Christmas in Japan

Christmas seems to be widely celebrated in Japan, but not so much as a religious holiday. Instead, it seems to be a sort of commercial holiday for most people, and everyone celebrates with either their family or their significant other.

It's traditional to celebrate Christmas with Christmas dinner and Christmas cake. Okaasan told me that Christmas dinner usually includes chicken, not ham, like what people in the U.S. are used to. My host family ate Christmas dinner a day or two early, on the 23rd. She made oven-roasted chicken for dinner, and she picked a delicious chocolate raspberry mousse cake for dessert. People sometimes give Christmas presents, but instead of a whole slew of presents under a Christmas tree, my host family had a small tree in the corner of the living room, and Okaasan gave the children each one present.

The following day I went to a German Christmas market that is set up each year in a certain area of Osaka. The market had a huge Christmas tree in the center, and when the sun set the tree was lit up. There were little booths set up around the perimeter of the square, where people sold souvenirs or food. There was also live music, mostly singing, all afternoon and evening. After the Christmas tree was lit up, I went to the top of a nearby building, rode the elevator up to the 40th floor, and saw the Osaka skyline all lit up at night. I ended the evening by going out to dinner in Sannomiya.

Kawasaki Field Trip

Yesterday I took a field trip to the Kawasaki Factory and Research Center in Nishi Akashi, to the west of Sannomiya. Kawasaki produces motorcycles, gas turbines, and robots, all of which are sold and used in Japan and across the world.

The most interesting part of the field trip was the tour inside the motorcycle factory. We saw welding areas for frames, a plating shop, and the assembly line for the motorcycles. We also saw the testing areas where finished motorcycles are taken and tested with a computer for proper acceleration and engine function.

Kawasaki seems like a very successful company. Their assembly process takes an hour and a half, and they have a mixed production system so they can build up to nine different types of motorcycles on one assembly line. They are also working on environmentally friendly technology, and their robots are used by many major manufacturing companies in Japan. They use just-in-time delivery on motorcycle parts so they don't waste money on unneeded parts. I believe that 95% of their motorcycle market is outside of Japan.

We finished up the factory visit with a video presentation, question-and-answer session, and a visit to the motorcycle museum at the factory, in which I saw many different motorcycle models, including some from the late 1960s.

Chanukah in Japan

I have not yet written about Chanukah in Japan, so I will do so now. I did not celebrate Chanukah every night because I do not have my own chanukiyah here. However, on the third night of Chanukah I went to the synagogue near my house. Usually there are not many people at the synagogue, but a fair amount of people turned up, especially couples with children, to celebrate the holiday. While the adults prayed, the children made paper s'vivon (spinning tops) out of paper and stickers. After prayers, everyone lit the candles in the chanukiyot. Then there was a magic show featuring two Japanese men who did various card tricks, juggling, and the like, for the children's entertainment. There was also dinner, but I returned home before dinner because I didn't know there would be food so I told my host mother I'd eat at home. However, I did get to eat a sufganiyah, or jelly donut, a traditional Chanukah food. Anyway, it was interesting to meet new people at the synagogue, people who don't usually show up for Shabbat services. I don't know how many of them I'll see again soon, though, because the next time a big crowd will come will be for Passover in March.

Celebrating my Birthday in Japan

Last week I enjoyed celebrating my birthday here in Japan. I received a lot of cards in the mail from my friends and family back at home, which I was really happy about. Thank you for thinking of me from so far away!!!

In the morning I received a birthday card from the Konan University staff members who work in the Konan International Exchange Center. It was a big surprise for me, but they all took the time to sign their names and write their own personal messages. I also received a cute card from my friend Yuri. It's a popular thing to do here, to give a friend a picture of the two of you with a message written on the back for the friend's birthday.

After class Shoji took me to a restaurant called Sweets Paradise. It's an all-you-can-eat place, with a separate food buffet and dessert buffet. I ate so many different types of cakes there, maybe a little too much, because my stomach hurt a little bit afterward.

But my stomach didn't have much time to recuperate from all the cake because I was home by seven to enjoy a special hand-made sushi dinner that my host mom prepared for me at my request. She also baked me a vanilla cake, my favorite.

I ended the evening with a night on the town with a few fellow foreign exchange students. I had a wonderful birthday here in Japan!

Field Trip to Konan University's Second Campus

Last Friday my Japan Studies "Culture and Education" class took a field trip to Konan University's second and newest campus. The main Konan University campus is in the Okamoto area of Kobe, but this campus is in the Nishinomiya area, near Osaka. The campus itself is one building with nine floors. The campus was built within the past few years, and this is the first year that classes have been offered on the campus. The campus is also called "Cube Campus." It's an interesting name, because the architecture of the building is very modern, and much of the interior design seems to be cube-shaped or designed using modern-style architectural inspiration. This new campus is devoted specifically to business management, so the building is home to the "Hirao School of Managament," and students who wish to major in business management take classes here. Since this is the first year that the campus is in operation, the student body is very small, and I only saw about 100 or so students during my visit. However, the building is expected to hold about 800 students in three years.

During the field trip we had a "high tea," which to me was more like a casual party with food and drinks, and it was a chance for us to socialize with the Cube Campus students. My Japan Studies class teacher wanted some entertainment, so he asked me to bring my violin, and I performed a short solo as well as a duet with a fellow exchange student who plays guitar. My professor also gave me music that was selected by a professor at Cube Campus named Professor Ohta, who plays cello. Professor Ohta started playing cello six years ago, so he worked very hard on this duet, and it was his first performance ever. He is a physicist and very easy to talk with. We had a little rehearsal time together while the other students were touring the campus, and then we had a successful performance during the "high tea."

Kobe City Memorial Luminaries

This past Thursday and Friday I went two times to see a light show in Sannomiya, the downtown center of Kobe City. There are two blocks allocated for overhead lights, and huge arches are constructed with thousands of tiny, colored light bulbs that are lit up in beautiful patterns. Then, at the end of the two blocks, there is a park, and in the park there is another area set aside with one giant light display composed of more colorful designs. There is no special holiday theme for these lights, so it took a while for me to figure out why this brilliant light display occurs in Kobe each December.

The luminaries are set up in remembrance of the Great Hanshin Earthquake that struck Kobe in January, 1995. I do not know why the light display is held in December as opposed to January, but it is an annual event that started maybe ten years ago to mark the passing of each year since the deadly earthquake. I believe that Okaasan recently told me that the light show is second only to the Snow Festival held in Hokkaido each year in terms of popularity of seasonal events, and many people from all over Japan come to see the light show each year.

The light show uses a lot of electricity, so according to my Japanese friends, each year the show becomes smaller and smaller. In the past, the Kobe municipality has thought about discontinuing the light display, but protests from citizens across the country have stopped the municipality from ending the tradition and have kept the light show going. It's also free for the public, so it's hard on the city to fund all the electricity needed to display the lights. Therefore, the local government asks for a one hundred yen donation from each person who comes to see the lights.

The Orthodontist's Office: Japanese-style

I had an unfortunate experience with my retainer cracking while I'm here in Japan, so I had to make a trip to the orthodontist's office today to see if they could make me a new retainer. Braces and retainers aren't as high of priorities here in Japan as they are in the U.S., so my host mom warned me to not be surprised if the orthodontist was not able to fashion a new bottom retainer.

I entered the office and, just like in a house, there was an entryway area with a lower floor than that of the rest of the office. I had to remove my shoes, and then I pressed a button on this machine next to the doorway, and slippers came out from the bottom of the machine. I left my pink Converse sneakers in the entryway and put on the slippers, then I entered the waiting area. I didn't have to fill out nearly as much paperwork as I normally do at the orthodontist's office in the U.S., and the wait wasn't nearly as long.

