This week has been a haze of homework and little sleep. I know that me and a few other friends have pretty much burnt out by now, so that's why I haven't been updating. I haven't really been off-campus besides going to my sort-of-part-time-job in Nishiogikubo on Tuesday and going to 7-11 to grab dinner tonight.
Finding a balance is still a challenge. I want to do well in classes, but I also want time to go out and experience Japan while I can. Admittedly, I do have time to go out and do other things most days, but since I don't really know my way around town yet, I would spend more time getting lost than actually doing something.
Tomorrow, though, I'm going to try riding my bike and seeing where I end up. I'll try to take pictures! :P
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Good Deals
One thing that's glaringly obvious about Tokyo is that food is really expensive. I've been really careful about where I buy things and how much I get because I don't want to go broke from buying apples. I've been spoiled by New England...apples seem more like a treat here than a daily snack (unless you're rich). I saw a bag of 4 or 5 apples for only ￥330 by Nishiogikubo station and that's pretty much the cheapest price I've seen on apples. The store I go to most often sells a bag of 4 for ￥499. Getting cheap produce was all about timing, until my friend showed me a place right by the station called やおさん.
I got aaall of this for ￥590 (about $7.58USD). It's the cheapest bunch of produce I've gotten yet.
If anyone knows of a place to get vegetables or fruits cheaper than this, tell me and I will love you forever (or at least for the next 9 months).
I got aaall of this for ￥590 (about $7.58USD). It's the cheapest bunch of produce I've gotten yet.
If anyone knows of a place to get vegetables or fruits cheaper than this, tell me and I will love you forever (or at least for the next 9 months).
Monday, September 24, 2012
Translation Attempts
Okay, let me start this off by saying that I'm not trying to pass this off as an official translation. If anything, I'm putting it up here so people can critique me.
Jon Underdown (vocalist of fade) was recently interviewed by Danzen TV. I decided to take a shot at translating it while my attention is still fully focused on fade, haha. I thought the interview was only one page, but there's a whole other page. x.x I figured I couldn't stop once I started, though, so here are the fruits of my (amateur) labor.
Original article
If anyone knows Japanese, PLEASE read this over and maybe give me some pointers? There are a few spots where I know it's iffy, but I'm pretty sure I got the jist of it.
Anyways, here you go!
____
Jon Underdown (vocalist of fade) was recently interviewed by Danzen TV. I decided to take a shot at translating it while my attention is still fully focused on fade, haha. I thought the interview was only one page, but there's a whole other page. x.x I figured I couldn't stop once I started, though, so here are the fruits of my (amateur) labor.
Original article
If anyone knows Japanese, PLEASE read this over and maybe give me some pointers? There are a few spots where I know it's iffy, but I'm pretty sure I got the jist of it.
Anyways, here you go!
____
His hometown is Seattle. The man
who loves Japan above all else, Jon. He’s the vocalist of rock band fade, and
last year, he was a part of GACKT’s project YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz. We’ve
interviewed this man who also works as a fashion model! He talked to us about
topics like the contrasting faces of Japan and his attraction to Japanese women.
Speaking of fade, there are a lot of different essences that unite in
the band…
Jon: I was raised in America and
it’s been 12 years since I came to Japan. Other members have returned to here
to their home country, so there are a lot of different backgrounds in the band.
So, the fact that there are different essences in fade is natural. In our
latest album, TEN, we decided to express these different parts even more,
especially. Because “One Reason” was used as the theme song of Deadman
Wonderland and thanks to YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz, our overseas fans have
increased. The result of this was, while thinking, “We want to reach as many kinds
of people as possible!” we created our latest album.
For instance, “In the End” is the intro and has a very Japanese-style
melody, right? I think this is really individual.
Jon: It starts off with this
Japanese-style feeling, then suddenly completely changes into a Western-style
sound. I think this is really representative of fade. It’s the first song of
the album, but it completely says “This is who we are” and exemplifies us.
This song is on the “Shark Night” TV spot, right?
Jon: That’s right. Shark Night is
a really intense horror movie. I think it’s a good combination with “In the
End.” For people who like this kind of splatter horror film, it’d make me
really happy if those people could listen to fade’s music.
Shark Night seems interesting.
Jon: It’s really interesting. It’s
got an 80’s horror feeling, like Friday the 13th. It’s a summer camp
setting kind of movie. That kind of feeling. I think it’s geared towards people
who like that.
After you released your album, you toured around the country. How was
that?
Jon: It was unbelievably
exciting. It’s every musician’s dream to have a lot of people who listened to
your album gather in one place. We even sang the English songs together. I was
extremely happy.
It was a tour that made you glad you’ve kept going, huh?
Jon: Totally right. It’s been 10
years. We’ve had good times, but we’ve also had some not-so-good times. (laugh)
It makes me proud that we’ve overcome all of those times together as a band.
Your profile is really interesting, so is it okay if I ask some
questions about that?
Jon: Yeah, sure!
You first came to Japan as an exchange student in college, right?
Jon: Yeah, that’s right.
Did you have interest in Japan from the start?
Jon: I did. It’s cliché, but I’ve
watched ninja movies since I was around 5 or 6. (laugh) That stuff was really
exciting to me as a kid. “What? Japan has that kind of culture?” I thought. I
liked American pro-wrestling, but I learned about all of these varieties of
Asian martial arts and I was really into it. In the beginning, I didn’t really
know the difference between Japan, China, and Southeast Asian styles, though.
(laugh) I thought all of it was interesting. Then I started studying the
Japanese language and from then on I had a particular interest in Japan.
I’ve heard you’ve also studied some classic Japanese literature, right?
Jon: I took a Japanese history
class. “The Tale of Genji”… it wasn’t a book with words… it had pictures and
stuff… what was it called again?
A picture scroll?
Jon: Yeah, that! I studied that
and thought the story was interesting. It made me think about things like the
philosophies that make up a place like Tokyo. I think Japan is a hybrid of old
culture and new culture. I think that’s really fascinating. Like when I walk
down the street, I’ll suddenly see a big shrine next to a building or a
McDonald’s next to a kimono shop. (laugh)
That kind of jumble is what makes Japan interesting, right?
Jon: Right. (laugh) Japanese
people themselves have that kind of hybrid nature. I think it’s because they
carry a mixture of traditional Japanese spirit and modern philosophies. That
what I really love about them.
I’ve often heard that Japanese people are skilled at arranging ideas or
things from abroad and adopting them to their own. Like anpan. Do you know anpan?
Jon: Yeah, I know. (laugh) I love
American culture, but I think it would be good if they would adopt more things
from overseas.
Are you interested in places like Kyoto, too?
Jon: Yeah, they’re interesting. You
can discover a lot of things while walking through them because so many old things
are left behind. I like that there are different sceneries for the four
seasons, too. In Seattle, it’s not really cold or hot for 7 months, then there
are two months of summer, then it goes back to that for 3 months. There isn’t a
lot of variation.
The old buildings in Kyoto form a pattern according to the era they
were built in. Isn’t that interesting?
Jon: Yeah, it is. There are ones
built during a time when China had a strong influence, then there are ones
built during the Kamakura period. Actually, while I was in America, I learned
Japanese tea ceremony, so I’m also interested in that. I’ve gone to see Sen No
Rikyuu tea ceremony. The gap between the gaudier style of places like Kinkakuji
was interesting. Tea ceremony is wabisabi
(emphasizing quiet simplicity and subdued refinement) and has a very
bushido-like philosophy, I think. I’m also interested in that.
Wow, you’ve studied tea ceremony?
Jon: When I was at my home
university [in the US]. There’s a Japanese tea ceremony association in Seattle.
