STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 34

APRIL 20

I slept really well in the hotel’s fluffy bed, so well that I didn’t want to wake up to catch the train, but we had already decided to meet before 11am. I woke up before the others, left my room and headed to the station first. They all arrived at the platform just in time to catch the train with me, which was much better than riding the hour there alone. A lot of the day was spent waiting, on the train, then in line, and then waiting for everyone to gather again.

To my shock, I happened to run into Ami, a member of BPM outside the station. Her crew was actual performing in the showcase event at noon. I knew she was a good dancer, but her crew was amazing. Their hip hop was strong and on point— if I had the time, that’s the kind of crew I would want to be part of.

After her showcase, I wandered around the event watching various performances and battles until it was time for the finals to begin in the main hall. Our group had grown since we arrived, now there was six women aside from myself and my one guy friend. The seating arrangement was actually very interesting because the hall was originally purposed for sumo matches. Rather than having traditional seats, carpeted squares were sectioned off so viewers could really sit back at their own leisure and observe the event.

Each battle was more intense than the last, and there were also incredible showcases before the final rounds. I’m really running out of words to describe the impact that this event had on me. You could feel the music, and the emotion from the performers: this wasn’t any club showcase, this was so much bigger. Simply said, I found my happy place. All the little things that led up to this moment finally have meaning. This was something I was meant to see.

(Unfortunately, capturing any moment on camera during the finals was impossible, due to the lighting and sheer awesomeness.)

APRIL 21

I’m not ready to go back to real life. My friend and I came back from Tokyo this morning. He was exhausted from the past couple days, and it didn’t help that last night when it was all over we still had to take the train and hour back to our hotel. We should have thought that part through a bit more, but I suppose it could have been worse. Since he was so tired I didn’t speak to him much on the way back, thinking he would rest, but he wouldn’t, which made me uncomfortable. I was confused as to whether or not I was supposed to interact with him or not, especially after the confusion from everyone we met. Can’t we just hang out as friends? Why do we have to label everything?

The good news is, I managed to stay under $500 for the whole weekend, and that includes the hotel for $60 dollars a night, and the bullet train, which was the most expensive cost at $200 round trip. I’ll try the night bus next time I head out that way.

It was raining as I started to walk home from the station. Then, when I actually got back to my apartment I had to go back out to the post office to pick up another package from my mom. There was so much candy, too much in fact. I had only asked that she send me some Reeses Pieces, and Starbursts to give to the other students. I ended up with a huge box of all kinds of candy. Looks like I’m going to be making up some Goody Bags.

APRIL 22

Today during our survey class we had to present on something in Nagoya for the new students. I presented on Shirakawa Park because I go there so often. It’s not just for dance though; there are also the huge field grounds, as well as a basketball court, soccer court, tennis courts, skate park and playground. That and it’s also right outside the science museum and nearby Osu. It’s an all-around great place to hang out and make new friends.

That was about the extent of my studies for the day. Once again, it was back to dance practice, but this time with a new drive to dance the way I want to dance. It was mostly hip hop style, if you have to call it anything, but I was focused; I knew what I was doing, and I was excited to think of new things. In fact, I was so wired after a few hours of practice that I had to take long walk just to calm myself down. Yay for midnight walks~

APRIL 23

One more day of Business Japanese down and several to go; I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. My listening scores are improving, and I can follow the professor’s lecture a lot better. We’ve started doing role plays, which aren’t that hard, but we literally have two minutes to look at a prompt and come up with an appropriate skit. That’s a bit hard, not just for me though. The only thing that’s tripping me up still is all the business kanji. If we have to read in class, no matter what, I always have to read something, and usually it has kanji that I am unsure how to read. In that case, the Chinese and Korean students send whispers my way, which I’m grateful for. From now on, I’m going to try and prepare for the kanji by writing down the readings ahead of time. If I can do that, then things should go a lot smoother.

APRIL 24

Another day of dance, only this time it ended in a cypher! I didn’t see it coming, which is probably why I was actually able to participate in it with little resistance. I had simply been in the mood to dance, and during one of those highs I happened across a small group practicing a freestyle dance battle. During my first move, I think I was too jumpy because I literally slipped out of my step and fell down. However, I took that as part of my entrance into the six-step, so they all thought it was on purpose. It was not, but I went with it anyway.