Aside from the slipper-ejecting machine, I was shocked at what I found beyond the waiting room in the actual service area. The area where the orthodontist works on patients' teeth is smaller than the typical areas I've seen in the U.S., yet it has the same number of chairs, so four patients could be treated at the same time. I was shocked to see a television with movies playing in front of each patient's chair. One could simply sit down and watch a movie while the dentist or orthodontist works away. Maybe that's why this service I received today costs twice as much as what it does in the U.S... No personal television screens in the U.S...

I was able to complete the entire appointment using Japanese only with a little assistance from my host mom. I was relieved to find out that it would be possible for them to make me a new retainer, and it will be ready in a few weeks.

On my way out of the office, I set the slippers I had worn on top of the slipper machine, and they fell through the slots in the top of the machine and joined the pile of slippers inside the machine. I thought that machine to be an unusual, yet uniquely Japanese piece of technology.

Return to Synagogue

I was in the mood to attend Friday night services at synagogue, so I made my way over this past Friday. Shabbat evening services begin at 6:15, which is earlier than what I'm used to, but they still begin after sundown as opposed to beforehand, which is not what I would expect at a synagogue with more a more observant congregation. I sat in the women's section, as usual, but I was the only woman sitting there. There were only about fifteen men praying, just barely a minyan, and there were barely any women at the synagogue at all, much less anyone praying. I wanted to pray, but I couldn't because the prayers were Sephardi prayers, and the service is almost entirely in Hebrew. I can't follow along in the prayer book because they pray very quickly, and they may jump around, so I just sit and listen to the prayers, wishing that I could join in. The visiting rabbi who comes every Shabbat to help lead services has a very kind wife named Yonah, and she talked with me this past week during the services in between praying and taking care of her child. I also met another kind woman named Root (Ruth in Hebrew), and I sat next to her and spoke with her a lot during Shabbat dinner. Both Yonah and Root are Japanese women who married Jewish men and converted to Judaism.

After services I was allowed to eat dinner with everyone. It is difficult to obtain kosher meat in Japan, so for the meat course everyone ate fish. I spoke in both Hebrew and Japanese with one of the men in the congregation a little during dinner. I found out that most of the men at that congregation are Israelis who come to Japan to work overseas for their Israeli companies. Some of the men start dating and eventually marry Japanese women, some of whom convert and become Modern Orthodox Jews. The men of course miss Israel and want to return, but if they do, what would become of the congregation here in Kobe?

"Rakugo"

Last Sunday I went to a rakugo performance. Rakugo is comedic story telling, so there was a lot of laughter coming from the audience. The explanation was supposed to be geared toward exchange students and done in English, but the story teller, who had spent much time abroad, ended up giving most of the presentation in Japanese, probably because there were more Japanese people present than there were exchange students. He also had a heavy Japanese accent despite all the time he spent studying and working abroad, yet he could definitely communicate his ideas rapidly and in grammatically correct English. I didn't catch many of his stories and jokes at the beginning of his presentation because they were in Japanese, but I heard him mention some mishaps that occurred while he was traveling, including one that involved his shamisen (traditional Japanese instrument) case being mistaken for a rifle case.

Rakugo performers are also known for using props, such as a fan or a handkerchief, to assist in their presentations. This story teller used both a fan and a handkerchief, although he used the handerchief more frequently to wipe the sweat from his brow as opposed to using it as a prop for his stories, but he was still very funny, and he joked about how sweaty he became while performing (but since I was sitting in the front row, I could already tell quite clearly). He was also talented when it came to making sound effects, so as he used his fan as chopsticks, he made very realistic slurping sounds to imitate eating noodles. My previous belief was rakugo performances would be composed of jokes based on history or old-fashioned Japanese theatre, so without background knowledge I would not be able to understand much of a rakugo performance. However, this story teller joked about modern-day events that the audience could easily relate to, so I laughed a lot.

Thanksgiving here in Japan was a less-than-exciting affair. There is no holiday of the sort, so celebrations were minimal. The director of my study abroad program did place an order of pumpkin pies through Costco, so each exchange student was allotted one piece during the Thursday afternoon lunch hour. But we were still in Japan, so we devoured our pumpkin pie using not forks, but chopsticks, of course.

Yesterday I returned to the same grilled chicken restaurant that I went to with Otousan a few weeks ago, but this time with a friend. I learned last night that I have no etiquette when it comes to eating yakitori, or grilled chicken. Last time I went, I just picked up the stick with the meat on it and ate the meat off of the stick. But last night, my friend gave me chopsticks to use, and I had no idea what to do. Apparently, one is supposed to take the meat off of the stick using the chopsticks, place the meat on the plate, and then eat it. I proceeded to take off the three pieces of meat from the stick and place them on the plate. Then my friend said, "You're supposed to take off only one piece of meat at a time, or else it's bad manners!" I also piled up the wooden sticks on my plate after removing the meat, but my friend told me to place the wooden sticks in a cup sitting on the edge of the table.

Last Sunday I had my second music rehearsal with my host cousin who lives across the street. We rehearsed the same four pieces we worked on last time, but everything sounded better this time, so I was pleased. I think my host mom is hoping my cousin and I can perform the pieces at a Konan University event someday, but I still become nervous when I perform, so we'll see. My Culture and Education course professor also requested that I play the violin at a college campus that our class will be visiting in a week and a half. He said that at the school when everyone is partaking of "high tea" it would be nice to share some of the exchange students' talents and interests.

Finals season is coming up. It unfortunately lasts for about three weeks here, as opposed to one week in the U.S. I start tomorrow with an in-class essay exam for Japanese language class, and things continue from there through December 22, when winter break begins. Japanese students don't start winter break till December 24th or 25th, so I consider myself lucky.

Wearing a Kimono at Arashi Mountain

On Monday there was a country-wide holiday called Labor Thanks Day (comparable to the U.S.'s Labor Day), and thanks to the help of a very kind Japanese friend, I thoroughly enjoyed myself that day. Okaasan and another host mother, Nishiguchi-san, are friends, and Nishiguchi-san has a daughter named Yuya, with whom I am friends. Yuya invited me to go see the beautiful red maple leaves at Arashiyama, a mountain in Kyoto, and of course I accepted. What made the day even more fun was the fact that Yuya and I were allowed to borrow Nishiguchi-san's kimono (she owns three) and wear them to Kyoto!

I started off the day by going to Yuya's house to don the kimono. Putting on a kimono is a complicated process and it takes a lot of time, maybe twenty minutes or so. However, it is completely worth it, of course! Yuya's aunt, who holds a license in putting on kimono, dressed us in the correct manner. After we were dressed, we took the train to Kyoto (along with what seemed to be half of Japan - everyone had picked the holiday with fair weather as their day to venture to Arashiyama). I couldn't lean back against the seat while wearing a kimono on the train, and wearing a kimono kept my torso very straight, which I liked. I already have decent posture, so it was not uncomfortable to keep my back in an upright position.

Once we left the train, we joined throngs of people walking along the riverbank in western Kyoto in the Arashiyama environs. There is a famous, long bridge, and we crossed it and entered the commercial area, which was filled with restaurants and souvenir shops. We saw brightly colored maple leaves on the mountain side, and we walked through a garden next to the commercial area and saw even more fiery foliage. Yuya and I paid an admission fee for a temple complex, which allowed us to see even more beautiful autumn leaves in a different setting.

I received a lot more attention than I usually do as a foreigner because I was decked out in a kimono. I caught many people snapping pictures of me without asking, but on two separate occasions women did come up to me and Yuya and ask to take pictures with us, to which we consented. I felt slightly flattered but slightly embarrassed by all the attention.

