The End, Part 2: Reflections (反省)

When it comes down to it, you really can’t quite describe the way it feels to leave a country you’ve resided in for almost a year and finally go back home. The closer you get to the date, the more you start resisting it and throwing an inner temper tantrum (“iya da! Iya daaa!”) because you realize how close you are to having your entire life for the past several months completely stripped away and replaced with a different one. That includes all the bonds you’ve made with fellow exchange students, Japanese peers, teachers, and host families; your daily routine; the things you eat; the things you see on the street or on TV; the language being spoken around you; the mindset; and…yeah, pretty much everything.

Even for those who like change, it can be somewhat daunting and jarring. Even if you’ve had pangs of homesickness, it doesn’t make it any easier to part ways with comrades from club activities, or people going to school across America from you. I’ve resolved to come back starting next summer to teach with the JET program—mark my words!—but that still seems so far away. And there’s no guarantee where I’ll be placed…I could be worlds away from Kyoto.

And now I’ve been back for over two weeks and I already can’t believe how long ago my final lunch with my Japanese class (a bento box picnic at a fork in the Kamo River) feels...but it was only a month ago. There is minimal reverse culture shock because home/America is like my template for everything. Okay, maybe it’s still a little weird to see such huge cars—SUVs are not a thing there—and people—everyone in Japan is roughly the same slender body type. It’s nice to have trash cans everywhere, but I miss the convenience of pre-warmed toilet seats, vending machines on every block (selling hot milk tea and coffee!), and being able to walk into a convenience store and buy a beer or a cheap snack like an onigiri (rice ball with fillings). It’s definitely nice being able to drive again, though—I had a love-hate relationship with the Kyoto city bus system that was more hate than love.

When seeing old friends up at Tufts, I got asked “How was Japan?” a lot. That is a lot harder to answer than you’d think. I should’ve come up with some witty summary, but in most cases I said it was not as weird as people made it out to be, but still sort of crazy and of course awesome, then shared an anecdote or two (like the time these random Japanese guys paid for some of us to dress up in cosplay and do karaoke with them. Yep, that was a night to remember). If I could have shared something I’ve learned off the top of my head, I guess I would have said that while it’s hard for an outsider to fit into Japanese culture, we’re really not as different as it seems. The people I met over there enjoy a good meal like us (albeit more mayo-filled), and a drink with friends just like us (emphasis on the drink), and procrastinate and have crushes and insecurities and think it’s awkward when an ex puts up pictures with their new boy/girl on Facebook.

The only thing separating us folks of different countries from bonding with each other is the language barrier, which is why I want to keep working on my Japanese until I’m fluent and can make more long-lasting ties. I also want to help teach English to kids there so that there is less of this anxiety towards English that prevents Japanese people from becoming real friends with Westerners, and from going abroad.

Language connects people. That’s why I’m gonna keep improving, even more than I did this past year, which was a lot, but still. Onward and upward.

That’s all for now, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading this to the very end. I could have updated more in second semester, but I got all busy and I’m sorry about that. Blogging stuff from abroad is hard because you want to share everything, so it’s a daunting task. Still worth it.

See you next time—maybe when I’m a JET. Peace.

In the Osaka Museum of History. Why so serious?

The End, Part 1: List of Special Achievements Unlocked While in Japan

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So I’m home now. Le sigh. I wish I knew how to quit you, Japan. ;_;
But anyway, here is some pretty cool stuff I did (in no particular order):

• Ate Christmas cake as my birthday cake with my family on a shinkansen (bullet train)
• Saw a Lizst-themed classical concert at the famous temple Kiyomizudera, all lit up at night (thanks host mom!)
• Saw apprentice geisha dancing and playing instruments expertly in a lovely theater in Gion (thanks again, host mom!)
• Petted a capybara (they feel like hay, but are cute and chill)
• Had a hairclip stolen by a sneaky squirrel-monkey:

• Had a ridiculous night with some classmates involving cosplay and deluxe karaoke, paid for by some weird random nihonjin guys
• Wrote an essay in Japanese (for a class other than language class)
• Got interviewed about farts by a random Japanese comedian in a black bodysuit:

• Performed in 2 choir concerts with the esteemed Kyoto University Gasshoudan
• Sang "I’m Yours" with 2 American friends at an in-choir event—and won the grand prize by popular vote (Watch here)
• Soaked in hot springs in the snow, and later in a windy cove by the water
• Went to KOREA! Without really knowing any of the language.
• Walked around the city in kimonos for free with my KCJS buddies, staring at the plum blossoms and also getting stared at:

• Went to a J-Rock festival and saw 3 of my favorite bands in one day
• Worshiped at the shrine where the sun goddess Amaterasu is housed in Ise
• Made Valentine’s chocolate for the first time:

• Led the search for my dad’s missing passport all over Tokyo (he did not get it back)
• Signed the emperor’s birthday registry (it's the one on the far left):

• Went on a date with a cute Japanese guy
• Dispelled stereotypes to said guy, such as the American diet consisting of burgers and Coke
• Got prize money for being one of four people in KCJS to “exemplify the spirit of the program” (which apparently had something to do with throwing myself into my CIP activity, the choir)
• Lugged over 100 pounds of stuff back home, with a transfer in San Fran ("Strong women, strong girls!")

(Late Post, February) "Clever Putty"

Oh jeez! Sorry guys, I realized I typed up this post back in late January or early February and forgot to complete it. Well, better late than never! Eheh...

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So here's the lowdown. Not much has happened the first couple weeks of the semester except that my coffee dependency has reignited and is back with a vengeance. Oh, and that women's issues class in Japanese that I mentioned? No assignments so far, and it will probably stay that way. SWEET. I just have to understand what the teacher says and the handouts she gives us. (Is this the life of a real Japanese college student? According to my sources, it is. Lucky bastards! Just kidding, they go through hell to get into college, so it's even.)

I do have a couple vignettes though. Yesterday I went with some friends for lunch at our awesome Thai place ("Asian Restaurant"). The previous time, I had tried to order this Thai red curry with pork and vegetables on rice, just without the meat. When I asked the waitress, she acted awkward and told me it wouldn't taste good. (まずい。おいしくない。) I pressed the issue a little bit but gave up and ordered something else.

But this time my resolve was strong! I was back for a rematch and I was going to win! Rachelle told me to put my foot down, like literally put it on the table, that'd show them. As it turns out, I didn't need to go that far. The same waitress came and I asked for the same thing, and she pulled the whole "it's not tasty" thing again, but I explained that I had ordered the green curry without meat before and liked it, and now I wanted to try this one. After struggling a bit and saying she didn't know if they could make it, she asked another nearby employee something in Thai, and then told me they could. Yesss, thank God. And then I ate every bite because guess what, it was friggin' delicious. Take that! (Clearly the lady has never tried anything vegetarian before.)

After that victory, we dashed frantically and uncomfortably back to campus ("curry running," we called it) for the Friday afternoon Kyoto Artisans class, where Akira Kurosaki, a woodblock print craftsman, had set up his stuff to do a demonstration! Holy shizznit! After lecture-type stuff, he showed us how he carves a block and how he gets the ink onto the paper in different layers. Then we got to try our own with black ink! Sooo cool! Mine weren't the best, but they are now hanging in my room. Oh, and when our teacher Bethe-sensei kept mentioning the Silly Putty (a.k.a. sticky-tack) he was using to hold the board down, at one point he just smiled and said, "Not silly. It is very clever." Bahahaha. Mr. Kurosaki, you are awesome.

Also on Friday, I escorted two of my friends to Kyodai choir practice, which they seemed to really enjoy! It was my first time seeing the choir since Dec. 18-ish, so it was nice going around and saying hi to the gang again. Three more KCJSers are coming next week, so it'll basically be a gaijin takeover. Woohoo! On another note, although it's already been a month since b-day/Christmas, got the Happy Birthday song sung to me by the altos and then later by everyone--me and this other guy sat in the middle, which was equal parts nice and embarrassing. I also had to sing a part in this song from the choir book called Vive la Compagnie that birthday peoples always sing. It was really high and I was nervous so I flubbed the lyrics at first (I can read, promise!), but did alright when the conductor let me start over. It was so.... gaaahhh, why is there no word for awkward in Japanese?

以上です！ That's all for now folks.