Tokiwa Final Report

I firmly believe that studying abroad is the most valuable experience a student can have. Without exposure to a culture other than one's own, it is difficult to imagine, let alone become used to, a way of thinking or living different from your own.
Since I have returned to America from Japan, people, who may or may not know much about Japan, have told me comments such as, "They are old-fashioned, huh?" or "They seem really close-minded" or "I heard that they party heard in Tokyo."Japan, to me, is a place that no matter how hard I imagine it, without truly experiencing it, I would never really get to know it. All the films and popular movies, the music videos and commercialism, the hearsays, articles, and books are wonderful introductions and teasers to Japan, its culture, and its language, but it is not sufficient in providing enough information. Even as I am outside of the country and society right now, I know that what I knew about Japan while I was there will not be the same, if, for example, I had the opportunity to return at a later date, as the country is quickly changing and seems to be constantly in flux. Besides this, four months, although intensely rich and filled with experiences, is a very short amount of time, and from thsi amount of time, I feel I cannot make any objective conclusions about Japan, as I am affected by my own subjectivities and experiences. In other words, there is so much to Japan, that entrusting someone else to tell you about it (as opposed to experiencing it yourself), is the worst thing one can do to one's self.
The experience of being an international exchange student as opposed to a tourist is in itself rewarding. As far as living and working and studying in a foreign country, no matter how difficult it may be to adapt, be away from family or friends, learn the language, or get along with people, I feel that these hardships are a natural part of the learning process and are worth it in the end. On the other hand, I did not suffer many hardships, so it may be easy for me to say such a statement. I definitely feel lucky to have been a part of the Tokiwa program, where I was blessed with the company and aid of wonderful and helpful people and also extremely lucky to have been sent to Japan with a great group of exchange students.

When you are in a different country, I have found that it is best to allow yourself to absorb the culture, whether you agree with it or not. In order to adapt, it helps to create some kind of sane schedule or regime that you have control over (since everything else will be out of your hands). For example, finding foods that you like and afford and can regularly cook and eat, making friends that you can regularly spend time with, and finding hobbies or activities that can be done in the other country (to replace hobbies or activities that you did back at home but may not be able to do in the other country). Sometimes, I found it easier to allow myself to be completely absorbed by the culture, temporarily disregarding all my ingrained thoughts and ideas from before my arrival to the other country. It was only when I mulled over my own pre-conceived thoughts and ideas that I experienced a kind of inner conflict. It was also when I struggled to continue living the way I did in America that I realized since I was in Japan, I needed to adapt and therefore live differently. I was able to learn more about Japanese lifestyle and culture and language and also appreciate the country more this way, I feel. In Japan, there were times where I did long for many American and Filipino and Californian things, but as I am here in America, I have many fond memories and experiences in Japan that I mull over also. It makes me miss so many things about Japan, things that I might not have experienced or enjoyed experiencing if I did not open my heart and mind and allow myself to experience it in the first place.

What an Adventure!

Winter vacation came and went along with all of our final papers and now I finally have time to make my final post.

The last few weeks of school at Tokiwa had been very busy with our classes, EC, and TA that we hardly had time to do much of anything. Which was difficult for all of us because we had become so close with many of the students and all of them wanted to spend as much time with us before we left. This of course, was my biggest fear, as I wanted to make many friends during my stay in Japan but leaving them has possibly been one of the more difficult things I've had to do. I think all of the students here have come to finally get used to our lifestyles in Japan, only to be flying home. I can only speak for myself but I have surely been experience some reverse culture shock even before returning home. But it's unavoidable.

I spent my winter vacation in Tokyo for a week, as my friends from Los Angeles came to visit me. In all honesty, I can't begin to explain how nervous I was, because I knew that I would have to really become a translator for my friends and I wasn't sure just how capable I was in doing so. I knew that the week in Tokyo would possibly be my 'final exam' in a sense. But overall the trip went smoothly and I couldn't have honestly asked for me.

We went to Yokohama and Kamakura which are both in the neighboring prefecture, Kanagawa. Kamakura happens to be the first settled Samurai city in the Kanto region (from what I recall) and because of it there were plenty of old architecture to see. The Big Buddha that you see in that picture is perhaps one of the more famous sites within Japan. We also visited Asakusa Park just before New Years and were able to see all the preparations that go into one of the biggest events of the year in Japan. As far as I'm aware, many people visit a temple on New Years Eve to shed the troubles of the year past, and a Shrine on New Years day to ring in the New Year with a cleansed spirit and free of worries. We did in fact visit Meiji Shrine for New Years but because of clock troubles, we missed to New Year by two minutes. Still, it was amazing to see how many Japanese people uphold this tradition, easily there was over a thousand people.

