Jade
Goldsmith / Art Designer
I've been wandering around a lot of countries, and I've been to almost 50 countries since 2020, when my record stopped.
I've lived in Japan, England, Germany, France, Switzerland, and now I find myself back in Northern Germany, where I once lived and am now settled.
I am a goldsmith by trade, exhibiting my own jewelry and objects at trade shows and exhibitions in Eurasia.
I also used my experience to coordinate and consult for trade shows and events in Europe.
I am currently studying religious studies/religious anthropology at a local university in Germany, after a new virus changed my world.
8.5.2023
DAYS/ Jude Column
Blue sky in Hanseatic city
University student in Germany, a break for now
The school building that houses the Department of Religion (this picture was taken last fall)
Since the spring of 2020, when society changed drastically due to Corona and my work dropped drastically, I have been re-entering university to study religious studies.
Thanks to your help, I managed to continue working and studying at the same time after Corona settled down, and now all I have to do is write what will become my thesis.
I went to college at a school affiliated with this local university, so when I came to realize that this is where I had been going to school for a long time since elementary school, I felt a lot more "alma mater" than I had expected.
I started studying only because I had nothing to do, but I learned so much more than that.
In fact, I think I learned more socially than I did in my studies.
I had never thought about it before, but it seems that most of the people who work as teachers or in the teaching profession have never been out in the "working world," as it is generally called.
Many of them became teachers after completing their university studies, or continued their research and entered the teaching profession, and many of them are friendly people who have grown older as students.
I also found that many of them had entered Corona in the same semester that I began my studies, which made me think that people think in the same way.
In the beginning, I often felt confused because all lectures were given by Zoom, but thanks to that, I was able to get used to life using Zoom.
Without the university seminar, I would never have had the opportunity to present a presentation on Zoom.
Perhaps I was lucky in that I have always loved and used PCs, Macs, and smartphones.
I also like to use apps that seem useful and try out different ones that I need, so I was able to share what I knew with the group assignments as long as I knew what I was doing.
When I was too busy with work to participate in group assignments, I would just prepare the platform and participate in the easiest part of the assignment, and they would even thank me for it.
After Corona settled down, the school cafeteria reopened again, and I noticed a gorgeous increase in new eateries, cafes, and places that made freshly baked pizzas that had not existed during my college days.
The office is also close to the college, which was really helpful and often took care of me during lunch and breaks.
I was able to enjoy my time in the Corona Disaster thanks to the university.
Now that the university has come to an end, I wonder what I will do now, but at any rate, I have been able to spend a few years studying again, on top of having the home office as my office.
Fortunately, the world is still on summer break. I will try to reboot myself little by little.
The park in front of the school building, the path to school from the old days, is already clogged with too many memories.
4.10.2023
DAYS/ Jude Column
Blue sky in Hanseatic city
Since April, a bit of a heavy heart and a weekend in Denmark
Today is the third weekend in March and daylight saving time has begun in Europe.
It is not very warm yet, but in northern Germany, where the northern latitude is high, it is bright until about 8:00 p.m. It is the most beautiful season, with the sunset time getting later day by day toward the summer solstice from now on.
I love the dynamic changes of the four seasons, which are different from those in Japan, where the seasonal changes are more gentle.
But for many years now, there has been a movement in Europe to abolish daylight saving time.
It seems that this is a matter that is being considered in all European countries, but I think it has already been almost 10 years since I heard the news that "this is the last summer time".
It has already been almost 10 years since I heard the news that "this is the last summer time".
After the Corona riots that lasted for about three years, such talk has completely disappeared from the public mind.
Well, as a person who likes bright summer time, I am glad that daylight saving time continues.
I am thinking carefree, "Wow, it's so bright now that daylight saving time has started, I'm so happy! I would like to graduate from the university in the next semester if possible.
However, I am now feeling the revenge of the time when I had a sleepless thought that I would slow down a little and study more slowly just one year ago. I get very busy.
I am a student now, but work still comes first. Life is important.
And now that Corona is all settled, I have to go to all my lectures at the university.
I miss the easy-going lectures at ZOOM.
Fortunately, the office where I work and the university are only a 10-minute train ride away, but it will be a few months of going right and left around the triangle of home, office, and school.