It had a Japanese-style garden with a tea house inside. We performed tea
ceremonies in a room with a tokonoma
(alcove where art or flowers are displayed). It was decorated with scrolls that
matched the season and ikebana. It
was a really calming experience. The way you turn the tea cup, the way you walk;
it’s all really nuanced. That’s another thing I think is interesting about
Japan. Nuances change according to words and inflections. American culture isn’t
that precise.
When you studied in Japan, did you go to a lot of places besides Kyoto?
Jon: I did, but the most
important thing for me at that time was the feeling of, “I want to try living
here.” In this way, I lived in Tokyo and learned something new every day. It
would be like, “Let’s take the train to Shitamachi today!” Then I’d go cycling.
If I just stuck out my antennae, every day was a learning experience.
Do you have a favorite spot in Tokyo?
Jon: It depends on my mood. If I want
to go somewhere loud and flashy, I’d pick Akasaka, Seizen, Shinjuku, or
Shibuya. If I want to see more traditional things, I’d say places like Asakusa
or Ueno. I also like places with the refinement of the Showa era, so I also go
to Shitamachi. Besides that, I also go to Nishiogi.
You go to Nishiogikubo? You’re a maniac. (laugh)
Jon: I like it. (laugh) Don’t you
think it has a lot of the essence of the Showa era left behind? Like that, the
fact that Tokyo has so many different places is interesting. There are places
where you can suddenly find nature. Since I lived in Kichijoji for a really
long time, I like elements of Western Tokyo, too. I take walks in places like
Mitaka and Tamagawajosui. When I walk around Tamagawajosui, it really makes an
impression on me. The river flows alongside the freeway, and there’s a hiking course
along the road. Along that trail, grandmas and grandpas grow vegetables. I went
there a lot to buy vegetables.
You have good taste. (laugh)
Jon: (laugh) Because those kinds
of places are unexpected, they’re interesting.
That’s interesting. You’ve lived in Japan for 12 years already, right?
Jon: Right. (laugh) At first, I
only planned on staying here for a year, though.
Since this is a chance we’ve waited a long time for, is it okay to move
on to a softer subject?
Jon: Yeah, that’s okay. (laugh)
What are your thoughts on attraction to Japanese women?
Jon: Attraction to Japanese
women? I have a lot of it. (laugh) First, I think there are a lot of cute
(single) women. In my eyes, it seems like they pay really particular attention
to their behavior. It’s more that I respect that about them than I like it, I
think. “Just by seeing his hard-working figure, I get fired up, too. It makes
me want to help him.” Isn’t that something you hear often? That kind of consideration is like passive
assistance, isn’t it? I think that
aspect of Japanese women is amazing. In America, I feel like there are a lot of
girls who are more like, “What? Your job? Eating with me is more important!” Of
course, I can understand that feeling; I just admire that Japanese women’s way
of thinking more. The first time I heard about that way of thinking, I was
shocked. “It’s like it’s not ladies first; it’s guy’s first?” speaking of how
women raise men up in that regard. To be honest, I think it’s because Japanese
women are really strong.
I see.
Jon: Also, I like women’s
language. In English, there isn’t any distinction between male and female
language, but there is in Japanese. If a girl uses words that are distinctively
feminine, it really makes her seem more womanly. It really affects me; I think
it’s cute and sexy.
Japanese women are even popular overseas, huh?
Jon: They are. I think they’re
popular all over the world.
I think that a lot of Japanese women have a sort of inferiority complex
against Western women. Could you give them a message?
They should be confident. I think
their long, glossy black hair is beautiful. It’s not like I want them to wear
yukata every day, but when they wear traditional Japanese clothes, isn’t it
beautiful? I think they should know that it’s a strong sort of attraction that
only Japanese women can achieve. Be confident. They shouldn’t have that
complex. It’s only natural that they’re different from foreign women. There are
a lot of things about Japan that they are probably proud of, so they should try
to focus more on those things.
___
That's the end of the interview! What did you think?
(Also, did I mention I live in Mitaka and Kichijoji and Nishiogikubo are literally 2 or 3 train stops away from me? So close, yet so far away...lol)
Sunday, September 23, 2012
fade and the BUZZER BEAT FESTA2012
This is going to talk mostly about fade, as you might have guessed...mostly because I had no idea who the other bands were, haha.
The BUZZER BEAT FESTA2012 took place at the Chelsea Hotel in Shibuya. Doors opened at 5 and the event started at 5:30. fade wasn't slated to play until at least 8:30, but we wanted to see the bands before them anyways, because, hey, concerts are fun! After standing around until 5:30, we finally asked when the B section tickets were being called, and they told us that the concert had already started and we could go in. Whoops. The confusion was because I guess there was an event at the Star Lounge, which is in the same building as Chelsea Hotel. lol silly gaijin (for those of you who don't know, "gaijin" is slang for "foreigner." I use it a lot).
The venue is small. The merchandise tables took up a lot of space on one side because, well, there were 6 or so bands playing that night. It was definitely...comfortable, though (I don't really know how to describe it, haha). Probably 8 people could fit across the barrier to the stage, but it was easy to see whoever was playing from anywhere in the venue. I guess another word to describe the atmosphere that night was laid back. People from other bands came out into the audience a few times to either chat with fans or just to watch the show.
So yeah, I hope I get to go back to Chelsea Hotel. :D
The other bands that performed, though, were:
SUN OF A STARVE
REAL REACH
The Hitch Lowke
GEEKS
fade
Shonen Kamikaze
Even though I didn't know the other bands, I do have to say that they seemed really fun. This was my first Japanese live experience, so I had heard a few things like there isn't as much constant screaming as there is at concerts in the US; there are usually coordinated movements for certain songs and the fan somehow automatically knows them (it's a mystery, I tell you); and you're not really supposed to sing along. I think the last one was a lie, though, because there were definitely people singing alongincluding me whoops. Overall, I heard that crowds at Japanese lives are shier and calmer.
lol nope. One thing that surprised me right off was that there was moshing. It wasn't as intense as some stuff I've seen in the US, but I definitely was not expecting it and I didn't want to be a part of it, so I backed off. The crowd itself was also really friendly. The shy people stayed in the back, the energetic people stayed in the front, and I pretty much hung around the merch table whenever there was moshing because it was situated off to the side in the middle of the two extremes. Sometimes you could even catch band members sneaking behind you, because the backstage area was right behind the merch tables. I caught Kansei (from fade) before he ducked behind the table, lol.
My friends and I were looking at our tickets to figure out the order in which the bands would play, and we thought it was going in order because we didn't know the other bands. So, after the 3rd or 4th band, we went up to the very front because fade was supposed to be next and got all excited while they set up, and...it was not fade. xD embarrassing. Instead, it was GEEKS! They put on a pretty good show, though I think one of my friends said they reminded them of Green Day (their appearance and such).
Okay NOW IT'S TIME FOR FADE.
This is going to be a personal account...this isn't meant to be a professional live report or anything. I'm just sharing my experience because it was FUNNN.
I'm just going to post the setlist now so I can put this in a somewhat chronological order in my head.
1. Ever Free
2. Beautiful
3. From the Heart
4. In the End
5. Cosmicalism
6. One Reason
7. Close to You (Eng)
1. Ever Free
So, I saw fade in NYC 6 months ago and they played this song. It was brand new to everyone, so no one knew the words. We only knew when to say "WOAH-OH!" It was so. liberating. to know the words to this song now and be able to sing along. It's a great, uplifting song.
