Just Another Day

2014年05月17日

Today was just another day in suburban (but still very much urban) Japan.  お母さん took me to visit a beautiful Japanese garden before she left for work.

We drank 間茶 (ma-cha; a thick green tea) with a beautiful view of the garden on a quiet morning.

Afterward we fed the koi fish.  Check the photo album for more pictures and videos!

I also stopped by a Hokkaido Fair that was going on in central Fukuoka before heading over to the Canal City shopping center and watching a Japanese band called KANIKAPILA (http://kani7.com/) perform.

Afterward, I biked around aimlessly through all the sketchy parts of the city and then going to WAHAHA's rooftop party (http://srv01.sakura.ne.jp/tmp/flashMob20140517.mp4), where I met a lot of interesting people and made some of my first Japanese friends.  One of them is even going to North Carolina in August to spend a year at UNC Greensboro!  Small world, huh?

Sushi and Tempura

2014年05月15日から2014年05月16日まで

Yesterday I got to meet a police officer who stands at the Hakata train station and is famous for being exceptionally friendly.

But the highlight of the day was when my host family took me out to a conveyorbelt sushi restaurant.  This is the best way to eat a lot of sushi in Japan without going broke.

Those of us accustomed to America's sushi selection would be amazed at the variety here!  I had everything you can get in the US, shellfish, octopus, squid, and all kinds of fish eggs.  There were fish I'd never even heard of.  Not to mention all the things that can be on/in sushi that I had never imagined: cream corn, blue eggplant, and even raw bacon.  I should also mention that salmonella isn't an issue in Japan; special care is taken with food production, since so many dishes include raw meats and eggs.  And it was really interesting to see orders of french fries and parfaits coming down the conveyorbelt.

And to keep the ball rolling, today お母さん helped me make tempura!

Rolling Right Along

2014年05月14日

Every meal I have had on this trip has been absolutely delicious!  The house I'm staying in is a lot larger than I had expected for a Japanese home, and it's extremely pleasant to stay in.  I even take Japanese-style baths each night and sleep on the floor, which I have found to be much more comfortable than most western beds.

Before going to class, I was watching the tv and the programming stopped for 5 full minutes minutes during primetime broadcasting to lead people through stretches.  I've heard this happens a few times each day in Japan.  2 of the 3 instructors did the stretches from a seated position, to encourage the elderly and handicapped to participate.  I remember that many years ago Nickelodeon stopped airing shows for one full day to encourage children to play outside, yet this only happened once, so it was easier to change the channel than one's lifestyle.  The main difference with the stretches in Japan, is that they become routine, habitual.  Once something is a habit, like fastening the seatbelt, it is no longer a burden.  Wearing a seatbelt is something that the Japanese government still needs to push, though. I've noticed that most people do not use seatbelts while in the backseat, just like in Brazil.  Most people also do not use helmets while riding bicycles, which is not abnormal in the US, just a lot less common.

Today I took the bus to class and found out that every single bus turns its engine off each time it stops (either at a bus stop or a red light), rather than idling and wasting gas).  I also found that there was a change machine in the bus, so one is able to pay with exact change.  

After class, I went to a ramen shop and a movie theater with two of my teachers and another student.  The movie was Thermæ Romæ 2, which was a fictional story about a Roman architect who accidentally time-travelled to modern Japan and brought back the bathhouse practices and customs to ancient Rome.  It was based on a manga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermae_Romae) I haven't read, and I didn't understand most of what was said, but I have found Japanese television and movies to be incredibly interesting and informative, if strange at times.  I have placed a few videos of Japanese television within the photo album that you may reach by following the link at the top of the blog.  I update the album with new pictures and videos much more frequently than blog posts, so check back often!

Anyway, after the movie, I biked home using the bicycle I am renting from the school.  One of my teachers lives near my Host family's house, so she biked back with me to make sure I didn't get lost.  That goes to show how devoted the teachers at WAHAHA are!  I am absolutely loving my classes.  To my knowledge, I am the youngest of the students at the school and the only American.  One of my two classmates is a Ukrainian anthropologist, who practices Iai-do (a martial art involving the use of a katana, which he often carries) and speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Chinese, in addition to learning Japanese.  My other classmate is a Taiwanese factory manager for a European athleticwear company, who also speaks Chinese and English, in addition to learning Japanese.  The two other students I have met are from the UK and Germany.  Both of them also speak many languages, and the whole group is very interesting to talk to.

Settling In

2014年05月13日

One of many Japanese arcades.

They always have an entire floor devoted to prize-grabbers, and all with really good prizes (none of that cheap stuff)!

That's right, even ice cream...

And of course, Pachinko: the infamous Japanese slot machines, which seem a lot more involved, loud, colorful, and addicting than American slot machines.  I didn't try one, but I will at some point.

Yesterday, I spent the morning doing homework, the day at class, and the evening walking around the city.  I even got lost at one point and rather than pull out my handy dandy map, I walked up to a random person and asked him for directions.  What a wonderful feeling to be able to ask a question correctly and understand the answer!  I can already tell that WAHAHA was an excellent choice.  All of my teachers are extremely friendly and helpful.  Not to mention how much more quickly I seem to be learning with just 2 classmates and a 3 hour class each day!  To top it all off, it is infinitely helpful to not have anything else to worry about (other classes, exams, work, clubs, and other obligations).  

WAHAHA had been putting me up in a hotel for the past two nights, while my hostmother visited Germany, but today I finally got to meet her.  She has told me to call her お母さん (oh-kaah-san; mom) and her husband お父さん (oh-tow-san; dad).  I already feel like part of the family!  お母さん speaks some English, but we speak Japanese primarily and only use English to clarify or explain something.  This kind of practice in a foreign language is truly priceless.

First Impression of Japan

2014年05月11日

After having spent a week in Korea, I couldn't help but compare and contrast it with Japan.  First off, I can actually read the signs (whether I understand them or not is another matter), and my extremely limited Japanese vocabularly feels infinite when compared with my 4-5 word Korean vocabulary.  It's a great feeling to be able to communicate with more than 4 wonderful people and a cat.  

I have never felt more American than during my time spent in Korea.  I often forget that I'm considered a minority in the US, but it is a fact nonetheless.  Yet in Korea (which does not receive many visitors from Latin America, relatively speaking), I was immediately labeled as an American.  In Japan, on the other hand, people are often surprised when I tell them I come from the US.  I believe this difference can be attributed to two simple facts: most Americans (like Japanese, Koreans, and the inhabitants of any country outside of Europe and Canada) speak only a single language, and I more closely resemble a Japanese than a Korean.  However, everyone can still tell I'm not a native Japanese, and young children in both countries often stare at me because I look so different from the people they are used to seeing.  It's pretty adorable.

Well, on to more important matters.  I had been prepared to aimlessly stumble around Fukuoka until I gathered my bearings, as I had done in Seoul, but it had been arranged for the director of the WAHAHA Japanese Language School to pick me up from the airport.  This proved to be immensely helpful as she helped me transition to speaking primarily Japanese (correct or otherwise), gave me a tour of the city, checked me into my hotel for two days, and bought my first Japanese meal (pictured below).

There are so many more kinds of fish here than in the US!  Gone are the days when 4 different kinds of sushi in a single meal was a rare luxury.  

My first trip to a japanese comic store, with more Anime than I could have imagined.  Some of the collectibles are extemely old, rare, and expensive.

I ended up spending most of the rest of my day at this beautiful park, Ohori Koen, and watching the sunset from the ruins of Fukuoka Castle (pictured below), which is also in the park.  Tomorrow, my first day of class at WAHAHA.  じゃ、また！