In layman's terms, it's a self-inflicted wound, because last year I took classes in a much more relaxed manner.
I felt like I was wasting my long spring break, which I had spent so slowly and lazily, in anticipation of the new semester, which was making me feel heavy just thinking about it, so I got off my heavy back and went to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, over the weekend.
Copenhagen is the closest foreign capital to northern Germany, so it was a bit like going from the Kanto region to the Tohoku region.
For a few days, I was able to relax in Copenhagen at the end of winter, when spring comes even more slowly than in Germany.
I will welcome April with a renewed spirit.
9.5.2022
DAYS/ Jude Column
Blue sky in Hanseatic city
Deutsche Bahn 9€ ticket and German summer
By mid-August, summer vacation is almost over in northern Germany.
This year, Deutsche Bahn is offering a flat domestic fare of 9€ from June 1 until August 31 for now.
At the current exchange rate as of August 2022, the price is about 1,200-1300 Japanese yen.
Of course, you cannot take the Shinkansen-like express train called ICE, but if you purchase a "9€ ticket," you can use regular trains and almost all buses for one month.
Of course, the 9€ ticket was introduced in anticipation of the summer vacation, but since the Corona had prevented people from going out much during the summer vacation for several years until last year, this year people not only in Germany but all over Europe are enjoying the summer migration of peoples and summer vacation.
When the Deutsche Bahn is running a 9€ ticket campaign, people from neighboring countries as well as from land-locked Europe are flocking to Germany to enjoy their summer vacation.
The 9€ Deutsche Bahn ticket is very attractive in these days when the price of gasoline is rising so dramatically.
Hamburg is not only visited by people from Germany, but also from France, Denmark, Holland, Poland, and, since English is often spoken, from the U.K. and the U.S.
The train stations are more crowded than usual and you hear many languages.
When I say that stations and trains are crowded in Germany, some Japanese people sometimes try to mount the argument by saying, "Yes, yes, I know, but the crowding in Germany is not as bad as that in Tokyo during rush hour.
But this is not true. The type of congestion is different.
In Japan, no one would bring a bicycle on a crowded train.
In Germany, there are.
Some people take their bicycles on the train to commute to work, but what increases this time of year is the number of people who take their bicycles on the train to go on vacation.
Some people carry a large backpack, some have pots and pans, trekking shoes, and even a tent attached to the bike.
If they have dogs, they bring them along, too.
That's why the trains are crowded.
Getting off anywhere you want and cycling from there is a great way to spend a vacation, and one that many people look forward to.
You can spend many days in summer in the meadows or on the beach, no problem, as long as you pitch a tent somewhere, build a fire, and cook straight away.
Of course, there are many people who load all of these things into their cars and head out, but this is not the first time that people have loaded their bicycles onto a train and headed out.
I myself do not like camping, but there are a certain number of people in Germany who like camping.
If you are going to be camping or camping somewhere, it is of course easier to spend your vacation with the tools you are used to and have handy.
The other day I was searching the Internet for a new toaster.
I prefer a toaster that can be placed horizontally for toasting ham and cheese, as opposed to the European style where the toast is placed vertically.
There used to be very few toasters that could place bread horizontally, but recently there are more and more of them available on the Internet.
I was a little surprised when I found a model that looked good and read some of the comments, including one that said, "I can take this size with me on vacation.
I have lived in Germany for quite a long time now, so I am not surprised by most things.
I am not surprised by most of the customs that Japanese people are surprised by in Germany, but on the contrary, I am surprised by most of the customs that Japanese people are surprised by in Germany. But when I read many comments about taking this toaster on vacation with me, I was surprised. I was indeed surprised.
Even now, when the 9€ ticket is being offered, I have yet to see anyone riding the train with a toaster strapped to their bicycle.
This is one of the reasons why I say that "stations and trains are crowded in Germany".
I would like to mount a challenge to Japanese people next time if I have a chance.
4.5.2022
DAYS/ Jude Column
Blue sky in Hanseatic city
The topic of Ukraine and national security and my pompous and intense discomfort with it.
With the start of daylight savings time, it is about time for the buds to start peeking out from the trees.
As is probably the case in Japan, Germany has been talking about Ukraine and Russia since the beginning of March instead of Corona.
