Valka

From today I'm a Master of Arts with Japanese culture speciality.

A few days ago I had GREAT opportunity to go to a concert of Joe Hisaishi, a composer of Hayao Miayazaki's films. The concert was a part of 4th Film Music Festival in Cracow. It was absolutely stunning event! I've always admired Miyazaki's films with music of course, but hearing it LIVE with the great Hisaishi-sama, Sinfonietta Cracovia, chiors and orchestra in such extraordinary place like Hall of the ArcelorMittal Poland Electrolytic Tinning Plant was amazing experience! An audience could here music of i.a. Nausicaa of the Walley of the Wind, Mononoke Hime, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo and Takeshi Kitano's films and Akubito. In the end, after three standing ovations, they performed Totoro! I was in a paradise . I still cannot stop listen to the music of Hisaishi .

I haven't updated my journal for months, that's too bad! Actually there was nothing special to put here and lately I rather update my blog 大阪での不眠症.

But today I want to comment one thing. "Experts". I mean "experts" telling/writing/publishing their "knowledge" about Japan, Japnese language and culture. I used speech marks " " on purpose, because such "experts" with their "knowledge" are just nothnig!
Examples:
A man who doesn't know basic things about Japanese culture and history, but publish an article about Japan basing only on... anime with no sources like research books or statistics.
A woman who went to Japan and publish an article when she even cannot write correctly names of places what she visited.
A woman who even cannot wear kimono correctly and she call herslef a geisha, which is the worst dishonor!
A man who went to Japan (it was sponsored!) for research, but after coming back he couldn't explain even the easiest things about his research.
And of course all those people, who just know a few words like "kawaii" "neko" "desu" and just a few signs of hiragana, who pretend to be "experts" in Japanese language...
I could give so much more examples but what for? Generally most of them are people who actually have no idea about Japan, but they have too much money and too much free time. In my opinion they just want to show off how "cool" they are because they just went to Japan or bought something rare and expensive like a kimono. But damn! just going to Japan or having something from there doesn't make you an expert!!! Bother yourself to spend at least a few years on studies about Japan, spend the same time learning Japanese language, read hundred books, work hardly to save money for a trip to Japan or earn it on studies (scholarship for example) and THEN you can say you know something. But even you'll do all these thing, you WON'T be an expert!!! Yes, I did them all, I've got one diploma on studies about Japan, I'm going to get another one, I'm learning Japanese for 5 years and got a cartificate of Japanese proficiency test, I earned for scholarship (so I wen to Japan because I was good, not because I have rich parents/husband/wife/connections), I have even been asked for help in writing a book about Japan by very good Polish writer (he's real expert!) and now I'm learning sado at the Japanese Centre and STILL I DON'T DARE TO CALL MYSELF AN EXPERT, BECAUSE I KNOW THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT JAPANESE CULTURE!!! Not because I'm envious (it's disgusting!). I don't dare because I feel respect to all those who has much more knowledge than me and I adimre them! And all such "experts" from examples I gave you above are just NOTHING! Because their "knowledge" is NOTHING!

That's all for today. I really wanted to write this because I'm pissed off because of all those idiots calling themselves an "experts".

So, I'm back. The best year in my life is over, but... I'm happy . Now, I'm full of great experiences and memories, I have thousands of pictures... Of course I want to go to Japan again, but I needed to go back to Poland after the one year. I missed my family, friends... And well... My exchange program was over, so I had no choice .
I didn't write here about my staying in Japan, every important thing is on my blog, there was no sense to write the same thing here. I've just put here some of my pictures, I'm gonna put more in near future. As for the blog, if you want to know what-the-hell-I-was-doing-there, just click here (Polish only!).

Everything I wanted to say, I did you-should-know-where.