Yuya and I thought we would stay to see the maple leaves lit up at night. The event started at 5:30, so we waited as the air cooled and the sky darkened, and at 5:25 as we made our way up to the entrance for the light show, I saw the seemingly endless line of people ahead of us waiting eagerly to view the lit-up leaves. I decided that my hands were cold and I would be okay without seeing the maple leaves lit up at night, so we decided to end the adventure there and head home. I really enjoyed viewing the vividly colored leaves, and I am grateful to Nishiguchi-san for letting me borrow one of her beautiful kimono to wear in Kyoto!

Kanazawa - Nov. 21 & 22

This weekend was the second of three field trips for the foreign exchange students that will take place this year. This past weekend we took a bus to Kanazawa, a town on the western side of Japan near the sea. (Being near the sea = really fresh sushi!) The bus ride took a couple hours, and along the way we stopped by Eiheiji Temple, which is one of the two headquarters for the Soto Zen sect of Buddhism. Afterward we were scheduled to see a temple that was designed as if ninja had lived and worked there, but we were late because the highway was crowded, so we had to cancel our reservation. We arrived at our hotel in Kanazawa around five, and from their I went out to eat sushi at a restaurant with the conveyor belt that moves the sushi around the restaurant. Unfortunately, I didn't get a table next to the conveyor belt, so I had to use a touch-screen computer that was set up at my table to order sushi and other food.

The following morning we were driven to a beautiful park called Kenrokuen, which is known throughout Japan for its beauty and serenity. At this time of year, many Japanese and visitors alike are crazy about viewing the changing colors of the maple leaves, so I took notice of all the beautiful fall foliage in the park. Afterward I looked at some of the reconstructed sections of Kanazawa Castle (the original was struck by lightening), and then it was already time to return home. We started out the bus ride home around one with a one-hour stop at a place called Tojinbo. Tojinbo has beautiful cliffs, and we were scheduled to take a boat ride in order to see the cliffs, but the wind and waves were too strong that day, so that was cancelled as well. We climbed around on the rocks for an hour and took pictures. Many students (myself included) indulged in ice cream despite the chilly winds. Some people even tried squid flavored ice cream! (I passed on that and stuck with the more traditional vanilla/green tea mix). Despite the cancellations, the places we did see were beautiful, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Assignment Procrastination

Right now I am procrastinating in writing a paper for my Culture and Education class. The paper is not due until Monday and it only has to be a page or two in length, so I'm in no serious danger of failing the assignment, but all the same, I'm not quite sure about what to write. The assignment is to discuss comparative culture and comparative education. That is all. My issue is that it's such a broad topic, I'm not sure how to focus the direction of my essay. I suppose that it's great that I'm able to choose specifically about what I wish to write, and that there is nothing to limit my thinking. This should be a chance to show off my creativity and wow the professor with my brilliance, right? Too bad I don't feel as motivated as I should... I will write this essay based off of a two hour visit to Fukiai High School, an outstanding private high school in Kobe City that specializes in studying international cultures and English language. The students spoke English fairly well, although I still had to speak slowly and use simple grammar and vocabulary when speaking to the majority of them. Some students had more confidence than the average Japanese high school student when using English, which was nice to see. They were shy in speaking with us foreign exchange students, but I could tell that the interest was there in our cultures and different view points. One point Koji Sensei brought up in class which was thought-provoking for me is the idea of studying English to pass tests versus studying English to learn. I feel that the students at Fukiai High School are studying English because they are genuinely interested in learning the language. This point connects to the whole concept of cultural education. In the U.S. junior high and high school students are allowed to choose from amongst several foreign languages the one we wish to study, so U.S. high school students may have a genuine interest in the foreign languages they study. However, Japanese middle school and high school students are forced to study English, so even if they are more interested in Latin American or African cultures, they do not have a choice about which language and culture they may study. This may play a role in Japanese students as a whole performing more poorly on English language assessments than students in other countries.

Afternoon in Tokyo - Nov. 15

Everyone in the Ueki family was busy today, so I left Chiba late in the morning and headed to Tokyo to meet up with two friends who are also studying abroad in Japan this year. They are spending their third year of college at Waseda University. I was supposed to meet up with them at noon, but they couldn't meet me until 2:00, so I had two hours to spare. I spent a good portion of time walking through Tokyo Station, because it is huge, with four floors and many shops. I had just exited the station when I received a text from Okaasan (the one in Kobe) informing me that Yoko had come down with influenza. I sent Okaasan a message asking if Yoko had swine flu, but Okaasan said that at this point, Japanese people aren't concerned with which type of flu anyone has, they just want the person to not contaminate anyone else. Yoko now has to take a week off of school, and she is restricted to her bedroom on the second floor.

Anyway, after that message, I just wandered around the area surrounding Tokyo Station. I didn't find it to be a happening, glamorous place, and I had a lot of luggage and bags with me, so I decided to sit in a coffee shop for a while. But when I realized that smoking was allowed in the coffee shop and everyone around me was doing it, I relocated to a ramen shop and enjoyed a tasty lunch.

I then walked back to the station to meet my friends, and we had a lot of fun catching up on camp news (these are friends I met at my part time job working as a camp counselor in Minnesota) and comparing our exchange experiences. They took me to an area of Tokyo known as Ueno, and I bought a full-body bear costume there. The bear's name is Korirakkuma, and it is a new toy in Japan that has become wildly popular, comparable to but not nearly as famous as Hello Kitty. I also bought my host family "Tokyo Banana," a popular sweet that's made in Tokyo and serves as a good souvenir. I don't see what the connection is between Tokyo and bananas, but hey, these Tokyo Bananas are in demand!

Braブラ Festival - Nov. 14

Today Okaasan (my former host mother), Kotone, and Obaasan (Okaasan's mother) went to the Braブラまつり(BuraBura Festival) in Takomachi, a small town in the countryside about an hour outside of Chiba. "Bra" comes from the name of a town in Italy, and the phrase "Braブラ" (pronounced by Japanese people as "bura-bura") is a play on words of the Japanese onomatopoeia "bura bura," which means to walk in a meandering manner, figuratively speaking. At a bura bura festival, people who live in the area cook various types of foods in mass quantities and serve the food outside their houses to festival goers. So I was able to sample various types of vegetables, a peanut stew, mochi and dango (sweets), grilled sweet potato, etc. by walking around the village and going to people's houses. I was a little worried about the communal serving bowls for mass numbers of people due to the rampant influenza that is currently plaguing Japan, but I couldn't just not eat anything. I went to the festival with my host family, and I wanted to enjoy it. One has to be careful at these sorts of festivals to not eat too much at one place, otherwise one's stomach will quickly fill up and it will be difficult to enjoy all the various food.

At the end of the festival there was an event called mochimaki, in which men climb up on a tall platform and throw hard mochi, rice cakes, out to the festival goers. People can catch the rice cakes and claim them as prizes, and then take them home to grill and eat. I was standing next to Kotone, and the men began throwing the mochi. I was jumping up and down and scrambling around trying to capture as many as possible. I ended up catching two and retrieving two from the ground. Obaasan didn't partake in the event, but she held my coat for me. After all the mochi were thrown, I found Obaasan and Okaasan. Okaasan's pants were really muddy, and she explained that everyone was really aggressive when trying to get the mochi, so she was knocked over. Then the three of us couldn't find Kotone. We looked all over and finally saw her coming toward us with a man we didn't know. Then we noticed that something was wrong. She had blood all over her arms and shirt and was holding a wad of tissues up to her nose. When she arrived, she explained that she was hit in the nose by a flying mochi! It took a while for her nose to stop bleeding, too. Of course it's horrible that she was hurt, but how many people can say that they've been hit by a flying mochi?

Anyway, I feel lucky to have met the Ueki family. Thanks in part to Okaasan's job as an event coordinator for Chiba Corporation, I have attended many events in rural areas, and I feel that I get a unique view of a different side of Japanese life that not many other foreign exchange students get to see by going to these events. Thank you, Okaasan!

