Spring Break

Part I: Morning of

My many 8-hour long road trips in the Midwest had me mentally prepared for a 9-hour long train ride to Tokyo.  But as I woke up with a writhing pain in my stomach and a stitch in my chest at 3 am the night before my trip, I realized that I was no longer physically prepared.  Had I eaten something weird the day before?  Was I having a heart attack?  Would I be able to go to school that day, take my midterm test, and then travel to Tokyo?  I wondered these things the next two times I woke up in pain that night.  When finally it came time to get up, I walked downstairs and, using vocabulary from the illness chapter that I had just studied in my speaking Japanese class, told my host mom that I was feeling funky.  When we ruled out food poisoning, a cold, and needing to poop, my host mom diagnosed me with a case of excitement for my-big-day-to-come and sent me off to school after giving me some indigestion pills just to make me feel better psychologically. 

Part II: Getting There

Using the seishun 18 kippu to ride the JR lines up to Tokyo, you have change trains about 6 times.  The rides ranged from 30 minutes long to 2 ½ hours long.  If you can get a seat on the longer rides, it’s really not that bad of a trip even though it takes so long.  You go through some pretty cool country areas, so about 75% of the time, I was just looking out the window (the other 25% of the time I spent listening to my ipod or snoozing).  Probably the only really annoying thing is that you can’t eat a meal on the train and that you have to either try to inconspicuously eat little snacks or eat when you change trains.  Although I felt like crap and kept getting overheated on the train ride to Tokyo, I was lucky in the fact that I had no appetite:  While the others complained about hunger during some of the longer rides, I was totally cool.  We had left Kyoto around 1 and arrived in Shinjuku (Tokyo) around 10.

Part III: Tokyo

Meeting with my family was incredible.  My aunt was like my second mother, my uncle was kind of intimidating but was nonetheless incredibly nice, and my cousins were so goofy yet so grown-up.  Most of the time, I sat around my cousins’ apartment as everyone took care of me.  I felt like a total mooch, but there wasn’t really anything I could help them with, and even when I offered, they just made me sit and watch tv.  I forgot all sorts of things—nice shoes, tights, pajamas, clothes for my last day with them—but they either lent or bought me whatever I needed. 

My cousin Yoshiko’s graduation ceremony at SUJ apparently bored everyone except her.  But it was fun to see all the girls dressed up in traditional hakama and to meet my uncle’s old professors from his time at SUJ.  My feet hurt from the heels that my aunt bought me, but I looked cute. 

 

After visiting my family, I kind of regretted not choosing to study abroad at SUJ.  But I suppose I had very practical reasons for choosing Kansai, so I hope my decision is worth it.

The rest of the week, I visited various places in Tokyo—Shibuya, Harakuju, Shinjuku—but it rained for a couple days, so I got my hair cut and learned how to make rice during those days.  The rain didn’t spoil anything because I hit up much of Tokyo two years ago, but I think the next time I get a chance to go to Tokyo, I’d like to visit Yokohama, maybe go to Disneyland, and climb Mt. Fuji!

I came back to the Kansai region for the last weekend of spring break, and the ride down was much more beautiful than the ride up.  The train runs along the ocean for part of the time and also goes through very quaint country areas that look like they’re out of a Miyazaki film.  In Kansai, I went to Shinsaibashi (near Osaka) for the first time, which was a good place for shopping.

Conclusion

The 18 kippu is totally worth it.  Seriously, roundtrip between Kyoto and Tokyo for 4600 yen/~$46?  All the Japanese people who knew I was doing this thought I was crazy, but the train ride is actually pretty comfortable, and if you can entertain yourself without internet, then a 9-hour ride is nothing. 

Confidence Killer

A couple days ago, I had my Japanese breakthrough, and today I had another little significant moment.  You know when someone asks you something, and you answer before you’ve really processed what he or she asked?  I do that a lot with Japanese, and if I end up giving the other person wrong information that is not really important, then I don’t correct myself.  Today, however, my host mom asked if I had to change trains to get to Tokyo.  I answered no, and then I thought to myself, “That’s not true,” and I told her that I had misunderstood her and that, yes, I have to change trains about six times.  I was really proud that I took that step, and I was going to write a very positive blog entry about it.

But tonight, as I brushed my teeth in my pajamas, my host mom’s cousin’s son arrived for his stay here. 

!!!!!!!!!???!!!!!!!!!!

Why didn’t anyone tell me that some dude from Canada is coming to stay over when I’m wearing my pajamas?!?!?

The dude from Canada is actually very nice.

But as he spoke amazing Japanese to my host family and turned to me every now and then to translate, I became more and more negative about studying Japanese.  All this vocab that I’ll have to learn, thousands and thousands of words, not to mention grammar patterns and cultural implications and kanji, all for a society that won’t accept me as its own anyway.  And it doesn’t help my confidence when the only thing I understand in a conversation is when my host dad good-naturedly tells our guests that I don’t understand anything they’re saying. 

Why didn’t my mom just speak more Japanese to me when I was growing up?

