Author Archives: sam5530

明けましておめでとうございます

A little late, but Happy New Year everyone! My postcards have started reaching the west, so I should probably update the internet as well on the opening of 2012 in Japan. 
Although Christmas can almost be considered a normal day for Japanese folk, New Years is a complete 180 degree turn. It is the biggest holiday and a time for family and tradition, not partying and midnight smooches. 
The holiday starts with December 30th. Many families and shrines do a big clean (direct translation from 大掃除)a which is kind of like spring cleaning. It makes a lot of sense, actually, to bring in the New Year with a clean home. Cleansing is a big part of Shinto, one of Japan’s principle religions and where a lot of traditions originate.
December 31st, New Years Eve, we watched a four hour long concert special hosted by popular boy band Arashi. During the later half, we had 年越しそば or End-of-the-Year Soba. Soba symbolizes longevity~!
Strangely, the concert ended at around 11:45. For the next fifteen minutes, we watched the news’ live converage from the biggest shrine in town. People were cleansing themselves by standing under freezing waterfalls, queuing in front to be the first to pray and there were only gongs ringing through the night. It was rather bleak and needless to say, there was no countdown. As I watched the second hand tick past the 12, I couldn’t help but think “America does it better.” Though I understand and admire the ceremonial aspects, it was too anticlimactic for me. Apparently other channels had a more exciting feel, but we only had basic cable to work with, so…
New Years (8).JPGNew Years (4).JPGJanuary 1st, New Years day, Lera came over. With my host family, we went to the shrine down the street to pray. Since we opted out of the extreme water fall option, we cleansed only our hands (so cold!) and then prayed at the front after waiting in line. 

New Years (15).JPG

We had a beautiful traditional lunch made by my host mother. This includes the mochi soup (bottom) which is a must-have celebratory food item. This was all a bit much for most of us, but we did ask for seconds on the soup because mochi is just gooey and yummy.

My host parents also gave us otoshidama (お年玉) which is a cute little envelope with money in it. 1,000¥ each (almost $13). That’s a tradition I could get used to!

New Years (16).JPGAll in all, I would say New Years is definitely one of those things you have to experience in Japan. It is just really peaceful and delicious. 

And now the sad realization has settled in that I have reached the halfway mark and time is decreasing. For those who noticed my location is different than usual, I will explain why soon! 

Location: kuwana-shi, mie-ken, Japan

I’m illiterate, but that’s okay!

Language learning is more of a lifestyle than an ultimate destination. You can set up goals, but there is no end to this task. With that in mind, I tend to ignore most of what I don’t know and try to just work with what I got, but sometimes it is painfully obvious where I stand on the road to fluency: not that far from where I started. 
Learning a language with a different writing system is pretty serious business. Especially when your target language has three different writing systems. I mastered two since they are as simple as the alphabet. It’s the Chinese character based (Kanji) system that is the killer and it makes up a large majority of writing. Essentially, I know about 400. To read a newspaper, however, you should know about 1,945. 
This doesn’t mean I don’t read at all. I have a few comics with kanji in them and on top of the kanji, there is furigana. For those who don’t know, furigana is the kanji reading using the other two alphabets. Japanese kids face the same problem I do up until a point, so it’s pretty normal to come across accessible materials. 
Another way to alleviate the Kanji issue is watching television with closed captions on. At first, it looks like nonsense, especially since I can’t understanding everything being said. But after a while, watching the same shows, things start getting familiar to my eyes and ears. Unfortunately this doesn’t solve the problem that is producing the characters on paper for myself, but I think recognition is the most important skill at this point. 
This would probably work for other languages too. Good reading and listening practice, so try it out! 


Location: minami-ku, nagoya-shi, aichi-ken, Japan

My Side Quest

Japanese food is different, but except on special occasions when you see the real traditional dishes, it is kind of normal. Not to say that eating fish a couple times a week and Miso soup every night is the same palate that I enjoyed in America, but it is fairly adaptable, I feel. Nothing really out of the ordinary, just different ways of mixing the usual ingredients of the world. 
So with that boring piece of information in mind, I have found a way to spice up eating in Japan. And that is by buying the many different flavors of Kit Kats. In America, they only come in two flavors if you’re lucky: typical milk chocolate and white chocolate (rare, but true). In Japan, they go all out. And this isn’t just with Kit Kats, the menu at places like Starbucks and McDonald’s also have special touches, but this post is only about Kit Kats. 
011.JPGFun Fact #1: Certain flavors can only be bought in certain regions. 
Fun Fact #2:  in Japanese, Kit Kat is キットカツ (like きっと勝つ) which in English means “You will surely win.” Ego boosting chocolate is a go!