As for any direct changes in our daily life, I guess it depends on the state, but in northern Germany, the prices of goods in supermarkets seem to have gone up little by little.
As for gasoline, it is generally expected that prices will continue to rise for some time to come.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, I have read in the news that more and more people who have been following the news and gathering information about the situation there and the evacuees have become tired and a bit depressed because of the continuous dark news from Corona to the war.
It seems that there are a thousand different attitudes toward the war.
I wonder if it is a point that people like me, who do not actively watch the news, feel carefree and guilty, or if it is possible to get mentally ill from reading the news so much.
Since the end of the Cold War, defense and military spending has continued to shrink, even in the case of Germany, but after the example of Ukraine, I am getting on a roll and saying out loud, "Defense, when it becomes necessary, is already too late.
This seemed to be an opinion that I could not take seriously when I talked about it with acquaintances in Japan before, and my internal antennae detected that the topic of national defense and military affairs itself was a "dubious idea" atmosphere, and since then I have not talked about military affairs, war, or national defense in Japan.
I thought that the opinion, "Of course it would be better without war, so there should be no army and we don't need military spending," was a bit different and a bit confusing to me.
I think this is similar to saying, "It would be better if there were no diseases, so there is no need for tests and no need for research.
Even if you don't want to be sick, you will be sick, and even if you don't want to be at war, you will be at war.
Peace is based on the sacrifices made in wars.
To use the analogy of health, I think that it is because of the efforts of scholars who are constantly researching diseases that we are able to stay healthy and cure illnesses.
Of course, it would be better if there were no wars.
But right now, "it just so happens" that media around the world are reporting abundantly on the topic of Ukraine, and there are always wars and conflicts on the planet.
I actually don't understand why they don't pay attention to that and "only" Ukraine is specially reported in this way day after day.
Basically, I watch the news in a carefree and indifferent way.
But I can't think, "Oh, I'm glad that the place where I live is not directly related to the war.
I can't look at someone who is sick and say, "Oh, thank God it wasn't me. I'm so happy" or "Thank God it wasn't me" when I see someone who is ill or when I see someone whose house has been burglarized.
I am quite surprised at the number of people who say, "Thank God there is no war in my country," when they hear about the recent situation in Ukraine.
I often hear these words from Japanese people (to be honest, I have only heard them from Japanese people), but it makes me feel a strong sense of discomfort.
I could say that I am just very cynical about it, though.
And then, as if to push me further, they say, "I'm glad I'm Japanese," or "I'm happy to be Japanese.
What is the appropriate response to this kind of situation?
I am happy for you, and I wish you many years of happiness as a Japanese"?
Of course it is important to be proud of your country, and I am proud of my very Yamato (Yamato) roots.
Yet, I do not know what is the true nature of this strong sense of discomfort that is welling up inside me.
In a way, the words of these Japanese people are more intense to me than the news of the war, and I feel like I am going to be depressed (← not to that extent, sorry I heaped).
Peace" and "health" are both costly to maintain, and it is always important to "prevent" them on a daily basis.
This is the same for all countries.
The first step to protect our country is to be self-sufficient in our own country without relying on other countries for national defense, energy, and food.
11.5.2021
DAYS/ Jude Column
Blue sky in Hanseatic city
My mind rested like a bright autumn sun brought by a visitor.
With the end of October, daylight saving time has ended in Europe.
Instead of the mornings getting brighter a little earlier, the evenings get darker by 6:00 p.m., and the daylight hours are getting shorter and shorter.
As winter approaches, the days become colder and colder, but I don't dislike this season where the words "long autumn nights" are appropriate.
Especially since the new virus has started to spread all over the world, I have been spending more time at home, and to my surprise, I enjoy being at home.
And October is the season for exhibitions.
Yes, if I remember well, I used to travel very often before Corona became popular.
Many of the exhibitions that were cancelled last year are being held this year.
This year, I will be exhibiting at a new company that I started working for.
Even though the content of my work is the same, I am still quite nervous.
But when I think about it, I wonder if I'd rather have a lockdown for anti-virus or if I'd rather have the same exhibition as before...
That is, of course, I don't think I would prefer a lockdown, even though I like to stay at home.
I'm still happy to see the world go back to normal, even if only gradually.