But I suppose I have more sympathy now for my Japanese friends who are learning English.  Like the Canadian dude did for me tonight, I do my best to help my friends understand English conversation, but now I want to try to do more for them.

18 Kippu-ing It to Tokyo!

The other Soka kids and I have been looking for the cheapest way to Tokyo for Spring Break... 5,000 yen for night bus?  8,000 for day bus?  12,000 yen for shinkansen?  And then I found the Seishun 18 Kippu.

For 11,500 yen, you get 5 "units" of unlimited travel on JR train lines, one of the larger train lines in Japan.  That makes 2,300 yen for one unit of unlimited travel.  Those units can be used as days or people in any combination: One person can have 5 days of unlimited travel, or two friends can travel together for two days and use four of the "units," etc.  

The three of us split the cost of a ticket (I paid for three units worth), and we'll be traveling all the way to Tokyo on JR local trains tomorrow.  Using this website, we were able to plan out which trains we have to catch (this website is amazing because you can specify in the search field what kind of transportation you want to take--anything from trains to walking--and it'll give you a schedule).

A 9 hour ride.  >< 

But I like to think that my experience with roadtrips between Okiehomer and San Antonio have prepared me for this kind of experience.  I'm kind of afraid we won't get seats, though, and might have to stand for two hours or something.  D:  Another hard thing will probably be finding some secret corner where we can quickly eat our packed dinners (it's tacky to eat in public). 

One of our Japanese friends has been discouraging me for two weeks from taking this trip.  He said we will probably get confused or attacked, and he also worried that we might not be "tactful": enforcing stereotypes of foreigners by talking loudly, eating, getting naked, whatever.  He was even so worried as to send me a text last night at 1 am: "This is my last advice.  Please do not take local trains."  I've been telling him that the best way to make sure that we'll be safe is if he comes with us. 

He just came up to me as I wrote the above paragraph and told me that his own ride to Tokyo didn't work out, and now he'll be riding with us.  Ha! 

I will post an entry reporting how the trip went and whether it is worth it to 18 Kippu to Tokyo.  Yeah!

勉強·勉強·勉強

Two of my Okinawan cousins attend Soka University (of Japan) in Hachioji, nearish Tokyo, and I’ve been making arrangements to stay with them during Spring Break.  It’s an opportune time because my female cousin is graduating during Spring Break, so I’ll be able to attend the ceremony.  She and I have been using cell phone messages to contact each other, and we use all Japanese (mine being crappy, of course).

My aunt, who will be flying up from Okinawa to attend the graduation ceremony, called me tonight to solidify the plans.  She told me that she’d been nagging my cousin to practice English so that she can more easily communicate with me, but apparently my cousin replied that she didn’t have to because my Japanese was good enough. 

My Japanese benkyou is slowly paying off.

[Here it gets cheesy]

But I think the satisfaction of finally seeing some improvement in my Japanese is overshadowed by my joy that my Okinawan family seems to be just as happy to see me as I am to see them.  I’ve become very sappy about Okinawa in the past several years, and I’ve been insecure that my desire to reconnect with that side of me is not as strongly reciprocated.  But as my aunt asked me tonight if I was too cold in Osaka and asked me whether I needed her to buy me a coat and told me not to refrain from asking her to buy me anything that I need, I remembered that night three years ago in Okinawa when I had dinner with the entire family for the first time in ten years.  The love in the room that night was something I didn’t remember feeling before, and it was that love that made me want to study Japanese and reconnect with Okinawa as well as to strengthen my relationship with my immediate family.  

I’ve had so many doubts about studying Japanese, but I know that it was the right choice for me.

[End of cheese]

Spring break, wootwoot!  But first... a week of midterms... X_X

バレンタインデーとワイトデー

On February 14, the women of Japan celebrate Barentain dee.  Based on the Western Valentine’s Day, barentain dee has the uniquely Japanese tradition of only women giving gifts to men (at least in the heterosexual context; I don’t know if and how Japanese homosexuals participate). 

The most popularized gift to give is handmade chocolate, and it’s kind of a big deal.  There’s the honmeichoko, which you give to the person you like.  There’s the girichoko, translated as “obligation chocolate,” which is like the Valentine’s Day cards you had to give to everyone in your elementary school class.  Girichoko is typically given out to classmates and co-workers, and it is a very popular joke theme for barentain dee episodes of dramas, especially those set in the office.  And recently, there have been two new types of choco: the tomo(dachi)choko or “friend chocolate” and, my personal favorite, the ji(bun)choko or “chocolate for oneself.”  I guess every day is barentain dee for me.

On and around barentain dee, I got to try out all types of choco.  First was a test-piece of honmeichoko, which my friend made for her boyfriend. 

Next was the girichoko that my sensei (teacher) handed out to the class.  Pudding flavor, wootwoot.

Then I spend balentain dee at my host parents’ son’s house, and I got to try the grandchildrens’ tomochoko.  The granddaughter unexpectedly received a lot of tomochoko, so she stressfully spent the afternoon making tomochoko to give in return to everyone the next day.  The grandson received some fancy crocodile-themed “tomochoko” (I think the girl who gave it to him might have been crushin’ on him a little). 