Here is a list of flavors I have tried so far with the respective regions. 

002.JPG
-White  (seen above; nationwide)
-Dark (Nationwide)
-Red Bean Toast (Nagoya/Tokai region; pictured right–>) 

-Strawberry (Nationwide)
-Green Tea (Kyoto)

-Hojicha Roasted Tea (Kyoto)
-Cinnamon Cookie (Kyoto)
-White: Air In (Nationwide, I believe; present)
-Sakura Maccha Latte (Nationwide..?)

I’d have to say White is still my favorite since it has a cookies n’ cream effect to it. But if I had to choose from the crazier flavors, Sakura Maccha Latte is quite tasty. 

022.JPGSome people choose to be sake or sushi connoisseurs, but me, I like Kit Kats. 


Location: minami-ku, nagoya-shi, aichi-ken, Japan

Is There Christmas in Japan?

This is a question that I was getting from my family. Of course at fist, I gave a resounding “Yes, of course!” but as I look back on it, I don’t know if I should be so sure. 
Japan has a lot of of access to all things Western from clothes to entertainment to language. Therefore, the knowledge of particular Western holidays is also well known if not also celebrated (Halloween and Christmas for example). Christmas being as huge as it is (Santa does go worldwide, after all), Japan puts a real effort into decking the halls, streets and whatever else needs decking, like the KFC Colonel for example. (compliments to Lera for the pic!) 

santa.jpg

Christmas time and Christmas can be celebrated in a variety of ways of course, but it comes down to being with one’s family. In Japan, this is hardly the case. Christmas gives off this romantic holiday vibe. It’s a time where it is necessary to have a date and if you don’t, you are probably crying in your room (sound familiar, Valentine’s Day?)
Since Christmas is a holiday for lovers, you better believe all the stores are open, casually playing Christmas music. Slurping ramen and listening to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You is the most entertaining moment of the season, I think. Such an unlikely combination. 

After exchanging gifts with my host parents and having some breakfast, they went grocery 

032.JPG

shopping and then my host dad went to the pool to work up an appetite.
Now, Christmas dinner does have a role in Japan, but it is much less extravagant and more commercialized than anything I have ever seen. The big thing to do is to make a reservation at KFC about a month in advance. Not only make a reservation for your order, but for your pick-up time. This stuff actually gets sold out, it is that serious. 

Japan loves foreign things, but when they get imported, they also get a bit distorted. That distortion evolves, unnoticed, on this small island and manifests itself into something distinctly Japanese. If you can appreciate a bit of a twist, then it is quite enjoyable. 

Next up on the calendar, a look at a real family oriented, tradtional holiday in Japan: New Years. 

Location: minami-ku, nagoya-shi, aichi-ken, Japan

Returning to Nature

017.JPGJoined the hoards of people rushing towards the mountains this weekend to view the changing of the leaves. Appreciating nature is very much embedded in Japanese culture, so of course the changing of the leaves was the hot topic of the fall season.

056.JPGWhile the leaves also change in my corner of America, it is a little bit different here. There is kind of a gradation effect within the tree and it takes it`s time reaching perfection. Perhaps since everyone kept talking about the leaves, I paid more attention, but in America it seems like I just wake up one morning and all the leaves are changed and rushing to the ground. I look forward to observing the difference next fall when I return.

When I tried to explain this to my host father, he seemed surprised that leaves in America even change. He seemed to think that America was full of pines and other trees that remain green throughout the year. A country as large as America surely has variety! It was a good opportunity to introduce a little more information about Pennsylvania and the meaning of the name. 

 My host family didn’t seemed too pleased with the results this year, but I thought it was neat. I suppose we did go rather late since some of the trees were bare and some of the leaves were worn out, but since I’ve never seen it before, I can’t be so critical.

