Klara’s Universe

As a long term expatriate to Tokyo (though so might argue 5 years is not so much and I might even agree) I had the chance to experience various ways of passing your spare time a la japonaise. Now, I should wanr from the very beginning that by that I do not mean performing tea ceremony or going to kendo training, though I do acknowledge the beauty and meaning of having such elevated hobbies (I also once had). I’m talking about having fun and relaxing, that activity which you look forward to in the evenings or in the weekends after a long week at work or studying.

Japan has its own particular practices such as going karaoke, playing the slot machines (pachinko), going to get drunk with your coworkers almost every weekday nite (nomikai) or school festivals. Although these practices recently extended to many other countries, they still have a deep socially and nationally defining meaning lingering to them.

Naturally, Tokyo being the huge metropolitan area it is, the confused and lost foreigner is offered a large variety of entertainment, cinluding those which he might have been used to back home: clubbing, shooting pool, bowling etc. or even more exotic ones, like the lively night bars n Kabukicho, boasting hostesses from all around the world (a not so neglectable share of them being East Europeans, as a matter of fact). We should also not forget the main pass time of all, shopping, which is naturally done on a large scale here (Japan being probably the biggest consumer of brand goods in the world) and shops of all levels and taste plentiful at every step.

Here are some samples of my recent whereabouts:

Bowling in Shinjuku

Clubbing in Roppongi

Singing a Joe Dassin song at the Franco-Japanese party

Franco-Japanese eating and drinking party (nomikai) in Tokyo University

University Festival in Tokyo Institute of Technology (Indian food stall)

Trip to Ueno Zoo with my cutest students: Kenji and Miyuki

It seems that the people in Waseda decided to take a chance on me, despite my lack of international relations knowledge and the quite mediocre essay I managed to write last Sunday morning (yes, I had to wake up at 7am to go and give the exam on SUNDAY!!) on the problems that the creation of anEast Asian Community faces. I like to believe they were impressed by my enthusiasm in my future research and rhetorical skills that helped me a lot during the interview (which was luckily held in English, otherwise…), but I’m afraid that things like the number of languages I speak or the fact that I am a Tokyo University student studying Ancient Japanese Literature were very heavy too…

Well, one on top of the other, here I am, one step closer to sealing (once again) my fate to Japan for the next 2 years… Of course, there are still many problems to be solved, first of which is the scholarship… But I will only know if I will get the extension in late February, outrageaously late if you ask me. (Let’s not be masochists and imagine the situation where I give up Renault (apparently I need to decide if I join or not in early January!!) only to find out they refuse me the extension…) Then, the place where I will live from next year… I pray I may get a nice cheap close by dormitory…

But once again I find myself thinking how lucky I am, gaining confidence in my star and the possibility that I might, after all, get to do something important in this life!

One of the oldest and widely exploited myths of the Western world, the myth of Pygmalion belongs to the thesaurus of myths and legends passed down on us from the rich civilisation of Ancient Greece. Due to its obvious artistic implications it is considered to be one of many myths dealing with creation and its aftermath. It can be viewed as belonging to the same narrative framework as other fundamental myths: that of Prometheus, the creator of the first man or that concerning the creation of Pandora, the first woman, for instance.

Since Pygmalion is mainly a story about an artist and its masterpiece, it was but natural to become a recurrent artistic theme, widely present in all the domains of artistic creation, from painting to literature and transcending centuries, trends and religion. The popularity of this myth lies not only in its connection to the artistic world, but also in its universality. Pygmalion is equally a love story, depicting the deep and indestructible bond that ties creator and creation. Just as one creation exists thanks to its creator, so does the creator live on through its creation, like an intricately metaphorical symbiosis. In this light, the myth of Pygmalion represents the exacerbation of a but very natural phenomenon, where this bond between subject and object becomes physical as well as spiritual love.

The story of Pygmalion and Galatea as we know it today is based on the version Ovid wrote in his Metamorphoses. The main narrative thread of this story is, like those of all fundamental myths, linear and simple. Pygmalion is a very talented artist, namely a sculptor who decides to create the sculpture of the perfect woman. After long exhausting labor, he creates the sculpture of a woman so true to reality and so perfect in every respect, that he irremediably falls in love with his own creation. He locks himself out from the outer world and he dedicates his life to attending and admiring the beautiful statue, whom he names Galatea. Like in all ancient Greek myths, divine intervention arrives and goddess Aphrodite, patron of love and beauty finally takes pity on the poor sculptor and bestows the gift of life on the cold marble, which turns into a real flesh and blood woman. Needless to say the couple live happily ever after a totally normal life.

As previously stated, Pygmalion and Galatea have been a largely exploited theme throughout the centuries, mostly in painting and sculpture, a phenomenon proved by such famous masterpieces as the statue of Etienne-Marie Falconet(1716-1791) currently displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris or the painting of 19^th century artist, Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904). In literature, among the hundreds of poems and songs dedicated to it, some outstanding literary adaptations of the myth are Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion and its Broadway adaptation My Fair Lady (and perhaps the most famous and celebrated of all), Gogol’s Wife by Italian novelist and critic Tommaso Landolfi and The Great Portrait by the famous writer Dino Buzzati The most recent one is the movie S1m0ne (2002), starring Al Pacino.