I thought that was to be the extent of my barentain dee experience until I got a surprise tomo-candy that my friend Kimmie* brought with her from America.

And now it’s White Day, part of the Japanese twist on Valentine’s.  On March 14, a month after barentain dee, the men must return the favor to the women who gave them chocolates.  As far as I understand, on White Day, men can’t just give women chocolates or something and be done with it:  They must make an extravagant date of it, complete with romantic meals, lots of sweet pastries, and probably a 6-foot-tall stuffed animal of some sort. 

One of my friends has planned a day out to the onsen (hot springs) with his girlfriend.  Now what will I plan for my Kimmie?? . . .

*Name changed at the person’s request in order to protect her identity

Advice: Floss

Advice for anyone who plans to visit or study in Japan:  Bring your own floss.  I ran out of the pack I brought from home, and it took me weeks before I found any here.  I was desperate, so I paid the 500 yen ($5!!!!!) for the one pack.

One interesting thing, though.  I looked at the packaging, and the labels on the back indicated that the packaging could be separated into paper and recyclable plastic.

With American packaging in mind, I thought, “Great, how am I going to separate the paper and plastic without making it all ugly?”  I tried to peel the plastic part from the cardboard part and then

the plastic just cleanly popped off on its own.  That moment was the most amazing experience I had that week.

(><)

Yesterday, I asked my Japanese friend to help me with my national healthcare application form.  I asked in Japanese, using what I thought was a kiddish/babyish voice.  After I did this for a minute, he said to himself in English, "So slutty."  "Slutty?!?"  Apparently, what would be considered a kiddish voice in America is considered slutty in Japan.  Ugh!!

ていねいな国 (A Polite Country)- Emoticons

When I first got my Japanese cellphone and started exploring all its features, I was amazed by its library of emoticons.  On my American phone, I can probably make about 10 or 11 different emotifaces with a combination of colons, semicolons, asterisks, the letters “d” and “o,” and either parenthesis.  On my Japanese phone, I have a whole section of classic and more complex emoticons as well as little pictures of animals, buildings, food, etc.  There is sure to be an emoticon that can appropriately enhance any message you write to someone.

For my Reading and Writing Japanese class, I learned a new usage for the phrase 「～の方」”~no hou.”  From what I understand, this phrase can be added in certain circumstances for the sole purpose of making a statement more polite.  Essentially, (in this context) it holds no meaning whatsoever and only serves as a softener for the statement (which may already be pretty soft in the first place). 

In the last month, I’ve only had lunch with my Japanese speaking partner once and run into her once, yet I love her.  Why?

As we were making plans through cellphone messages to finally hang out again, I noticed that she usually uses at least one emoticon after every sentence.  I think her favorite one is the chick.  I thought to myself, “I love her!  She is so freaking sweet.  Look at this little light bulb she put in!” and it hit me that, just like 「～の方」, emoticons largely serve as a softener for messages.  I do it myself, looking for the perfect variation on the “oops” face to make my “I’m so sorry I forgot to message you again!!!!” (a message I oft-send) seem more genuine. 

I originally thought that emoticons reflect the Japanese youth’s desire to be fun, cute, and different from their parents’ generation, but now I believe there’s also the deeper, perhaps subconscious “polite” usage that maintains traditional cultural values.  But maybe not, cuz my host mom is polite, but she never sends me emoticons in her messages.  

Further Evidence

I have a good Japanese friend here who shares the same face template as Jack Black.

Kansai Assessment

I haven’t thoroughly explored them yet, but now that I’ve at least hit up the three big cities of the Kansai region—Kyoto, Kobe, and Osaka—here are some initial thoughts.

Kyoto 
What the natives told me: Considered the cultural center of Kansai and of Japan.  Lots of temples.

My take:  Lots of temples, and that’s mostly all that I saw here.  I’m not much of a temple/shrine person.  They creep me out a little.  That night, I went to kaiten zushi (revolving conveyor belt sushi restaurant) in a shopping area, and I liked that area because I’m a consumerist, at least in Japan.

Kobe 

What the natives told me:  Kobe is lame.

My take:  I went with some SUA kids to check out hotels in the area.  Kobe is my favorite of the big three so far; I didn’t think it was lame at all.  Lots of weird Western architecture.  Lots of foreigners: many black people and Indian people and lots of openly-interracial couples pushing baby carriages.  Chinatown.  Harborland!  And a BMX park thingy.  Kobe is where I mistakenly bought really weird and nasty cheese cake… literally, cheese on a cake.

Osaka

What the natives told me:  The only thing in Osaka is the Osaka Castle, the former home of a daimyou (Japanese feudal lord). 

My take:  It was plum blossom season when I went, and both the plum trees and the castle were beautiful.  I had a lovely lunch by the castle with my fellow SUA students as well as some upperclassmen who graduated.  There’s a time capsule located at the park, and it is to be opened in 4,960 years.  Because Osaka Castle is supposedly the only thing in Osaka, we went to dinner in Kyobashi, a city nearby.  I’ve heard there’s a pretty big shopping district in Osaka, but I didn’t get to check it out this time.