留学生は日本に行くへ

I'm happy that this blog is helping future gaidaisei prepare for their abroad in Japan. So basically I have been procrastinating/busy since my last post. I still feel that longing for Japan every time I sign on facebook when I see people who extended their stay rub in my face with their photo albums and status that they are STILL in Japan. ahem. But anyways,

RYUUGAKUSEI
りゅうがくせい
留学生
Study Abroad Student

Packing:
A sempai of mine told me that mailing stuff back home is very expensive unless you are from Austrailia. So pack the limit of two carry one suitcases and half pack both. Japan is a highly industrialize country so whatever you need you can buy (you just have to figure out the katakana.) If you are going to Kansai Gaidai, they are going to give you a tour of the area. Don't worry. But on the first night you need a towel and travel sized tolietries like toothpaste, shampoo, and soap.

Language:
For some reason, many official looking signs in Japan are both in English and Japanese. You can use common sense to figure out many things. When in doubt observe other people. There is a lot more English in the country than you think.

For people who have limited fluency in Japanese, Kansai Gaidai has many Japanese level classes that can help you. I met a lot of people who went to Japan without knowing the basics of the culture or language. They had a great time, survived, and learned a lot.

If you aim to become fluent. Bring some english based games like scrabble or apples to apples. Japanese students can translate the words for you in Japanese and you can explain it to them in English or Japanese. You can buy children's kanji workbooks or manga to gain literacy. Just some ideas....

to remember - omoidasu (思い出す）

It's really sad. Life has come back to normal and it feels like I was not in Japan at all but sometimes I have sudden longing to go back there.

Thanks to studying abroad. I have the travel bug. I want to visit, travel, and live in a few countries now. Places I know for sure I'm going to in the future are France, Bangladesh, Canada, and Cambodia. So I definitely want to blog all my experiences for my family and friends to see.

I also want to pick up learning a few more languages too. Just to learn a little bit of everything.

Thanks to everyone who read my blog and followed me through my journey in Japan.

Now it is time for me to reflect on my experiences and some words of wisdom I want to share. It may take me awhile to write everything.

Meiji Shrine - Meiji Jinguu (明治神宮）

Backpost.

One of the last things I did in Tokyo and in Japan was visit Meiji Shrine and the emperor's garden.

Tokyo was getting boring to me by this point. I like the city life and all but I feel like there are two sides of Japan shopping and cultural attractions that also have shopping. It might be like this everywhere but anyways...

Going to Meiji Shrine was a really nice change of pace. Being there felt like I wasn't in the city at all but in a different place. I could not see many skyscrapers or hear cars. I went on a rainy day so everything was wet but felt refreshing. Being at the shrine felt like every other shrine I went to in Osaka and Kyoto but it was still nice because it belonged to the emperor.

(A wooden torii)

(I found one skyscraper in the distance.)

I also went into the emperor's garden. There is a famous flower that blooms only when it rains but it didn't bloom when we went. Not many things were blooming because we went too early in the season.

(nani nani's well...)

In the garden there was this pond with huge koi fish. My boyfriend manage to summon them with an interesting hand trick.

(If he could...I think he would love to catch one and eat it.)

Although the gardens were nice. It would have been nice if we went during the blooming season or during fall. I probably need to go back there again someday.

(random house that we could not go inside of)

Reverse Culture Shock

My first instance in dealing with reverse culture shock was in the San Fransisco Airport. I forgot how rude people can be especially in airports. I was so used to the Japanese style service which is something unforgettable and under appreciated. My luggage ripped on transport in Japan. So I had to haul my broken luggage across the freaking terminal trying to find someone to help me. It was stressful because I had a connecting flight in less than two hours. In Japan, I felt like they would had a bag in their pocket and some tape at the bag check in for cases like mine but not in America. After what felt like forever, I found someone nice enough shove my crap into a plastic bag and send it on its merry way to Boston. Come back Japan!

My second instance of reverse culture shock was at my local branch trying to exchange my remaining yen to dollars. Something about being called honey and the casualness of my conversation with the bank teller struck me. In Japan I would be expected Keigo or honorific language (which I can't understand anyway) but in America its a bit rude but also warming I guess.

The fact that I can understand everything in English is also disappointing. Maybe that is also a part of reverse culture shock.

I also have yearnings for Japanese TV. It is just as bad as American TV but I find it much more amusing. I'm trying to find a way to watch Japanese TV again through my laptop.

What is this? - kore wa nani? (これは何？）

The last picture should give it away. My friends had a hard time guessing but its...

(CONDOMS)

I found this next to the toothpaste section in Don Quixote which is a huge Japanese variety store.

Engrish Part 5

I'm still in summer procrastination mode. I can't believe that it has almost been month since I left Japan. I have been busy traveling for the past two weeks so that explains lack of updates. I started working on my Study Abroad scrapbook finally (thanks to the help of my friends.) I just finished writing my Homestay evaluation thing. Anyways, this is probably the last of my engrish section. I'll post more if I can uncover some hidden gems in my 1,000+ of Japan.

While in Kawagoe City, I found this store.

(Perverted little thoughts)

My sister requested an engrish shirt for a present and after of hours of looking I found this for her. This was at the Hirakatashi Izumiya shopping mall.

(I'm sure this is what my sister is thinking about sometimes when she sees me)

I wish I took a picture of this shirt...but I found a shirt that said "TOLERANCE: I have to put my energy into something a least." It made sense and it sounded terrible.

Kawagoe City - Kawagoeshi (川越市）

Backpost. Just a few more posts to write and I think I covered everthing I did in Japan. I'm going to post another Engrish section, the reverse culture shock I'm feeling, my full evaluation of the Kansai Gaidai Program and my honest opinion and observations, what I wrote in my Thank You cards and gifts I'm sending to Japan. So I still have something to keep myself busy this summer.

Another one of the many places I visited in Japan was Kawagoe city which is in Saitama Prefecture. This is the city where my boyfriend went to school. It feel really good and mushy to see the kinds of things my boyfriend did and saw in his high school days. Kawagoeshi (Kawagoe City) is trying to attract more tourists. It is trying to advertise itself as "Little Edo" for some reason. My boyfriend said that Kawagoe used to be a major city back in the day until Edo (present day Tokyo) came along. (...what is this? and why was it there?)

One of the most interesting part of Kawagoe City is this section called "Kashiyayokocho." It is a street full of candy shops. The best part is that all the candy and snacks are cheap. I felt a bit sick pigging out on so much candy.

(I didn't see these kinds of shops in the major cities. So this was a refreshing sight.)

(From this angle...this part of town seems like part of an old Japanese movie)

I think after this we wandered to a temple...probably Kitain temple. After going to Kyoto so many times all these places start to look alike. But I got my birthday fortune!

My boyfriend wasn't that enthusiatic to translate for me. I'll probably translate it myself this summer. All I remember was that it was very general.

In the same area there is a famous site called gohyaku rakan statues. I'm not sure what a "rakan" is but gohyaku literally means 500. You have to pay to get in but I wasn't in the mood to look at statues so I just took this picture through the gate.

One really random place we went to was this house musuem. It was just a typical Japanese house and you could walk inside it to see the what a house looked like in the old days. It was a really short diversion but I guess worth it. I really like the view into the street from the second floor of the house. One thing was really amusing is that while walking in the hallway my boyfriend walked straight into a hanging lamp. At 5'7'' or 170cm he is average height so he would have been considered tall in ancient Japan. I'm 5'0'' or 152cm and I manage to walk under the lamp fine. I was gloating when I took the picture.