Setting:
Just had dinner. Lots of sushi (including a sweet one that "kitsune" are said to like...called Inarizushi?), beef, some sort of soup with tofu, and a face-cake with chocolate creme. Sisters are taking a bath, I hear my host mother talking sternly to my host father (about what, who knows), and "Call Me Maybe" is on the radio.
The first post. I should have started this 2 weeks ago, when I first came to Japan, but I put off writing anything until now. I could blame the jet lag, culture shock, and lack of time for not writing anything before. And of course, those were pretty big factors in me avoiding this blog. But I think more than anything, I didn't have anything to say. I could have written detailed accounts of all of the weird features of my new home (like the "shower toilet") or my first experience riding the subway to school (and the terrifying experience of trying to remember how to get back home by myself, without a cell phone) but I think those things I'll be able to remember, and those accounts can be found on any number of blogs written by students studying abroad in Japan. Writing all of that down is kind of a waste of time, to me anyways-I've been taking pictures along the way and can look back on them anytime to remember where I've been and what I've done.
What I want to write about are my thoughts about this experience, because that's not something pictures can capture. I'm aware of how naive I am/I have been about the world. I have lived my whole life in the small town of South Bend, Indiana, and when it came time to enter the next phase of my life and go to college, I chose to go to Notre Dame, which is literally 5 minutes away from my house (courageous, I know). Before this past December, I had never left the country, or even ridden an airplane. I know my family was plenty scared for me (I'm a pretty ditzy person, so that plus going to a country when I've barely ever left Indiana gave them plenty of reason to worry) and so was I. I still am actually. What I'm really scared about, though, is that I will come back the same person I was when I left. I think I'm a pretty decent human being...but I've been incredibly sheltered from other ways of viewing the world. For example, in my first 2 weeks of being here, I've managed to do some stupid things, such as:
1. Not bother to research how Japanese people took baths. I took baths the Western way for the first week and a half, until my host mother asked me how I was taking them. Turns out, you're supposed to wash yourself outside of the bathtub and only get in to soak and think-the small bath water is used for everyone, so you don't want to spoil it. I've never felt so stupid.
2. Leave things plugged in. In Japan, energy conservation is a big deal since everything's expensive. I took that for granted in the US.
So far, actually, this experience has just been a lot of me feeling stupid. I didn't realize until I came here how pathetic my Japanese language skill is. I've been learning new words every day, but putting them into practice has been difficult. I came here not to just experience the culture, but to learn the language. I had a sad realization today at the store though. My friends and I went to shop in Sakae, and I found this shoe store. I was looking at a boot when a friendly clerk came, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Last one! Better buy it". I immediately replied with "本当？" before I realized that he had said something in English to me.
English. People here know a bit of English, but not enough to talk in it often. This clerk had never heard me speak in Japanese. For all he knew, I could have been fluent. But he still approached me and spoke in English. I know this was kind of him, but a little disheartening. Japan is different from the US in many, many ways, but the biggest way it's different is that everyone is ethnically Japanese. I get stares on the subway because I'm bigger, whiter, and blonder than everyone else on it-because of this, they automatically know I'm a foreigner. In the US, you have no idea someone's a foreigner until they speak, and even then, they might be so good at English that you cannot tell. I've been thinking about this since the store but I realized that even if I learn the language fluently and dress exactly like a Japanese woman should, I will never fit in. And I think this is the saddest part of my trip.
But I'm still very grateful and happy to be here! This has actually made me more motivated than ever to learn Japanese. I do NOT want to just be a tourist here. I may never fit in, but I will try my hardest to carry part of this culture with me home. I want to come back to the US and not just tell stories about the cool places I went, or the weird features of a Japanese home. I want to go back changed by Japan, even if I can not change Japan or even be a part of Japan. I've loved this country since I was a small child, and know I will never have an experience like this again. So...I will try my hardest. :) がんばりましょう！
PS.
As if on cue, as I wrote that last sentence, my little sister Ayaka came in and gave me a hug good night. Maybe I'm being too pessimistic about the not fitting in thing...appearances are superficial, and Japanese people are very welcoming of me in general. I'm not sure how well learning the language will help me to overcome this feeling of separation...We'll see!
PPS.
I'm not sure if anyone is reading this...it's kind of just a place to muse about things, and not actually write about my happenings in Japan. I'm not telling anyone about it, because I don't know if anyone else will find it interesting. But if you accidentally stumbled upon this, mysterious person, hello there!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
日本、はじめまして。
Note: I just noticed I never published this. It's in English, and from my first week in Japan. Interesting, maybe irrelevant, but I took the time to write it so I'm publishing it.
