The (Mis)adventures of a (graduated) Smithie in Japan

One of the first things to calm me before my 8 months studying in Japan was the kindness in my host father’s eyes. Okaasan and Otousan sent a short card, and a photo of the two of them, introducing themselves and talking about how they were excited to meet me. I was *so* nervous about not being able to communicate with them. I remember looking at the photos and saying “wow, my host mom is adorable, and my host father looks really kind.” I wasn’t wrong. 

I experienced this first hand in Kyoto, and thought it was just an old-fashioned fluke, but I saw it again today on a game show called VS-Arashi. On that show, people face Arashi, a really popular, old boy band in Japan, in various challenges and tasks.  There’s one challenge called the kicking sniper, in which contestants kick a soccer ball ant try to hit moving targets:

So somehow, I’ve already completed day1 of week 4. My week 2 seems like it happened months ago, but I need to write about it sooner rather than later, or I’ll really forget it.  Week 2 was at Ohyu Gakkuen. I really liked Ohyu; the building we were in was kind of funky and fun, and the students were all brilliant at English. 

My host family was really great. My host sister, Juniha was a sweet, collected, and genuine young woman. She loves her chorus club to bits, and it’s so clear how proud of that group she is. It was nice to see her being so passionate and confident about something. She told me she gained a lot of confidence from the program, and she found her future dream while in the program, which was absolutely fantastic. 

My host mom was unlike any woman, Japanese or otherwise, I have ever met. She was raised by her father, who I didn’t meet, but is apparently a relatively famous copywriter, and her casual artist/ political activist mother. She is a rock and roll musician whose band has just reunited and is advertising for their new album. On top of that she is an absolutely fantastic single mother. It was so clear to me how much she loved her daughter from their interactions to the endless amounts of Juniha’s artworks and school projects hanging on the walls of their adorable house.  Living with them was a breath of fresh air. Not just because the two of them spoke wonderful english, but becauseI truly felt I could be myself, and thus at peace, without worrying about whether my actions/words were appropriate or polite enough. I even got to talk a little about politics (see: war, nuclear energy, and racism) with my host mom. It was so cool. And Juni was great to talk to as well; there was basically no language barrier between us.  Of course, the food this week was heavenly. Juniha’s grandma is a great cook and made us Japanese Hanbagu, which I had missed greatly. We also went out for special spicy Chinese ramen, Kansai food (Okonomiyaki, takoyaki, etc), and my host mom’s home cooked food was fantastic as well. (her curry. Wow.) 

The actual program went off with a slightly rocky start, to no fault of the students. (They were great.) This was due to our having a new facilitator, which changed the program drastically, as well as some tension between the small group leaders (my position) and the Japanese company through which the program was happening. In the middle of the week, we had our first meeting with a representative of the Japanese company to discuss some unclear, and unfair regulations that had been imposed upon which threatened to reduce our freedom and rights as adults, to put it vaguely. At first, I was nervous about the meeting; I am not a confrontational person, and I usually try my best to grin and bear any issues in order to please those around me, but, being a group of so many empowered women, these unfair and unnecessary restrictions did not go unnoticed. To be honest, the representative responded to our concerns and complaints beautifully; she valued our opinions far more than I expected her to. 

After that meeting, the majority of the tension subsided for the rest of the week. The students completed their program with individual presentations, (different from the previous week’s group presentations, much to our disapproval, due to the focus being on english language instead of empowerment.) They did well, of course. After class a big group of us went out for Karaoke, which was a train wreck in all the best ways. I love group karaoke :’D

Juni must have sang her heart out at karaoke, because on Saturday, she stayed home sick. Despite feeling bad, I went out with some friends because we had plans to see the Giant Buddha (Daibutsu) at Kamakura, and then to go to the beach. We did just that, and it was SWELTERING hot. Pro tip: don’t go into the Buddha on a hot day unless you’re ready for a full on sauna. And the beach was great too, minus how hot it was outside (the water wasn’t the least bit cold), and our group’s multiple run-ins with jellyfish. I’ve got quite the fear of jellies, but luckily I didn’t see any, nor was I stung by them. 

This is honestly the first chance I’ve had to write a real blog post, and even still, it is not going to be as in-depth as I’d like it to be. `Perhaps I will find time soon to go back and add to it, but honestly it’s the 2nd week already and I haven’t found any time until now (when I should be sleeping), so I can’t make any promises.