Shinkansen Ride to Chiba - Nov. 13

After a short absence from blogging, I'm back! I was gone all weekend on a trip to Chiba (a city 25 kilometers to the east of Tokyo), so I didn't have computer access. I rode the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo and then took an express train out to Chiba to see my host family from three and a half years ago. We've kept in touch, and I was really itching to see them. Plus, I had some Frango mints from Chicago to give them, and I wanted to hand over the candies before too much longer.

But I was really excited to see my former host family because I can actually speak Japanese now and have conversations, so it was so much easier to communicate with them. I could learn more about them and learn a lot from them just by being able to speak Japanese.

I rode the "Nozomi Super Express" Shinkansen to Shinagawa station in Tokyo, and then from there took a rapid train out to Chiba. This was my first experience with the bullet train. The train is very convenient for me because the Shinkansen station happens to be a ten minute bus ride from my host family's home. The train is, of course, very quick, and it's a simpler process than flying in an airplane. My only complaint was that since everyone was eating inside the train, it smelled strongly of fish and snack food.

I got to Chiba and my former host mother and her elder daughter Kotone, who is 18, picked me up from the station. When we arrived at their house I saw Makoto, the younger daughter, too. Their house looked exactly the same, and it smelled the same, too! I was surprised that I recognized the smell of their house, but as soon as I walked through the door, I did! It's not unpleasant at all, simply unique.

We talked in the kitchen for a while and ate a late dinner of oden, which is food simmered in a pot. The most commonly found ingredients in oden are burdock (not frequently eaten in the U.S.), Japanese radish (yes, different from U.S. radishes), and various types of fish. My former host father came home very late, as he always does, around ten o'clock or so, after we had finished dinner, so I didn't have much of a chance to speak with him.

Surprise Classroom Visit

My Culture and Education class professor, Koji Sensei, found me during lunch and asked me if I would sit in on his class with Japanese students and make comments. The class is discussion-based and conducted in English. Today, his students came to class having read Obama's inaugural address and having analyzed specific parts that resonated with them. Various students presented a three-minute summary of why they thought their chosen part of the inaugural address was important, and what it meant to them. Myself and two other exchange students from the United States also contributed with our views as American citizens. We talked about the United States' responsibility to itself and to the rest of the world in terms of respect and philanthropy. We tried to analyze how human love could be used as a tactic to help motivate the United States to solve its own internal dilemmas and help other countries ameliorate their own policies and lifestyles. We also contemplated the meaning of global citizenship, being responsible for the world in times of increasing interconnectedness. I don't always study politics, so I tried to give my opinions as best as possible and analyze what the students said to the best of my ability, yet I sometimes felt slightly unsure of what to say.

On a different note, I'm currently occupied with travel plans. I'm heading off to Tokyo tomorrow, so I need to pack my backpack for my two-night stay with my host family of three years ago. I also need to study for my Japanese test that I have tomorrow morning!!!

Yakitori with Otousan!

Tonight I had a one-of-a-kind cultural experience: eating yakitori (grilled chicken) at a yakitori restaurant with Otousan!!! I was taking a walk with one of my friends, Shoji, when I got a call from an unknown number. I didn't answer the call since I was with a friend, but when the same number called again, I picked up and found out it was Otousan. He and I had talked a week ago about going to eat yakitori but never got around to it. So when he asked if I could come right then and there, of course I said yes. I walked with Shoji to the train station, met my host father there, and then we walked to the yakitori restaurant.

The restaurant was very small. Upon entering, I saw a counter with about ten seats around it. Then there was a slight protrusion from the wall and there were a few (maybe three) tables in the back section of the restaurant. Otousan and I sat at the counter. He ordered various chicken dishes for us to try, most of which were seasoned with soy sauce. I ate chicken skin (my favorite), chicken liver, chicken ligaments (which I had tried before), and chicken hearts. Otousan and I had some very interesting conversation as well. One of the topics which we discussed is my attitude toward achievement. It didn't take him long after meeting me to realize that I am a perfectionist, and he, like everyone else I know, believes I am too hard on myself. He says it's bad for my health to be so hard on myself, and he thinks that I have bigger things to worry about than, for example, a grade on a single chapter exam, so he wants me to not worry so much. Of course I agree with him, but whether I can follow through with this or not is something else.

I had a very relaxed weekend. Yesterday I traveled to Osaka for my first violin lesson with my new violin teacher! We spoke English during the lesson, which helped me to better understand her critiques and comments. When she played her violin to demonstrate to me how to improve my playing, her playing was incredible. I am very grateful to my violin teacher from my high school days for recommending this teacher in Osaka. I will have a lesson once a month here, which is less frequent than my number of monthly lessons in the U.S., but I will try to work hard each month so I can learn the most with my new teacher. It takes about two hours to get from my host family's home in Kobe to my teacher's home in Osaka, but the lesson was totally worth it, and now I feel as though I have a new mastery of the subway and some other train lines in Osaka.

Today I spent most of the day at home, but I did go on two walks. In the morning I took the family dogs for a walk with Okaasan, and in the afternoon I met up with a friend and we walked to a nearby park. I had a very interesting conversation with my friend about relationships between men and women in Japan. We discussed how a Japanese man shows his devotion for his wife in different ways than does a man from the United States. I have heard many stories from other exchange students about their host fathers' actions at the dinner table. When their host fathers want more rice, they simply hand their bowl to the host mother without saying anything, the host mother refills the bowl with rice, hands it back to the host father, who doesn't say anything and commences eating. I told my friend that in the U.S., if the husband did not get additional rice himself, he would at least thank his wife for bringing it to him. My friend replied that Japanese husbands may not always show their appreciation by saying thank you, but he believes that Japanese husbands do love their wives very much and that their appreciation and emotions manifest themselves in other ways. He said that Japanese husbands always try to protect their wives and children when the need arises, and when Japanese women find themselves in difficult situations, their husbands will not try to avoid the situations or run away, but will stick by the women and help them solve the problem. My friend said that this demonstrates their love and devotion to their wives as opposed to frequent hugs, kisses, and saying thank you.

My Part-time Job - Nov. 5

Every Thursday afternoon from 2:45 to 3:45 I tutor Konan University students in English. I go to the office that runs the tutoring program and obtain the room key and sign-in sheet, and then I go to the English tutoring room on the sixth floor of the same building and work with fellow students. Various students visit the tutoring room, most in search of speaking practice. We talk about whatever is on our minds, from the meaning of the word citizenship to English slang to relationships. I have found that many of the students who are majoring in English Literature and who attend the tutoring sessions are quite competent in spoken English, and I am impressed. Each student must sign in on the sign-in sheet and state the purpose of their visit to the tutoring session, so I have also had a few students come to the sessions in search of homework help. I assisted one of my friends with her studies for her upcoming English vocabulary quiz, and she told me she obtained the second-highest grade in the class on that quiz. I am proud of her. I also helped her review a speech she gave for her English class. I took some photos of some of the other tutors, who are exchange students, and some of the other Konan University students who came to the tutoring session to practice English conversation.

Violin Presentation and Dinner in Osaka - Nov. 4

Today I gave a presentation in Japanese class about the violin. We are all required to give ten-minute long presentations about a topic that interests us. One of my Japanese teachers suggested I present on the violin, so I thought, "Why not?" If I ran out of things to say, I figured I could just start playing the violin to take up more time...

But I had plenty of things to say. I talked about the different orchestras I have played in, my summer music experiences, my views on practicing, and my previous private lesson experiences. I demonstrated how to set up the bow and violin to prepare to play, and I played a short piece called Hamabe no Uta, which I learned here in Japan. I took such a long time with my presentation that the person presenting after me didn't have much time to speak! But no one was complaining...