2. Beautiful
Also great. It's never been one of my absolute favorite songs, but it makes me wonder whatever happened to that fan collaboration video that was supposed to be made(HINT HINT) I think Jon might have stepped on the guardrail for this one? Whatever songs he did it in, I was front and center (sort of unintentionally, but I'm not complaining, haha), so I was responsible for taking his cues of when to move in order to protect my hand from being crushed. :P
3. From the Heart
I do not know the words to this one, but I think I need to now. I'm only familiar with most of fade's newer stuff. It was definitely one of the more emotional songs. I may or may not have seen Jon tearing up a bit? Maybe it was just the light.
4. In the End
omgomgomgomg you guys I love this song and ever since I heard it on TEN, I thought, "I NEED TO HEAR THIS LIVE" and I did and it was awesome and I acted a bit goofy but the band liked it so it's okay. :D
5. Cosmicalism
I wasn't really paying attention to the Japanese fans, because my friends and I formed a little gaijin line against the guardrail. I think they must have been pretty angry at us for a while. I haven't had much communication with the Japanese fans, either, so I don't know how much of the lyrics to fade's English songs they know, but Cosmicalism is in Japanese, so I hope they enjoyed this one! I know the lyrics...for the most part. There are a couple of spots I don't remember.
6. One Reason
This is where it gets personal. I heard Black Hearts and Dollar Signs before I heard One Reason, so that is the version I know and that is the version I like better. I'm actually really stubborn about it, so I do nooot know the lyrics to One Reason, despite it probably being their most well-known song, thanks to Deadman Wonderland. Sorry, guys! I'm going to keep liking BH&DS better. :P Either way, it was great to hear live.
7. Close to You (Eng)
See how I put the (eng) in there? That's because they performed Close to You in English for the first time ever. I remember my friend telling me that she didn't know the Japanese lyrics for Close to You because she only listened to the English version...I guess she got her way, haha. I like the English lyrics a lot better than the Japanese ones, tbh. It still would have been fun to hear the Japanese version either way, because I think the chorus is a bit goofy ("SOU KIMI WA EX GIRL, IMA DEMO EX GIRL").
fade definitely stole the crowd. My friend heard the other bands complimenting them or complaining about how they took all of the energy. I felt a bit bad for Shonen Kamikaze (who played after), because the tension dramaaatically lowered after fade was over with. Honestly, I think it seemed like fade had the most energy because all of us gaijin were ignoring all of the rules and being loud. Sometimes we were a bit too loud, and this resulted in me saying "STOP YELLING" loudly right when it became silent. xD Whoops.
There were lots of little things that made this performance one of the funnest I've ever been to. Since I was front and center and knew most of the lyrics to all of the songs, Jon and I sang together a few times. I even got godo to smile once or twice (I think). Noriyuki was pretty stoic as always, but he gave my friend a nice smile. :P Kansei is always one of the more engaging band members, but omg the faces he makes. hahaha. I tried to catch rui's eye a couple of times, but he was in the drummer's zone. At the end of the show, I honestly almost felt like crying because I didn't want them to stop playing. Jon handed out extra water bottles, I almost got Kansei's pick but it fell down the space between the guardrail and the stage (NOOOOO), and my friend got rui's broken drumstick...which scratched me right under the eye, haha.
After the show is always the funnest part, because fade is one of those bands that actually talks to their fans for a bit afterwards. It was also nice to be able to talk to a band in English, unlike that Moran in-store event where I was too shy to use Japanese, lol. My friend and I got our merchandise signed for the street team project we had been planning (a giveaway! It's on the Facebook page if you want to check it out). When we went to say goodbye, Jon told my friend and I to stick around for a bit and we talked a bit about how our lives have been in the 6 months since we saw them last, haha. Then the clock struck twelve and the magic was over. :P
Despite not knowing the other bands, it was fun. Fade was the highlight, no question about it. It was so good that I can't really help but go to their show in October. I promised myself I wouldn't go to any more concerts than I'd already planned so far, but that just got thrown out the window. Thanks, guys, haha.
The BUZZER BEAT FESTA2012 took place at the Chelsea Hotel in Shibuya. Doors opened at 5 and the event started at 5:30. fade wasn't slated to play until at least 8:30, but we wanted to see the bands before them anyways, because, hey, concerts are fun! After standing around until 5:30, we finally asked when the B section tickets were being called, and they told us that the concert had already started and we could go in. Whoops. The confusion was because I guess there was an event at the Star Lounge, which is in the same building as Chelsea Hotel. lol silly gaijin (for those of you who don't know, "gaijin" is slang for "foreigner." I use it a lot).
The venue is small. The merchandise tables took up a lot of space on one side because, well, there were 6 or so bands playing that night. It was definitely...comfortable, though (I don't really know how to describe it, haha). Probably 8 people could fit across the barrier to the stage, but it was easy to see whoever was playing from anywhere in the venue. I guess another word to describe the atmosphere that night was laid back. People from other bands came out into the audience a few times to either chat with fans or just to watch the show.
So yeah, I hope I get to go back to Chelsea Hotel. :D
The other bands that performed, though, were:
SUN OF A STARVE
REAL REACH
The Hitch Lowke
GEEKS
fade
Shonen Kamikaze
Even though I didn't know the other bands, I do have to say that they seemed really fun. This was my first Japanese live experience, so I had heard a few things like there isn't as much constant screaming as there is at concerts in the US; there are usually coordinated movements for certain songs and the fan somehow automatically knows them (it's a mystery, I tell you); and you're not really supposed to sing along. I think the last one was a lie, though, because there were definitely people singing along
lol nope. One thing that surprised me right off was that there was moshing. It wasn't as intense as some stuff I've seen in the US, but I definitely was not expecting it and I didn't want to be a part of it, so I backed off. The crowd itself was also really friendly. The shy people stayed in the back, the energetic people stayed in the front, and I pretty much hung around the merch table whenever there was moshing because it was situated off to the side in the middle of the two extremes. Sometimes you could even catch band members sneaking behind you, because the backstage area was right behind the merch tables. I caught Kansei (from fade) before he ducked behind the table, lol.
My friends and I were looking at our tickets to figure out the order in which the bands would play, and we thought it was going in order because we didn't know the other bands. So, after the 3rd or 4th band, we went up to the very front because fade was supposed to be next and got all excited while they set up, and...it was not fade. xD embarrassing. Instead, it was GEEKS! They put on a pretty good show, though I think one of my friends said they reminded them of Green Day (their appearance and such).
Okay NOW IT'S TIME FOR FADE.
This is going to be a personal account...this isn't meant to be a professional live report or anything. I'm just sharing my experience because it was FUNNN.
I'm just going to post the setlist now so I can put this in a somewhat chronological order in my head.
1. Ever Free
2. Beautiful
3. From the Heart
4. In the End
5. Cosmicalism
6. One Reason
7. Close to You (Eng)
1. Ever Free
So, I saw fade in NYC 6 months ago and they played this song. It was brand new to everyone, so no one knew the words. We only knew when to say "WOAH-OH!" It was so. liberating. to know the words to this song now and be able to sing along. It's a great, uplifting song.
2. Beautiful
Also great. It's never been one of my absolute favorite songs, but it makes me wonder whatever happened to that fan collaboration video that was supposed to be made
3. From the Heart
I do not know the words to this one, but I think I need to now. I'm only familiar with most of fade's newer stuff. It was definitely one of the more emotional songs. I may or may not have seen Jon tearing up a bit? Maybe it was just the light.
