Yeah...

This blog is dead. Sorry :)

Study Abroad Assn #2 (最後)

"Describe the perceptions of the U.S. in your host country. Are there a range of perceptions or are they general? Are they what you expected? Do host-nationals ask you about the U.S.? What do they ask? What creates these perceptions?"

In my program, we always joke about being the うるさい外人 (loud foreigners) or 変な外人　(strange foreigners). And in a country where 98% of the population are Japanese, foreigners really do stick out! Whenever I relay these gross generalizations of foreigners, and Americans in particular, I always get a laugh. And hardly ever does anyone contradict me. In Japanese popular culture, Americans are always portrayed as blond, loud, and a people who love to drink. And this is pretty much what I expected Americans to be viewed as (I feel we are viewed in this manner throughout the world?) This is the generally assumed and accepted portrayal of Americans among younger Japanese people, many of whom are actually, despite these horribly generalized conceptions, really interested in American culture, music, and the like. Many of them are very interested to go to America; with it's various and wide, open spaces and pop culture references. Older Japanese are usually a little more wary of foreigners and Americans, treating them as suspicious outsiders. While this is not a universal situation, it is one I have found to be relatively frequently true. Because of the small number of foreigners, it's relatively easy for negative perceptions such as these to be created by a few loud and obnoxious American tourists who can't speak the language or foreign exchange students who drink too much and make fools of themselves. As my program coordinator said, he has to live here, so please don't reinforce the stereotypes already present by bad behavior. And they're words I strive to live by.

Assingment 1!!!

"How is the education system you are experiencing different from what you are accustomed to in the U.S.? From your perspective as a student in the U.S. how is it beneficial and disadvantageous? Consider the perspective of your host-country's students, how is it beneficial to them? Is it unfavorable to them in any way?"

For one, they take role. This is something I have rarely noticed or experienced at Willamette since I started. Participation is something different, this is more like, "you're here, you get the credit,". And I find it rather odd. But I guess from a Japanese perspective it makes perfect sense. Unlike in America, the Japanese school system is all commuter based. Students usually live with their families and commute daily to school for classes. This trip can be anywhere from a five minute walk to a three hour commute by train. Having an attendance policy makes certain that the students won't just blow off class, or at least will think twice before they do. Furthermore, Japanese students practically kill themselves in Middle School and High School, and many see college as a four year break before they enslave themselves to a company name and a singular job for the remainder of their lives. So just showing up is really all I think is often expected of these students. I don't find role-taking either advantageous or disadvantageous, just an interesting creation of a Japanese education system.

My program does not have the JSP foreign exchange students attend classes at the host university, but rather our own classes through our program. This includes two electives that are three hours once a week, and rather easy by Willamette standards. Anywhere between 20-50 pages of lite reading a week and no assignments other than mid-terms and the final. But we do have good discussions and I actually find I am learning despite the light load. On the other hand, my Japanese language class (the reason I'm here, right?) is four three hour classes a week. For a total of 12 class hours of intensive Japanese study a week. I'm learning a lot faster and a lot more than at Willamette and have the time to practice Kanji, grammar, reading, writing, speaking, vocabulary, anything you can imagine. For a good chunk of time every day but Wednesday. I also find that I study better here, surrounded by Japanese language and culture 24/7. The local cafe is a great environment for studying, with the hum of Japanese life and conversation in the background. They also push you hard, and cover a lot of ground every single day. Thank goodness. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to noticeably improve my Japanese skills. But with classes and an education system designed to cram you full of Japanese knowledge, it's very difficult not to!

Long time, no blog

Oh my god. I hadn't realized that my blog was so far behind! The club was fun, as was the all night karaoke that came afterward. But, while I'm up for karaoke again anytime, the club isn't going to happen for a LONG time! It was really cool coming out of the karaoke place at five am in downtown Shibuya and walking to the station with hundreds of others in the same tired and weary condition as us!

I can't remember much about the following week, except that somewhere in there was a midterm that ate my soul. Which was followed by a trip to Disney Sea, possibly the best day of my study abroad so far. I then wandered around Kasumigaseki with Edo and finally took the train the opposite direction, to the end of the line at Yorii. Nothing there. Monday was devoted to a Ghibli movie marathon and hanging out with the people who wouldn't be doing Kansai the next day.

