STUDY ABROAD:WEEK 38

MAY 18

Today, I spent all day and night in Toyohashi!

My day started around lunchtime when I went do to Toyohashi to meet Junko for lunch. It’s been a couple months since I’ve seen here, so we needed to catch up. We ate at a small café-ish bar on the East side of the station. Their lunch specials were sandwiches and soups, so we both ordered the shrimp avocado sandwich. It was so nice to talk to her, even though, neither of us really had any significant updates. She’s such a nice and sweet girl, but she’s interesting— she has personality. I say this as I compare her to the new string of freshmen girls that I have become acquainted with over the past few months. Maybe those girls are too fresh to the world, so they have nothing interesting to say. The upperclassmen, Junko and the others, are different: many of them have studied abroad, so they have experienced other cultures. They just have something. It’s a shame that we haven’t had more chances to meet.

Junko and I hung out until about 2pm, wandering around the stationary departments at the Seibu near the station. I found quite a few things that I would have liked to buy, but not until I move into my own apartment. I can wait, for now.

Jorden was supposed to meet me soon after Junko went home, but he was running late due to an errand. I killed time by wandering around some more. There was a small event going on in the street for the kids, so the area was more crowded than usual. I happened to spot a beautiful red husky on the street, a nice medium-sized dog. Rarely are there any large dog breeds, but I have seen a Saint Bernard once. If I didn’t live in an apartment, I would consider getting one.

Side note: I also found the first volume of Battle Royale at the Book-Off, for only 300 yen!

Finally, as 3:30 rolled around I headed to the fountain outside the station to meet Jordan. Only he wasn’t there yet. I checked my LINE messages just in time to receive his message that said “Please read this before 3:45 so you can catch the train.” Then my Wifi battery died, so I couldn’t reply. I took the leap and hurried to board the local train line. Our timing turned out to be perfect because I ran into him just as I got off the station platform. We hung out for a couple hours waiting for the main event…

May 18th. It was the day that Dr. Hara’s new group would come to visit Toyohashi. Today was the day of the welcome dinner, and as UT Alumni and members of Toledo, we too were invited. I was excited to see old faces, but most of all I wanted to see Dr. Hara, who is basically my Japanese dad. I knew half of the group this time around; seven people who used to be part of my life, yet we had somehow managed to get on without each other. Seeing them didn’t make me homesick, nor did I want to go home to see other friends, as I thought I might feel. Life goes on, we move on to the next stage, and for me, right now, it’s Japan.

During the event I met with other ALTs from Toledo. We indulged in the free Pizza; not only was it free, but it had toppings, so it was good free pizza. I ate despite knowing that we would all go out to an izakaya afterward, but I didn’t know that until last minute anyway. But, that’s how I and the other ALTs and Dr. Hara spent our evening; socializing over various cocktails and snacks. Many of the ALTs have been in Japan for at least two years now, some upwards of six or eight. It’s great that I have these people to look to, or, if nothing else, somebody to hang out with in Toyohashi.

MAY 19 - MAY 20

Just regular classes followed with work on manga sessions. I’m trying to save money this week because we are going to a buffet for Jason’s birthday this weekend.

MAY 21

As the only current exchange student from my home University, I was expected to give a short speech to the study abroad group when they came to visit the Nagoya campus. I was told to be there at 10:20, so I had to leave my morning kanji class a little early to make it in time. I arrived at the time they told me, but the presentation on the school had already started. I barely looked at anyone as I slipped into the room and found an empty chair to sit in. There, I happened to sit next to Takahiro and Yuto, two of the students that spent the past year in Toledo. I was so excited to see them that I nearly forgot why I was there.

When it came time to give the speech, I stood up in front of the group; I had been in their shoes three years ago, I couldn’t have imagined being here now. I didn’t write the speech, but I had some particular points that I wanted to express, one of which is the same reason why I have decided to write this journal. Though this is a study abroad, it truly is an exchange program. You exchange your life for another’s. Studying is really only a small part, but it is what you make of it. That said, what you do outside the classroom will define your experience more than anything. For me, the best decision I made was to join the dance club. My life changed. I was also looking to the future, to keeping my new life, so my perspective was different than that of other students who only come for six months or a year and then return to their past lives. It costs a pretty penny to live in a country like Japan, but the money I’ve spent here has given me more than the past few years of my school life has altogether. That’s why you can’t only focus on one thing when you participate in a program like this. It’s not just the classes or the traveling; it’s the day-to-day that determines how much you will get out of this kind of experience. That’s how life goes.