During our stay we were able to visit Ueno Park which is famous for its Zoo as well as museums that encircle the park. Though we weren't able to visit any of the museums we did get a chance to visit the zoo which is one of the first established in Japan. The zoo itself was pretty big considering how it was centered in the middle of a city and it was well kept with lots of visitors from all over the world.




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This surely has been an adventure with not a moment wasted. I can't express how great of an opportunity t for encouraging me to join the program.

In our final days I had a lot of time to think about everything that I had been able to experience and I think some of my best memories I have are from traveling with the other exchange students around Ibaraki and Tokyo together, as we discovered new places and experienchis was and I couldn't have done it without the help of all the Japanese professors at CSUN, especially Hirota Senseied a wide range of things within Japanese culture, traditional and modern.

I promise to give a more in-depth look into Japan on my return to America which is in less then 24 hours.

Thank you Japan, you have honestly been too good to me and I promise to visit you again.

1/15/10

This is my final day at Tokiwa University! I'm very sad that we have to leave because it feels to me the past five months have flew by so quickly. Living in a foreign country has opened up my perspectives on many different things, not just on the language or culture, but a better perspective on life in general. I feel I've benefited from this program greatly and I hope future exchange students can benefit equally or greater. I'm very happy to have been part of this program because it gave me the opportunity to learn the language and a chance to meet so many people. Thank you CSUN for giving me this great opportunity to study abroad!

Sincerely Yours,

ハー　ジェームス

明けましておめでとうございます！

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I'm sorry for the very, VERY late post! I have been busy these past few weeks, so I haven't had the chance to write a blog. I am planning to write about 4 things today in this blog.

1) NENGAJO Nengajo (年賀状) are the postcards that the Japanese send during new year's. They usually write things like 今年もよろしくお願いします。(Please treat me well this year). Some nengajo are blank so that if you want, you can write or draw whatever you want. There are also nengajo with picture and a message. Usually, the picture in front is the chineze zodiac of the coming year; in this year's case, it is the tiger. They also use cartoon characters like hello kitty (wearing a tiger costume), mickey, and minnie mouse for the nengajo. 2) Movie Theaters in Japan Movie theaters in Japan are different than American Theaters. Although both countries give discounts to children, students, and the elderly, they have ladies' (Wednesday) and gentlemen's (Thursday) day in Japan. The movie theater that I went to gave us a 500 yen discount since we went there on Wednesday (ladie's day). In Japan, they have the typical movie theater food: popcorn and hotdog; however, they also have french fries and chicken nuggets. They also sell a ice-blended coffee and believe it or not, beer! They also have many souvenirs for the movies that they are showing and in fact, they have a corner in the theater specifically for the souvenirs. Another interesting thing about the Japanese cinema is that they give you seat numbers. I guess that's a good way to keep your seat :) 3) Uniqlo Man

Like in the United States, the lines get longer as the time the store opens gets closer. I was amazed at how long the line got when it was time for Uniqlo to open. When the store did open, it was shocking to see that the people were patient and they were following the rules. In America, the people waiting in line are impatient and they would complain about how long the line is getting. When I got inside the store, people were all over the place, trying to get the best deals, buying clothes and shoes for less. What surprised me was the calm way that the store clerks were dealing with the chaotic store. The store clerks on the floor were patiently helping the customers look for the things that they are searching for while the clerks on the registers use “keigo” (formal language) with the customers. Another thing that surprised me was the guy who patiently waits for the customers in front of the register line. He helps the customers by carrying their purchases for them. We do not have that kind of customer service back in the United States, and I think it would be a good thing to have that because it leaves a good feeling to the customers, making each one of us special.

4)弓道 (Kyudo)

弓道 (kyudo) is the Japanese archery.I was fortunate enough to be able try it at least once :) The bow was long unlike the bow for the regular archery.There are many things that you need to do before you actually get to try to use the bow and arrow. I used a three fingered glove called "mitsugake". The bow is called "yumi" and the arrow "ya". Although I was only able to try it one time, I still had a lot of fun.

明けまして、おめでとうございます。

明けまして、おめでとうございます= Happy New Year!
今年もうよろしくお願いします= Please continue your good will towards me this year.