In the evening I met up with a Mexican friend of mine who lives in Osaka. He took me out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant, so I got to eat very delicious chicken enchiladas with salsa verde and also practice speaking Spanish. My friend Jorge is twenty-five and works as an engineer for a construction company in Osaka. I am enjoying getting to know various people who are part of the Japanese workforce because it is interesting to hear about what it's like to be employed in Japan. There are language barriers, however, because I am fluent in neither Spanish nor Japanese, but I try to ask and learn as much as possible.

Visit to Himeji - Nov. 4

On Tuesday I finally visited Himeji Castle. Okaasan and I went together and had another adventure. I really enjoy her company, but I hope I'm also spending equal amounts of time with my host family and with friends.

Himeji Castle is simply exquisite. It is, of course, built on top of a hill, and there are beautiful views of Himeji City from all parts of the castle. It is hard to know how much of the castle that is currently standing is authentic, but I did visit Princess Sen's living quarters, which were authentic. I also went during the one-week time period when special parts of the castle that are not normally open to the public were open. I got to see a small tower and the toilet area of the main castle, both of which are areas into which the public usually is denied entry. After we saw the castle, Okaasan and I visited some beautiful gardens next to the castle. The castle was quite crowded with sight-seers, so I was glad to visit the peaceful, quiet gardens.

After I returned home, Okaasan did a little extra shopping in Himeji City and bought me some socks to help me keep warm in my room. I didn't mention this in my previous post, but one reason that houses become rather cold during the winter is there is no internal heating system in houses. They heat the floors with electricity, but there are no radiators or furnaces. I'll have to compensate by wearing more clothing than I do at home in the United States.

It's Chilly Here! - Nov. 3

The orientation handbook I received at U of I did not exaggerate about the weather becoming quite cold here in Japan!!! The weather was mild until the beginning of November. Then, this past Sunday, it suddenly became quite cold.

My bedroom and living area seem to mirror the outside temperature, which means it is extremely hot in my room during the summer and extremely cold in my room during the winter. Okaasan brought an electric carpet into my room from the main part of the house, so that helps keep the room slightly warm. I also bundle up in several layers within my house to keep warm. Taking showers is not such a pleasant experience because contact with the cold air upon finishing the showers is rather uncomfortable.

I've moved my violin and music stand from my room to the main part of the house, which is warmer than my living area. Also, my host family lets me practice violin in the main part of the house, which is incredibly kind of them! Now I just have to overcome my embarrassment of playing in front of people and get used to practicing in front of them!

Visit to Kyoto! - Nov. 1

Today I went to Kyoto with Okaasan! It was my first visit to Kyoto, which is such a famous city known for its wealth of temples and shrines. The weather started out sunny and warm as we walked to the train station in Kobe, but after we finished our visit at the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, it began to rain.

So first, let me back up. I did go to the Golden Pavilion, and I was so excited about this! The Golden Pavilion is an extremely beautiful, gold-colored, three floor building within a temple complex called Rokuon-ji Temple. It was erected centuries ago; however, the building tourists visit today is not the original, I think that it was rebuilt a few centuries ago. Nobility or feudal lords lived in the area surrounding the Golden Pavilion, both of which are World Heritage sites.

Next we went to a shrine about fifteen minutes away from the Golden Pavilion. It was not a World Heritage site, but Okaasan has visited this shrine before so she thought it would be nice to show me. When we got there, she spotted a miko-san, or a woman who assists brides during wedding ceremonies. We then saw a bride and groom come out of a side building near the shrine. They formed a procession and walked toward the shrine, finally entering the shrine structure which is off-limits for regular visitors. It turned out that this was the bride and groom's wedding ceremony, so Okaasan and I were able to watch it from twenty-five feet away. It is rare to see a wedding ceremony because normally only close relatives are invited to keep the cost low. It is, however, more normal to have expensive wedding parties after the ceremony. But the normal marriage ceremony is usually reserved for family. Indeed, there were about twelve or so relatives in attendance at this ceremony.

After we watched part of the wedding ceremony, Okaasan and I ate lunch at a tofu restaurant. It served all different types of tofu dishes. We had fried, crispy tofu (not fried in oil but browned and slightly flaky), warm tofu on a stick covered in a salty miso sauce, and cold tofu in a bowl covered with fish flakes. Apparently this is food typical of Kyoto, so I was pleased to indulge.

Okaasan wished to take me to a shrine after eating lunch, but she took a wrong turn and we ended up at a temple complex. Normally we would have enjoyed walking around and viewing the various buildings, but the rain was coming down pretty hard at this point, so we decided to head home. Despite the rain I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Kyoto.

Saturday, October 31

Halloween is not celebrated in Japan the way it is celebrated in the United States. However, there were various parties in restaurants, bars, and clubs in Osaka and Kobe this past Saturday night. I went to a restaurant in Osaka with my Peruvian friend Duñia and her husband.

Duñia is my classmate Kevin's host mother, and I am on good terms with her and her family. Her husband is Japanese, and they have three children, but just the parents came out to the restaurant tonight. They also brought Kevin. Before going to the restaurant, I spent a few hours in Osaka with Yusuke, an acquaintance who is Kevin's host dad's fellow employee for Dell in Osaka. Yusuke and I did some shopping and walked around the city. It's fun to walk through Osaka and see what kind of fashion is currently in style. We also looked for people wearing interesting Halloween costumes, but we didn't see too many costumes. There was good music playing at the restaurant, so we all danced and ate delicious Mexican food. We returned home to Kobe very late at night, but Duñia and her husband, Okamura-san, took me out for a late-night meal of ramen before they dropped me off at my host family's home.

Duñia is a very caring and selfless person. She invites me to spend time with her, she speaks Spanish with me, and she looks after me. Okamura-san drove to and from Osaka so that we didn't have to wait for the trains to start running on Sunday morning in order to return home. They are very kind, and I appreciate their generosity. I enjoy spending time with them.

Thursday, October 30

I just added some photos to various blog entries starting from Sunday, October 11 through more recent posts. Enjoy!

Today I completed my second hour of tutoring Konan University students in English. Last week about six students showed up, but this week only one student came, so I was surprised. I practiced English conversation with her for half and hour, and then I quizzed her on vocabulary words by saying them out loud so she could repeat them with the correct pronunciation. She then wrote down the words to make sure she knew how to spell them.

I also had an adventure today with another foreign exchange student friend named Emma as we went to the Kobe City Immigration Office to obtain work visas. Since I have a part-time job, my current visa, which gives me a student status, is not sufficient. So Emma and I walked through a new part of town that I hadn't previously been to the immigration office, and I now have a work visa!

All that talk about the different stages in the study abroad program, the honeymoon period, the culture shock period, and the depression period, I was hoping it was all baloney, but it seems to be turning out to be true. I feel so unhappy right now. Not about anything in particular. Well, maybe all these things seem to be piling up, and then I just end up feeling like I want to cry sometimes. And today I actually did cry in the middle of Japanese class.

It's not even that I'm crying about something that's worth crying over, I just became easily frustrated today when I couldn't write a kanji correctly. When I talked to one of my friends after class, he said to relax because he's studied Japanese for five or six years, so why should I compare myself to him when I have studied for a much shorter time? All my friends from E class were worried about me yesterday, and they said I just drew more attention to myself by leaving class, so next time I should just stay in class, even if I'm upset. But when I left, a stranger came up to me and asked me if I was okay, and we had a really fun conversation about Japan. He didn't ask me for a name or phone number, he just talked with me and distracted me from my own thoughts, and it was really nice of him.

