Back Home

Every email I received from home had the subject head as 'Back Home.' Finally I can title my final blog entry as such!

Japan was a rewarding and rich experience. I enjoyed meeting new people, trying to understand the customs of the Japanese people, and I absolutely loved when I could start understanding some Japanese sentences and figuring out what those noises actually meant.

Coming home was easy and jet lag was over a day later. Some things aren't as easy. I'm confused as to where to put my trash. I was unpacking and had some plastic baggies and the luggage tags that are either stickers or paper. I looked at my trash can and was torn as to how I'm going to recycle these two items since I only have one trash can. I quickly realized that such recycling facilities didn't exist in the United States.

Also, going into stores I'm used to doing my thing silently. At the airport, suddenly I was asked how I was doing while checking out with my orange juice and Wheat Thins. I had to talk! Whoa! Chotto (little) strange.

My parents were driving me home from the airport and I felt all safe and secure thinking I was on a train that wouldn't derail. Imagine my shock when my dad changed lanes!

I can't say I experienced culture shock, but some things I have to re-learn and get used to again. How upfront Americans are, the volume of some people's voices, and most of all the fact that I had a phone again and have to call people back!

I want to thank all of you who have emailed me over the past semester. Staying in contact made my time in Japan more enjoyable. Those of you who shared my experiences with me over this blog, thanks for reading about Japan. I hope it's opened your eyes to another part of the world and you can consider yourself a little more worldly.

xoxo,
Catherine

Kobe Luminaries

Every year since 1996, the city of Kobe has created a new spectacle of christmas lights over the main street. Each year the design changes. They do it in honor of the 1995 Earthquake. I decided to go visit my Japanese imooto (sister) and we could see it together.
WOW, was it amazing. I never realized so many lights can be on one street above me at a time. Since Japan is heavily populated, in order to get to the illuminary street, we had to walk for an hour on a street path in order to get to the main road. Pretty cool that now I get to say I have literally walked the streets of Kobe. It was freezing, miserable, but fun. We had to stop a few times in order for the pedestrian crossway... even though we were pedestrians too! Once, a car was stuck in the parking deck and the security guards had to work on getting the car out of the road... that took a while but was pretty fun to watch.
Then, once we got to the luminary road, the temperature went back up! All those lights really do warm up a place. At the end of the road was a giant palace structure made out of all lights. I felt like I was in the cartoon movie Anastasia.
It was a lot of fun and my sister and I enjoyed laughing at each other's red noses.

Hiroshima

The weekend after Tokyo, my brother and I went to Hiroshima on a day trip.

It was amazing.

Living in the United States I understood the Atomic Bomb, but I had really only considered the positives that came from it being dropped twice in Japan. After visiting Hiroshima, I now think about both the good and the horrible that came from the A-bomb. The Peace Memorial Museum really captured the essence of all the innocent victims in the city, and those still suffering. The park was beautiful and I enjoyed looking at all the children's art made from origami cranes, that all put together, can create a crazy good picture. We also visited the A-bomb dome, which is the only still surviving building from the bomb.

We also took a break from the gruesome and saw the large torii gate in the water at Miyajima Island as well as Itsukushima Shrine. There were also deer that just happened to be much cuter than the deer in Nara, but a little more feisty. I took a picture of a Japanese boy giggling because the deer just ate his map and were arguing over which piece they got to eat.

Lost in Translation

My brother came to visit Japan!!
Dani and I left after class on Thursday to catch the Shinkansen (bullet train) up to Tokyo! It took three hours and we danced to the noises coming from my ipod. We arrived nearing the last train of the day, so we split up and I hopped on a train to take me to meet my brother at our hostel in the area of Asakusa. We were planning on having him meet me at the train station, but we ended up at different stations with the same name. Thus, I arrive at midnight with a large and heavy backpack and had to find our hostel alone in the cold. After an hour and ten minutes, five 7/11's, one hotel, and a lot of turns down random small streets (Japan doesn't believe in street names) I finally was brought out through the back door of a Family Mart (eek!) and the worker pointed down the street and there was the pink sign of the hostel! I was so thankful I wasn't sleeping on the street that night.

