Rainy Day Update Today is an extremely rainy and humid day. The office is fairly quiet and slow due to the current 4H Conference in the US so I thought I:d take this chance to update a little bit about some of my projects. The first project is the most important and also the biggest project of the year for me; the cultural project. Each year, the  LEX  intern must decide on an area of culture they find most interesting, or most passionate about since they will be dedicating their  free time  researching it throughout the year. Past interns have done projects such as tea ceremony,  calligraphy , and so on. Since my major is Printmaking, I thought I'd be worthwhile to study Japanese woodblock printmaking since is a very unique printing method. I've started taking a  moku hanga  class every other week to learn this process and hope to develop a solid portfolio of images reflecting my year living in Tokyo. I also want to investigate Japanese  aesthetics  by researching abou

Long Update Sorry that it's been almost one month since I updated about my experiences. I've been really busy at work and with hippo friends. But now that things have slowed down for a moment at work, I want to take the opportunity to fill you all in on some of this month's highlighted events. Waka  Weekends: Waka -Chan (my Hippo Fellow) has made a tremendous effort to welcome me to Japan. 2 weekends in a row, she invited me to do some really fun things. The first weekend of October, she invited me and my host mom to go to a Kabuki performance with her. he performance was held in the famous Kabuki  Za  theater tucked in the middle of the bustling streets of  Ginza . It was  sooo  awesome! I love everything about kabuki but if you don:t know what that is..here's a brief run down. Kabuki is a traditional Japanese theater where the actors are  extravagantly  dressed, decorated and painted (make up) and preform stories in 3 different genres...historic, domestic, and

Kabuki Za This past Sunday I had the opportunity to see 3 Kabuki performances at the famous Kabuki Za in Ginza, Tokyo. Waka chan invited my host mom and I to see the 4:30 set of shows. Nestled in bustling Ginza, this 150 year old theater is a gateway to the beautiful ancient art of Kabuki theater. Actors are elaborately painted, dressed in beautiful and flowing kimonos, and sing, dance and move in a very precise manner along with the music. I love kabuki plays a lot. I had the chance to see one act 2 years ago when I was staying in Tokyo for a month long home stay and was thrilled when I found out I would be able to see 3! I was also lucky enough to see an all star cast . ( see this link for a picture of the performance poster http://www.kabuki-bito.jp/theaters/kabukiza/images/handbill/kabukiza200810b_handbill.jpg?html) The Kabuki Za site lists descriptions for each play. the ones I saw are as follows: HONCHO NIJUSHIKO -Jusshuko, Kitsunebi- (The Japanese Examples of Filial Pie