Tadaima! (I’m Back; I’m Home!)

When writing a blog, it’s important to consider the tough questions, one of which is “How do you return after a long break?” You can make jokes about how little you update, to get everyone loose and ready to read something fun and funky, you can completely redesign the page to look all snappy and attractive as if you’ve actually done something with the time you’ve been away, or you can do what I’m going to do, which is follow the advice of Larry David’s real-life next door neighbor, given to Larry when he made a scene after quitting a writing job at Saturday Night Live: “Just walk in on Monday and act like it never happened.” On with the show…

So let’s see, the last post was October 10th, but I didn’t even get the chance to talk about my (non) trip to the Monkey Park from the weekend before, so let’s recap the month, shall we? Saturday the 6th I set out for the Monkey Park in Higashiyama Kouen, but upon my arrival I couldn’t find the park (turns out it’s another bus ride away), so I changed plans and went to the Higashiyama Kouen Doubutsuen (Higashiyama Park Zoo). At any rate, I got to see some monkeys, even if they weren’t free-range! First, however, we have to take care of an important bit of funny business which is animal-related. I bought my first bar of Japanese soap this month, and I enjoyed the name and package so much I took a picture:

That’s right. Cow Beauty Soap. It actually has milk in it, too, so Cow isn’t a totally random name. Only in Japan.

Just to qualify that a little bit, the Japanese do not (so far as I know) have a history of thinking cows are particularly beautiful. Only the cow’s milk is beautiful, I suppose.

Sumimasen…(Sorry)

Blog activity has been light lately, as you no doubt notice thanks to the lack of posts on here, particularly those with pretty pictures.  That probably won’t change in the immediate future, because midterms are next week already.  My exam for Japanese is over three (!) days, with two speaking components and a writing component.  After that, the midterm paper for my Japanese Culture and Art class is due next Friday, October 19.  If I haven’t exploded by then, the floodgates will open wide and there will probably be a massive post the size of the first ever on the blog, so get ready.  There will be plenty of pretty pictures, I promise.  I’m still planning on going to the Nagoya Matsuri (Festival) this Saturday, which should be MASSIVE.  I’ve got to work something in to keep my head clear, and that sounds like a good way to break from studying.  I just won’t be able to guarantee that I have time to update the blog in the middle of all the midterm craziness.  I hope you all have the site bookmarked and don’t forget about me in the meantime!  If you’d like an e-mail reminder as to when the new entry is up, just drop me a line here or via e-mail and I’ll be more than happy to let you know when I’m back up and running.

Mata, ne!

Jeff

Speech! Speech! Speech!

Just a quick little update between classes here. Today we had a different kind of exam: a two-minute long memorized introductory speech using very set language as well as descriptions of our hobbies, hometowns, and the things we want to do in Japan. I had the honor of timing everyone with a stopwatch to make sure they made the +/- 20 second cutoff and also knew when they had 30 seconds left, etc. I did EXTREMELY well with mine (I feel) considering that I didn’t take my sheet up because I didn’t want to read from it (that would be dame), and I finished between the two and two-and-a-half minute mark. All in all, I feel it went pretty well, and everyone else seemed to agree (though there were smoother, more grammatically complex speeches than mine). At lunch, however, Schmidt-san from Stuttgart, Germany informed me that I had forgotten Kore kara jikoushoukai wo shitai to omoimasu (I now want to introduce myself) at the beginning. D’oh! Ah well, the rest of it went well, and I’m still pleased with how smoothly it all seemed to flow from my head out into the room. I was sure to make plenty of eye contact, and got a good laugh when I told everyone that I wanted to ride the Shinkansen Bullet Train while I’m here (What? There aren’t any trains that travel that fast in America! Besides, I said I wanted to go to Kyoto; can you think of a better way to travel?).

I’ve decided that this weekend’s trip is definitely going to be to Higashiyama Kouen’s Monkey Park. From what I understand, Little World is also close by, which is another park that appears to be something like Epcot’s countries of the world section if it were expanded to fill Epcot.