こんばんは、皆さん！今、留学生として日本に住んでいます！火曜日日本に着いて、それからもうたくさん面白いものを見たんです。どこから始めましょうか？
First, I'm not sure who will be reading this. I'm mostly writing this post and future posts for the sake of myself (to reflect upon my experiences) and my family (who want to know everything I'm doing). So, if someone from 日本語の授業 or 他の日本語が分かる人happens to be reading this...my posts are going to be in mostly English from now on. ごめんなさい.
The first thing I remember stepping off the plane, seeing Japan for the first time, albeit in my suffering-from-airline-food-and-jetlag state, was that everyone was so polite. Japanese flight attendants and airport workers lined the hallway, bowing to all of us weary passengers as we hauled our luggage to wherever we were going. Although I haven't had all that much airport experience, I know this isn't exactly the norm in America. But no, here, everyone seemed happy, even thankful, that we passengers made it. I already know that when I go back to America (whenever that is), I'm going to really miss the Japanese sense of manners.
My host family met me at the airport, greeting me with handmade, heavily glittered signs. I have two little sisters: Mei (11 years old) and Ayaka (9). I said something in horrible Japanese, and immediately presented my sisters with two Notre Dame teddy bears. They quietly accepted them and gave me shy smiles, and I worried for a few minutes that they were of the shy variety of kids who don't take too well to strangers suddenly living in their homes for the next 4 months. Luckily, by the next day, Ayaka was climbing all over me, and Mei was visiting me in my room to look at pictures of my friends from school. In fact, today the two of them took me on the subway to a new part of the city to wait for our okaasan (mother). It was a long train ride, so the two decided to pull me around, teach me songs, and suddenly decide their legs didn't work so the only way they could get off the train was if I carried them. I'm sure it was quite a sight for the other passengers- these two little girls directing and climbing all over some foreigner who dresses and talks weird.
As for the parents...they're polar opposites. I guess I can't say much for otousan (father), because he's not home very often. From what I've gathered, he works odd hours at the train station so he's rarely home. When he is, there's a painful silence between us. He knows no English, and my Japanese is pretty embarrassing, so often our conversations are limited to "Good morning" and "いってきます"(what Japanese people say to someone who is leaving the house). My mother, however, is quite interesting. She spent 2 years studying abroad in the US, and teaches English now to Toyota company workers and little children, so she's almost fluent. However, she only uses it when it's vital I understand something. When talking to me, she speaks kindly and slowly, and has a bubbly laugh. However, she can switch gears in an instant when Mei or Ayaka do something wrong. I've figured out my host mother is not someone to cross, so I'm doing my best to help her whenever I can to get on her good side. She also puts a lot of stock in my ability to do things on my own...like return home from school an hour away by myself. That was probably one of the scariest hours of my life, but that night when I saw the familiar door of my home, I got this sense of immense pride and reassurance. I mean, I managed to figure out the subway and local train system of a different, non-English speaking country...I must be at least semi-competent.
So that's the family. As for the house, I know I got extremely lucky with my home-stay placement. I live in an actual two-story house (which is rare in Japan, as space is limited and most people live in an apartment). My home is furnished here with Wifi, central heating, and two very advanced toilets. Space is still limited, with the kitchen being pretty small and no real dining room. Over the summer, I remember the Keio University students noting the waste of land Americans use on unnecessary things like huge yards and 3 car garages. I can see where that mentality comes from-in Japan, EVERYTHING (from utilities to food) is expensive, so they try to save as much as possible.
Weird differences I've noticed:
1) The trash system is a LOT more complicated. In fact, it seems like none of it is really "trash"...it's all recycled. You can usually see 外人(foreigners) around the trash cans with confused expressions on their faces, trying to figure out where to put their plastic box from lunch. As I would guess, this system was born out of a sense of needing to conserve as many resources as possible in Japan. I'm not sure why this sentiment is so prevalent in Japan and not America...perhaps Americans are too cocky to think they need to both with that sort of thing
2) In bathrooms, there's almost never paper towels provided. Most people carry around their own cloth towels to dry their hands with (I unfortunately never go that memo). That goes along with the "saving resources" thing.
3) Japanese people are exceptional at falling asleep immediately upon boarding the subway.
4) LOTS of people here those medical masks, in order to prevent catching a cold. I'm not sure why this is so prevalent in Japan but not America...again, maybe Americans are too cocky to think they could get sick.
5) Children here walk to school, no matter the age. However, if they're still in elementary school, they walk in groups and wear matching yellow hats. As my host mom explained, these hats are supposed to catch an adult's attention so that someone is watching and protecting the children at all times.