4. In the End
omgomgomgomg you guys I love this song and ever since I heard it on TEN, I thought, "I NEED TO HEAR THIS LIVE" and I did and it was awesome and I acted a bit goofy but the band liked it so it's okay. :D
5. Cosmicalism
I wasn't really paying attention to the Japanese fans, because my friends and I formed a little gaijin line against the guardrail. I think they must have been pretty angry at us for a while. I haven't had much communication with the Japanese fans, either, so I don't know how much of the lyrics to fade's English songs they know, but Cosmicalism is in Japanese, so I hope they enjoyed this one! I know the lyrics...for the most part. There are a couple of spots I don't remember.
6. One Reason
This is where it gets personal. I heard Black Hearts and Dollar Signs before I heard One Reason, so that is the version I know and that is the version I like better. I'm actually really stubborn about it, so I do nooot know the lyrics to One Reason, despite it probably being their most well-known song, thanks to Deadman Wonderland. Sorry, guys! I'm going to keep liking BH&DS better. :P Either way, it was great to hear live.
7. Close to You (Eng)
See how I put the (eng) in there? That's because they performed Close to You in English for the first time ever. I remember my friend telling me that she didn't know the Japanese lyrics for Close to You because she only listened to the English version...I guess she got her way, haha. I like the English lyrics a lot better than the Japanese ones, tbh. It still would have been fun to hear the Japanese version either way, because I think the chorus is a bit goofy ("SOU KIMI WA EX GIRL, IMA DEMO EX GIRL").
fade definitely stole the crowd. My friend heard the other bands complimenting them or complaining about how they took all of the energy. I felt a bit bad for Shonen Kamikaze (who played after), because the tension dramaaatically lowered after fade was over with. Honestly, I think it seemed like fade had the most energy because all of us gaijin were ignoring all of the rules and being loud. Sometimes we were a bit too loud, and this resulted in me saying "STOP YELLING" loudly right when it became silent. xD Whoops.
There were lots of little things that made this performance one of the funnest I've ever been to. Since I was front and center and knew most of the lyrics to all of the songs, Jon and I sang together a few times. I even got godo to smile once or twice (I think). Noriyuki was pretty stoic as always, but he gave my friend a nice smile. :P Kansei is always one of the more engaging band members, but omg the faces he makes. hahaha. I tried to catch rui's eye a couple of times, but he was in the drummer's zone. At the end of the show, I honestly almost felt like crying because I didn't want them to stop playing. Jon handed out extra water bottles, I almost got Kansei's pick but it fell down the space between the guardrail and the stage (NOOOOO), and my friend got rui's broken drumstick...which scratched me right under the eye, haha.
After the show is always the funnest part, because fade is one of those bands that actually talks to their fans for a bit afterwards. It was also nice to be able to talk to a band in English, unlike that Moran in-store event where I was too shy to use Japanese, lol. My friend and I got our merchandise signed for the street team project we had been planning (a giveaway! It's on the Facebook page if you want to check it out). When we went to say goodbye, Jon told my friend and I to stick around for a bit and we talked a bit about how our lives have been in the 6 months since we saw them last, haha. Then the clock struck twelve and the magic was over. :P
Despite not knowing the other bands, it was fun. Fade was the highlight, no question about it. It was so good that I can't really help but go to their show in October. I promised myself I wouldn't go to any more concerts than I'd already planned so far, but that just got thrown out the window. Thanks, guys, haha.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
"International" Christian University
I'm going to talk about what puts the "I" in "ICU;" International.
Being in a class with people from different countries is a lot different than I thought, and I'm discovering new ways to look at things every day. It's weird to sit in class and realize that people haven't learned things that are really obvious to you because you have to consciously remember, "Oh, right, so-and-so is from Denmark," or something.
In my contemporary Japanese history class, we're learning about World War II. The catch here is that we're only focusing on East Asia's role in it. It started at a completely different time over here, supposedly beginning in Manchuria in 1931. We're not discussing European involvement at all. Do you know how weird it is to think of WWII without Europe, the way we've been taught in the US for ages? We barely even touched on what was happening in East Asia unless it was about Japan. It really was a worldwide war.
Another thing to consider is that while I'm learning about Japan as an outsider, I'm sitting in class with Japanese people who might already know everything we're talking about already, but they were taught in a different way. My teacher is American, so his perspective is a little different. For instance, he presented the theory (that has been supported by multiple sources, according to him) that the first Japanese emperor did not, in fact, descend from heaven, but rather came from the Korean Peninsula. If you know anything about Japan, you should know about the tensions between East Asian countries (especially Japan, Korea, and China), so this information came as a shock to me. I've heard about how homogenous Japan is for ages (90% of the population is "pure Japanese"), so the fact that it all could have began in Korea really throws my perspective off-balance considering the tensions still between the two countries. I even asked a Japanese girl in class what she thought of it or if she had ever heard of it, and she answered that she thought it was just a rumor and she needs evidence to back it up.
This is probably just one example of many that will come later on in the year.
I guess the point of this post is to make you think about perspective.
This is a world map in Japan.
If you're like me, you'll look at this and think, "It's reversed." It's not. It's just different.
Being in a class with people from different countries is a lot different than I thought, and I'm discovering new ways to look at things every day. It's weird to sit in class and realize that people haven't learned things that are really obvious to you because you have to consciously remember, "Oh, right, so-and-so is from Denmark," or something.
In my contemporary Japanese history class, we're learning about World War II. The catch here is that we're only focusing on East Asia's role in it. It started at a completely different time over here, supposedly beginning in Manchuria in 1931. We're not discussing European involvement at all. Do you know how weird it is to think of WWII without Europe, the way we've been taught in the US for ages? We barely even touched on what was happening in East Asia unless it was about Japan. It really was a worldwide war.
Another thing to consider is that while I'm learning about Japan as an outsider, I'm sitting in class with Japanese people who might already know everything we're talking about already, but they were taught in a different way. My teacher is American, so his perspective is a little different. For instance, he presented the theory (that has been supported by multiple sources, according to him) that the first Japanese emperor did not, in fact, descend from heaven, but rather came from the Korean Peninsula. If you know anything about Japan, you should know about the tensions between East Asian countries (especially Japan, Korea, and China), so this information came as a shock to me. I've heard about how homogenous Japan is for ages (90% of the population is "pure Japanese"), so the fact that it all could have began in Korea really throws my perspective off-balance considering the tensions still between the two countries. I even asked a Japanese girl in class what she thought of it or if she had ever heard of it, and she answered that she thought it was just a rumor and she needs evidence to back it up.
This is probably just one example of many that will come later on in the year.
I guess the point of this post is to make you think about perspective.
This is a world map in Japan.
If you're like me, you'll look at this and think, "It's reversed." It's not. It's just different.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
ST vs S-T
Since this is going to be a blog about my personal experiences in Japan (as in, this isn't exactly meant to be a guide for those who want to study abroad but more of a blog so that my family and friends can know what's going on), I need to explain a couple of activities I'm really involved in right now.
This might be a surprise to some of you; I don't talk about what I do in my free time very often because it usually takes a while to explain and I just don't want to make the effort to spend 10 minutes explaining to every single person who asks me.
So, referring to the blog title, let's start with ST.
ST stands for Street Team.
I'm a fan of GACKT, a reeeeally famous musician in Japan. He's had a career since before I was even born. Recently, though, he started (and ended already R.I.P) a project called YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz (YFC). He basically took members from other bands and added them to his own. One of the new members, vocalist Jon Underdown, is the singer of a band called fade.
fade is not famous. If anything, a lot of their recent fans most likely found them through YFC, including me. They have a heavy, melodious, varied but distinct rock sound. I might dedicate a second post to explaining who they are and why I'm so involved with them, but this is about the Street Team.