My host family last week was wonderful. I was nervous at first, because I was told that I would be living with my host grandmother, and I wasn’t sure how well we’d communicate, or if she’d be a strict woman, but she’s such a lively, happy, genki, kind woman and it was so fun talking to her. I also ended up doing this weeks homestay with another intern/small group leader from Wellesley, Mika, who I didn’t know at first but now I definitely know her and she’s great (and if you’re reading this Mika HI YOU’RE THE BEST). Although my host sister has two older brothers and a father, my first homestay experience mainly consisted of my host grandmother, mother, sister (Mako), myself, and Mika. All women, which is pretty natural for a Smithie like me ;)

Mako is a little quiet and shy at first, but she is seriously so snarky and funny and adorable; even with a slight language gap, we got along swimmingly. She absolutely crushed me at playing the wii multiple times (I’m gonna rematch her the next time we meet, though. So if anyone has a wii they want to lend me, )that’d be great cuz I need to get my training montage on.) 

[There’s Mako, relentlessly dragging Mii through the dirt] Mako’s mother is a gigantic sweetheart. Seriously, she is so kind and understanding and helpful. I couldn’t have asked for a better first week homestay, and a better friend to experience them with. The host-family aspect was perfect; the only possible flaw I can think of is that it only lasted a week. 

The Young-Womens’ Empowerment Program, however, was not without its flaws. That’s not to say it wasn’t a good first week; I just mean that there were some surprises and some obstacles to overcome (but, as we like to say, we turn problems and obstacles into opportunities ;) .) I found myself getting out of my comfort zone a few times, and doubting my skills as a leader. I am not a teacher, I know that, but even leading a small group of four or five is difficult, especially when doing so in a language that is foreign to your students. I totally appreciated what teachers do every day even more after those first few days. The program was full of long, awkward silences, that I am learning to embrace and use to my own, as well as the students’ advantage, small victories, surprises, improvisation, and often times a lot of faking-it-till-I-make it.

 I frequently wondered if we were making a difference in the some 35 students’ lives, but on the final day of the program, while we were saying goodbye to our students, I realized how sad many of them were that the program was ending, and how sad I was to have to say goodbye to so many of the brilliant young women I had come to know over those five days. Their messages on Line, facebook, and email, many of which state that they “want to be strong women” or that they “feel empowered and want to help empower other women” clearly show me that the program has done its job.  After the YWEP week ended, we got to sleep in on Satruday, which was very necessary. In the evening, Mika, Mako, and I went to a Natsu Matsuri, or Summer Festival. If anyone has been to one of the summer Feasts in the North End, picture that, but with Japanese culture replacing Italian. There were tons of amazing Japanese food, music, and games, and the weather was lovely. Mako’s grandmother insisted we were Yukata to the event, and I felt much more comfortable sharing in my host family’s culture and using their clothing than I did during our orientation weekend, in which the whole group of us were made to a store, got dressed up in Yukata, and paraded around in Asakusa while people (tourists and Japanese locals) photographed us. At the Natsu Matsuri, there was much less inner dialogue about my potential, involuntary, cultural appropriation, and much more comfort in the fun I was having with my friends. 

Today was rough, but a good start. I can’t wait to see how the students grow over the next four days. My host family is GREAT and super lovely and my host sister, though she doesn’t quive believe in herself yet in relation to her english skills, is a sweetheart and I’m so glad to have met her.

also bless my housemate/coworker/friend(? i hope so cuz she’s really nice) for lending me a converter for my carger. 

This was a fun Saturday. It was the day after we went to Hikone Castle, if I'm not mistaken. My anime class had a field trip to the Tezuka Osamu museum (aka the god of manga). But first, we had to find our own way to Takarazuka Station. From there we went to Ganko, this really fancy and delicious chain restaurant. Man it was delicious, and not badly priced either.  As we were walking to the museum, we got a bit sidetracked and visited the Takarazuka Review theatres. I admit, I fangirled a little bit. I really want to see one of their shows.  For those of you who don't know, Takarazuka is an all-woman theatre troop and they are FANTASTIC. They are described as being the "opposite of Kabuki" which is male only, but honestly the types of shows they do are so different that I have trouble comparing the two. Regardless, the actresses are so kakkoi (cool) and I am determined to see them someday. 

The museum was adorable. It was "retro-tech" my friend and fellow akper's term for something that looks like the old-fashion version of high-tech. It had a little coloring station (I'm an adult) and a small library. I tried to read a comic about Buddha's life written by Osamu-sama, but even in English it was hard to follow. I also noticed a manga about Hitler? But I didn't even bother trying to understand that one.

Rachel and I left the Museum after our little field trip was over, and met up with the rest of our friends who were out shopping on Osaka. This was my first real time in Osaka, if you don't count us landing in Kansai Airport, and it was so fun!! I miss being near a big city, so I really enjoyed it. We ate at an all you can eat pizza/pasta restaurant, did purikura (very exaggerated and self-photoshopping photo booths that are borderline ridiculous) and played in an arcade for a little while. There is a Taiko (Japanese traditional drum) game which I am obsessed with.  