Our first day we spent in Ueno Park. We saw Hell's Gate, which is featured in many anime, a giant whale, and spoke to a homeless man about American politics. We then walked through Senso-ji Temple and enjoyed the night lights. This was the main area I was lost in the previous night and so I knew the buildings quite well. However, it was very safe even at midnight and I never was worried about stranger's approaching me.

On Sunday we went to the Ginza district and looked around one of the busiest intersection in the world. Very cool to see that many people crossing the street! On this day we saw Tokyo Tower, the Tokyo International Forum with it's beautiful glass building, and the Imperial Palace Gardens. We aren't allowed inside the Palace because the Imperial family still lives there, but the walk was very peaceful with giant skyscrapers all around. I never noticed until John David mentioned it to me, but Japan is very quiet considering it's one huge city on an island. Cars don't honk, people don't yell (except for the foreigners), and everybody is very respectful. On Sunday, we also visited Akihabara, the electronics district, where we saw the latest computers and lots of bright signs.

Sunday we went to West Shinjuku and looked around the skyscrapers and downtown business area. We also went to the Meiji Shrine and later the Harajuku District. Harajuku is known for the Japanese crazy fashions and I was hoping for some really good pictures of the gothic lolita look. It ended up being a constant traffic jam, but I did get to see a couple Harajuku girls. We also went to Shibuya and saw the Statue of Hachiko. The statue is based off a true, but sad story about a loyal dog who waited for his master at the train station for more than a decade after his death at work.

Monday, might have been my favorite day, as well as my brothers. We went to an island via monorail that had a great view of Tokyo. I wanted to go to the Toyota factory, but it was closed so we headed over to the National Museum of Science and Industry. We saw the famous robot that moves like a human does and he showed off all his talents in front of the crowd. The museum was very informative, and even a little above my head, but I enjoyed how hands-on it was and seeing 'Japanese' technologies. We then met Dani and got back on the Shinkansen to Osaka!

A very fulfilling and busy four day weekend!

Monkey's

A couple weeks ago, my friend invited me to go to her homestay home to have dinner. I really love the Japanese house, although I have to duck between doorways... and there are a lot of them in their houses! Dinner was oishi! delicious! We all sat in the kitchen, because Japan doesn't have central heating and so there is one designated warm room, and ate using a Nabe cooking pot. The pot sits on the table and raw food is placed in it to cook and then you pull out what you want to eat with some broth and rice. We put niku (chicken), taco (octopus), ebi (shrimp), and various vegetables in there. After a long dinner (all meals are an event it seems), we went to karaoke!! Her okaasan and obassan were adorable and sang together. My favorite song was an Okinawa song that involved participation with whoops and claps. The most fun I've had at karaoke, yet! They were very sweet to invite me over with my limited (err basically non-existant) language abilities. Her okaasan didn't speak much English, but she was cute and "very animated" (according to the obaasan. So far my best times in Japan have taken place in local homes of Japanese families. I feel this is the best way to get to know who the Japanese are.

The next day, my Japanese speaking partner, Hiromi, her two Japanese friends, my roommate, and I went to Arashiyama. This is a mountainous area in Kyoto. We ended up renting bikes and then hiked up to the monkey park! After our strenuous hike up this mountain, we got to see many monkeys! There were about 150 monkeys on the top of this mountain. Hanging off of the building, climbing on benches, and playing on the park worker's motorcycles.
We then hiked back down, got on our bikes, and rode across the Togetsukyo Bridge, a wooden bridge where the name of the river changes based on which side the person is standing on. We also went through the bamboo forest and did a little omiage souvenir shopping. Lastly, we got some ice cream!

