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.

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.