After a while though the songs started to change and become jazzier, in other words, my energy wasn’t so driven by the music anymore. The music that’s playing still makes a huge difference in the way I dance. That’s one reason I don’t want to do a break dance battle; the music doesn’t fuel me the way hip hop does.

APRIL 25

Just bumming around today and watching some movies. I’m sure there is plenty of things I should do, like homework, or work on my manga. But, not today.

APRIL 26

This morning we, the international students, were all invited to a Bar-B-Que down at Odaka Ryokuchi Park, also called Odaka Greens. We rode the Meitetsu train down to the nearest station, Sakyoyama, and walked into the park expecting a direct view of the BBQ location. There was only empty trails leading off into the woods and a large map that put us at the far east of the park itself. We followed the trail along the road, with little guidance towards the BBQ grounds, but we eventually found it at the end of the winding road.

(Frying up the first round of meat at the BBQ pit.)

The BBQ was being thrown by our upperclassmen, some now graduated students, Yohei, Asami, Kaori and others. There was plenty of snacks to eat, and I brought some of the marshmallows that mom sent me in the mail. A few of us started to kick around a soccer ball as we waited for the food to be cooked. The guys were having an interesting time trying to figure out how to light the charcoal, but once they got the first started we were able to snack on some meat. I say snack only because I only had a few pieces before I left for training.

It was only a couple hours into the BBQ, but if I didn’t leave when I did, I would have missed the train completely. Since I needed to go to Gamagori, I had to catch the JR Line, so I couldn’t go back to the station that we had arrived at. That said, when I looked at the GPS on my phone, the station did not look that far away. It seemed as though it was just on the other side of the park, which was maybe a twenty minute walk. Just in case, I left much earlier and started my way towards Odaka Station. It was a lot farther than I thought. From the opposite park entrance I could see the tracks, but not the station itself. The map only showed me that it was north of my location before it froze my phone. On a whim and a prayer I followed the tracks north for another twenty minutes before the station came in sight. I was able to make it just in time for the train, literally with one minute to spare. For once, luck was on my side.

STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 33

APRIL 13

Another day dedicated to dance, but not in the usual practice way. Today we had the 20th Year Anniversary lunch for BPM. Various members from the past years came to AIDAI to celebrate the event with the current members. This year’s graduated members also came back for the day. We had a graciously prepared lunch of sushi and other finger foods. With a twenty-year history, somehow I have a higher respect for this already incredible club. I never could have dreamed of having this type of experience when I came to study abroad. Life changes in many ways.

APRIL 14

With the showcase tomorrow, I and a few other members of our group wanted to get some last minute practice in. We had to wait till the studio was opening, which wasn’t until the evening, so I spent the day doing homework for the week. When I arrived at the studio, the girl from our group was still practicing for her second choreography, so our practice ended up going a little later than intended. It was only an hour long, which just barely got my blood moving. As a result, when I got home I decided to go for a run. I might as well workout at night if I’m going to be awake.

APRIL 15

I forgot to mention that yesterday was the first International Cafe of the semester. As a consequence, I drank coffee, so even after I went running last night I still couldn’t sleep last night. The showcase wasn’t until 7pm so I went home and took a nap first. We hadn’t really decided on any sort of uniform until last minute and that was black shirts and J-Pants. I mistook J-Pants for jerseys, not jeans, so I was the only one who showed up and didn’t match. Another last minute call that they decided on was the transition in and out of the second song. It wasn’t complicated, just a simple turn to put our backs to the crowd. Simple, easily conveyable, but I was not informed. In this case, I think they all figured someone else told me. That was my only slip up during the showcase though, so I was proud of that.

I wish I had taken off my face mask though, I didn’t think about the impression it would give, but one of the graduated seniors said it looked like I wasn’t confident since I kept it on. On the other hand, Yuki and a few others told me that I danced really well. I guess to each his own, right?

APRIL 16

Survived another Business Japanese class today, now I just need to buy the book and things should go smoothly. The listening test went better today, and the teacher also rearranged our seating arrangement. Now I’m sitting up front and center, but that’s only more reason to do my best in this class!