The Origami Anniversary

Follow the logic: a one month anniversary is paper in the States (as determined by my family and I), so the Japanese version is a cute little paper crane, right? Makes sense to me.

Let’s see; Dickinson’s money has arrived, which means that I won’t go broke in the immediate future! Hooray! I also used a little bit of it to take care of some nagging issues that have prevented me from keeping in touch with people…but more on that later.

This last week went pretty well. I’m settling into IJ 400 and my quiz scores have finally evened out, although the grammar quizzes still stump me at times. Japanese Foreign Policy remains fascinating and Japanese Culture and Art I is giving me new insight into the Japanese way of life and why certain things are the way they are. For instance, the long roofs of old-style Japanese houses and temples allowed the inhabitants to leave doors open even when it rained, which allowed them to feel closer to nature. Given that most Tanka poems from long ago are written about nature and beautiful moments in nature, this was quite important. It’s also a pretty darn good idea. Score one for 24/7 fresh air! Also, I have now completed all the forms that the Center for Japanese Studies needs to make sure I won’t be deported, etc. Things are finally calming down, which is good. Having time to breathe is nice.

Political Intrigue! Part Ni (Two)!

Yes, that’s right, the Japanese word for “two” is “ni.”  Now you know what those annoying knights were saying in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  Sadly, their next phrase, “Icky, Icky, Icky Icky Kapang Zoop-Boing!” is not Japanese.  Sorry if I crushed a few dreams there.  And if I got that second one wrong and you want to correct me, by all means leave a comment.  Not to mention two entries in two days!  Woah!  All at the expense of my laundry (don’t worry, it’ll be fine).  Moving on…

As you all know (or maybe not, depending on how new you are to this blog), Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned two weeks ago, and promptly entered the hospital to avoid media scrutiny.  My Japanese Foreign Policy professor (who is American, interestingly enough–then again, I don’t want to think about Foreign Policy in Japanese) says this is a regular move for politicians who are about to get roasted by the media.  In fact, the first day of class our room was locked because CJS students are on a slightly different schedule than the rest of Nanzan (it’s now PACKED here every day).  He said “Alright, well we’re in a country without a leader, so for the first few weeks we’ll meet informally under bridges and trees, and hopefully by then we’ll have a new leader and we can have a room.  Or, I can go get the key.”  Yeah, I think Foreign Policy will actually be interesting and fun.

Kanpai! (Cheers!)

Woah, almost two weeks without an update–you all must be starving for something new to read! Well, I might be able to help, because I’ve got almost two week’s worth of stuff to talk about! Ikimasyou! (Let’s go!)

Last Friday I had class from 3:15 until 5:30, but at least it’s Japanese Culture and Art I, which is going to be quite interesting, especially considering the professor started off by showing bits of Godzilla. He does things in a roundabout way, but makes interesting points (Japanese special effects were renowned for a time, but the majority of the technology came from America–the professor attributes this to the way the Japanese are able to arrange things and engineer things). Afterward, I headed to the Welcome Party that the International Friendship Club was throwing. Since it started at four, I was a little late, but was just in time to witness a lively game of Fruits Basket. What is that, you ask? Good question! It’s a game very much like musical chairs, but groups of people are assigned a particular fruit (see where this is going?) One person stands in the middle (the chairs were arranged in a circle), and calls out a group of fruit, or says minna! (everyone!). Much scrambling ensues, and when the dust settles one slowpoke is left standing in the middle. This person calls the next group of fruit, etc. In this case, the last gaijin standing when the game finally ended (I’m guessing you could also use elimination to end the game, but this session was massive) won a prize.