Narcissus and Pygmalion are the two requisite incarnations of any creator. The creator’s incentive to create comes from self-love. Love of the thoughts and visions that populate its inner world, a world so full that it menaces to burst out and will not have rest until unleashed to the outer world. The artist must love and believe in the power of these thoughts and visions in order to take up the toil of materializing them. It is the very motor of all creation. The works are just like Narcissus’ reflection in the water, shaped on the very likeness of their creator and every masterpiece contains a part of the artist behind it.

Pygmalionism is therefore but the natural consequence of Narcissism and its mirror like image. One creates out of self love and then end up falling in love with its creation completing a cyclical phenomenon. If Narcissism is the source of all conception then Pygmalionism is its inevitable result, because according to the Holy Bible even God, the first creator of all, first creates man after his own likeness in the Old Testament, then sacrifices himself out of love for men in the New Testament.

Deep enamaled in my throat
The taste of your body
Elapses far beyond the dawn.
And evening come, across my veins,
One same perfume of grounded spices
Arises to foretell the moment
You knock again to my room’s door.

(non directly consecutive follow up from the post on October 2nd and September 6th, excerpts from my first novel written between ages 12-15, Fortuna, Infortuna, Forti: Una)

En tournant ses regards vers la petite voie qui menait à Châteauneuf, Athénaïs de Châteauroux ne put pas s’empêcher un tressaillement de surprise. Son cœur commença de battre de plus en plus vite et la jeune comtesse cessa de respirer pour un moment. ‘’Non, ce n’est pas possible. L’imagination me trompe encore une fois…’’ s’écria-t-elle au fond de son cœur qui, malgré tout les sages conseils de sa raison, ne pouvait pas renoncer à espérer.

Cependant, le petit point noir continua s’approcher de la haute colline au sommet de laquelle elle était assise. Il prit de plus en plus la forme d’un homme à cheval qui galopait avec une véhémence surprenante. Athénaïs se leva et continua à fixer ce point avec inquiétude, tandis que le livre qu’elle avait tenu jusqu’alors dans ses mains, glissa par terre. ‘’Mais est-ce possible ? Est-ce vrai ? Lui…enfin…ici ?’’ laissa-t-elle expier de ses lèvres. Comment a-t-elle attendu et rêvé ce moment ! Combien de nuits a-t-elle perdu pensant à l’instant où ils se rencontreront de nouveau ! Et maintenant, le grand jour arrivé elle sembla immobilisée par une joie immense qui commençait lui inonder le cœur. La comtesse se trouvait dans un tel état de surexcitation qu’elle ne pouvait même pas se décider entre les différents sentiments qui l’assaillirent tout d’un coup : rage, orgueil lésé, tristesse, surprise, espérance, joie, amour.

Mais quand le chevalier fût arrivé à une distance d’où on pouvait déjà distinguer sa stature et ses vêtements, les doutes de madame de Châteauroux furent dissipées et elle se trouva, non pas avec étonnement, crier de toutes ses forces le nom de celui qu’elle attendait depuis si longtemps. Mais comme le chevalier était encore assez loin de la colline et le vent soufflait en direction contraire du cris, le jeune homme ne l’entendit point. Il continua son galop, poussant son cheval de tous ses pouvoirs, pour arriver à Châteauneuf avant le crépuscule.

Se rendant compte que ses efforts était en vain et que le chevalier était sur le point de surpasser la colline au sommet de laquelle elle demeura comme foudroyée de trop de bonheur, la comtesse décida de renoncer à toute convention et tenter sa chance. Le vent dans ses longs cheveux bruns et le feu dans ses joues, elle commença à descendre en courrant le versant de la colline, le cœur lui battant comme une immense et lourde cloche de bronze sur le point de lui casser la poitrine.

‘’Roland ! Roland !’’ Elle ne savait pas d’où elle avait pu recueillir des forces pour l’appeler de nouveau. Elle se sentait heureuse, replie d’une joie qui risquait de la rendre folle, ridicule et stupide, et surtout de la faire tomber dans la manière la plus gênante. Mais elle n’avait plus d’espace dans sa tête pour penser aux détails. Roland était là ! Il l’avait enfin retrouvée ! L’amour lui donnait des forces dont elle ne s’était jamais soupçonnée la maîtresse et le bonheur d’être si près de celui qu’elle aimait lui donnait des ailes. ‘’Enfin ensemble ! Ensemble pour toujours !’’ murmura-t-elle du point de ses lèvres enfin de s’écrouler dans les bras de son mari.

Last week on Monday I started working part time 2 times a week at ZARA in Shibuya (apparently the oldest ZARA shop in Asia).  I thought Ill be called for an interview. Insteadthey wanted me to start immediately. It sounds cool, I know, but still starting working without too many explanations is kinda weird too.