And to make me even happier, I had a visitor who came to visit me in Hamburg.
She lives in Singapore, but now that the quarantine rule between Singapore and Germany has been abolished, she can stay in Germany without quarantine, which made me feel like the world is really getting better.
Together we went out to see the city and its neighborhoods, and on the weekend we went to the Baltic Sea for the first time in a long time.
The weather forecast called for rain, but we were blessed with warm and nice weather, just in time for her to come.
We had a wonderful weekend, listening to good stories, eating North German fish dishes together, and feeling very peaceful.
I don't know what to call this state of mind...
Is it "rest of mind"?
Yes, probably so.
I've been doing double duty unscheduled, both studying at the university and working as Corona converges, but this week has really been a rest for the soul, a rest for the mind.
Hopefully I'll get to see her again, one more time, before she goes back to Singapore.
For more than a year, the environment has been closed to human connection, but it is still important to connect with others.
It was the end of summer time that made me realize this.
9.5.2021
DAYS/ Jude Column
Blue sky in Hanseatic city
A Macbook in a bad mood and an iMac infected by that bad mood
It's late summer and the lingering heat is starting to get to me, when my iMac arrives.
My Macbook, which I've been using since 2013, was not doing well, and according to my notebook, it started showing symptoms of kernel panic in January of this year, which is a common Mac disease, and the built-in microphone and speakers stopped responding.
I tried re-installing the OS and connecting anything that could be connected externally for the time being, but there was nothing I could do.
Thinking about my important data and above all the inconvenience, I finally decided to buy an iMac, a desktop type Mac.
I don't know if it's the same situation all over the world or if it's just a local thing in Europe, but it took two months from the time I placed the order until it arrived.
"What? I thought to myself, "What if my Macbook suddenly gets fixed while I'm waiting that long?
I couldn't wait for my new iMac to arrive, considering the time and effort it would take to set up an external microphone and speakers every time I needed them.
And when the new iMac finally arrived, I was so happy!
I hadn't had a new mac in 8 years!
I'd like to thank my macbook for spending so much time with me, even though it was in bad shape, but I'm still very happy to receive a new one.
I immediately turned it on, transferred the data from my macbook to my beautiful and shiny iMac, and excitedly started to use it for a test run.
Oh, my.
Even the kernel panic was synchronized!
Even my new iMac had a kernel panic.
I also panicked.
Kernel panic is a symptom that the mac restarts by itself, regardless of the user's (me) intention.
It can be caused by downloaded software or apps, or it can be "triggered" by updates, or it can be caused by mechanical hardware problems.
To be honest, whatever the cause, I thought it was a problem that could be fixed with a new machine.
However, the fact that the same symptom appeared after syncing two macs, I was almost certain that one of the apps was the cause.
It's good that I found the cause, but it doesn't help.
I could have made an appointment at the Apple store for a maintenance consultation, but I realized at this stage.
Can't I just take my desktop to the store...?
I decided to take a hard-line approach.
I decided to take a hard line and download the apps I needed one by one and manually transfer the ones I needed from my Macbook.
It's barely summer vacation now, and I still have time.
In a few months, I'm sure I'll be able to make my old macbook as comfortable as it was before the glitch...
Other than that, the new machine is still very comfortable.
The screen is beautiful, and first of all, the iMac has a 24" screen, which is much bigger.
It's still fun to manually migrate all my data every weekend or whenever I have time.
It's the end of August, and I'm gazing at the sky with thin clouds, which has started to look like autumn, trying to get used to my new "partner" little by little.
8.2.2021
DAYS/ Jude Column
Blue sky in Hanseatic city
Thoughts in the mid-summer sunshine
As the summer vacations begin in Japan, it is still hot in northern Germany, but the high summer has already passed.
The sound of the leaves rustling in the breeze sounds more dry than fresh, and the days are getting shorter compared to the summer solstice.
In West Germany, which is one of the warmest regions in Germany and produces good quality wine, there has been heavy rainfall this year.
It has been reported in Japan that West Germany, which is one of the warmest regions in Germany and produces good quality wine, suffered from heavy rainfall this year.
It may have been reported in Japan as well.
There are heartbreaking images on the news every day.
The weather forecast in Northern Germany, where I live, has been a "rain or shine scam" almost every day for weeks now, and the forecasts are always wrong.