031.JPG 


Location: aichi-ken, japan

京都に行った

Although I`ve been in Nagoya for nearly three months now, it is still hard to believe that everything that I`ve been doing up until now is finally being put to some use. It would be impossible to note how many times something has happened, or I went somewhere and I thought `I`ve read about this,` or `I saw this online.` It makes things all the more special…especially alongside amazing people!

IMG_1092.JPGI feel the peak of this semester was the IES sponsored trip to Kyoto. Tokyo and Kyoto tend to be the standout cities for Japan, so of course it was going to be amazing. We receive the itineraries beforehand, so I already knew what the highlights were going to be before I got there: riding in a rickshaw and Geisha. IMG_1232.JPGOf course there were also temples and the like, but it is getting to the point where you`ve seen one, and you`ve seen them all. The historical impact of reconstructed buildings is not as thrilling as experiencing culture first hand. But that doesn`t mean they don`t make great pictures


As usual we stayed overnight at a traditional inn and ate the fancier of Japanese foods. It was a little difficult to eat, however, since the Geiko and Maiko came to perform. IMG_1135.JPGBeing the tourist I am, I spent most of my time holding my camera instead of my chopsticks. I could not believe that everything I read and saw in Memoirs of a Geisha was playing out in front of me. The hair, the makeup, her walk and poise, the way she smized at me; I don`t think I`ve ever been so star struck. IMG_11399.JPG

 After they danced they poured drinks, chatted and played games with us. They used the Kyoto accent and so some words I didn`t understand at first, but they sounded so lovely and light. For example, Thank You in standard Japanese is Arigatou, but in the Kyoto style, it becomes Ookini.

 

The next day, we went to Arashiyama (Storm Mountain, so epic) and wandered around. Apparently the bamboo forest nearby is the same forest that was featured in Memoirs of a Geisha. Just hit two birds with one stone that weekend.

The rickshaw ride was really weird and fun. I felt bad that this skinny guy had to pull us around and even more awkward when Japanese people started taking pictures of us and staring more than usual. But our guy was really nice and kind of cute, so it was all worth it!

IMG_1287.JPG

This Kyoto trip has really been the peak for the semester.. Kyoto itself is amazing, but finals and projects are coming up, so it is time to really buckle down and get real work done.


Location: Kyoto, Japan

Dance, dance, dance!

052.jpgToday was my first performance abroad, so I have made my international debut as a dancer, if you can even call me that. At Penn State, I was involved in PSIDE (Penn State International Dance Ensemble). I felt quite global and cultural doing dances from different lands, but dancing hip hop in Japan is a whole different track. It’s been a roller coaster ride of emotions, to be honest.
The dance club I’ve joined in Japan is called PRIME. Essentially, they are an all girl dance club with multiple groups within. I thought it wouldn’t be too hard core, just a fun extracurricular activity. Apparently speculation is not my strong suit.
We practiced twice a week for about 3-4 hours. Getting the choreography down was a challenge since the girls were clearly well versed in hip hop and didn’t really hold back for us poor international students. The rhythm was hard to understand and the delivery still baffles me even now. The moves are so fast and because of that, each move has to be crisp and neat. Most of the time I felt like I was just flailing limbs instead of hitting moves.
019-1.JPG Not only that, but the language barrier is still pretty high and thick for me, so a lot of the time I didn’t know where we were starting from or even where practice was. Luckily, everyone is so nice and patient that I never felt pressure from them because of my mistakes. Unfortunately, I am not so patient with myself. It’s one thing to not be able to speak since you can get away with having a shy personality. When you don’t understand, however, the other part gets involved and that`s when the guilt sets in. I know they feel pressure to just explain it in English, which they don’t have to, but they always try. 

025-.JPGLanguage aside, we managed and I think it all worked out. Of course I was nervous, but it did not take long for the atmosphere to take hold of me. I wanted to dance bigger and harder and before I knew it, the dance was over. In fact, compared to PSIDE, the routines were rather short–about 2 minutes for the one I was in. I really wanted to perform more, but alas my time was up. There are more performances, but today was the school festival, so it was kind of like being on our home base.
I’d like to thank Shiho for teaching us her dance and Mire for giving me some one on one training. Though it gets difficult and frustrating at times to dance and manage the whole Japanese thing, I’m glad to have such a well rounded opportunity while being surrounded by such lovely people.

