Author Archives: xvz5020

Back in the States…

After long and sad goodbyes at the airport, I finally boarded the plane and came back to the good ol’ US of A.

I feel so honored to have made so many good friends in these short 4 months. I did not want to come back, not just yet. I felt like I have so many things left to do in Japan. This study abroad experience has been one of the most memorable events in my life. This experience has also started me in thinking about possible career options in Japan. I am planning on minoring in Japanese, along with my IT major and Supply Chain minor. It’ll be busy work but I do not want to lose my Japanese speaking skills. 
I got back last night at 11PM last night. My plane landed in NYC at around 6PM, and I went through customs without any problems. I met my family 30 minutes later and we went to eat and then we drove back to Philadelphia.
Looking back at the times in Japan, I feel like it was all a dream. It seems like so long ago already. Now I have to get used to the American lifestyle again. First, I will need to sleep normally. I only had 4 hours of sleep last night; I don’t know if it’s because of jetlag or because I just normally don’t sleep at normal hours.
I will definitely keep in touch with all my friends back in Japan. They were the reason I didn’t want to board the plane back to America! I miss them all already, but I know I will see them again in the near future!

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

5 more days

Only 5 more days until I fly back to America! I have already started saying goodbyes and exchanging contact information with friends. It’s really hard since I have made some really good friends. 

I have to start calling the moving company so I can arrange a time with them to pick up my luggage to send to the airport…and I also have to start packing!! That’s gonna be fun…NOT!! I don’t know if all the stuff is going to fit in my luggages. I might have to throw out some stuff. Argh.
Last week, I said goodbye to the Kyudo club members. It was so hard to say goodbye!! I will never forget how nice they were to me. On the last day, everyone stopped practicing and they gave me a chance to shoot while cheering me on. I was very nervous because everyone was looking at me but it was so memorable!
And these two weeks have been VERY busy. I have done 3 final papers (pulling 3 all-nighters!) and one oral exam…now I have only one more written exam and then I’ll be done. I just wish they had given us like…a week of free time after classes. BUT! We finish exams on Thursday and have short class on Friday (and a Sayonara party!) And then we fly home on Sunday. This gives us no time at all to relax and spend some more fun time in Japan. I’m pretty disappointed in that. T_T
Anyway, I’ll update at another time. See ya!

Location: Chiba, Japan

The Count Down

I wanted to create an entry on my trip to Nikko, but since I cannot upload pictures, I will talk about the re-entry workshop I had today.

I was sad to be reminded that I will be leaving Japan and going back to America in 2 weeks. We were reminded to say our goodbyes and to get contact information from all the friends we have made this semester. I don’t want it to end!
One interesting thing that was mentioned was the reverse culture shock. I don’t think I’ve had a culture shock in Japan. To be honest, I don’t really know what it is! In the beginning of the semester, a lot of people asked if I had a culture shock, but I never really knew how to answer. I mean, yeah, there were things that I thought was interesting and surprised me, but I wouldn’t really call it a “shock.” So after hearing about this reverse culture shock, I’m interested in seeing how I would be when I go back. Last semester, I had a friend who went through a reverse culture shock and he said things felt different in America–that he took some time to adjust. Maybe that will happen to me as well.
After the workshop, I kept thinking about how much I would miss all the friends I have made here. It is a very depressing thought. It can be years before I get to see them again!
I will have to make the best out of these last 2 weeks and make sure I have no regrets! And I will definitely keep in touch with all these great people.
To add to that, all the final papers and exams are in these 2 weeks! Oh, what stress!!! That just gives us that less amount of time to be able to enjoy the rest of the time we have here.
Well, I’ll end it here now. Hopefully, the photo upload problem will be fixed soon.

Location: Chiba, Japan

Time Flies

Less than 3 weeks left in Japan! I want to stay here longer!

My feelings went from being indifference to being homesick and then now to wanting to stay here longer! I’ve made some great friends and it will be too sad to leave them all. I am even having thoughts about having a career in Japan! Crazy, isn’t it? I had little to no interest to work in Japan before I came here! It’s funny how things change so fast. I guess I’ve finally gotten used to living here in Japan…and just as I’m getting used to it, I will have to leave in 18 days. I kind of wished I had applied to study here for a year, but then that would cause some problems in me graduating on time. I guess all I can do now is enjoy the rest of my time here.
Last week, we were asked to make a yearbook page for IES, and I would like to share mind. Take a look!
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Alright, it seems like there’s a problem with uploading images for me. (My permission was denied!) So that means the picture will have to be delayed until this gets resolved! Sorry about that!
Anyway, the last 3 months have been awesome and I really wish I have more time here. On top of that, all the final projects are due in the next 3 weeks!! That’s going to be tough but oh well! I’m in Japan!!