At least I'm getting along well with Yoko now. We walked to the local movie and CD store, Tsutaya, which seems to be a chain store in the area, and looked for Miley Cyrus music (she really likes Hannah Montana) and then watched Confessions of a Shopaholic late into the night. Of course I felt really guilty the entire time because I knew I should be studying and I would just be tired and grumpy the next day from lack of sleep, but at the same time, I need some bonding time with Yoko, and I had a lot of fun.

International Friendship Festival and Kendo Lessons in Himeji City

This weekend was filled with fun. I ate dinner at an Italian restaurant in Sannomiya (the downtown center of Kobe) on Friday night with Joey, Garrity, and Kenken. Joey is from Maui, Garrity is another U of I student, and Kenken is from Wakayama prefecture (about an hour from Kobe by train) here in Japan. His real name is Norihito, but he has this adorable knickname Kenken.

On Saturday morning I returned to Sannomiya to buy myself some socks. Half the pairs of socks I brought from home have holes in them, so I bought about six new pairs.

In the afternoon I went over to Kevin (my fellow foreign exchange student)'s host family's house and attended a dinner party there. His host mother is Peruvian, and I enjoy speaking Spanish with her. I met her friend Cati, who is from La Repùblica Dominicana, so I was able to speak a little Spanish with Cati as well. I also met one of Mr. Okamura (Kevin's host father)'s younger coworkers, Yusuke. We all enjoyed a delicious dinner composed primarily of Peruvian dishes. There was fried meat, roast chicken (I got to carve one, Kevin taught me how), and a special sauce that had a name in Quechua, so I'm having trouble remembering the name now. We also ate two cakes, one cake with whipped vanilla frosting and covered in fruit that the Okamura family bought at a store, and an apple cake that I made with Okaasan at home and brought over as a gift.

Today I went to Himeji city. It is well-known for Himeji Castle, and even though I could see the castle from where I spent the day, I did not have time to go see it. But I will return soon to visit the castle, and in the meantime, I enjoyed myself immensely today in Himeji. I went to an International Friendship Festival with my Japanese pen-pal friend Saki and Maddy, another exchange student from Konan University. We saw dances from many different cultures, such as hula dance and hip hop, we ate food from various countries such as Malaysian friend banana balls and Brazilian sweet cake, and Maddy and I received a kendo (the way of the sword) lesson from this nice high school boy who studies kendo in Himeji city. He and his father, who is a kendo master, did some demonstrations at the fair. Maddy and I learned the kendo moves with foam swords so we wouldn't do any damage to ourselves. I now have a certificate confirming my completion of a "play sport" course in kendo!

Today I had such a humbling experience, courtesy of a boy named Yusuke, whom I met only earlier today, and whom I may never see again. I completed my first hour of my new part time job, English tutoring, today from 2:45 to 3:45. During the hour, six Japanese students came, and together we had a conversation in English. One girl, Noriko, asked me if I knew anything about メイドきっさ(meido kissa), or maid cafes. I told her I had heard of them and knew the general idea behind the running of a maid cafe. Then Yusuke asked me if I considered maid cafes to be a part of Japanese culture, and I replied, "yes." Yusuke then said, "I am sorry to hear that."

I immediately felt that I had offended him. I said, "Well, I do not consider maid cafes to be part of traditional Japanese culture, but they originated in Japan, and there are not, to my knowledge, maid cafes in other parts of the world." But I felt that the damage had been done, and now I'm wondering if some boy whom I barely know has this image of me as a thoughtless foreigner who holds incorrect stereotypes about various aspects of Japanese society. I don't see myself in that way, and I would be ashamed if anyone did.

After dinner tonight, I told Okaasan and Otousan about the exchange Yusuke and I had earlier today. Okaasan and Otousan both said that if they heard me say that I consider maid cafes to be a part of Japanese culture, they would have the same reaction Yusuke did. I asked why, explaining again that I don't consider maid cafes to be traditional, but since they are unique to Japan, I would consider them to be a part of Japanese culture. After I mentioned this, an intense discussion ensued, most of which was over my head due to the fact that Otousan uses sophisticated vocabulary and speaks quickly. But with my two years of study of Japanese and my will to learn, I was able to catch some of what Otousan was saying, helped by slowly spoken elaborations from Okaasan. Otousan said that maid cafes are not culture, they are a specific lifestyle for a select group of people (including both patrons and employees). Maid cafes are too specific of a phenomenon to characterize as culture. Furthermore, maid cafes and those who work/patronize maid cafes are not highly regarded by those who do not partake of those activities, and it may be insulting for such an undesirable phenomenon to be considered culture, because culture is generic term that applies to a majority of people. For those reasons, my earlier statement was most likely offensive or disappointing to Yusuke, Okaasan, and Otousan.

One thought I took away from this whole experience is that I must rethink my definition of culture. This comes as a shock to me, for I always considered myself to be a culturally aware and culturally sensitive person. But a seemingly harmless statement can still offend anyone, and I suppose since I made such a generalization, I do not truly understand the definition of the word culture.

This afternoon I came home from school with a heavy heart knowing that I had hours of studying ahead of me. Not only do I have two projects, a group project and an individual project, due tomorrow for my Business and Management class, but I also have a kanji test and a reading test in Japanese class tomorrow. The teachers sure know how to pile on the work all at the same time! So I see my host father doing some gardening in the backyard. I explained to him how I wanted to go out to karaoke with some friends, but instead I had to come home early so I could study. I was hoping to elicit some sympathy from him, but instead all he said was 勉強しなさい (benkyo shinasai), which is a quite informal command form for "so go study," said by someone who is clearly a superior to someone who is younger. Maybe Otousan responded this way because he is a teacher himself...? I'm not mad, though, I thought his response was funny. Speaking of Otousan, he is always out in the backyard doing some kind of gardening whenever he has free time during the day and he's at home. My host family's home is unusual in that they have a backyard, which is more than many people in Japan can say, even though it is quite small compared to my family's backyard at home. I would like to ask Otousan about what he does all day in the backyard, but somehow I don't feel like I can. Maybe that means I'm not as comfortable with my host family as I thought...? But I don't think I could ever ask to help him out there, it's like the garden is his own private turf. Whereas I feel comfortable asking Okaasan to help her cook dinner even though the kitchen definitely is her turf. Anyway, I've actually learned a lot in accounting class. I didn't know a thing about balance sheets and profit and loss statements in the U.S., but now I know the important figures to look at when reading those sheets. I know how to calculate certain ratios, such as the current ratio and the equity ratio, and I know which figures to use in order to calculate those ratios. I also know how to use the information I've found to draw certain conclusions about whether a company is at risk or is safe. I'm quite glad I've learned a little about accounting. As I'm typing this post, there is a car driving by my window that is blaring a loud message through megaphones. Many cars have been doing that lately. If I am just sitting in my room, I occasionally hear cars go by that are blaring loud announcements. I'm not sure for what purpose people are making announcements because I haven't asked a Japanese person yet, but I'm guessing the cars and announcements may be for the upcoming municipal elections in Kobe. I've heard that there will be an election soon, but I'm not sure when. Anyway, it's another interesting cultural difference!

Sunday evening I tasted Kobe beef for the first time! Unfortunately, it may also be the last time due to the price, but it was so delicious! It really did melt in my mouth! I went to a restaurant in Hotel Okura, the same hotel at which I stayed during my orientation during the first few days of this study abroad trip, with four other foreign exchange students from my program, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the meal. We were also served grilled vegetables, soup, and rice, with apple sorbet for dessert. The meat was accompanied by a creamy miso sauce and a salty soy-type sauce. There was also spicy mustard and salt for the meat. My only criticism of the meal was that the food and sauces were slightly salty for my taste. But Japanese cuisine uses a lot of salt, and I think it's believed to be good for the body by people living here in Japan. At this restaurant the meat was grilled in front of our eyes, so we could see the server cook it. She was very friendly and quite complimentary of our Japanese language speaking ability. When I returned home from the hotel on Sunday evening, I was informed by my host family that I am no longer allowed to climb up Mount Maya to do pull-ups by myself. They said it's simply not safe because there are not a lot of people on the mountain, so if I were to encounter someone, I could easily be assaulted. They are trying to prevent anything bad from happening to me, and I understand where they are coming from and appreciate their protection, so I'm not too disappointed. Besides, I have other foreign exchange student friends who want to do pull-ups with me, so I won't have trouble finding people to accompany me. In fact, I will be going up to the mountain shortly to exercise, so I must be off!