Thankfully, a ton of delicious snacks were present, and there were still some left by the time I arrived. I became addicted to these little glazed cookie-like snacks whose package had Obaachan (the familiar term for Grandmother, the closest translation would probably be “Grandma”) written on it. I think they were puffed rice patties, but thanks to the glaze they didn’t taste like cardboard or packaged air like some rice crackers in the States. These were also solid, and not individual grains of puffed rice stuck together. I think. At any rate, Obaachan’s snacks are delicious. I am also fond of C.C. Lemon, which is a soft drink that at first makes you think “Hmm, a little heavy on the carbonation, not so much on the lemon,” but it’s actually much better that way, because it isn’t quite so sour, simply tasty. This makes it quite easy to drink a lot of it, and I had to limit myself so I wouldn’t steal a whole bottle. Not easy to do after a full day of classes, but I managed. Next up was bingo, and I won a round! With two or three rows one number away from completion, I would’ve been crushed if I didn’t get something. I got to pick a prize from a box full of plastic bags, and I came up with this:

Awesome! I didn’t know the Japanese were into shrunken heads!

First Day of (Real) Class (Orientation)

For those of you just tuning in, my name is Jeff Wilson, and I am in Japan.

I am also terrified of a woman whose name means “sugar.”

Today we had our first real class session, which was yet another orientation. On Thursdays (because the schedule varies each day), Japanese class starts at 10:05 AM. First up is Enomoto Sensei, who is the most loveable, goofy Japanese professor in the history of loveable, goofy Japanese professors (of course, Meguro Sensei, my Dickinson College professor, still retains top honors in the overall Japanese Professor category). He’s energetic, excited, and the perfect replacement for a cup of coffee (or in my case, heavily caffeinated tea) in the morning. He bumped into a desk–twice. He’s in charge of our Reading Practice section, which is from 10:05 to 10:50 each morning. He’s also the only male professor in the Japanese language faculty, which might explain some of his behavior.

Then we have a short break until 11:05, when Tsuda Sensei arrives for our Writing Practice, which runs until 11:50 and includes Kanji writing practice (those 2,000-some-odd characters the Japanese borrowed from the Chinese). Already, we have a couple of homework worksheets coming down the line, and all on the convenient, newspaper-sized sheets I believe I mentioned in the first post. Awesome. At least they fold in half to form a normal-size four page booklet. Already I can tell I’m going to need more folders. We have to keep a journal for Writing practice as well. Do Japanese blog entries count? I wonder… We had a practice kanji quiz, and there were a couple I forgot–I’m such a bad ryuugakusei (international student). Tsuda Sensei is definitely quieter than Enomoto Sensei, and allows a kind of settling in after the sugar rush of the first session.

Finally, after another short break, Satou Sensei arrives at 11:50 (no rest for the weary) and we have speaking practice. And by speaking practice, I mean that tomorrow I have to have a 4-minute, one-on-one interview with Satou Sensei (Satou is the Japanese word for “sugar,” and I’m sure it means one or two other things as well, which are probably the actual meaning of her name). Yikes! Right off the bat, I’m going to have to talk for four minutes with a woman I only met today in a manner that will likely be graded. Serious buckling down will ensue. On the plus side, she is sunny and gentle, although not as crazy as Enomoto Sensei, though she seems to be a bit more lively than Tsuda Sensei. Also working in Satou Sensei’s favor are the vocabulary quizzes, which won’t be any trouble so long as I’ve memorized the lesson’s vocabulary. It was probably the only thing today that didn’t make me think “Wow…that’s a lot.”

So there you have it. Overall, however, I can’t complain. None of the teachers seem overbearing or overly strict, but they expect a lot. After all, this is Intensive Japanese 400, and I placed myself here on both tests. Did I mention the second test? Yeah, it was after the “Placement Test,” and it was designed to “make sure we’re in the right level.” Great for those that want another shot because they think they whiffed on the Placement Test, bad for anyone who placed up a level and then celebrated too hard, because if you fail the second test you drop a level. Ah well, everyone that got into 400 the first time appears to have made it the second time as well. Yokatta (good).