And then, there was Kansai. It was AMAZING. I saw so much stuff and did so many cool things! But alas, I'm lazy. And need to study for my History midterm tomorrow, so I'll catch you up on Kansai a little later. Peace!

Why does my program have classes?

This week has been a kind of stressful one, what with classes coming around to midterms and the world being a complicated place, but all in all, I can't complain! Last night I went with some JSP people to an izakaya (basically a Japanese-style drinking establishment) and had a bit too much to drink a bit too fast. I was ok, but it wasn't the best way to continue an already unfortunate week! Hopefully the club will help me get out of this slump I seem to be in! If not, I'm sure that after the horrors of my Japanese midterm are over next week, my week long vacation to Kansai will be MORE than enough to cheer me up! This week is a short one, but I have a shit-ton of homework to do before the club!

UPDATE

Hanami is an amazing experience, complete with good friends, beautiful flower-laden trees, and really crappy rum. The sakura blossoms were in full bloom just two days ago, and they are already beginning to fall with every stray gust of wind. This sight really made me wonder about life in general. Every year, the Japanese media gives countdowns to the sakura blooming, good places to go watch them, etc. Every aspect of the hanami event can be packaged and processed into a neat little box. And every year, people wait in anticipation and excitement for these traditionally viewed trees to burst into bloom. All pretty and white and pink. and they ARE pretty! And last about two weeks. With all the hype that goes into it, it's over not long after it begins. But, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The hanami is an event that can be savored, and yearly by millions of Japanese; and gaijin lucky enough to be in Japan during that two week span, is. It's fleeting and lovely and sad. And yet, even in the death of the flowers, there is something beautiful to be found. As they flutter to the ground at a fairly constant rate of 5 centimeters per second, I can (with the help of my ridiculously overactive imagination) see the hopes and dreams of millions of people flutter down to the ground to mix with the mud and dirt and garbage of the trash, only to be reborn again the next year, and the year after, and after that. Until Japan sinks into the ocean and life ceases to exist.

Oh, I also climbed Tokyo Tower. That was cool.

Perspectives

Quite a bit longer than a week since I last posted. Twice over, actually! But I'll try to encapsulate my past two weeks! I karaoke a lot! If you'd asked me before I came to Japan that I would enjoy this traditional Japanese pastime, I wouldn't have believed you! But with a good group of people and a little whiskey in me? I'm golden.

Let's see, last weekend I went to Akihabara (anime and technology capitol of the world) and saw lots of awesomely ridiculous stuff! Including a maid cafe. Quite an experience! All these Japanese girls dressed up in maid outfits, acting all subservient and passive towards their predominantly male clientele, but at the same time holding a ridiculous amount of power over their customers. When you order something, they make you do silly things and make funny noises (act like a cat, etc.) before you can eat or drink. This subtle role reversal, of power and subservience was actually quite fascinating (and for 800yen a drink, I better have gotten something else out of it!) The Japanese conscious is a fascinating one.
Sundays are usually catch-up days, getting all of my homework done before the new week begins.

And on Tuesday we did karaoke again! It was so much fun!

Wednesday was a once in a lifetime experience, I made udon noodles from scratch and cooked and ate them. Oishii! It was a VERY labor intensive project. But what was really interesting is that all of the Japanese people I've talked to (other than my host great grandmother) has ever even thought about the process. People are always saying about how traditional Japanese society can be, but last week really made me question that. Or at least question what it means to be uniquely and traditionally Japanese. They certainly are NOT Westerners. They have their own unique outlooks and perspectives, but they are not what you see in anime.

Karaoke again on Friday!

And on Saturday (yesterday), I went to Shibuya and Roppongi with a group of JSP students to do some frankly way too early hanami-ing and make fun of all the funny-looking gaijin we saw. One of my friends made a very good point. When I'm just with foreigners I know and everyone else around is Japanese, it's very easy to consider yourself to be something other that what you are, a gaijin. And you almost make yourself believe you are Japanese. But, when you see other foreigners that you don't know, that perception of misconception is shattered and you realize that you too are a foreigner is a homogeneous land. But it was a lot of fun and I got to try absinthe at a bar in Roppongi! Don't do it. Unless you like black licorice and rubbing alcohol.

Has it really only been only three and a half weeks since I got here? That's surprising to me. It seems like so much longer and I frankly never want it to end!