Location: Chiba, Japan

Nagano Field Trip

Our first field trip was a few weeks ago and it was to Nagano. We stayed there for 4 days and 3 nights! It was one of my best experiences! The staff planned out all the events nicely and we were all able to soak in everything!
The events included making Soba noodles, making tea cups, visiting shrines and castles, picking apples, and VISITING A MONKEY ONSEN!
Let me just show you:

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In the process of making the soba noodles!! It was VERY tiring but luckily we had 4 people per group to make it!
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Food just tastes that much better when you make it yourself!! It was really really delicious. The sauce/soup they gave us was soooo good and in the end, we mixed warm water into the soup and it tasted like heaven. No joke!
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This is one of the shrines we visited. One interesting thing that we did was that…we walked inside this PITCHED BLACK hall [we basically had to feel the wall all the way to the end] and in the process, we were also told to look for a key that will…uhh give you good luck. I went twice and did NOT find it! 
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The highlight of the trip for me!! Aren’t they just the cutest things!? I just want to take one home with me.
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This was fun too! We were taught how to make tea cups and they’ll send them to us when they’re glazed and ready. =) I can’t wait to receive mine! 
And by the end of the trip, I ended up buying quite a bit of souvenirs! And I don’t regret it! I love them all!
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That’s it for now! Stay tuned!

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Fun in Japan! Part 2 (Much Delayed!)

I have to apologize for this very very late entry! These 2 weeks have been VERY busy! But now it’s calming down again.

I’ll continue off from my last entry.
IES has been holding various events for the students and one of these events I attended was one of the best! We were able to make Japanese windbells (Fuurin!) 
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Shaping the windbell!
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Shaped!!
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Decorated!
It was a lot of fun doing this but I wish I were a better artist!!
After the event I went to a Yakiniku restaurant with a few IES students! It was SOOOO delicious! The following picture does not do it justice.
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Japan is amazing and time is flying by so fast! I only have one and a half months left before I return to the US!! =(
I’ll continue to learn and have fun here and let you guys know how it goes!

Location: Chiba, Japan

Fun in Japan! Part 1

I’ve experienced a lot of new and fun things in Japan and I love it! I have been to several popular locations around Tokyo (Akihabara, Shinjuku, Shibuya, etc.) and it’s fun and all but I think it would have been a better experience to have a Japanese friend show me around all those places instead! A few weeks ago, my epal and her friends showed me around Akihabara and I had a lot of fun!! I even bought 10 manga books for 700 yen (total!) 

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There was an event called Marugomi located in Chiba a few weeks back. I volunteered for it with the IES students. The goal was to clean up Chiba (but I don’t think there was much to clean up!!) We were given free T-shirts and gloves (FREE STUFF!!!) and I also got a picture with Chiba-kun!
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I went to an autumn festival with my host family and it was very interesting. They took me to a local shrine where the festival was held. I was able to offer 10 yen to the deity of the shrine to make my wish! The process includes bowing and clapping (I already forgot how many times!) And I saw  an interesting tradition where people were chanting and carrying a portable shrine!
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There were a lot of other things I’ve done but I’ll leave that for the next entry. It’s already my bed time! Look forward to it! =)

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Classes in Japan!

I apologize for not updating the past week (or 2 weeks!)