I think that about does it for now. Two posts in one day–huzzah. Now it’s time to head back home and study study study–already I’ve got homework and a quiz tomorrow! Leave a comment or a question and I’ll reply as soon as I can! Tomorrow, I get to hook my computer into the network at Nanzan–with any luck, that means I’ll have an easier time updating this regularly, and updating with pictures will definitely be easier.

Mata, ne!

Jeff

Political Intrigue!

So yesterday (Wednesday) was a big day, and in more ways than one. First off, I finally opened my bank account! I can have money now! Hooray! A picture of the bank book would follow, but A.) It’s not all that exciting to look at and B.) I’d probably have to kill you after you see it (which is VERY hard to do from Japan…). At any rate, Shogo and I were at the bank when the TV suddenly showed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. To give you an idea of what this man’s tenure as PM has been like, consider that the former PM Junichiro Koizumi was 1.) Really popular and 2.) Had some of the best hair ever seen on a Prime Minister:

Bush WISHES he looked that good.

Now consider Abe, who had high hopes for a strong, nationalist Japan with a stronger military. To fill in a bit, the Japanese Constitution has a very controversial article called, quite simply, Article 9. It was written after World War II, and deems Japan a peaceful nation, stating that nuclear weapons will never be used, and there will not be an official army, merely a “Self-Defense Force” to be used in emergency situations. Abe was a bit more hard-line. He wanted to change some of these policies, and may have succeeded had his ministers not been nailed on shady bookkeeping, leading one to commit suicide (the Agriculture Minister, I believe). Needless to say, it’s been a tough term for Abe.

So yesterday, Shinzo Abe, the “first Prime Minister born after World War II” according to the New York Times, resigned.

Despite the fact that he’d said time and time again that he wouldn’t resign under pressure. Some vague health reasons were cited, my host family explained, but his resignation has thrown the whole country for a loop. Many, tired of the countless scandals think it a good thing, but my host family isn’t so sure. He resigned quite suddenly, just before a Parliamentary session that was the first chance for the opposition parties to question Abe (Parliament began a new session Monday) on his policies. Needless to say, he’s taking a lot of heat for that. It would be like Bush resigining before a particularly ominous-looking press conference (since America doesn’t actually have a government body that questions its leader). It’s hasty, it’s a little shady and it’s definitely not going to make any new friends.

Shinzo Abe. If only he had the hair…

Just one Culture Note before I head off to class today. When people sneeze in Japan, it is not customary to say anything. For some reason, I can’t for the life of me get used to that. Who knew that a simple phrase like “Bless You” could be so culturally ingrained?

OK, class time. Day 2! Wish me luck!

Mata, ne!

Jeff

Yatta! (I did it!)

I got into Intensive Japanese 400! “But Jeff, what does that mean?” “What happened to writing about life in Japan?” “Did I leave the oven on?” you’re quietly saying to yourself. Let’s rewind, because I’ve actually been here for ten days despite this being the first post (the host family has no internet and access here is surprisingly lacking; more on that later).

I touched down in Nagoya on September 2 after a 13-hour flight from Detroit (for total flight time, tack on another 2 hours to get from Philadelphia to Detroit) during which I intermittently slept and caught pieces of Spider Man 3, Shrek 3 and The Ex (the latter being the only film I cared to see in the first place). The entire time I was thinking about the placement test I had to take at Nanzan. Truth be told, I hadn’t studied as much as I wanted over the summer. Needless to say I was a bit worried; Japanese isn’t necessarily natural like, say, breathing.

Nevertheless I soldiered on, studying between naps, and soon enough we were beginning our descent into the Nagoya area. I was seated next to a woman en route to Manila (I believe) with her young daughter, who slept most of the way. As the mother pulled up the shade a bit, I noticed something very intriguing: windmills. “Green power,” I thought. “It DOES exist!” Given the recent resistance to windmills off the coast of New England in America, I was surprised to see them in Japan, and thought perhaps the whole country was moving in the direction of renewable energy.