Some time ago (bad memory), fade announced they were recruiting worldwide street team members. It was free and I was at a point where I thought about what I wanted to do in the future a lot. I knew I wanted to do something involved in the music industry, but I wasn't (and still am not) sure what. Either way, I decided, I should start getting involved as much as possible.
A street team is basically fans who do free legwork for the band. In my case, it involved updating Twitter and Facebook accounts as often as possible to get the word out about fade, as well as being involved in smaller projects like being in a collaborative music videowhich still hasn't been released yet. In March 2012, I got the AMAZING opportunity to actually volunteer at their first-ever show in NYC. It's about a 4 hour journey from my home university, but I was crazy enough to do it. I was introduced to all the band members, the band manager - everyone involved. The best part was that they already recognized me from Twitter, which I thought was a little embarrassing...I thought it meant I had been Tweeting them too much.
Anyways, that's what I do on the street team. I try to raise awareness about fade. That also ties in to what I'm doing this Saturday; I'm going to fade's concert in Shibuya! I'm going to work on a USA Street Team project while I'm there, so I might get to talk to the band again, but no promises. Either way, it should be a ton of fun and I'm excited to see them after 6 months.
Now let's talk about S-T: Shattered-Tranquility.net.
You should know by now that I like visual kei. I explained it in the last post. About a month before I came to Japan, I noticed S-T had a "seeking volunteer news staff" ad on their page. Still in my "let's get involved!" streak, I applied on a whim. I didn't hear anything for a couple of weeks and wasn't expecting to receive any word, but a couple of weeks before I got here, I was informed that I was accepted! So, my other "hobby" is to look up visual kei news; this usually involves directly translating news from Japanese band sites (like concert dates, new releases, etc...larger translations are left to the translation staff).
It's a blessing and a curse. I love that I'm learning more about this genre that I love so much, but it's definitely going to burn a hole in my wallet. The more concerts I find out about, the more I want to go. I might even end up getting a part-time job, haha.
So, I hope you understand the point of this post. When people ask, "What do you do in your down time?" my answer will probably be something like, "street team work" or, "writing articles." They're kind of weird hobbies, I guess, but I'm not planning on stopping them anytime soon.
This might be a surprise to some of you; I don't talk about what I do in my free time very often because it usually takes a while to explain and I just don't want to make the effort to spend 10 minutes explaining to every single person who asks me.
So, referring to the blog title, let's start with ST.
ST stands for Street Team.
I'm a fan of GACKT, a reeeeally famous musician in Japan. He's had a career since before I was even born. Recently, though, he started (and ended already R.I.P) a project called YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz (YFC). He basically took members from other bands and added them to his own. One of the new members, vocalist Jon Underdown, is the singer of a band called fade.
fade is not famous. If anything, a lot of their recent fans most likely found them through YFC, including me. They have a heavy, melodious, varied but distinct rock sound. I might dedicate a second post to explaining who they are and why I'm so involved with them, but this is about the Street Team.
Some time ago (bad memory), fade announced they were recruiting worldwide street team members. It was free and I was at a point where I thought about what I wanted to do in the future a lot. I knew I wanted to do something involved in the music industry, but I wasn't (and still am not) sure what. Either way, I decided, I should start getting involved as much as possible.
A street team is basically fans who do free legwork for the band. In my case, it involved updating Twitter and Facebook accounts as often as possible to get the word out about fade, as well as being involved in smaller projects like being in a collaborative music video
Anyways, that's what I do on the street team. I try to raise awareness about fade. That also ties in to what I'm doing this Saturday; I'm going to fade's concert in Shibuya! I'm going to work on a USA Street Team project while I'm there, so I might get to talk to the band again, but no promises. Either way, it should be a ton of fun and I'm excited to see them after 6 months.
Now let's talk about S-T: Shattered-Tranquility.net.
You should know by now that I like visual kei. I explained it in the last post. About a month before I came to Japan, I noticed S-T had a "seeking volunteer news staff" ad on their page. Still in my "let's get involved!" streak, I applied on a whim. I didn't hear anything for a couple of weeks and wasn't expecting to receive any word, but a couple of weeks before I got here, I was informed that I was accepted! So, my other "hobby" is to look up visual kei news; this usually involves directly translating news from Japanese band sites (like concert dates, new releases, etc...larger translations are left to the translation staff).
It's a blessing and a curse. I love that I'm learning more about this genre that I love so much, but it's definitely going to burn a hole in my wallet. The more concerts I find out about, the more I want to go. I might even end up getting a part-time job, haha.
So, I hope you understand the point of this post. When people ask, "What do you do in your down time?" my answer will probably be something like, "street team work" or, "writing articles." They're kind of weird hobbies, I guess, but I'm not planning on stopping them anytime soon.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Visual Kei Date
I'm going to counter my last Debbie Downer post with some stuff I've been doing that's pretty fun.
On Saturday, my awesome friend took me to Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Harajuku to check out some fun visual kei stuff (and some equally fun, unrelated stuff)! If you don't know what visual kei is, you should Google it (haha). Visual kei is my favorite type of music. It's difficult for me to find other people who like the same music as I do, so when I found out my friend liked it, I was pretty excited.
I should probably apologize; I brought my camera, but I wasn't in the mood to take pictures. Don't get too mad, though! I'm visiting Harajuku and Shibuya on Saturday (with another friend)!
Our adventure started off in Harajuku. We looked around in a few interesting shops, like an idol shop full of rows and rows of celebrity pictures that you can buy; a costume stop full of elaborate, sequin-y costumes that Lady Gaga visited; a cute clothing store where I bought a dress for only ￥1900; and, most importantly, we got CREPES. Crepes are a specialty of Harajuku. I chose a strawberry cheesecake crepe. They literally put a small slice of cheesecake inside. HEAVEN. Definitely going back on Saturday. My friend showed me a place called Closet Child, where you can get visual kei merchandise for reeeally cheap. I'll have to keep an eye on my wallet, haha.
Next, we went to Shibuya because my friend wanted to get some makeup at 109 (AKA Ichi-maru-kyu), a well-known department store in the area. I didn't buy any makeup because I'm still kind of clueless on how to use it.
After some browsing, we decided to hit Shinjuku. I saw a few more visual kei-themed stores before going to little HEARTS. in the ALTA building to accomplish what I had come to Shinjuku for: attend an in-store event for Moran, a band I like.
An in-store event is pretty much a signing, but depending on what time you go there, they do different things (like a talk, a handshake event, or a signing event). I had to buy their new single to get in, but I was planning on doing so anyways. This experience was actually really annoying because there was a looot of waiting involved. The event description never mentioned that the talk would take place before the handshake event (which is the event my ticket was good for), so we had to wait around until the talk finished. We got there at around 5 and I didn't end up getting to enter the place at 6:30.
Luckily, my friend and I are clever! little HEARTS. is part of a shopping mall, you see. It was on the 5th floor and there were about 4 other stores around it. It had a very open design. The store officials told us to wait on the stairwell on the 3rd floor (to keep us from seeing the band, I guess), but my friend and I thought, "Well, they can't keep us from SHOPPING on the 5th floor, now can they?" So, we pretended to shop. Our timing was great, because we got to see the band enter the room for the talk. Actually, they stayed outside of the door for about a minute. My friend and I pretended to shop for purses while we stared at the singer, since talking to him would have gotten us in trouble with the little HEARTS. officials. We're clever fangirls. :P
Anyways, I finally got to the signing event and got my CD booklet signed.
I love this. They all spelled my name differently. I didn't prepare anything to say to them, but they asked me where I was from and, well, how to spell my name.
Then there's Hitomi's (the singer's) signature:
He asked if he could sign inside the booklet and then was all BIG HANDWRITING.
