Study Abroad e-diaries
Eliza Jones '09
Double major in Government/International Relations and Studio Art
Studying fall 2007 in the Kansai Gaidai University Asian Studies Program, Hirakata, Japan
Email: December 1, 2007
Since settling into Japan I have managed to make a few good Japanese friends. I was fortunate enough to be given a wonderful speaking partner through the speaking partner program here. I have been meeting with Yumi once a week on Thursdays for the last few months now, but recently she invited me to come shopping with her and afterwards eat dinner with her family.
'Since settling into Japan I have managed to make a few good Japanese friends. I was fortunate enough to be given a wonderful speaking partner...
A few weeks ago Yumi, and I went shopping in Umeda. We mostly window shopped but it was a good chance to get to know her better. We ate lunch at a Korean restaurant. I had the most garlicky dish I've ever eaten there. It wasn't real Korean food at all. After filling our stomachs we did Purikura, which are photo booths which take pictures of you and a friend, but it places you in a bizarre situation or place. For instance in one of the photos it made up appear as though we were coming out of a television. Purikura is very popular here and very fun.
Afterwards we went out for Mango sundaes, which was easily the best sherbet sunday I have ever had. First of all it was huge and secondly it was exquisitely delicious. It was composed of plain shaved ice topped with mango wedges in mango sauce that dripped down and flavored the shaved ice.
Finally at the very top was a scoop of mango sherbert. It was divine.
After our window shopping we returned to her house where I met her parents and two younger sisters. Her youngest sister is in elementary school and is probably about 8 or 9 years old. She loves origami and taught me how to make a jumping frog. Her other sister is in high school, and loves American screemo bands, which was very funny. I am always amazed by what kind pop culture has been exported to Japan. Her whole family was very friendly. She also lives with her father's parents, but her grandmother was out for the day and the grandfather didn't leave his part of the house. So I only briefly met her grandmother.
Upon our return we were served kocha (black tea) and persimmon, which was delicious. Yumi and I looked through a good portion of her comics and some of her art books. It turns out Yumi loves art, which is wonderful because I am an Art Major. After hanging out in her perfectly cleaned room for a few hours it was time for dinner.
We went downstairs and there was a big boiling vat in the center of the table that was heated by a hotplate. We were going to have Nabe. What is nabe exactly? It's anything you can boil. The boiling vat was actually a boiling vat of broth in which we put everything from cabbage to tofu to chicken to oysters to udon noodles. We placed all of these things in together, and when they were cooked it became a free for all. Everyone pulled out what they wanted to eat. Afterward Yumi and I folded a good deal of origami with her little sister and then we were served various kinds of daifuku for dessert. Daifuku is a sweet bean paste inside mochi. Mochi is essentially pulverized sticky rice rolled in a kind of flour so it doesn't stick to your hands. It is delicious, but Yumi dislikes it. I however, think it's brilliant, and apparently Yumi told her mother this because there was a big ball of red bean paste which her mother offered specifically to me. After dessert Yumi's mother drove me back to the seminar houses. Driving in Japan is quite different than America. First of all you are on the other side of the road. Second of all, many of the cars are outfitted with televisions and GPS systems that call out to you when it's time for you to make a turn and they tell you exactly where to turn. Third of all, the roads are only wide enough to fit about 1 and a half cars at a time, And we aren't talking American cars, we're talking tiny Japanese cars. I don't think a Hummer could drive down these roads. To top it off you have tons of pedestrians and cyclists walking on the curb because there isn't a bike path. Needless to say Japanese motorists are quite good at dodging things. It's a crazy set up.
This past Thursday I visited Yumi's club, Shouriji Kempo. It doesn't exist in the US. I tried looking it up online, but all of the sites were in Japanese. Her club is very skilled. A few weeks before I saw them give a demonstration at the school festival. A very short girl threw four rather tall men running at her one after another like it was the easiest thing in the world. Everyone at the club was very friendly. Her captain is this very goofy, very tall and a VERY strong fellow who knows just how to make you feel right at home. The entire club probably consists of about 30-40 people maybe, and all of them are black belts except for four people. Two of those people are Japanese and have their brown belt (one step away from black) and the other two are international students who are both novices.
Needless to say the club is incredibly talented. Yumi's friend Aki got his black belt in just one year (it normally takes many years). They are all incredibly committed and it shows. It was very exciting to meet Yumi’s family and to get to experience what a Japanese University club is like. I think next semester it might be a good idea to join a club myself.
Email: September 25, 2007
Japan. It's a word I've been throwing around a lot since about December, when I first started thinking about the application process to Kansai Gaidai University. I've told pretty much everyone I know that I was bound for the Land of the Rising Sun at the end of this past August, and almost everybody I encountered had the same re-action. "Oh that's so wonderful! I know so and so who's lived or worked there. Let me give you their e-mail address."