APRIL 17

I thought today was going to be an awesome day, but it was rocky all the way through. I spent over two hours working on my presentation in the media center, only for it not to save, so I lost all the work I had done on it. From now on I’ll make sure to save the file properly after I download it from my e-mail.

Then, during dance practice, we had so many new freshmen that there was almost no space to practice! I spent most of the time stuck between hip hop and break, unfocused and confused as to which I should practice. Maybe I should just say my genre is freestyle, then I can do what I want and just dance.

APRIL 18

I stayed up last night to finish, or rather re-do, my presentation. I also watched a couple movies. As expected, every three or four months I just need to decompress my brain. That’s when I play games or watch movies, and since I don’t have any games on hand, movies it is. Thankfully, the school library has a large selection of movies that we can borrow, too. I’m probably going to watch a couple more movies tonight as well, but I won’t stay up too late because tomorrow I’m going to Tokyo~!

APRIL 19

I met my fried at the station at 9am to buy our tickets for the bullet train. It would have been significantly cheaper had I decided to go buy bus, but it would have also taken about six hours one way. The bullet train would have us there in about two hours. However, once we arrived in Tokyo, we still had to take a few train transfers before we reached Ryogoku also known as Sumo Town, where Dance@LIVE was being held. Today’s competition didn’t start until the late afternoon, so first we had a lunch with a few dance acquaintances, Dama and Kazu. They were actually all break dancers, which surprised me a little bit because both women were around their 40s. In fact, I thought I recognized Kazu from Nagoya, and I was correct. She had actually danced at SOUL BREAK, just as I did, though she was the third battle in Group A. It was a coincidence that we were able to meet under the circumstances. They actually thought that my friend and I were dating, since it was rare for a male and female to travel together as a pair otherwise. We both disagreed with that since we really just came to see the dance event, and no one else could have come.

When lunch was over we lined up with the already growing crowd to get into the event. It was the chance for any challengers nationwide to compete for a spot in the finals. Break, Hip hop, House and Freestyle were the four main categories. The first rounds had dozens of people, so each individual would only have one chance amongst their group, then three or so people would continue to the next round until it was down to the top eight. Each battle was amazing, and the music was very exciting for me. If I can ever get myself to dance in a battle with confidence, this would be the place to reach for. Next time I come all the way to Tokyo for a battle, I’d better be dancing in it.

(Day One Finals)

We stayed through the final battles, joined by another friend of Dama’s named Abe— she doesn’t dance but she does enjoy watching. Then, after that, we all headed to Hon Atsugi, where our hotel was located and also another battle was going on. Dama had invited us to the all-night event, which is why we booked our hotel so far from Ryogoku. The night battle, Wartown, took place in a very tiny little club, but it turned out that none of us danced at it. We were already tired, and would have to wake up early tomorrow to get in line (again) for the main event.

STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 32

APRIL 6

Two weeks from today I will be in Tokyo, watching what may be one of the biggest dance events in Japan, live.

In seven weeks there is a freestyle battle down in Toyohashi that I’m very tempted to participate in, if I can find two other people to dance with on my team.

And, in fourteen weeks, it will be my birthday. No plans yet, but there are so many possibilities.

Rather than practicing at the park as usual, tonight I joined the others for practice at the Naka District Office. The building’s entrance area is all glass, which is perfect for dancers because of the reflection. It also helps that the grounds are well paved and flat. There’s no gravel carried over from the nearby field grounds.

APRIL 7

Classes have officially started. Mondays are very similar to last semester, with only grammar class on the schedule. The only difference is that now it is during second period, instead of third. As for the rest of my free time, of course I spent it in the library. This time I started to edit my manga’s pages on my laptop. I am finally through chapter nine, but there is so much to go. If nothing else, I definitely want to finish this before my birthday!

APRIL 8

Our morning survey class was canceled today. We only had conversation class during second period; this semester we are going to be using a conversation specific text book, separate from the Intermediate-Advanced text book for grammar and kanji class.

I had planned to edit some more pages today, but I forgot my mouse at home. It wouldn’t have been worth the walk home to get it, so I worked on my website instead. That took up all of my time until dance practice. We’re still working on the choreography… the showcase is next week!

