ever-moving metropolis.
to be discussed in detail, sometime later: For those of you still wondering what it's like here in Tokyo, I can describe this "place," this "city," if you can even call it that, as an everlasting gobstopper. You know, those hard round candies that reveal different colors as the various layerse dissolve in your mouth. Tokyo, at first glance, can be looked at as "otaku" central: Gundam Models, crazy Hentai, Harajuku girls, the best electronics money can buy, ridiculous everything. And, in fact, Tokyo is exactly like this. But, since living here for about four months now, Tokyo's true colors are finally starting to reveal itself. The living, beating heart of the city at night, the carefree office workers at Sakura parties, the seas of black suits, designer bags, and high heels, they're all hinting at something underneath the surface - they're all hinting at a culture totally different to the "West." What is the true nature of this beast of a city?
Updates: I won the TUJ Photo Contest with this photo:
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