This was actually a few weeks back, so I'll try my best to remember details from this day. This was a Friday, possibly 3 Fridays ago. I have an early Japanese class on Fridays (9:00), which is a bummer, because it means I have to wake up far earlier than I am ever ready to do so. But, it also means that my school day is over by 10:30, which is very nice. While I waited for my friends to finish up their later class (out by 12:15,) I decided to have a little me-time in the palace gardens. In that hour and a half, I walked around, took pictures of the pretty soon-to-be fall colored trees, sat under one of the said trees and actually wrote in my journal for a bit. I also stalked a cat around for a good 10 minutes hoping for a feline friend, but to no avail. I actually tried to sketch a pinecone in my journal, but really it's just a strange blob. Since I failed at that little attempt at art, I lined up a bunch of pinecones along the long roots of the tree I had been sitting under. After that, I took a short nap under that tree, (and woke up to the tickle of an ant on my face.)

After that peaceful little break (I should really do that more,) I met up with some friends and we were on our way to Hikone! The train fare was stupidly expensive, but what can you do? The first thing we did once we found Hikone was to experience Hikonyan, the castle's mascot. (Because everything needs a mascot, especially traditional landmarks.) We walked up a bit of a hill to get to where the actual castle was, but it was so beautiful! There were conveniently located outdoor gift shops on various levels on the hill (where I actually bought a little omiyage for my host mom) 

We went into the castle and walked up some of the steepest stairs I have ever seen... and then we had to walk down. That was a fun challenge, but I am pretty sure we all got down in one piece.

After getting out of the castle, the group of us were taking some goofy pictures together when suddenly, heavenly music erupted out of the (speakers on the) hill we were on. It was a sign that the castle would be closing soon, so we booked it and got to see the absolutely beautiful castle garden. 

So this was last Friday, (one week ago) I believe.  After having a lovely "Arigatou party" for the Doshisha students who helped us around the campus / Kyoto, which I will probably post about another time, a lot of AKP students along with some Doshisha students went to the lovely Daikaku-ji to "tsukimi" (月見）which translates directly to "Watch the moon." This festival is also a harvest moon festival, which is linked to the well-known Moon Festival.

When I was little, I remember reading about the moon festival in china. I always dreamed about taking part in the festivities, but had for the most part forgotten that dream until this year. When it actually happened, it was beautiful, and I got to spend it with some lovely people.  We stayed at Daikaku-ji for a long time just walking around. We had time to kill, since it had to get decently dark before we could see the moon. I had no qualms with that, of course. I love wandering around and getting lost. We ended up in a glorious bamboo forest- something that doesn't exist in America, so it was like finding buried treasure for me- and it was BEAUTIFUL. My iphone photos of it do not give it the justice it deserves. We continued walking around, snapping photos of the gorgeous scenery, and conversing in a strange mixture of Japanese and English with our new Doshisha friends. When it was time for dinner, no one really knew where to go, so we got a bi lost trying to find a restaurant that was open and could take 13 guests without a reservation. We finally found one at a very small, traditional restaurant (with tatami rooms, eating at tables on the floor, and everything.) It was lovely, and reasonably priced. And quite quick; we were pressed for time in order to get back to the temple in order to make our moon-viewing time which will be explained later.  We were served by a sweet old woman and two ADORABLE little boys brought us our silverware (ohashi or chopsticks) and our tea. 

  ^ Here's one of our lovely little waiters. (I pretended to take a picture of my friend so I wouldn't look like some creep taking pictures of children... but c'mon that's too adorable.)

After our dinner, we ran back to the temple, and made it in time to get in line for our real "Tsukimi" adventure. We got to rid a boat out onto the lake in the temple grounds, and got to view the fantastic full moon from out there. (15 minutes for the low low price of 10 dollars, if I remember correctly.) It was gorgeous. The boat we road is in the above photos. (We got the dragon. There was also a boat with a rooster head, but I'm sure you know which one I think was cooler.)

After our ride, we bought some snacks, and sat together for a while. It was great fun; one of the Doshisha students turend 19 that day, so we bought her a bit of mochi and sang happy birthday to her (in english, and a bit in poor japanese.) She was so surprised that she teared up and it was super adorable. 

I got myself the same kind of mochi that we got for the birthday girl, and the vendor gave me a free one!! I almost cried oh man. Delicious matcha mochi with red-bean paste (and obviously a strawberry) on the inside. YUM. It was a great night. The temple was gorgeous, the moon was shining bright, and I got to spend time with my friends, old and new.