Overall, getting the signature was worth it, but I don't think I'd do it again...or I'd just learn the system better.
I'm really excited for Saturday, but I'll tell you why in the next post, probably.
/cliffhanger
On Saturday, my awesome friend took me to Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Harajuku to check out some fun visual kei stuff (and some equally fun, unrelated stuff)! If you don't know what visual kei is, you should Google it (haha). Visual kei is my favorite type of music. It's difficult for me to find other people who like the same music as I do, so when I found out my friend liked it, I was pretty excited.
I should probably apologize; I brought my camera, but I wasn't in the mood to take pictures. Don't get too mad, though! I'm visiting Harajuku and Shibuya on Saturday (with another friend)!
Our adventure started off in Harajuku. We looked around in a few interesting shops, like an idol shop full of rows and rows of celebrity pictures that you can buy; a costume stop full of elaborate, sequin-y costumes that Lady Gaga visited; a cute clothing store where I bought a dress for only ￥1900; and, most importantly, we got CREPES. Crepes are a specialty of Harajuku. I chose a strawberry cheesecake crepe. They literally put a small slice of cheesecake inside. HEAVEN. Definitely going back on Saturday. My friend showed me a place called Closet Child, where you can get visual kei merchandise for reeeally cheap. I'll have to keep an eye on my wallet, haha.
Next, we went to Shibuya because my friend wanted to get some makeup at 109 (AKA Ichi-maru-kyu), a well-known department store in the area. I didn't buy any makeup because I'm still kind of clueless on how to use it.
After some browsing, we decided to hit Shinjuku. I saw a few more visual kei-themed stores before going to little HEARTS. in the ALTA building to accomplish what I had come to Shinjuku for: attend an in-store event for Moran, a band I like.
An in-store event is pretty much a signing, but depending on what time you go there, they do different things (like a talk, a handshake event, or a signing event). I had to buy their new single to get in, but I was planning on doing so anyways. This experience was actually really annoying because there was a looot of waiting involved. The event description never mentioned that the talk would take place before the handshake event (which is the event my ticket was good for), so we had to wait around until the talk finished. We got there at around 5 and I didn't end up getting to enter the place at 6:30.
Luckily, my friend and I are clever! little HEARTS. is part of a shopping mall, you see. It was on the 5th floor and there were about 4 other stores around it. It had a very open design. The store officials told us to wait on the stairwell on the 3rd floor (to keep us from seeing the band, I guess), but my friend and I thought, "Well, they can't keep us from SHOPPING on the 5th floor, now can they?" So, we pretended to shop. Our timing was great, because we got to see the band enter the room for the talk. Actually, they stayed outside of the door for about a minute. My friend and I pretended to shop for purses while we stared at the singer, since talking to him would have gotten us in trouble with the little HEARTS. officials. We're clever fangirls. :P
Anyways, I finally got to the signing event and got my CD booklet signed.
I love this. They all spelled my name differently. I didn't prepare anything to say to them, but they asked me where I was from and, well, how to spell my name.
Then there's Hitomi's (the singer's) signature:
He asked if he could sign inside the booklet and then was all BIG HANDWRITING.
Overall, getting the signature was worth it, but I don't think I'd do it again...or I'd just learn the system better.
I'm really excited for Saturday, but I'll tell you why in the next post, probably.
/cliffhanger
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Initiation Week
Did you know that ICU has another name? Some people call it Isolated Crazy Utopia. I thought it was ridiculous at first, but now I'm starting to believe it.
Dorm life at ICU is a lot different from dorms in the US, I think I can safely say. For one thing, we pretty much run our own dorm. A cleaning lady comes in to clean the bathrooms, empty the trash, clean the floors, etc., but we take care of the dorm by ourselves besides that. People have chores and committees and if you don't comply, you're letting everyone down. We're more of a community than a dorm.
Whenever new students come in, they have to go through what's called "Initiation Week."I still think it's a form of hazing, but it's over now, so I'm not worried about it. We were warned about this a bit before we came here, but I never, ever expected how time-consuming it would be.
Here's how it works: new students dress up in ridiculous costumes all week so they can stand out. The newbies pick the theme themselves, and, yes, we wear the same costumes for all 5 school days. On the final day, we perform a 3.5 minute dance that we choreograph ourselves. The dance was especially terrifying to me because I have ZERO dance experience. (Well, okay, I went to a couple meetings of Belly Dancing Club, but I never practiced.) So, on top of orientation activities, dorm meetings, and starting classes, we were spending 2+ hours (mainly at night) every day to perfect this dance and our costumes. My dorm's theme was the 7 Dwarves from Snow White.
Debbie Downer Warning: In all honesty, the only time I actually enjoyed doing this was when the whole thing was finally over. I'm one of those people that NEEEEEDS free time, and when I don't get it, I get really emotionally unstable (which prompted me crying in class that one time and a couple of other times besides). Luckily, one of my friends (who is head of the culture committee here) was nice enough to let me tearfully call her and explain that I wasn't having any fun and I couldn't learn the dance and I didn't feel like I was getting anything out of this...to which she responded that she felt the same way, but the point of it is to make all of the new students feel closer to each other. I felt a bit better knowing it wasn't really supposed to be "fun."
Okay, enough whining. A lot of you have already seen the video on Facebook that I was tagged in, but I might as well post it here. This is the performance (if you can even view it; if not, sorry! This is from my friend's Facebook page)
Videoooo.
Overall, I guess it did make me a lot closer with the other new students.
Just be warned that this will happen and you will have to do it if you're considering studying abroad at ICU, but don't let it influence your decision too much, because it's only for a week (even though that week will feel like forever).
Dorm life at ICU is a lot different from dorms in the US, I think I can safely say. For one thing, we pretty much run our own dorm. A cleaning lady comes in to clean the bathrooms, empty the trash, clean the floors, etc., but we take care of the dorm by ourselves besides that. People have chores and committees and if you don't comply, you're letting everyone down. We're more of a community than a dorm.
Whenever new students come in, they have to go through what's called "Initiation Week."
Here's how it works: new students dress up in ridiculous costumes all week so they can stand out. The newbies pick the theme themselves, and, yes, we wear the same costumes for all 5 school days. On the final day, we perform a 3.5 minute dance that we choreograph ourselves. The dance was especially terrifying to me because I have ZERO dance experience. (Well, okay, I went to a couple meetings of Belly Dancing Club, but I never practiced.) So, on top of orientation activities, dorm meetings, and starting classes, we were spending 2+ hours (mainly at night) every day to perfect this dance and our costumes. My dorm's theme was the 7 Dwarves from Snow White.
Debbie Downer Warning: In all honesty, the only time I actually enjoyed doing this was when the whole thing was finally over. I'm one of those people that NEEEEEDS free time, and when I don't get it, I get really emotionally unstable (which prompted me crying in class that one time and a couple of other times besides). Luckily, one of my friends (who is head of the culture committee here) was nice enough to let me tearfully call her and explain that I wasn't having any fun and I couldn't learn the dance and I didn't feel like I was getting anything out of this...to which she responded that she felt the same way, but the point of it is to make all of the new students feel closer to each other. I felt a bit better knowing it wasn't really supposed to be "fun."
Okay, enough whining. A lot of you have already seen the video on Facebook that I was tagged in, but I might as well post it here. This is the performance (if you can even view it; if not, sorry! This is from my friend's Facebook page)
Videoooo.
Overall, I guess it did make me a lot closer with the other new students.
Just be warned that this will happen and you will have to do it if you're considering studying abroad at ICU, but don't let it influence your decision too much, because it's only for a week (even though that week will feel like forever).
