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.