APRIL 9

Kanji class went as per usual. In fact, our actual kanji list is no different from the one we studied last semester. That means, our quizzes will be the same, we just won’t have to present the kanji in front of the class. Instead, the class will mainly be dedicated to composition and learning the written style of Japanese, rather than simply writing in plain or polite form.

Second period was free, but with third period came Business Japanese. Talk about an ego breaker. First, we started class out with a short personal information form regarding why we wanted to take the class. I was at a loss as to what to write for some of the sections like ‘How does this relate to your major?’ It really doesn’t, I just wanted to take the class. Then, we had a practice listening test. It was the same kind of listening questions that would appear on the BJT, or Business Japanese Test. I had one correct answer out of ten.

The clincher happened near the end of class when were practicing the proper way to bow. The main difference between women and men is where they place their hands during the bow. Men keep their hands straight at their sides, while women clasp them lightly in front of themselves. I had my hands clasped and the teacher came over to put my hands at my sides, then she looked up with a slightly shocked face and apologized saying, ‘Oh sorry, I thought you were just a cute boy.’

That was more than just embarrassing. My hair is still a little short, but I’m trying to grow it back out. I can’t help it if I have strong shoulders and I’m among the taller members of the class. The other girls in the class are all Chinese or Taiwanese, so they have slimmer frames. I can understand the mistake, but only to a point. It was kind of a damper on the day.

APRIL 10

Grammar class in the morning and then Mark, Jason and I went to the International Studies Club’s Snack Party. We were invited by one of the other exchange students, Cho, from China. I still had practice, but I thought I would at least stop by for a little bit since she invited me. It was a nice chance to talk to some new people and indulge in free snacks, but eventually I had to leave for practice.

It was still early, but when I got down to the campus mall, I found out that the group had gone through most of the new choreography already. I was behind, but I caught on to the new choreography quickly. On top of that, each member had to think of a 4-count during the bridge of the song. We worked together and were able to finish all the choreography today, but for some reason I didn’t feel much like part of the group. I don’t know why that is. Maybe I expect to contribute more to the group, or at least for them to try a little harder to inform me of what they’re doing.

I wouldn’t say this feeling of exclusion has anything to do with cultural or language differences. It may just be my own inner struggle between the two dance genres that I am imposing on the current situation. That and things have been relatively uninspiring the past few days. Time to decompress.

APRIL 11

Game night at Heart n’ Soul Cafe! Our first game night event, but apparently they have one every second Friday of the month. Actually, Joy and Rachael had come once before so they knew the order of things. Not only that, but dinner is free. Tonight was some light sandwiches and chips. We spent the hours playing Janga (“UNBALANCE”) and Blox. The competition level got pretty high, and often it was a match between me and Marie. We were still at a tie for wins and losses when time ran out. I can’t wait to go to the next Game night for a rematch!!

APRIL 12

Movie night with the Hawaiian students!! Tonight we watched 21 Jump Street in Rachael’s room, which also meant that Rachael cooked us all dinner. It was a much needed day for us all to chill out with each other. I can’t remember the last time outside of school we all hung out together.

Sometime in Spring

Long time, no blog! My apologies. Yes, I have been busy these past few months, so I will do my best to catch you guys up! (^^;

This is life.

First of all, the newness of being in Japan has well worn off.  Everyday has melted into a routine, both good and bad.  I've established my regular shopping locations and gained a more clear understanding of the train lines and times.  I've also finally started to REALLY remember the names of the dozens of people that I have met in the past few months (granted, I knew the names of the regular faces in my life, and that has at least tripled).  When I say I want to go home, I mean to my little apartment on the 7th floor, not to America.  Not once have I really missed home and wanted to go back; the life I have created for myself here meets all my needs.  So, what exactly have I been doing?

January

This month was very scattered, schedule wise.  The first week was part of winter vacation, and then the following two weeks were the tail-end of the Fall Semester.  Then there was a week off to "prepare for exams", which I can promise you that there was no studying done during that week.  We had one exam a day the following week, otherwise we were free.  Free! I thought that we had too much free time then, but I wasn't complaining because it was the end of the semester and I was ready for Spring Break!

Little did I know how much free time I would have the next two months.