Well, I’m almost half right. Those may be the only windmills in Japan for all I know, and a lot of people have cars, though the vast majority are small. What’s missing in windmills, however, is compensated by a TON of bikes. Everywhere I go, there is at least one person on a bike. On the rare occasion I don’t see someone riding a bike, there is evidence of bike use when I pass any one of a number of parking areas specifically for bikes. Depending on the area, it’s not unusual to have great difficulty finding a space for your bike if you haven’t arrived early in the day. When I travel to the subway station each morning, I pass an army of high and middle school students biking to class. As the roads in my neck of the woods are narrow, this creates a problem for drivers, who sometimes have to wait for opposing traffic to pass so they can use the other side of the road to get by. Even with all the driving, however, I haven’t seen a huge number of overweight Japanese (though I have seen a few—thanks, McDonald’s).

For those with doubts, yes the Japanese drive on the left side of the road. And yes, it’s a major adjustment to ride on the left side of the street. Several times I have had to correct myself, and thankfully no cars were flying around the bend at the time—and they sure do fly. My host mother graciously lends me her bike to get to and from the subway station each morning. I have repeatedly double-checked to make sure this is O.K. (all the host-family-tip materials warned me not to be a “cultural child” that thinks “Wow, they treat you like royalty!” when they’re actually making major lifestyle changes to accommodate you), as she doesn’t use the car very much. She insists it’s all right; she usually takes the public buses or walks—she doesn’t like using the car because it’s bad for the air. How’s that thought process coming along in America?

As I said before, riding on the left side of the road comes with a learning curve. Especially when it’s not your bike, and the bike you’re riding was built for someone roughly a foot smaller than you. Fortunately the seat adjusts to a reasonable height, but a tiny bike is a tiny bike. I’m getting used to it though, and it has handy baskets on the front and back with room enough for my camera bag and backpack respectively. So, on to an actual description of the host family and life in Japan.

For the fall semester, I’m living with Shogo and Satoko Shimozawa. They’re 76 and 70, respectively. (For anyone unfamiliar with Japanese names, Shogo’s the husband.) Shogo’s hobbies include golf, travel, and painting. Satoko’s hobbies include travel, flower arranging (ikebana, pronounced e-kay-bana), and ceramic arts. Sounds pretty “meh,” right? Well take into consideration that pretty much every plate or dish we use for eating or serving at any given meal was made by Satoko. Many of the paintings in the house are Shogo’s work. An entire hutch of ceramic figurines and teapots (save for a fishing Santa-esque figure from a trip to Minnesota) were also made by Satoko. It’s staggering. This hutch, for instance, is nearly bursting with ceramics:

That hutch is only a portion of Satoko’s work.

While I’m at it, I’ve got some more pictures of the house:

This is a picture of the genkan, of which the closest American equivalent is the foyer. Except in the foyer, it’s rare that you must take off your shoes. It’s the first thing you see when you enter the house (assuming you’re not a solicitor or other stranger whom would be kept outside at the gate).

This is a 180-degree turn from where I took the dining room picture. The Shimozawas frequently turn on the news during dinner (though they rarely watch it on that beauty of a TV), and the hutch on the right contains all the ceramic figurines Satoko made.

This is just outside the door to my room. Hanging on the wall is a piece of Shogo’s handiwork, with a few golf trophies on the shelf. Every Sunday Shogo watches golf on TV.

Kore wa watashi no heya desu. This is my room, as seen from just inside the door. I actually have a bed! Though the pillow is definitely made for back sleepers and the mattress is a bit stiff, I haven’t had any trouble sleeping thanks to long days around town and at Nanzan.

Another view of my heya (room). Yeah, the TV has cable, although I haven’t watched much in order to keep electricity bills down. I just know I’d get sucked into some random Japanese show and stay up until the wee hours.