Adjusting
This is just a list of things that require adjusting. I honestly didn't expect a lot of culture shock; this is more like LIFE shock.
-This is the furthest I've been from home. I don't know how much further you can get than halfway around the world. I have a few friends here that I met last year when they studied abroad at my university (and a couple of friends who came with me to ICU), but I definitely feel stranded in terms of the security of home. I grew up pretty sheltered, honestly. Even my home university is a 2.5 hour drive away from my home in New Hampshire. I'm still adjusting to that notion of being far away.
-This has been the biggest adjustment: I don't really know how to cook or how to shop for myself. My parents were the cooks in the house (admittedly, I could have stepped in any time and learned). My specialty is baking. At my home university, the dining hall was my haven. I knew how to make breakfast, but that was about it. Navigating an American grocery store, let alone a Japanese スーパー was overwhelming. I'm slowly but surely learning how to cook, even if it's simple stuff right now like grilled chicken with broccoli and rice; or pasta with home-made sauce. I'll ease my way in to Japanese cooking.
-Not having a car is crippling. At home, I drove everywhere. I would be terrified to even try learning how to drive in Japan, but I still feel lost. Luckily, we have bikes. Bikes are essential in Mitaka-shi unless you have a lot of money to burn on the bus (￥210 to Musashisakai station, one way) or a lot of time and energy to walk. The only downside to a bike is that you can only carry as much with you as will fit in your basket...or a backpack, if you're not me and actually smart enough to bring one with you.
-I'm still stuck in my English bubble. Most of the students on campus speak English really well. I'm a bit shier in Japanese than in English, so I've yet to make any Japanese friends besides my dorm-mates. That doesn't mean I want to stop being friends with English-speaking students; it just means I have to push myself.
-My class is hard. We were placed into classes in the Japanese Language Program (JLP) here according to a placement test given during the first week of orientation. 1, 2, and 3 are beginner levels; 4, 5, and 6 are intermediate; 7 and 8 are advanced. Once you finish advanced, you've completed JLP. I thought I would be placed into level 4, honestly, because my vocabulary is really weak even though I'm decent at learning grammar. "It would be really lucky if I got into level 5," I thought. When I looked at the placement results and found out I was in level SIX, I honestly panicked. I was way in over my head. For the first week of class, I hardly spoke and stumbled through pages of vocabulary I didn't know, all the while thinking my teacher was going to tell me I was supposed to be in level 5 this whole time. After a sleepless night (which makes me very emotional, if you don't know me that well yet), I went to class with that same fear and was called on twice to answer questions.
Another thing you should know about me is that I'm a bit of a crybaby. It doesn't take a lot to make me cry. It's my stress release, but it's also really annoying, because I can't articulate myself when I'm upset or I'll just start sobbing, even if it's not a big deal. So being called on to answer a question in the middle of all of my stress really hit a nerve and I walked out of class crying. I apologized to the teacher afterwards and asked (tearfully) if I could switch to Japanese 5, which she very kindly responded to and asked me to meet with her after lunch. I got the paperwork for the lower class and my teacher asked me if there was anything else I wanted to discuss before switching, but, still being upset, I couldn't say much. I went back and e-mailed her explaining how sorry I was and that I didn't want to give up, but dorm life was a lot harder and busier than I thought it was going to be and I didn't have any time to study.
This probably doesn't seem like a big deal to most of you. Why would you be this stressed out by classes? you're probably thinking. Wouldn't you want an easier class so you could spend more time enjoying Japan? Because I came here to learn, and I want to seize the chance of getting placed into a higher level to finish up my major at my home university more quickly. ICU operates on a trimester system, so if I (somehow) pass Japanese 6 and 7, I'll end the year with 8 and effectively complete the Japanese Language Program here.
After asking my teacher for advice, she ultimately left the decision up to me, saying she would take me back into J6 because she really did think my level was high enough to be in the class, even though I clearly wasn't at as high of a level as my classmates. Long story short, I'm in J6 now and I'm more comfortable because I know I'm actually supposed to be here now.
-Laundry is a bit different here. The washing machines are smaller and most people air-dry their clothes (which is COMPLETELY foreign to me). I also made the mistake of washing a red shirt with white clothes. I'm spoiled by the detergent brands I use in the US.
-INITIATION WEEK. This will be a separate entry, but it involved a lot of dancing, a lot of embarrassment/learning to laugh at yourself, and not nearly enough free time or sleep.
I just thought I should post this entry now because when people ask me, "How is Japan?" I've been responding with a simple, "Good," because it would take me too long to explain the ups and downs I've been having.
-This is the furthest I've been from home. I don't know how much further you can get than halfway around the world. I have a few friends here that I met last year when they studied abroad at my university (and a couple of friends who came with me to ICU), but I definitely feel stranded in terms of the security of home. I grew up pretty sheltered, honestly. Even my home university is a 2.5 hour drive away from my home in New Hampshire. I'm still adjusting to that notion of being far away.
-This has been the biggest adjustment: I don't really know how to cook or how to shop for myself. My parents were the cooks in the house (admittedly, I could have stepped in any time and learned). My specialty is baking. At my home university, the dining hall was my haven. I knew how to make breakfast, but that was about it. Navigating an American grocery store, let alone a Japanese スーパー was overwhelming. I'm slowly but surely learning how to cook, even if it's simple stuff right now like grilled chicken with broccoli and rice; or pasta with home-made sauce. I'll ease my way in to Japanese cooking.
-Not having a car is crippling. At home, I drove everywhere. I would be terrified to even try learning how to drive in Japan, but I still feel lost. Luckily, we have bikes. Bikes are essential in Mitaka-shi unless you have a lot of money to burn on the bus (￥210 to Musashisakai station, one way) or a lot of time and energy to walk. The only downside to a bike is that you can only carry as much with you as will fit in your basket...or a backpack, if you're not me and actually smart enough to bring one with you.
-I'm still stuck in my English bubble. Most of the students on campus speak English really well. I'm a bit shier in Japanese than in English, so I've yet to make any Japanese friends besides my dorm-mates. That doesn't mean I want to stop being friends with English-speaking students; it just means I have to push myself.
-My class is hard. We were placed into classes in the Japanese Language Program (JLP) here according to a placement test given during the first week of orientation. 1, 2, and 3 are beginner levels; 4, 5, and 6 are intermediate; 7 and 8 are advanced. Once you finish advanced, you've completed JLP. I thought I would be placed into level 4, honestly, because my vocabulary is really weak even though I'm decent at learning grammar. "It would be really lucky if I got into level 5," I thought. When I looked at the placement results and found out I was in level SIX, I honestly panicked. I was way in over my head. For the first week of class, I hardly spoke and stumbled through pages of vocabulary I didn't know, all the while thinking my teacher was going to tell me I was supposed to be in level 5 this whole time. After a sleepless night (which makes me very emotional, if you don't know me that well yet), I went to class with that same fear and was called on twice to answer questions.
Another thing you should know about me is that I'm a bit of a crybaby. It doesn't take a lot to make me cry. It's my stress release, but it's also really annoying, because I can't articulate myself when I'm upset or I'll just start sobbing, even if it's not a big deal. So being called on to answer a question in the middle of all of my stress really hit a nerve and I walked out of class crying. I apologized to the teacher afterwards and asked (tearfully) if I could switch to Japanese 5, which she very kindly responded to and asked me to meet with her after lunch. I got the paperwork for the lower class and my teacher asked me if there was anything else I wanted to discuss before switching, but, still being upset, I couldn't say much. I went back and e-mailed her explaining how sorry I was and that I didn't want to give up, but dorm life was a lot harder and busier than I thought it was going to be and I didn't have any time to study.