   Things I like about working part time at ZARA:

1. I work at ZARA
2. I learn many new things
3. I get to help people
4. The colleagues are really nice
5. The managers are awesome, helpful and understanding (they agreed to all my conditions of work and even agreed to me taking a leave during December to concentrate on my graduation thesis)
6. I gain many new experiences
7. I get to bump into amazed and half envious acquaintances and many kinds of foreginers (including two Romanian hostesses who were extremely surprised to learn I never worked in a bar and I don’t have a Japanese husband!)

  Things I don’t really like about working part time at ZARA:

1. I don’t get any discount
2. I only get 1000yen per hour (a huge fall from the 3000yen I used to get for an hour of teaching english)
3. One of the supervisors in my section who keeps yelling at me in a futile attempt to impose himself
4. I don’t have a uniform yet and I have to use my own clothes (not so adequated or good looking)
5. I have to stand and smile hours on end
6. I may need to buy a watch (such horror, to spend money on a more than futile thing in the usefulness of which I stopped believing since age 15)
7. I get home at around 23.30 more than exhausted

    Well, all in all, it is a new and itneresting experience. I hope it’ll get better and better in the future.  Like one of the girls told me yesterday, FIGHT!

I made it! I passed the first screening of the exam to enter the GSAPS (Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies) department in Waseda. The results were out last week on Thursday.
    Of course this means I still have to pass the second screening, namely the interview and the written essay examination on the 11th of November. But I am confident I can make it. They are both in English and rely on general matters, so by extensively reading Time, Newsweek and all sorts of international magazines, as well as some more books in my intended field of study (social development) I think I can make it…
    Naturally, things cannot work out for me without some additional spice. The TOEFL official score result I ordered in late June when I first registered for the test has not yet reached the admissions office… It seems that 2 months and a half after passing the test are not enough for the TOEFL offices to send a sheet of paper to Japan… Luckily (or not) I am far from being the first (and most certainly not the last either!) of the victims of TOEFL Examinations slow and stuck bureocracy and just submitting my examinees report score seemed to be enough for the moment. Needless to say, I send an email of complaint to urge them to send the paper, but people in TOEFL still couldn’t find time to deal with it. It makes me wonder why, with so many people giving this altogether academically meaningless test every week all other the world, cannot find the funds to hire more staff to keep up with their schedule and be on time with sending the report sheets.
    On a more cheerful note, I also met my sempai from Hungary Olga, who is already a first year student in GSAPS and she showed me around the campus, while introducing me to other students in Waseda. I am now more convinced than ever that GSAPS will most fit me both academically and environmentally! But let’s wait and see!!
   
   

Last week on the 16th of October I went to pass the exams for the scholarship and MBA program of Renault Foundation at the French Institute in Tokyo. The exam had 2 parts: 1 was the written 1h exam in the morning from 10-11 and then the interview from 17.

        The written exam was quite desastruous. Imagine all those scary logical problems that haunted your childhood in 5th grade (I know they did haunt mine!) with sheep and men and how many heads and how many legs… Or the ones with the black and white biliard balls to be extracted at the lottery etc. well I just had to do 25 of those in just 1h, no calculator allowed! Well, suicidal as it seemed, I did endeavor to do 20 of them, though I am pretty sure at least 5 were wrong, given the fact that when the time approached I just went back to those I wasn’t sure about and made the best guess. Ah, did I mention I am studying literature and I have’t done one single mathematical calculus since 5 years back?

        Then I had a 6 h break which I struggled to fill in a cheap, unstressful way (besides rereading and rehearsing over and over the self introduction I had prepared with my French friend beforehand).

        Finally, at 16.50 I wen to the place were the interviews were held only to find out they were already 30 minutes late, the person who was supposed to enter at 16.40 still waiting outside. But when I finally went in, the interview proved to be, as expected, much better than the morning written exam. At least French I have been speaking on a more or less regular basis in recent years, thanks to my great friends in Todai. The self introdution went well, except when I said ‘renault is one of the biggest Japanese international companies’ But I corrected myself and everyone started laughing, so it wasn’t that bad. The bad part came later, when the guy from Dauphine (the one who supervised us during the exam and who, when I asked him if we can use the question sheet as a draft for our calculations, shook his head in horror and said ‘no, no’ -though of course that’s exactly what I did later, seeing everyone else doing it!:) ) started asking me if I know any manager, if I know what this job involves etc. Problems which I did answer, but in a hesitating way.

They said I will learn their answer in early December (though Im afraid itll be more like late December). Let’s wait and see!

Dessous les goutes d’automne
Il y a un fleuve qu’inonde mon ame.
Les pensees a toi, eteignant la flamme,
De mes jours monotones.

(ecrit le 16 octobre 2007, chez l’Institut francais de Tokyo)

Le chuchotement hurlant
Des geuilles mourantes
Onsede mes yeux.

Trmeblantes, gelees,
Elles revent encore
Une derniere fois
Les plages desertes.

Mais meme mes doigts
Qui tombent plastigies
Dans les rivieres de neige,
N’osent plus me dire adieu.

Alors, mes yeux,
Restes fixes autour des feuilles
Refusent de m’obeir.
Je vais resusciter!

(ecrit le 17 octobre 2007, pendant le seminaire de litterature japonaise ancienne, a l’Universite de Tokyo)