Kyoto: Imperial Palace & Nijo-jo

Last Tuesday was Kansai Gaidai's Foundation Day. Therefore, students got the day off. I wish Elon would adopt this idea.
Anyways, four of us went to the Ancient Kyoto Imperial Palace on the only day that we could get the English speaking tour without having to skip school. Turns out, they closed the Palace in order to clean that particular Tuesday afternoon. We still enjoyed walking around the grounds and I ate some yummy Japanese hot cakes.
Afterwards, we took the train to Nijo Castle. The castle burned to the ground in 1791, but the Ninomaru Palace for the shoguns still remains. We took off our shoes and walked through the palace. While walking, the floor squeaked like chirping birds. They're known as the 'Nightingale Floors". It was said that the way the floor was designed made it so no one was able to sneak into the palace. The chirping noise makes it tolerable. Pretty neat, eh?!

Oh my, Onsen

Well, I just got back from my first Onsen today. If you don't know... it's a natural burning spring that the Japanese go to take a bath with everybody else in the nude. I was told the nude part was optional and some underwear was allowed. Not the case however, but I had already taken a 2.5 hour subway ride into the mountains and was not going to pass on this cultural experience. (Plus, today we got school off because it's a national holiday --Cultural Day!)
We first ate a full Japanese buffet, which was oishii (delicious) and then headed to the onsen where we paid $5.20 to get naked and enter the hot spring bathing area. The water was interesting. Since it was a natural hot spring, the color of the water was gleaming a golden color. Very helpful to cover up little bits you don't want showing! The Japanese girl we went with was all about going nude, but the rest of us worked out a system to cover our eyes while we got in and out of the Onsen. I didn't mind the other ladies staring at me (which, ohhhh they did!) due to the fact that I'll never see them again! After lasting in the 42 C water for about seven minutes, I was so light-headed that I got out to rinse off in the "shower room." The shower room was in the same room with the pool area, and just as naked. However, by that time I was getting used to the nakedness. We then dried off, put our clothes back on, and sat in the lobby for about thirty minutes just to get our faces to stop looking like fire trucks.

Oosaka

After technically living in a part of Osaka, I finally saw Osaka! Nine of us went to stay in a hostel for two nights and see the city. We saw the castle, several museums, and a couple views of the skyline from various heights. 

While at the castle, a man put a parrot on our shoulders and we held sunflower seeds in our teeth and the parrot would grab it and munch away. The Japanese tourists would grab their cameras to take pictures of the gaijin (foreigners). 

I'm a little more than halfway through my semester in Japan. Like most trips there have been some ups and downs. The down would be how opinionated the majority of international students seem to be and the ups would be the Japanese people and how different Japan is from the States. I'm enjoying the different aspects between the two countries and the customs that I'm getting used to.  

Nara Deer

The past two weekends have been fantastic. The weeks have been bogged down with schooling, so that makes my escape into Japan all the more better. I traveled to Kyoto for the fourth time last weekend and saw Kinkakuji and Kiyomizu, both famous temples.
This weekend was spent in Nara, home of the wild deer. Three of us arrived in Nara and walked down the street and entered the city park. Immediately we saw deer just walking around trying to be cute enough to win some deer cookies that tourists are able to buy for 150 yen ($1.50). A wise investment if you want to get swarmed and bitten. In Nara we took our time because the park has a couple places to visit nearby and for once we didn't have to worry about figuring out busing! We walked/shopped along the road, with the deer trailing, to Todai-ji, home of the giant Buddha and his "nostril" that anybody small enough would be able to fit through for good luck. I had nobody willing to pull me out if I got stuck, therefore I didn't attempt!
After our main location visited, we walked around and saw the area, pet some deer, and bought a sweet potato from a roadside vendor. The deer don't only like deer cookies we found out. Holly was knocked off her feet due to some headbutt's from Bambi's dad for not sharing her potato. I quickly put a bench between me and evil.
I did a countdown and found out that I'm only a few days from halfway through my time in Japan. My days have gone quickly and enjoyable, but I'll be glad to go home and have some of Mom's cooking.
Coming up next: Three days in Osaka with ten people visiting fifteen sites.

Address in Japan

Catherine Parsons c/o Center for International Education

Kansai Gaidai University

16-1 Nakamiyahigashinco-cho, Hirakata City

Osaka, 573-1001 

JAPAN

MY ADDRESS FOR ALL POSTCARDS/PACKAGES/PRESENTS/LOVE!