Anyway, I will make this entry mainly about classes I’m taking in Japan with some things I have done in the past 2-3 weeks.
It has already been a month since I’ve been here. Time really flies! There are only 2.5 months left! I think things are going quite smoothly and the workload isn’t that bad. It’s definitely not as bad as the workload at PSU!
So this semester I’m taking 4 classes: Jissen Japanese 002, Arts and Society in Japan, History of Tokyo, and Social Organizations in Japan.
The class I like the most would have to be my Japanese class. It’s fun, interactive, and interesting. We meet everyday except Wednesday and we have 2 classes on Fridays. On Friday’s class, we get a normal class and then a class concentrating on Kanji. We had our first test already, and I have to say that it’s not really that bad.
The Arts and Society class is a little dry. I find myself struggling to stay awake (perhaps it’s because it’s a 3-hour class.) The readings are a lot but the work we’re required to do is not. We only have to write 100-200 word response on the reading. We also get field trips! So in 2 weeks we’ll visit a museum and…go somewhere. I can’t really remember the details. The class is okay.
The History of Tokyo class is quite interesting. Although I find myself falling asleep in this class too. It must be because it’s 3 hours! We’re also having a field trip in this class this Monday! I’m excited for that! I’m not 100% sure (I should be) but I think we’re going to Ueno park (we’re going somewhere with a big historic background.)
And oh! There is ANOTHER field trip coming up for my Japanese class! We’re going to an aquarium! YAY! There are so many field trips and I love ’em! It means no class! Haha.
The Social Organization class is actually the Field Placement, where I have been placed into an organization called AVTEL. I’m really glad for this placement. I have been there 3 times now and they have given me a project to complete by the end of this semester. I have been told to learn how to use Access 2007 and create a database and application for one of their products. For the past 3 weeks, I have been learning a lot of doing a lot of work but I’m glad about it because I will be able to use this skill in the future. It is also good resume material! We meet with the rest of the students and the professors every other week to talk about our experiences. We also have some readings and papers to write but they’re not too bad if I get started on them before the day it is due!
So overall, the classes are great and I don’t have to hide in my room all day to study. I actually find myself having a lot of free time to do my own thing.
I will end this post with a picture I have taken with Pikachu at Akihabara!
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Location: Chiba, Japan

Asakusa Tour!

It has been quite an eventful week! Thank goodness I didn’t get TOO lost. The train system was easier than I thought, although I did get confused here and there. This week I went to the arcade A LOT! And I gotta say, it definitely is worth going. They have so many games to play and they even have a Gundam simulator game! I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I didn’t get a chance…yet! I will upload a picture of it as soon as I can!

Anyway, other than games, we had tours of the two campuses. We also took our placement exams and I got placed into the second level of Japanese. And I had an interview for a Field Placement! I will start “working” this Wednesday and every Wednesday after that. It is only once a week but I am looking forward to it! It seems promising because it’s related to my major and the president of the company (Avtel) told me that they’ll  be giving me a project to do throughout the semester and I get to bring the final copy with me! This is definitely good resume material! So I’m happy for that.
On Saturday I went to Akihabara with some friends. We got a bit lost while walking around but we ended up finding the place we wanted to go. I later realized that we should have planned ahead or maybe even bring a Japanese epal to help us navigate around Akihabara!
Finally, today we took a tour of Asakusa! Best thing yet! There were a LOT of foreigners there an it was packed! They had a bunch of shops and snacks around! It was great. Then after that we took a waterboat ride to our lunch destination. I can’t remember the names of things, sorry about that!
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Asakusa!
This is the boat we went on:
And now, one of my favorite part: the food!
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No need for explanations. The picture says it all! Oishii!
After that, we went to see Sumo Wrestling!!! Oh my goodness, it was pretty intense! Most of the matches were short (maybe 20-60 seconds.) But there was one match that lasted maybe 5 minutes!
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Sumo wrestlers getting ready to duke it out!
That’s all for now!

Location: Chiba, Japan

First Week in Japan!

It’s been about 4 days since my arrival. It’s been a very tiring and long 4 days. It might be the jetlag.The first thing that I noticed was that it is HOT here. I really hope it cools down soon!

On the first night, the epals showed us around and we went to eat dinner at a restaurant called Coco’s Restaurant. I ordered Curry Rice, and it was pretty good! A little expensive, but good nonetheless! The epals were really nice about helping us and it made things a lot easier. After that, we went to a place called Sega Club, which was full of games. We ended up doing purikura which is like a photo booth but a lot fancier. It was really fun! It was getting late after that so most of us went back to Hotel Spring and called it a day.
One thing that surprised me that day was the hotel room, especially the bathroom! The room is small and I could not find a way to turn on the lights. I also struggled with how the bathroom works! I eventually figured it out, but it was still quite an adventure. 
The second day was the first day of orientation. It was filled with information sessions but we eventually had time to do our own things. I think we were able to get a phone that day as well.
Alright lets move on to Friday before I bore you with more words. Friday was the day I met my host mother! I was so scared and nervous like many others! We were communicating with some Japanese here and some English there. We were (somehow) able to understand each other (for the most part.) She took me home by train (which was VERY confusing. I’m bound to get lost some time in the future.) And she made me dinner. She asked me a few questions about my family and I was able to answer…most of her questions. I felt a bit home sick that night. Today, one of the sons came over with his wife and daughter. I felt a little bit at ease after that because he was able to communicate in English with me and I kind of stopped feeling so lonely and uneasy…somehow. They are really nice people. Hopefully, I will fully adjust and feel more at home.
I shall end this entry with a picture.
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Location: Chiba, Japan