Saturday, June 23, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Swiss BBQ
I went to a BBQ party yesterday. The party was organized by my friends' son's kindergarten. The invitation was written with instructions: as indicated in the map, park here, then follow the colorful balloons to get the the BBQ spot.
So we drove there, found the parking place, and identified the balloons. We unloaded our food and started to follow the balloons.
Soon we realized that we were actually ascending a mountain. We had thought the BBQ spot would be right by the parking but now it seemed not very much so. We ended up spending 30 minutes in hiking and finally reached the designated spot, at the top of the mountain.
I wonder if this is the Swiss lifestyle -- that hiking is just as common as walking to the subway stations in tokyo. It wasn't even mentioned in the invitation that we're supposed to do some hiking after we park our car.
However it was all worth the effort, the view from the top of the mountian was fantastic! We were overlooking a wide valley, green with trees and grass and lots of pretty houses. A family live in the valley and they have a stable there with 2 horses.
The Swiss government sponsors all the public BBQ spots, they were all nicely built and prepared. The government even provides the firewoods for free. BBQ is a very important part in Swiss lifestyle, especially in summer, there are BBQ everyday and everywhere. Even the air smells like BBQ.
The Swiss way to do the BBQ is rather natural.. nobody brought forks or plates, etc. The kids (these are still in kindergarten) collected many tree branches and the fathers took out their Swiss army knives and made spears out of the branches. Then we ate from these handmade forks... so handy and useful! The kids liked it too, they lit up the sharp ends of the branches and tried to use it to kill each other.
So we drove there, found the parking place, and identified the balloons. We unloaded our food and started to follow the balloons.
Soon we realized that we were actually ascending a mountain. We had thought the BBQ spot would be right by the parking but now it seemed not very much so. We ended up spending 30 minutes in hiking and finally reached the designated spot, at the top of the mountain.
I wonder if this is the Swiss lifestyle -- that hiking is just as common as walking to the subway stations in tokyo. It wasn't even mentioned in the invitation that we're supposed to do some hiking after we park our car.
However it was all worth the effort, the view from the top of the mountian was fantastic! We were overlooking a wide valley, green with trees and grass and lots of pretty houses. A family live in the valley and they have a stable there with 2 horses.
The Swiss government sponsors all the public BBQ spots, they were all nicely built and prepared. The government even provides the firewoods for free. BBQ is a very important part in Swiss lifestyle, especially in summer, there are BBQ everyday and everywhere. Even the air smells like BBQ.
The Swiss way to do the BBQ is rather natural.. nobody brought forks or plates, etc. The kids (these are still in kindergarten) collected many tree branches and the fathers took out their Swiss army knives and made spears out of the branches. Then we ate from these handmade forks... so handy and useful! The kids liked it too, they lit up the sharp ends of the branches and tried to use it to kill each other.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
NANA
March 2006, I was crazy about a movie "NANA". In fact I think the whole Japan was crazy about this movie, it was such a great hit. It hit every girl at least.
The story was originally written as a Japanese manga. Two girls met by chance in a train to Tokyo. They were both about to start a life with their own dreams: Nana, after leaving the man she loves, struggled to become a vocalist and Hachi was eager to marry the man she's in love with. They became good friends and rented an apartment together.
The dreams of these two young ladies didn't come so easily. It could have been a typical "dreams won't come true" story but no, behind all the disappointments, broken hearts, loneliness, the two girls still managed to stay the way they are, the way they always have been. They lost the men but didn't lose their dreams. True that being in love is most pleasant, most satisfying, most precious, most comforting. But being herself is her soul. A soul does not live for anyone else. When her love for him hurts her soul --- She'll look away, walk away.
恋よりプライドを選んだと事.
I watched the movie again today. Some of my friends here are going to have a "japanese" party tomorrow at my place, and we are supposed to make japanese, speak japanese, etc. (Funny none of us is japanese). Someone suggested that we make sukiyaki so I went to her home to get a sukiyaki pot for tomorrow. She literally has a library of Japanese movies and dramas at her home. I immediately put NANA into her DVD player with great excitement, but just as the music started to play, it all reminded me of everything in Tokyo and it almost made me want to cry.
Didn't I forget to say sayonara when I left? Even when Lily sent me off in the Narita Express, even when she was wiping her eyes, I didn't say sayonara. I felt the word was too much for me to handle and I would rather say it in my heart.
Sayonara all my dear friends in Tokyo.
フラッシュバック
君は CLEVER
AH, REMEMBER
Endless Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94SZYWYQc9A&mode=related&search
The story was originally written as a Japanese manga. Two girls met by chance in a train to Tokyo. They were both about to start a life with their own dreams: Nana, after leaving the man she loves, struggled to become a vocalist and Hachi was eager to marry the man she's in love with. They became good friends and rented an apartment together.
The dreams of these two young ladies didn't come so easily. It could have been a typical "dreams won't come true" story but no, behind all the disappointments, broken hearts, loneliness, the two girls still managed to stay the way they are, the way they always have been. They lost the men but didn't lose their dreams. True that being in love is most pleasant, most satisfying, most precious, most comforting. But being herself is her soul. A soul does not live for anyone else. When her love for him hurts her soul --- She'll look away, walk away.
恋よりプライドを選んだと事.
I watched the movie again today. Some of my friends here are going to have a "japanese" party tomorrow at my place, and we are supposed to make japanese, speak japanese, etc. (Funny none of us is japanese). Someone suggested that we make sukiyaki so I went to her home to get a sukiyaki pot for tomorrow. She literally has a library of Japanese movies and dramas at her home. I immediately put NANA into her DVD player with great excitement, but just as the music started to play, it all reminded me of everything in Tokyo and it almost made me want to cry.
Didn't I forget to say sayonara when I left? Even when Lily sent me off in the Narita Express, even when she was wiping her eyes, I didn't say sayonara. I felt the word was too much for me to handle and I would rather say it in my heart.
Sayonara all my dear friends in Tokyo.
フラッシュバック
君は CLEVER
AH, REMEMBER
Endless Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94SZYWYQc9A&mode=related&search
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