First Bath

I spent last weekend in Kobe with my Home Visit Family. The almost two hour trip was almost uneventful with the exception that I got on the local train instead of the limited express train so stopping at every station slowed me down considerably and left Maki waiting. I finally made it to Sannomiya Station and Maki and I climbed a large hill to visit Kitano-Cho, an area with famous houses from around the world. This block to the Japanese is touristy, but for me it was basically lots of grand houses. Still very pretty to walk around and we there was a lovely view of Kobe. 

We saw a street performer there, and I made Maki sit down and watch it with me. He did the normal juggling while simultaneously eating an apple, and impressively ate a very long balloon and ended up pulling out a long rainbow string. It was interesting watching him and not being able to understand anything he was saying. Maki was very good at keeping me informed when she felt it was needed.

Afterwards, we walked through Chinatown and then down to Habortown. It was still too early to go back to her house because her mom teaches piano lessons so we sat and waited for the sunset. Once it was dark we walked to the City Hall and went up on the 24th floor to see the night skyline of Kobe. Then we bought sashimi, raw fish, and got on a 40 minute bus ride to the other side of the mountain. 

Once at her house, her okaasan (mom) and otoosan (dad) warmly welcomed me into their lives and we sat down to eat REAL sushi!! It was oishiiiiii (delicious). Dinner lasted around two hours with me smiling a lot and occasionally hearing, "ehhhh, psychologyyy?? ohhhhh, northu carolinaaaa." The thinking noises the Japanese make are different than in the States. We say "yeah" and "uh-huh" whereas the Japanese nod and say "un" consistently to let you know they're listening while you're still talking. I've picked up the "un" and use it on a daily basis when talking with friends. 

I was then offered the first hot bath. Bathtubs in Japan are amazing. The water reaches your shoulders. After taking my bath I drained the tub. Which was the wrong mistake to make. Luckily, Maki and okaasan just laughed at me and apologized because they didn't tell me. We're supposed to shower first, then soak in the tub, then the next person does the same thing with the same water. It is a good system to save water, though I'm not so sure about how sanitary it would be. Next time, I'll know!

We went to bed on futons and woke up the next morning to a full cooked Japanese breakfast! Rice, raw fish, sardines, pickled vegetables, ham, salad, miso soup, and barley tea. If only I could wake up with that waiting for me everyday. I'm really enjoying the Japanese food when it's prepared for me. 

After breakfast okaasan, Maki and I went to the Sake Museum and got lost for an hour in the rain. I was forewarned by both of them that they always got lost so I was prepared to walk for awhile! We found the museum and I received my free sake, which was the purpose of going. I just wanted to try it since it is a pure Japanese custom. Sake is about as good as drinking soap.

I've been invited back each month and I've very glad I got such a fantastic family. 

Showers

The showers in Japan are based on the 12 second rule. At least this holds true with my dorm. After 12 seconds the water stops unless you keep pressing this little level! Its supposed to help conserve water, but I think the water pressure is too fabulous to really be helping.

Being green is now a huge deal to Japan. I know I've already mentioned the sorting of the trash and now I can add to it that there are islands surrounding Japan that are basically piles of trash turned into islands. The island that the Kansai Airport stands on is a trash heap! No, it doesn't smell bad.

The other day I saw one of my High School friends in Japan! He's teaching English to Japanese high school students. We walked around Hirakata-shi eki (the train station nearest me) and he told me about why there are so many parks in Japan. Since earthquakes are so frequent, there has to be locations without any buildings nearby. We have a park across the street from the dorms! Speaking of earthquakes... we had our first one this morning. I was walking to school and didn't even know until I heard a friend talk about water in her glass sloshing.

This weekend I'm going to spend the night at my Home Visit Family's house in Kobe. I am sureeee ready for a home cooked meal! I'll let you know all about that next week!

Fushimi Inari

My typhoon never came and I was sorely disappointed. However, I got time to visit Kyoto this weekend because it wasn't storming!