This weekend included a lot of shopping. I'm lacking warm clothes, and Kobe became cold more quickly than I originally anticipated, so I decided to brave the crowds and check out the stores in downtown Kobe. On Saturday afternoon I went shopping with Yoko, and that was an interesting experience. She took me to a bunch of stores that sold cute clothes with intricate patterns and designs, and I while I admire Japanese women for wearing their fashion sense, I could never picture myself wearing the same style. So I didn't feel like buying anything at those stores, and we ended up at a karaoke store instead, singing the afternoon away (me in English and Yoko in Japanese). Today I went shopping with an elementary school friend of Ryosuke's whose name is Yuri (her name means "lily" in English). She is about my age, so she took me to stores with sophisticated yet still cute and modest clothes. I wasn't too interested in those types of clothes, but when she took me to a different shopping area that had simply designed yet form-fitting clothes, I perked up. I found out some interesting rules about clothes shopping in Japan today. One must remove her shoes before entering the dressing room, and if one is wearing makeup, she must place a disposable gauze net over head while putting on or removing the store's clothes to avoid rubbing facial makeup on the clothing. I felt so silly standing in the dressing room with a huge gauze net over my head. But I purchased one shirt today, so I guess in that sense today's shopping trip was slightly more successful than yesterday's.

I took another test in Japanese class today. Japanese is still difficult, and it's a favorite question for Japanese people to ask me: "Is Japanese language difficult to learn?" I always answer yes, but if people compliment me on my language skills I feel happy because it's nice to receive some positive feedback.

My Business and Management in Japan class has become challenging for me. Our current unit is an overview of accounting, for which I have no background. However, I am working on a group project with three very kind classmates, one of whom is a fellow U of I student who majored in accounting, and the other two are studying abroad in conjunction with the Cologne Business School, so I am in very good hands. They are all very patient and help me out as I try to get the hang of the current ratio and equity ratio and other such equations that are completely foreign to me but apparently second-hand to those studying business.

This evening to celebrate the end of the week, students wanted to get together on the beach and grill some barbecue meat. We bought vegetables and packages of meat and brought them to the beach, but shortly after we arrived, beach security came over and told us we couldn't grill on the beach! We were so disappointed, but the grandfather of one of the Japanese students in the group happened to own a restaurant a few train stops away from the beach, and the student said we could bring our food there and the people in the restaurant would cook it for us! So we were still able to eat grilled meat and spend quality time with our friends.

We had an earthquake drill in class today, hence the picture of students crouching under desks. I also rode my friend Toru's motorcycle today! Don't worry, I wore a helmet while riding the motorcycle!

A few things I've learned about Japanese beliefs since I arrived here almost a month and a half ago...

Do not whistle at night time while walking outside. It is believed that the sound of whistling will attract thieves or people who may try to harm you.

It is considered bad luck to kill spiders if you find one inside your home because spiders are said to help keep homes clean. Instead, one should try to relocate the spider to an outdoor area.

Japanese people believe in the phenomenon of shokuyoku, or a big appetite, occurring each autumn. It is said that once the weather becomes cool (which, unfortunately, it has), appetites increase, and people are not going outdoors as much and thus not expending as many calories as they do during the summer.

Maybe this explains why I have been feeling the urge to eat a lot lately. However, I'm trying to combat the imminent weight gain by getting out and enjoying the surrounding mountains. Today a friend and I walked twenty minutes up the path on Mount Maya near my host family's home and found some pull-up bars. We did pull-ups and chin-ups and then walked back down the mountain.

Just as I thought, I did not do as well on yesterdays' test as I would have liked. However, I have another test in Japanese class this Friday and then three midterm examinations for Japanese class next week, so I have plenty of chances to boost my grade.

Today citizens all across Japan celebrated 秋まつり (aki matsuri, or Autumn Festival). My friend Saki kindly invited me to celebrate with her in her hometown area, which is a two-hour train ride from Kobe. I enjoyed the trip out to the countryside, and the celebrations were immensely fun to watch. I feel as though I had a true cultural experience today.

I met up with Saki and with Maddie, another foreign exchange student, at the train station in downtown Kobe around 9:30 A.M. We then rode the train for two hours to a town called Fukusaki. Saki herself is from Shinmachi, a smaller town near Fukusaki. Fukusaki is a sort of centrally located area between many small towns in that area of Hyogo Prefecture. To celebrate the autumn festival, each local ward brings out a yatai, which supposedly weighs 1,400 kilograms, and ideally is held up by seventy men. The yatai is difficult for me to describe because I can't find an exact definition for it. It is a type of cart, stand, or framework made out of bamboo. On top of the stand is a gilded structure covered in brocade and rich fabric, elaborately adorned with tassels, lanterns, and other designs and objects. It looks like a one-room house, and inside are four taiko, or drums, and four boys, ages 10-12, play the taiko as the (ideally) seventy men carry the yatai through the town streets toward the shrine where they will pray for three hours to ask for a fruitful harvest. Fukusaki is famous for celebrating the autumn festival because twelve yatai from twelve surrounding ward areas are brought to Fukusaki, and then together in one huge procession the twelve yatai are carried to a nearby shrine area and the three hours of prayer commence.

I enjoyed the atmosphere, which was full of excitement and merriment. Only men carry the yatai, and only boys play the taiko. Women and girls enjoy the festivities through watching. The men carry the yatai many kilometers through the countryside (or through the city if they celebrate in an urban area), and it is very heavy. So to help ease the burden, men wake up very early (before seven) on the morning of the autumn festival and commence drinking at about seven in the morning. They drink for a few hours (or until sufficiently drunk), and then carry the yatai to the shrine. Thus there were many drunk, energetic men (anywhere from ages 18 to ~70) running through the streets today, and I saw some very surprising behavior (men chugging beer and dancing on the sidewalks) and heard some funny comments (things people normally would not say if sober). The yatai looked extremely heavy to carry, however, so everyone was grunting and sweating as they bore the yatai up the road toward the shrine. Groups from local wards were always conscious of their wa, group harmony, and energy, so the groups had to work as a team and always appear energetic while bearing the yatai.

I was so happy at the end of the day to have partaken in such a festival. I feel as though I experienced a unique part of Japan and that I learned a lot about Japanese culture today.

Oddly enough, my first experience shopping at Costco was in Japan, not the United States, and it occurred this morning. I went to Costco in Kobe with Okaasan and one of Okaasan's friends, Naito-san ("san" is an honorific term which means Mr., Mrs. or Miss), who is a host mother for another student from U of I who is on the Year-in-Japan program. Naito-san actually has the membership with Costco, so thanks to her I was able to go. The quantities sure are large, and I hope that I can finish all the snacks and use up all the toiletries I purchased there within the next eight months! I was explaining to Naito-san why I decided to purchase a variety pack of Pepperidge Farm cookies (Milano cookies were included, how could I resist?), and an older woman who was strolling by with her cart stopped and just started looking at the cookie box. I could tell she was listening in on my conversation, but I wasn't sure why. After I finished explaining to Naito-san why I was going to purchase those cookies, the woman walked away, and I asked Naito-san why the lady had listened in on our conversation. Naito-san explained that many of the brands and products found at Costco are new to Japanese people, but if a Japanese person knows that I come from the United States, they think that I'll be familiar with the brands and products and thus be able to provide trustworthy recommendations as to which products are worth purchasing. Maybe I should look for part-time work at Costco...?