February-March: SPRING BREAK

At our Universities in America, our spring breaks are one week long, during which many people travel to a warmer climate (Mexico, Florida, etc.) and party hard.  In Japan, spring break is the transition between the old and new school year.  In all cases, the new year (for both companies and schools) begins with April.  Through high-school the spring break is a solid two weeks at the end of March.  However, at University, at least in the case of Aichi University, the break lasts two months. All of February, and all of March.  That's almost the length of our summer break in the states.

(*Note: Summer break in the US is generally May/June to August/September, usually about three months long.  Summer break (for schools) in Japan is about one month long, during the month of August.)

As this was a proper vacation, many people I knew took the opportunity to go traveling.  Many of my friends were graduating and went on a "graduation trip" during the break to Europe, Guam, Taiwan, and many other places. During these two months, continuing students can also go on one or two month long study abroad trips.  In other words, there was not many people around during our break, so we (the exchange students) spent a lot of time together.

Personally, I only went on one trip at the beginning of February.  Two girls from Hawaii and I traveled to Hokkaido to see the Snow Festival, eat ramen, and [for them] enjoy the mountains of snow.* (More on Hokkaido later~) In short, it was incredibly cold, as it is the northernmost prefecture in Japan.  I was very much looking forward to returning to Aichi, where the winter is a little more mild.

That was my big trip, but I still had a month and a half left of vacation.  As I mentioned above, I have become quite accustomed to an everyday routine -- daily life, if you will.  I had things to do like go to dance practice, work and save money, and sleep (<may have slept too much haha).  Club activities still go on even when school is on vacation, so I was making my way to school at least twice a week to practice dance.  Then, if I was free on the weekends, I would practice with other dance members at the nearby park.  Other than that, I was building up my teaching experience for a future job teaching in Japan.  I kept myself busy, and the time flew by, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

April: Spring Semester Begins

Finally, spring break has ended and the new semester has begun.  Many of the friends I made last semester have now graduated and are working.  I attended their graduation ceremony two weeks ago, March 24th, and I was a bit surprised to see that aside from the attire (men in suits, women in kimono and hakama) the ceremony procedures were all too similar to the graduation ceremony at a typical University in the States.  In a way, it was also my graduation ceremony, since I will not be able to attend mine in May. [But, I still have school until August, so the chain of events are all over the place.]

So as the Spring semester in Toledo is soon coming to an end, we are just getting started.  Today was the first day of classes, so going to class will once again become part of the routine.  A routine that I've adopted as my own as I prepare for the next stage in life, the stage after this study abroad where I become a working member of society.

Till next time~!

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As always, if you have questions please post them in the comments! I will be more than glad to answer them :)

STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 31

MARCH 30

It started out as a rainy day, so I assumed that there would be no practice. On the contrary, Humito and Zawarun headed to the park to dance for a while. It was at the same time that Rachael and I were having lunch at Naan Curry, so I didn’t notice the group messages until afterward. I tried to catch them in time for some practice, but it was already too late. Instead, Rachael and I just hung out in her room watching videos and relaxing. Tomorrow we have to go to AIDAI for Orientation.

MARCH 31

Spring Semester Orientation started today. It went along in the same fashion as it did back in September for the fall semester. They kept us at school from 9am to 2pm, meeting with Mrs. Yamamoto to decide classes and then waiting until the afternoon to receive our paperwork. We weren’t so excited to find out that the semester rent went up to 309000 yen, almost 900 dollars more than we paid last semester because we are receiving the JASSO scholarship. The main problem was that we only planned to pay the usual 216000 yen, so that was ll the money we had. We needed to pay the rent money within the next couple weeks, but we wouldn’t receive the scholarship money until the end of the month. In other words, we’ll have to withdraw from abroad or pay late in order to cover the extra money.

Financial issues aside, Jason and I are thinking of taking the Business Japanese course this semester. It’s not a part of the regular study abroad student courses, but it is geared toward international students. The course does collide with drama class… the one class I looked forward to. We don’t know if we will be allowed to take the course yet, so we’re taking the week to think it over. I think it would be a great opportunity, particularly for me since I want to stay and work in Japan.