This trip to Kyoto was just as successful as the first. Four of us arrived in Kyoto and set out to see the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This shrine is famous for having 40,000 torii (gateways) painted in orange winding around a mountain. It was beautiful and full of mosquitoes, but well worth the itching! After we had explored the area we found a small cafe and pointed to something on the menu that said, "hambu" in Japanese. We were expecting a hamburger, but instead a box comes with rice, fried fish, meatloaf-ish, pickled vegetable of a mysterious sort, salad (japanese salad's are VERY different from USA salads), and a light cheesecake. Each portion was a sample size so it was fullfilling without being gluttonous. Which is how I like it!

Once lunch was through we enjoyed the bus ride back to the train station with elbows in our faces and feeling like falling domino's. We really did enjoy it, that isn't sarcasm. I think I was laughing the whole time because I felt like I was on a wooden rollercoaster. Once back at the train station, we jumped on another bus (we bought the 'bus fare for the day ticket') and headed to the National Kyoto Museum. The museum was small but had some grand Buddha's and impressive painted scrolls. We then went to Gion, better known as the Geisha district. 

It's said that the geisha come out with their painted faces around 5pm, so we shopped in the small shops and ate in a sweet shop until it was nearing dark and our chances would increase. 

I saw two of them walking down the street towards us and I turned to my friend, Holly, and said, "Take my picture!!" Somehow she thought I wanted a picture of the building and so there is a picture of me standing very very excitedly next to a building. After she put down her camera she exclaims, "GEISHA!!" Ohhh, did we had a laugh over that!

Eventually we made our way back to the train station on a packed bus and took the ride home. I tend to stand out being so tall in Japan, but I must say it comes in handy on a crowded bus. I get my own breathing room!

Typhoon

There is a typhoon coming today!

My Japanese family

I met my Japanese family sister a few days ago. She was adorably lost trying to find the room we were to meet in and I enjoyed watching her run back and forth while all the other brothers and sisters were getting to know each other. This is the Japanese Home Visit program that a family has agreed to take me in for the semester and show me Japanese life. Since Makiko and her parents live in Kobe, which is three hours away, she has invited me to stay in their house overnight! In Japan it's custom for the host to plan the day and so far what I've heard is that they're going to adopt me for the day and show me the sites of Kobe and then we'll go back "home" and eat a tradition meal and sleep! Then, the next morning I'll venture back to campus without getting lost. I'm very excited for that weekend to come because after meeting Makiko for thirty minutes I think she was meant to be my true oniisan.

Late at night, during the day, and pretty much anytime, a car will go by with a speaker on the roof and speak Japanese. I thought it was a political statement but according to some of my friend these cars are just asking us to buy a certain type of Clorox or Tissue Paper. I wonder how well that would go over in the United States.

I figure I should make a list of what is different in Japan than we're used to in Amerika (United States in Japanese, not egocentrism!). First of all, we bow at everything! I can't do the correct bow and I don't know who should receive it, so I merely bow my head at any Japanese person I come into contact with and respond with an, "Ohayo Gozaimasu, Konnichiwa, or Konbonwa" based on where the sun is in the sky. I primarily do this to the guards I walk by to get to the campus gates.

Another custom is that to order or to pay for food sometimes we need to say, "sumimasen," which means excuse me or I'm sorry, or they'll keep filling up your water glass.

Busses you pay when you get off at your stop, talking is allowed on the subway (London it isn't common), and bicycles have the right-of-way over pedestrians. They also like to ring their little bell to make you move out of their way. Bicycling is known as "light transportion" and many accidents and deaths occur due to reckless biking because helmets aren't necessary over here.

The drinking age is 18, but those beer vending machines don't card so it's not upheld.

Kyoto Trip

Yesterday, a group of four international students (ryuugakusee) and one japanese student traveled to Kyoto to walk the Philosopher's Trail. The (subway/above ground) train ride over was an hour and really neat. First off, some of the trains are double decker! Also, the train systems in each city connect to another cities train system so its very easy to get around Japan. Lastly, all the times the train will arrive are posted and it's always on schedule! 