The above statements are formal greetings at each new year.
Of course, all my young friends say あけおめ, utilizing the shortened version, a very common trend in Japanese language. (笑)

I have begun this post with a picture of Kyoto Tower in the early morning, taken at Kyoto Station, after arriving to Kyoto after a long 8 hour bus ride from Tokyo (which we got on after having just ridden a 2 hour bus from Mito to Tokyo.)

It has been quite some time. Everyone here has been occupied with reports and traveling over the holidays. I had the opportunity to visit Kyoto and Oosaka over the holidays. I would like to take the opportunity to post some photos of the trip and also post some pictures of some other interesting sites over the course of the past year that I did not have the opportunity to post sooner. My recap will be spread over a few posts. I would also like to devote a later post to Oosaka, since I really like Oosaka (although I only got to spend a few hours there).


Here is a ph0to of 清水寺（kiyomizudera), a temple in Kyoto.




At 清水寺, we were able to see the Kanji of the Year. The exchange students and I were expecting to see a crazy Kanji that we never learned, but we were suprised to see a familiar kanji, 新. Although this is unrelated, the craziest kanji that the exchange students and I have come across so far is the kanji for depression, 鬱 (utsu). Many Japanese students have confessed that they have difficulty remembering how to write this kanji. After hearing this, one of the Fresno exchange students commited himself to learning how to write this kanji. He has done so successfully, so it is funny to see his notebook which has the kanji for 'depressed' written all over it.


Here is a picture of the sign of the bus we took from Tokyo to Kyoto. It had a very cute name, Seishun (youth) Dream.



Look how beautiful this looks! We turned on a random sidewalk and this beautiful site came out of nowhere! This is Kyoto early in the morning.

~Now for a brief recap~


Thanks to one of the Tokiwa Senseis, we had the opportunity to visit Ginza in Tokyo and watch a piece of a Kabuki play. This is a photo of the outside of a 歌舞伎座, a kabuki theatre. The play was very interesting, although I did not understand the language. Many fans in the audience called out the actors' names during the play, which I was very surprised to see. It seems that Japanese people are allowed to be involved in the Kabuki play, which is completely opposite from my experience at the Japanese movie theatres, where you are not supposed to clap or verbally interact with the movie (even if the movie is really good).


Here is a lucky picture I got of Mt. Fuji while riding a bus to Tokyo. Before this bus trip, I had only taken the train to Tokyo. It was truly an experience to ride the bus from Mito to Tokyo, because I had the opportunity to see the vast variety of buildings and streets.



These pictures are of old (throughout history) Japanese money. I wish I could explain it to you, but these heirlooms were shown to us by our friend's father whose family has heritage in the Tokugawa shogunate, and the Japanese he used was far too high level for my understanding.

Since I promised I would eventually post a picture of a Japanese style toilet, I will end this post with a picture of a Japanese toilet, the only type of toilet available after exiting the plane at Narita airport...although fancy western style toilets are widely available elsewhere in Japan.

Kimono (着物)

(The exchange students wearing the Japanese Traditional clothing, Kimono)

着物 (Kimono) is the Japanese Traditional garment used for weddings, coming of age, 七五三 (7,5,3 year old day), and even funerals. I was fortunate enough to be able to wear it one time. It was one of the most amazing things that I have experienced during my stay here in Japan. The kimono were bright and beautiful, making all of us exchange students feel special when we were wearing them. The kimono that we used were usually worn by the ladies who were going to celebrate their coming of age (成人式). Although the kimono that I wore was pretty, it was heavy and I had a difficult time breathing when I was wearing it. I would have to say, though, that the pros definitely outweigh the cons of wearing a kimono. I wanted to buy one, but unfortunately, the kimono that I wore cost almost 400,000 yen, around $4000! Hopefully, when I become お金持ち (wealthy), I will be able to buy a kimono for myself. :)

-Kristine

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello! We are currently in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving. This Thursday night, I had dinner at a small Japanese pasta restaurant (I don't want to call it Italian because it isn't!). After, I spent some time with some of university's students, and at the end of the day, I realized that Thursday was Thanksgiving day. In America, we have turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas and cranberries, corn, and etc. but Nobody in Japan celebrates Thanksgiving. That means no turkey! Come to think of it, I have never seen turkey in Japan yet. I think a couple of the other fellow exchange students had sushi for dinner and some others had rice and egg. I would feel sad for not eating turkey on Thanksgiving day, but this year, I hadn't even realized that turkey even existed! Probably because of all the other delicious food being made here :)

-James