(This is this year’s study abroad group, from my university.)

In short, the speech seemed to go over well with the students. I learned afterward that a few of them were hoping to participate in the same program I was in next year. Towards the end of the lunch gathering I also ran into Erika and Akane, both of whom I haven’t seen in a long time. Erika was the third student who studied at UT last year. I barely recognized her when I saw her; she had so much more confidence and spark. This is what we hope for, a positive growth in ourselves, and in most cases, we wish it would continue just a bit longer.

MAY 22

Even the mundane days are important! For example, today: I went to class, took a nap, worked on manga, and then went to dance practice for a bit. Mundane though it may be to write about, these are the decisions I made. I would be lying if I said that one of the greatest parts of this experience wasn’t living on my own, making my own decisions. The freedom is addicting, but one must not forget their responsibilities.

MAY 23

All right, here’s something a little more interesting for you. This Friday afternoon we, the exchange students, were invited to go to a presentation on kabuki, one of the traditional forms of Japanese theater. The presenter was a well-aged man who happened to be a sort of a legend in the kabuki world. While the presentation on kabuki’s history was short in and of itself, the following section on the acting and way of speaking in kabuki provided much more entertainment.

We all received the script in our information packet. One by one we went around the room reading one line or another. It wasn’t just us exchange students, there was at least a few dozen Japanese students present as well, including those from Mrs. Yamamoto’s seminar class. They were shy to start at first, but everyone read their lines. All of us exchange students panicked a little and scrambled to write down the kanji readings. Thankfully, the Chinese students were sitting nearby and helped us. We all did our best to read the lines with feeling, or at least with the same quivering intonations one would hear at kabuki. Some people within the audience were quite skilled, and they would appear out of nowhere to break the silence. As the reading circled back around the room I readied myself for my line…only it wasn’t my line. I miscounted the number of people and jumped the gun. The following line, which was my own, was much more complex in terms of wording, so I had to be guided along that one. It was still a lot of fun though, I don’t quite understand how they decided on the way to speak, but I always thought it would be fun to act. Not in kabuki, just in general.

  

MAY 24

Today we celebrated Jason’s birthday down at the Aeon Mall in Atsuta, near Kanayama. Joy, Rachael, Aurianne and I actually biked there from our apartment. It took about forty-five minutes, but we were first to arrive. We waited as Jason and the others who took the subway were still to arrive. Our reservation had been set for 11am, and Jason showed up at precisely 11:21, perfect for his twenty-first birthday.

(The Family Viking, Mame no Hakada; “Viking” means buffet.)

The buffet was called Mame no Hakada, or field of beans. Many of the dishes were made with soybeans, and there was a lot of tofu, as well as traditional Japanese cuisine. Did that make it any healthier? Not by a long shot. There were also lattes, pasta and ice cream. Ninety minutes, all-you-can-eat for approximately fifteen dollars. Then we needed to lightly digest before leaving because we were stuffed. We headed towards the game center and by chance there was a huge bucket of coins just sitting by one of the games. No one was claiming them. Were they a freebie? We put a few coins into the game of our own accord, and when those ran out still nobody had claimed the full bucket. The clerk even gave us the go ahead, so we spent the next hour or so playing a Mario quiz game until sadly the coins ran out. Joy and I had our side set-up pretty well, but once the others took the coins to other stations we were doomed to fail. It was very enjoyable though, almost to the point that I could see how people become addicted to it. I don’t even know if there was a goal to reach after completing the puzzles, but I’m sure it would be a waste of money. Fun while it lasted though.

After the game center, we all went our separate ways to get home. Joy, Rachael, Aurianne and I were once again on our bikes, heading toward Sakae. I passed the dance members at the park on my way home, but I couldn’t stay because I needed to hurry and go to training. Meanwhile, Jason’s birthday continued as a party in my room and also on the roof. When I got back home, I found that my room was still in one piece. That was mostly because many people had moved onto the roof until the landlord came up and told us we were being too loud. At that point, many people went home. One of my friends stayed around because he was a little tipsy, and he loved to talk. He eventually went home around midnight, on his bike, to Kanayama. Knowing how far away that was, I was worried whether he would make it or not, so I stayed up waiting for his message. Once he got home at around 4am then I too was able to sleep.