051-1.JPG


Location: Showa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken, Japan

じろじろ？ちらちら？笑う？

Japan is essentially a homogenous country. Frequently I hear that about 1% of the population is foreign. That is not a lot of people and more likely than not, they are in and around Tokyo and military bases.
Despite this, however, it is not a rare occurence that you see foreign models in magazines and on tv not only smiling and wearing clothes, but actually speaking. Sometimes they speak Japanese, sometimes English. Even without actors, a lot of commercials use English text and names for their products. This is a little odd to realize, but it would probably be very easy to navigate Japan without knowing the language as long as you know English. It is that common.
Here`s the best example I can find on the spot that is currently airing. Foreign actors, English on the packaging, and `Stride Stripe Debut!`
http://www.youtube.com/embed/wzyuPwTVy44

jpop-front.jpgAnd of course American movies and music are very popular here. Even at the music store, Japanese music is stored under `JPop` as opposed to just `Pop` music, which is where the western music is. How is it that even within Japan, Japanese music has it`s own special section and Western music isn`t considered `International?` Are the Japanese backwards or is the West lacking in cultural exploration? That`s a question for another time.
What I am getting at is it doesn`t seem that the western world is so far away here. I don`t get a sense that western pop culture is rare or unfamiliar to Japanese people as a whole. So why is it that they stare at me every chance they get? They stare at me with curiosity (where is she from, is she a tourist, an English teacher or a student?) and with anxiety (Do I have to speak English to her? Can she understand us?). These things I have come to understand and sometimes I can ignore it, sometimes I have fun with it and wave as if I am a celebrity, and sometimes it makes me self conscious. It`s still something I am working on.
Today, however, was different. Today two little girls spotted me, pointed at me and laughed. At the time, I was pretty insulted. `I am not a joke,` I said to Okaasan (host mother). `I am a human. They`ve seen different people on tv, so why is it different in person?` She tried to put things in perspective, but sometimes things are just rude and that`s all. To make my point, I asked her when she was living in England, did anyone laugh or stare at her, knowing she`d say no. They treated her like she was any other person. For that reason, she will never know what it`s like to go somewhere and have everyone staring at her all at once and thus cannot console me.
I feel well adjusted to every other aspect of the lifestyle here, but being stared at and laughed at doesn`t make any sense with my American logic. I really don`t think I will be able to see it from their perspective given the mainstream value of western culture.


Location: Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken, Japan

Do you understand? Amazing!

A lot of the time when I talk to strangers such as store clerks, tour guides, they are in awe of the fact that I am speaking Japanese. I say one sentence, probably something like `I`m from America.` and they instantly go `You`re Japanese is so good!`
In America, it is just so natural that so many different people speak English that I can hardly think of a time that I complimented someone on their ability to communicate. Even amongst my international friends, I just accept that fact and don`t really think about the work and effort behind it. But in Japan, speaking Japanese feels a bit like a circus trick. Especially when my host family claps when I`m done with my homework. Tonight, Otousan was explaining that he had to do overtime at the store tonight. `Do you understand `overtime?` he asked me. I said I did and he commented to Okaasan, `Oh really? She even knows overtime! That`s amazing.` Mostly I don`t think too much of it. Other times I seriously wonder how many people go to countries and can`t even spit out a sentence or two. They`re giving the wrong impression for the rest of us! 
It`s probably just that Japan is very homogenous and I`m the shiny, colorful blip on their radar at the moment. Though I can understand that idea, it`s still a strange occurence.


Location: Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken, Japan

I went with Okaasan to an Ikebana viewing since she received free tickets from a friend. Ikebana is the art of flower arrangement. To me, that does not sound interesting. Whenever I thought of Ikebana I thought of something like this
025.JPGSomething simple and basically just flowers in a basket. That quiet, simplistic nature and aesthetic is the essence of traditional Japan. There were quite a few of these, but that`s not the whole story. Something I tend to forget is that there is always room for radical twists and progression within art, even the strict traditional kind.

019.JPG052.JPG
033.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It`s at times like this I am really glad I chose a host family. They want to show me so many different things, some of which are things I wouldn`t necessarily do on my own. It turns out Ikebana is actually pretty interesting in its` own right. I wonder what I will change my mind about next?


Location: yobitsugi, minami-ku, nagoya-shi, aichi-ken, Japan