Once the Orientation ended, I went to reserve the multi-purpose room for practice, just as I had promised on Friday. It was a chance for the graduated seniors to get one last practice in before they started work tomorrow, on the first day of April. This time a couple dozen people came to use the room, and then I went out to eat with five of the guys at Bikkuri Donki. As I’ve mentioned before, their hamburgers are mixed with pork, so this time I order their pizza. As we ate, we had an incredible conversation that went from famous dancers, to drawing, to the movie Kick @$$, and then a full and extended explanation of the Metal Gear Solid storyline. I didn’t think about it until now, but I was able to follow that whole conversation in Japanese, and that was no simple explanation. Maybe I can handle Business Japanese class…

APRIL 1

For the rest of the week, the clubs and circles are holding presentations for the incoming freshmen. The campus mall is now lined with tables, little booths, and students handing out information on their clubs. I had rehearsal for about an hour in the studio to practice the hip hop showcase, but then I hung out at the BPM table for a while. Only a few stopped by our table at first, but then we had a couple rounds of freshmen girls roll in. Ponhiro, one of our break dancers, was our charisma man, and he did most of the talking. We were also able to grab the attention of a few freshmen guys as the day went on. Then, out of nowhere, three foreigners show up. The club members asked me to talk to them, but they weren’t students. The three men were working at JICA, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and they were from Mexico, so we ended up speaking in Japanese anyway. I doubt they’ll be showing up to the club, but what are the odds that they’d show up at AIDAI today?

APRIL 2

Girl’s Day out~! I think the only girls I really hang out with are the international students actually. I don’t really know what Japanese usually do for fun, except for karaoke, but that’s exactly what we went out to do this afternoon. Rachael, Chaerim and I went to karaoke for a few hours: it was a tiny little room, which I usually don’t like because there’s no room to move around and be in one’s own zone. Today it wasn’t that bad though. Time went by really quickly, and we sung a lot of songs for the three hours.

When karaoke was over, Rachael and I headed out to Fushimi to meet Joy and Aurianne at Shooter’s. Wednesdays have special discounts on salads, sandwiches, and desserts, so that’s what we ordered. Most of us ordered the taco salad, which was authentic American taco salad. For dessert, we ordered the apple pie and sundae to split between the four of us. Shooter’s never disappoints. The apple pie was perfect, crispy and juicy. Joy and the others have already promised to come back next Wednesday for the pie.

As it happens, we always eat so much food when we hang out. It has to stop. Just kidding, I love these guys; I wouldn’t quit hanging out with them for anything. I’m really going to miss them.

APRIL 3

The clubs were still advertising themselves until noon, so we couldn’t start practice until the mall was cleared around 2pm. We finished the choreography for the “second song”— all this time the song we have been working on was the second of two. Then, when it seemed that we were done for the day, I headed back to the break dance side of the mall. It wasn’t until a little later that I noticed they started working on the choreography for the first song! They didn’t even tell me that they were starting because they figured I wanted to continue practicing break dancing. I don’t understand why there seems to be a separation between the genres in most cases. I’m not going to let that stop me though; I’m just going to dance the way I want to.

APRIL 4

We turned in the course selection forms today. Jason and I are going to challenge the Business Japanese class! At least if it turns out to be hard, we can rely on each other.

In the afternoon, the female students were all scheduled for their health check. Yes, this took place at school. They sectioned off the entire fifth floor and used the different rooms for different medical stations: blood pressure, height and weight, eye sight, chest x-ray, pee on a stick, all those fun things. It was really weird because it was at school, but the x-ray car was still outside on the first floor, so they created a covered tunnel for the girls to walk through to the car after we changed into medical shirts.

It’s actually pretty convenient when you think about it. The hardest part about it was trying to understand the medical form because it was all written in Japanese. During the initial process where we had to fill out the personal information we spent a good while translating each of the selections. Even so, the translations didn’t always make sense so we had to as the present nurses for guidance. I’m glad that we get these kind of challenges. If they gave us English forms, I would have wanted to challenge the Japanese one anyway.

APRIL 5

Spring cleaning time! I spent most of the day cleaning up my room and doing laundry. A new girl moved in at the end of the hall. We happened to run into each other in the hall after I put my laundry in the machine, so she gave me some omiyage. Yummy little egg cakes in decorative chick shapes. It was a good treat for the day before I headed down to Gamagori for more training.