After getting lost, we got to the Philosopher's trail which ten different temples/shrines in a one-mile walk. It is also famous for having beautiful cherry blossoms during the spring and lovers walk by the canal sharing an umbrella. Our group ended up going to four of temples because each one ended up being so different and interesting that we didn't want to hurry. My favorite was Eikan-do because we got to take our shoes off and explore the many interconnected buildings on stilts that were surrounded by nature, zen gardens, and ponds in the mountains. 

On the way back I ended up sitting next to an Japanese 8th grader who wanted to practice his English. He was very good and I loved that he said, "I beg your pardon" when he didn't understand something I said. 

Tomorrow is my first national holiday in Japan. Respect for the Aged Day. A celebration is going down at 2am in Osaka's streets. Somehow I don't think many Aged will be there...

First week in Japan

Hmm, well that was fun trying to figure out which Japanese link would take me to log in in order to post!

I have arrived in Hirakata City, Osaka, Japan!

The plane flight over was uneventful. No major turbulence, baggage didn't drop down from the overhead compartment onto my head, no food ended up in my lap...
When we arrived I met four others on my same flight and we talkatively loaded into a huge bus for the hour and a half bus ride to our Seminar Houses (dorms) near the Kansai Gaidai University. I was pleasantly surprised to find out living arrangements were very clean and that tatami mats were soft! Also, we have rice paper sliding doors that are just beautiful when the sunshine comes through in the early morning hours. And I do mean early as I'm still slightly jet lagged!

This week has been comprised mostly of orientation and trying to be as friendly as possible to the other 435 exchange students. We got a lecture about getting beer out of the vending machine at night and drinking in public, separating our trash into five different containers (pet bottles, plastics, cans, burnables, & glass), and how to avoid jail.

This afternoon I went to a hyakkin shopu, which is a $1 store and registered myself as an alien in Osaka.

I mentioned earlier that there are beer vending machines. I feel that I should add there are also ramen vending machines, coffee vending machines, and the normal fruit juice vending machines. Some houses have them in their yard so as we walk our thirty minutes back from campus and we just happened to be thirsty... handy!

Hope everybody back home is doing well!

Genki

Since my last post:

• Passport and visa are safe at home
• I signed up for Seminar House 1 (66 people on two floors with two kitchens)
• I have signed up for the Home Visit program. Once a month, and on holidays, a Japanese family will feed me and hopefully talk to me in Japanese. Knowing me, it will be a lot of smiling, eating, and nodding.

I'm hoping to start learning the language so I can prevent getting lost in the airport!

Konnichiwa!

Konnichiwa!

I'm waiting for my visa to come through the mail and praying that my passport won't end up on the black market.

I leave for Japan August 31st and will arrive at the Kansai International Airport (KIX) September 1st at 6:20pm. I know I can handle the 13 hour plane ride, but I really really want some good movies to be playing! As a precaution, I'm limiting my movie views this summer because I don't want to end up drooling on my 13 hour neighbor. Lets call him Ned.

Once I get to KIX I have to boot scoot n' boogy through customs and immigration before my ride leaves me sleeping in the airport.

After I arrive at Kansai Gaidai University (KG) I'll be settled into a temporary dorm with temporary roommates for orientation meetings and the class lottery.

To sign up for classes each exchange student (there are 400-750 of us) will receive a number. If you get a low number (98) you're most likely going to get the classes you want. If its a high number, expect squat. Luckily, I don't need any classes this semester to graduate. However, I might cry myself to sleep if I end up with all business classes.

Here is a list of what I know about my semester so far:

• I'm going to have a required friend known as my Japanese-Speaking Partner. S/he will be Japanese and learning English. Once a week we'll meet and help each other learn the language.
• I'll be living in a eight tatami mat dorm room with one other person. My bed is a floor futon. I'm really excited about being able to stuff my bed into a closet to save space. I will be sharing a full scale kitchen, bathroom, common room, computer room, and study area with the whole floor. There are four Seminar Houses (dorms) within a 20-30 minute walk to campus.
• Earthquakes are frequent and according to my advisor its not uncommon to wake up due to the swaying. I'm not so excited about that.
• The KG campus is in the middle of a triad of three cities. One of such cities is Osaka the second largest city in Japan.

I have a lot to do to get ready!