こんばんは、皆さん！今、留学生として日本に住んでいます！火曜日日本に着いて、それからもうたくさん面白いものを見たんです。どこから始めましょうか？
First, I'm not sure who will be reading this. I'm mostly writing this post and future posts for the sake of myself (to reflect upon my experiences) and my family (who want to know everything I'm doing). So, if someone from 日本語の授業 or 他の日本語が分かる人happens to be reading this...my posts are going to be in mostly English from now on. ごめんなさい.
The first thing I remember stepping off the plane, seeing Japan for the first time, albeit in my suffering-from-airline-food-and-jetlag state, was that everyone was so polite. Japanese flight attendants and airport workers lined the hallway, bowing to all of us weary passengers as we hauled our luggage to wherever we were going. Although I haven't had all that much airport experience, I know this isn't exactly the norm in America. But no, here, everyone seemed happy, even thankful, that we passengers made it. I already know that when I go back to America (whenever that is), I'm going to really miss the Japanese sense of manners.
My host family met me at the airport, greeting me with handmade, heavily glittered signs. I have two little sisters: Mei (11 years old) and Ayaka (9). I said something in horrible Japanese, and immediately presented my sisters with two Notre Dame teddy bears. They quietly accepted them and gave me shy smiles, and I worried for a few minutes that they were of the shy variety of kids who don't take too well to strangers suddenly living in their homes for the next 4 months. Luckily, by the next day, Ayaka was climbing all over me, and Mei was visiting me in my room to look at pictures of my friends from school. In fact, today the two of them took me on the subway to a new part of the city to wait for our okaasan (mother). It was a long train ride, so the two decided to pull me around, teach me songs, and suddenly decide their legs didn't work so the only way they could get off the train was if I carried them. I'm sure it was quite a sight for the other passengers- these two little girls directing and climbing all over some foreigner who dresses and talks weird.
As for the parents...they're polar opposites. I guess I can't say much for otousan (father), because he's not home very often. From what I've gathered, he works odd hours at the train station so he's rarely home. When he is, there's a painful silence between us. He knows no English, and my Japanese is pretty embarrassing, so often our conversations are limited to "Good morning" and "いってきます"(what Japanese people say to someone who is leaving the house). My mother, however, is quite interesting. She spent 2 years studying abroad in the US, and teaches English now to Toyota company workers and little children, so she's almost fluent. However, she only uses it when it's vital I understand something. When talking to me, she speaks kindly and slowly, and has a bubbly laugh. However, she can switch gears in an instant when Mei or Ayaka do something wrong. I've figured out my host mother is not someone to cross, so I'm doing my best to help her whenever I can to get on her good side. She also puts a lot of stock in my ability to do things on my own...like return home from school an hour away by myself. That was probably one of the scariest hours of my life, but that night when I saw the familiar door of my home, I got this sense of immense pride and reassurance. I mean, I managed to figure out the subway and local train system of a different, non-English speaking country...I must be at least semi-competent.
So that's the family. As for the house, I know I got extremely lucky with my home-stay placement. I live in an actual two-story house (which is rare in Japan, as space is limited and most people live in an apartment). My home is furnished here with Wifi, central heating, and two very advanced toilets. Space is still limited, with the kitchen being pretty small and no real dining room. Over the summer, I remember the Keio University students noting the waste of land Americans use on unnecessary things like huge yards and 3 car garages. I can see where that mentality comes from-in Japan, EVERYTHING (from utilities to food) is expensive, so they try to save as much as possible.
Weird differences I've noticed:
1) The trash system is a LOT more complicated. In fact, it seems like none of it is really "trash"...it's all recycled. You can usually see 外人(foreigners) around the trash cans with confused expressions on their faces, trying to figure out where to put their plastic box from lunch. As I would guess, this system was born out of a sense of needing to conserve as many resources as possible in Japan. I'm not sure why this sentiment is so prevalent in Japan and not America...perhaps Americans are too cocky to think they need to both with that sort of thing
2) In bathrooms, there's almost never paper towels provided. Most people carry around their own cloth towels to dry their hands with (I unfortunately never go that memo). That goes along with the "saving resources" thing.
3) Japanese people are exceptional at falling asleep immediately upon boarding the subway.
4) LOTS of people here those medical masks, in order to prevent catching a cold. I'm not sure why this is so prevalent in Japan but not America...again, maybe Americans are too cocky to think they could get sick.
5) Children here walk to school, no matter the age. However, if they're still in elementary school, they walk in groups and wear matching yellow hats. As my host mom explained, these hats are supposed to catch an adult's attention so that someone is watching and protecting the children at all times.
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