NIPPON!
(Japan)
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As I mentioned on the front page, I speak Japanese, and have a degree in Japanese Studies. I was an exchange student at Kyoto University for a year and had a great time. I like Japan alot, and hope to return sometime. I think Japan is a unique country, and is profoundly different then mainland Asia.

I made alot of really great people while I was there, and got to do all kinds of things. I participated in the Gion Festival (see the Gallery) travelled to Hiroshima, Nikko, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Okinawa and many other places. I've seen a tea ceremony, done karaoke dozens of times, , eaten all kinds of food such as sea urchin, learned to make tempura & yakisoba, visited dozens of temples & shrines and bathed in onsen - Japanese hot springs.

The Japanese language is incredibly hard, but really worth studying. Though it takes serious dedication to learn it, it challenges the way you think about lanuguage. Learning any Aryan / Indo-European language tends to follow similar lanuguage patterns and structures. It's relatively easy to translate English to French, and usually doesn't sound all that bad. To translate Japanese - English, it involves reformulaiting the idea behind the sentence and trying to re-express it. Even then, it still sounds unnatural (just look at how Sailor Moon sounds in English)
Fun Japan Links:

Maps of Japan
Live View of Mount Fujj
Me and my friend Masa in Izuishi. This clocktower is the local landmark.

April 2002
My friends and I had a "Sayonara Party" when I was returning to Canada. This is an (awful) photo of Miwa, me and Kazu

July 2002
Carin was another exchange student in my program from Uppsala, Sweden. She lived in my rez and we spent alot of time together.

Natsuko, Carin and Yuji
July 2002
Glen and Mayumi were the cutest couple in Japan. Glen's another Canuck, from Montreal.

I went for sushi innumerable times. This time we decided to go upmarket a bit and spend a little extra money at a sushi bar

June 2002
My first (bad) attempt at "shodo" - the art of writing (calligraphy)

The character means "North" I chose it because Canada is the most northern country
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