Friday, October 9

Today in Culture and Education in Japan, we discussed the concept of Orientalism. Kouji sensei (sensei means teacher) asked us to come to class with examples of Orientalism. Another student from U of I brought up The Mikado, a nineteenth-century operetta composed by Gilbert and Sullivan of England. The only time I have seen this operetta was in the summer of the year 2000, when I was an eleven-year-old going into sixth grade. I loved the operetta at the time, but haven't given it much thought since. But yesterday in class, my classmate discussed how it is an example of Orientalism because it portrays Japan based on views held by westerners that are offensive to some Japanese. As soon as he said that, my mind immediately jumped to the female lead's name, which is Yum-Yum. My classmate said that the operetta became hugely popular in England upon release; however, when a member of the Japanese royal family came to visit Japan in the late 1800s, all performances were temporarily suspended because society knew that the production would offend him. I am now curious to see the operetta again and reevaluate my opinion based on what I learned in class yesterday.

Last night Otousan pulled out the wind-up battery-powered radio/alarm, and we all took turns winding it up around the dinner table as we watched the evening news for the latest typhoon updates. We wouldn't know for sure if school was going to be cancelled or not until this morning, but we watched the projected path of the typhoon on the television screen, and it looked as though it could come toward Kobe.

After dinner I was sitting at the table doing homework when I noticed that the wind had become really strong. I started feeling a little nervous, so I told Okaasan and Otousan that I would head back into my room in my separate area of the house for the night so I could get in safely before the storm hit. Otousan handed me a huge, red flashlight and told me to take it to my room for safety. He also cautioned me to take a shower sooner rather than later because no one knew if or when we would lose power. The imminent storm draws closer, yet one of the most pressing matters in people's minds is cleanliness. I told Otousan that if we lost power and I still hadn't taken a shower, I would just go stand outside for a minute.

The wind was howling away last night, and as it was coming from the north and the east, my windows were rattling especially loudly. The wind would blow very strongly for a while, then stop, then pick up a short while later. I still heard cars and motorbikes from the street outside my window, though, so there were a few daredevils out last night. The rain was coming down pretty hard, but not so much so that it completely obstructed one's vision. I had trouble falling asleep, though because the wind was quite loud.

This morning I woke up early to the sound of a gentle rain falling outside. By nine thirty or so, the rain had stopped, and an hour later the sun was shining brightly overhead. So the typhoon is all gone from the Kansai region, but now it's in the Kantou area, near Tokyo, and also hitting Nagano prefecture. I heard Otousan's mother lost power in her home in Nagano.

Morning lessons were cancelled for me, and Otousan and Yoko have the entire day off of school. I, however, must report to university for my fifth period class this afternoon. So ends my first typhoon experience.

I did not feel very well on Monday, and yesterday I just got caught up in living life in Japan (I had a wonderfully normal day), so I have not posted a blog entry since Sunday.

On Sunday evening I did not sleep very much, and then I ate a huge bag of doughnuts on Monday afternoon, so my tiredness and the energy crash I experienced about an hour after eating the doughnuts left me with a big headache. I went to sleep early on Monday evening and felt refreshed on Tuesday when I woke up.

I decided on Sunday evening after staying up really late finishing homework and studying kanji that the Japanese class in which I currently study is too difficult for me. I do not even know all the concepts or kanji the students in the second highest class study, so why am I in the highest class? Then on Monday morning I received my grade for my second test, and I was quite pleased. I still think that the Japanese class is very hard, but I'll take this next test two days from today and see how I do on that test. If I do well again, maybe my current class is doable with a lot of work on my part.

Yesterday evening Okaasan taught me how to make okonomiyaki. It is literally a meat, seafood, and vegetable pancake, and the batter is made of egg and flour. I believe okonomiyaki may be a sort of style of cooking as well, because you can incorporate many types of vegetables and meats into the pancake to cater to one's own liking, and there are many okonomiyaki restaurants across the country. But back to last night, I was beginning to feel a little antsy while preparing dinner because Okaasan was doing most of the cooking and I was just watching. I know it's her kitchen, and she's probably used to doing things her way, so she may feel that she does not need help in preparing dinner, but I want to experience Japanese cooking in a hands-on sort of way. But after watching her cook four of the pancakes (one is similar in size to a buttermilk pancake, but thicker), she said she needed to pick up Otousan at the train station, and she handed me the bamboo spatula. I was able to cook two by myself while she was out of the house. She still won't let me use the gas stove if no one is home, but it was fine for me to use this iron pan because it plugs into the wall. I did a good job cooking the okonomiyaki, according to Okaasan, so I was happy to have that opportunity.

There's supposed to be a typhoon coming in tomorrow morning, and accompanying the typhoon will be extremely strong winds. School may be cancelled tomorrow, but I'm not sure yet. I'll watch the news tonight and find out for sure tomorrow morning. I've never experienced a typhoon before, so I'm feeling slightly anxious right now.

I've been spending a lot of time with Okaasan lately. Yesterday evening she allowed me to cook niku jaga with her. It's a type of beef stew, but maybe the liquid isn't as thick as stew. It includes carrots. potatoes, and onions. The sauce is made from osake, mirin (a sweet, cooking alcohol), soy sauce, and sugar (not white sugar, not brown sugar, but something in between). It doesn't seem too difficult to cook, but I don't have a recipe yet, and I have cooked it only one time, so I don't know if I'll be able to reproduce the recipe upon return to the U.S. Okaasan also taught me how to grill whole eggplants and then skin and season them. I happen to not care for the scent after the eggplant is grilled, however, so even though it's easy to cook and season the eggplant, I doubt I'll reproduce that dish too often.

Tonight Otousan and Yoko were horseback riding at the barn during dinner time, so Okaasan and I ate together. We discussed the population problem in Japan. I told her what I learned last year in class about women not wanting to put children through the strict, stressful education system, and about women not wanting to marry a man only to rarely see him because he works such long hours with a company. Okaasan said in the past, it was socially acceptable and encouraged to get married, and it was even better for a woman's social position if she married and raised children. Now, however, it is also socially fashionable to be a single, working woman who can provide for herself with her own salary. This concept, coupled with the slow but steady push for gender equality in the workplace, is surely making it more desirable for women to have their own jobs. That, in addition to the points I mentioned that I learned at U of I last year, have probably contributed a fair amount to the population decrease.

Okaasan doesn't feel very confident in the new government's ability to ameliorate the population problem. She feels that it's too early to form an opinion, but she senses that some voters may have chosen Hatoyama based on promises he made during his campaign. These promises could provide temporary relief, but they will not solve the long-term problem. For example, the new government declared that it will give each family a certain number of yen for each child in the family who is of elementary or middle school age. Okaasan thinks that many citizens voted for Hatoyama based on policies such as this. Those voters may see the immediate benefits of such a course of action, but they are failing to look at long term issues or ways that the money could be better spent. Okaasan said that families of elementary school and middle school children may not need the money as much as families with university-aged children do, because university tuition is quite expensive. Instead of using that money to fund their children's educations, families may use the money for vacations, or other sorts of expenses. Okaasan also said that the money could be used on other issues, such as too-large classes in schools. There are currently classes with forty students and one teacher, but the money going to families with young children could instead be used to divide those large classes into two classes of twenty students per every teacher. Maybe a Japanese person's opinion depends upon his or her personal situation, but this is what I have heard thus far, and I find it interesting.

But enough politics for now. I have to take a shower and study kanji before I go to sleep.