This probably doesn't seem like a big deal to most of you. Why would you be this stressed out by classes? you're probably thinking. Wouldn't you want an easier class so you could spend more time enjoying Japan? Because I came here to learn, and I want to seize the chance of getting placed into a higher level to finish up my major at my home university more quickly. ICU operates on a trimester system, so if I (somehow) pass Japanese 6 and 7, I'll end the year with 8 and effectively complete the Japanese Language Program here.
After asking my teacher for advice, she ultimately left the decision up to me, saying she would take me back into J6 because she really did think my level was high enough to be in the class, even though I clearly wasn't at as high of a level as my classmates. Long story short, I'm in J6 now and I'm more comfortable because I know I'm actually supposed to be here now.
-Laundry is a bit different here. The washing machines are smaller and most people air-dry their clothes (which is COMPLETELY foreign to me). I also made the mistake of washing a red shirt with white clothes. I'm spoiled by the detergent brands I use in the US.
-INITIATION WEEK. This will be a separate entry, but it involved a lot of dancing, a lot of embarrassment/learning to laugh at yourself, and not nearly enough free time or sleep.
I just thought I should post this entry now because when people ask me, "How is Japan?" I've been responding with a simple, "Good," because it would take me too long to explain the ups and downs I've been having.
初めて
As most of you already know, I'm in Japan.
I arrived here on August 26th. My friend in a nearby town generously let us 3 of us stay in her 2-person apartment until the 31st, when we moved our tons and tons of luggage to International Christian University in Mitaka-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
It will take me a while to be caught up with everything, but I can probably summarize the last three weeks--has it really only been 3 weeks? It feels like ages--in this one post. If someone happens to want any details at any point, just shoot me a message on Facebook, since this is probably where most of you are coming from.
My flight was a non-stop from Logan Airport in Boston to Narita Airport in Tokyo on a Boeing 787. It was a sleepless thirteen-and-a-half hours. Still, it was probably the most comfortable flight I have experienced. My stomach was obviously in knots when I boarded the plane, despite playing PSY'S GANGNAM STYLE on repeat to put me in a better mood. I traveled alone, so I was prepared for a complete stranger--most likely Japanese--to sit next to me. On the contrary, an elderly American man was my companion. He had lived in Fukuoka for the past 55 years. This fact comforted me more than I knew; if he could live there for 55 years, then my staying there for 10 months would surely be a breeze. Since I was shy, tired, and anxious, I ended up not talking to him besides asking him a few times if I could get out to use the bathroom. Looking back, he must have been a really interesting person to have talked to. I should be more extroverted.
I tried reading and listening to music, but neither could hold my attention. So, logically, I started picking out movies to watch. My studious side told me I should pick something in Japanese so I could dive headfirst into the experience, but a much larger part of me said, "OMG HUNGER GAMES." So, I watched The Hunger Games with Japanese subtitles. I also watched a Japanese movie called ｢レンタネコ」 (Rent a Cat), which was cute and easy to understand. As for food (which wasn't all that bad, honestly), I had rice crackers, chicken curry, and some strange pasta dish.
So, let's get to the interesting stuff. Finally, it was time for the plane to land. I almost didn't want it to land because I knew I was completely on my own with my 75+lbs of luggage and a violin to make my way from the airport to a train to meet up with my friend in Shinjuku. I went through customs without any troubles, used my first bit of Japanese at immigrations ("How long are you staying in Japan?" "10 months." "Is that all of your luggage?" "Yes."), struggled embarrassingly with a luggage cart, fumbled over how to ask for a ticket to Shinjuku, stood around in the train for ten minutes before asking for someone for help with my luggage, and waited as the express train took me to my friend. Finally, we reached Shinjuku. We squeezed onto another train with all of my luggage, then dragged it tediously through the streets for 10 minutes before we finally reached her apartment, drenched in sweat. It was at least 30C that day (and has been hovering around there ever since). We got inside, had dinner, and I made myself stay up until at least 11pm so I could fight jetlag.
The next few days were overstimulating, but awesome. In all, we visited Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, Tokyo Tower, Odaiba, Harajuku, and other places I can't remember right now. I can safely say I can vaguely understand public transportation, and my Suica train pass card has had a lot of use already. I didn't experience jetlag at all, but I definitely experienced exhaustion...or so I thought.
Our blissful 4 days of nonstop adventures in Tokyo came to an end when we had to move into our dorms on the ICU campus.
This is where I'm going to start posting things in sections, because I don't want to make huge ranting posts like this all the time.
I arrived here on August 26th. My friend in a nearby town generously let us 3 of us stay in her 2-person apartment until the 31st, when we moved our tons and tons of luggage to International Christian University in Mitaka-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
It will take me a while to be caught up with everything, but I can probably summarize the last three weeks--has it really only been 3 weeks? It feels like ages--in this one post. If someone happens to want any details at any point, just shoot me a message on Facebook, since this is probably where most of you are coming from.
My flight was a non-stop from Logan Airport in Boston to Narita Airport in Tokyo on a Boeing 787. It was a sleepless thirteen-and-a-half hours. Still, it was probably the most comfortable flight I have experienced. My stomach was obviously in knots when I boarded the plane, despite playing PSY'S GANGNAM STYLE on repeat to put me in a better mood. I traveled alone, so I was prepared for a complete stranger--most likely Japanese--to sit next to me. On the contrary, an elderly American man was my companion. He had lived in Fukuoka for the past 55 years. This fact comforted me more than I knew; if he could live there for 55 years, then my staying there for 10 months would surely be a breeze. Since I was shy, tired, and anxious, I ended up not talking to him besides asking him a few times if I could get out to use the bathroom. Looking back, he must have been a really interesting person to have talked to. I should be more extroverted.
I tried reading and listening to music, but neither could hold my attention. So, logically, I started picking out movies to watch. My studious side told me I should pick something in Japanese so I could dive headfirst into the experience, but a much larger part of me said, "OMG HUNGER GAMES." So, I watched The Hunger Games with Japanese subtitles. I also watched a Japanese movie called ｢レンタネコ」 (Rent a Cat), which was cute and easy to understand. As for food (which wasn't all that bad, honestly), I had rice crackers, chicken curry, and some strange pasta dish.
So, let's get to the interesting stuff. Finally, it was time for the plane to land. I almost didn't want it to land because I knew I was completely on my own with my 75+lbs of luggage and a violin to make my way from the airport to a train to meet up with my friend in Shinjuku. I went through customs without any troubles, used my first bit of Japanese at immigrations ("How long are you staying in Japan?" "10 months." "Is that all of your luggage?" "Yes."), struggled embarrassingly with a luggage cart, fumbled over how to ask for a ticket to Shinjuku, stood around in the train for ten minutes before asking for someone for help with my luggage, and waited as the express train took me to my friend. Finally, we reached Shinjuku. We squeezed onto another train with all of my luggage, then dragged it tediously through the streets for 10 minutes before we finally reached her apartment, drenched in sweat. It was at least 30C that day (and has been hovering around there ever since). We got inside, had dinner, and I made myself stay up until at least 11pm so I could fight jetlag.
The next few days were overstimulating, but awesome. In all, we visited Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, Tokyo Tower, Odaiba, Harajuku, and other places I can't remember right now. I can safely say I can vaguely understand public transportation, and my Suica train pass card has had a lot of use already. I didn't experience jetlag at all, but I definitely experienced exhaustion...or so I thought.
Our blissful 4 days of nonstop adventures in Tokyo came to an end when we had to move into our dorms on the ICU campus.
This is where I'm going to start posting things in sections, because I don't want to make huge ranting posts like this all the time.
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