Depending on the mood of the rain clouds, it is no wonder that we could be hit by heavy rain anywhere.
The disasters in West Germany, France, and Belgium are not something that I can relate to.
Still, it's like a parallel universe to the areas that suffered from natural disasters.
It's the vacation season.
The restrictions on the new virus were loosened in the spring.
With the new virus regulations loosened up in the spring, it has become possible to travel quite freely within Europe.
As for myself, I spent my summer vacation at the university, working a bit, and visiting friends in Berlin, which is relatively close.
I only went to Berlin to see my friends.
I've been dazzled by the gorgeous travel photos on social media.
Before Corona changed my world.
Before Corona changed my world, I was frequently traveling to different places to work on events such as exhibitions and trade shows.
I was thinking about the next season, the next event, and doing the work that was "right now" in front of me.
I think I was out of season for about half a year.
Of course I knew that if it was summer, it was summer.
I knew that if it was summer, it would be summer of course, and I would look at the scenery from the train as I traveled, and for a moment, my mind would focus on the change of seasons, but the actual seasons and the seasons in my mind would be different.
I knew that summer was summer, of course.
I don't think I was really experiencing the seasons.
Maybe I was just tired of living that way.
It's true that we live in a world where our freedom is more restricted than before.
It is a midsummer afternoon when I think it is good to accept this and live with the flow of the seasons.
At the end of this article...
I have heard that natural disasters occur frequently not only in Germany but also in Japan.
I sincerely hope that the affected areas will recover as soon as possible and that the lives of the victims will be settled.
I pray for the earliest possible recovery of the affected areas and that the lives of those affected will be settled.
6.2.2021
DAYS/ Jude Column
Blue sky in Hanseatic city
And then the seasons come around again, and I think about the early summer season.
It is the season of early summer.
This year, spring in northern Germany came very slowly, with chilly days, sunny and cloudy days, rain, snow, hail, thunder, gusty winds, rainbows, and then rain again...the sky changed rapidly.
In the middle of May, the lockdown due to the new virus was almost lifted all over Germany, or more precisely in many European countries.
Retail stores were out of business for almost 6 months, and restaurants for almost 7 months.
In particular, restaurants were only allowed to offer take-out and home delivery services, and if a customer did not follow the rules and regulations and ate or drank in the restaurant, or if a customer was allowed to enter the restaurant without wearing a mask, the restaurant would be fined up to 700,000 yen. For me, it was a very painful period because I did not feel like a stranger.
The lockdown was lifted in time for early summer.
The sidewalks in the city are now lined with café tables again, and I am still very happy that things are back to normal.
Many people don't think it's really over, but...
And I don't think it is either...
In this early summer season, when it is supposed to be bright and warm until midnight, I am happy to be able to go into a normal café to take a break or eat out with friends.
I think that's probably the case for many people.
Looking at it from a bit of an angle, in June, EURO 2021, the biggest soccer event in Europe, will be held without spectators.
It is famous in Japan, but in Europe, soccer events are much more exciting than the Olympics.
Like the Olympics in Tokyo, EURO 2021 was postponed from 2020 to this year.
It is an important event in general, traditionally, and of course economically.
And it is immediately followed by the summer vacations, the season of the great migration of peoples.
If there is a lockdown in the summer, the economic damage to the tourism industry, the surrounding businesses in the area, and the municipality itself will be unparalleled compared to other seasons.
EURO 2021 and summer vacation.
The general interpretation seems to be that it was a six-month lockdown for these two things.
I suddenly wonder what will happen in the fall...but I guess that's anyone's guess.
The famous Bavarian festival, Oktoberfest, has already been cancelled as of early May, and we still don't know what will happen in the next few months.
But then again, I think it's okay to enjoy the "now".
Now that the lockdown has been lifted, let's enjoy the bright and warm season of early summer rather than the uncertain months ahead...
It's not that I don't care about the future, of course, but in a sense, I've been able to think really "flexibly" about situations where the future is difficult to predict.
Maybe it's one of the positive changes within myself, one of the good products of the fact that the new virus has changed the whole world and my life so much...
That's what I thought, that's what I must be.
It's early summer afternoon and I'm half forced to believe that it's a positive thought change.