'If I mentioned everything I loved about Japan in this post you would be reading this for far long than you had intended.
Even though I've been talking about Japan for over half a year now, it certainly in no way made the fact that I was going to Japan real until the day before I was to step onto my 8 a.m. flight. It suddenly hit me, "what if I don't have a good time?" I spent the day petrified.
Thankfully, once I boarded my plane and noticed that there were three other Kansai Gaidai students taking the same flight, that fear started to dissipate. By the time I set foot on Japanese soil, survived customs and spotted a funny looking wisp of a man holding up a "Welcome Kansai Gaidai Students" sign the fear was gone completely. I was greeted by about 20 other students who were all equally tired, excited and currently in possession of the worst case of collective B.O. I've smelt in a long time, (not that I wasn't equally as smelly after over 20 hours of travel.)
After another ninety minute bus ride, we arrived at the dormitories where students helped us unload our oversized suitcases and haul them up to our rooms. It was unbearably hot that night, and so I was ecstatic to find that each dorm room was equipped with a very quiet air conditioner. I turned on the AC, unpacked, and lay down on my futon and fell to sleep instantly after only a mere 32 hours of being both awake and uncomfortable.
Since that long and arduous flight, I've been having a much more pleasant time here in Hirakata. I've met many new people from many different places. My roommate, Nadia, is from France. My temporary roommate, who was living in our room only until her home stay family could pick her up, was from England. On our floor alone, we have a few domestic students, French students, American Students, Students from Holland, Australia, the U.K. and a few other places I haven't identified yet.
Though we are all from places spanning across the globe, we still all went through the same orientation process. A process I hope to never repeat. Japan is an incredibly advanced society. They have more beverage choices at the supermarket than I could try in a lifetime (which includes my favorite discovery of cold coffee (kohii) in a box). Their tech gadgets are just plain amazing. Their cars are smaller and more fuel efficient than ours. There's virtually no crime. If you don't believe me, walk the streets after dark and observe the elderly women on their bikes out for some evening exercise. The toilets here have more buttons for functions I haven't the courage to try. But when it comes to their bureaucracy, well the system is pre-historic in comparison.
For instance, here at Kansai Gaidai, you are encouraged to open a bank account in which you can deposit your stipend for food. Unfortunately it takes three weeks for them to process your bank application. This made for a very interesting experience in money management for many students here. Thankfully I thought ahead and brought traveler's checks which can be cashed at any bank, but, granted that bank is probably a thirty minute bike ride away. The bureaucratic struggle is thankfully over for me. I've got my bank account, registered with the town hall as an alien and have gotten all my bases covered so I won't get deported, which is a very comforting feeling.
There were some good things about orientation though. Our orientation coordinators organized a group trip to Kyoto which gave us a change to meet other international students and domestic students. I've kept in contact with a couple of the girls that accompanied us. So now Naho-san, Takako-san and I talk every once in a while. I also met many of my current friends participating in similar activities.
It's remarkably easy to meet people here with or without help from the Kansai Gaidai staff. If you go to most of the surrounding restaurants you'll discover fellow students working behind the counter, and they are almost always eager to get to know you. Kansai Gaidai tries to make it as easy as possible for you to meet fellow students as well, and therefore there are a lot of smaller events on campus you can sign up for. The activities range from dressing up in yukata to learning how to make takoyaki. Chances are, if you sit in the student lounge by yourself some curious Japanese students will come sit with you to test out their English.
There are many wonderful things about Japan that I've come to love. On the top of my list is common courtesy, something I've discovered America is lacking in. Everyone is polite, and everyone goes out of their way to make others more comfortable. For instance, an acquaintance and I got lost looking for the main gate of the school so we asked for directions. The woman we stopped was going in the same direction as us so she offered to take us in here car. The Japanese are a generally very friendly and kind people. In face the only discourtesy I've experienced thus far is getting stared at when I was in an area of Japan that does not frequently see foreigners. But anyone I spoke to on my trip was very nice.
Next on that list are the beautiful temples and shrines one can visit in nearby Kyoto. I can't wait to go back in the fall when all the leaves have changed. They are simply breathtaking. Last weekend some friends and I went a viewed this enormous painting of two dragons coming out of a dark abyss on the ceiling of one of the oldest temples in Kyoto. It was fabulous.
If I mentioned everything I loved about Japan in this post you would be reading this for far long than you had intended. Though let me just say I've been having a wonderful time here. I was scarred that the culture shock would be a frustrating and trying experience, but I think my acclimation went very smoothly. As long as you show respect to the spoken and unspoken rules, you'll be treated well here. If people here see you are trying your best to do as you should culturally they are very understanding.