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.

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 27

MARCH 2

No dance due to “rain”, or rather a lack thereof. Then again, everyone was tired from practicing so much recently that I think we all just needed a break. We’re going to try again tomorrow.

In other news, Joy and the others are back from Korea! I think… I haven’t heard or seen them yet. They weren’t in their rooms, and they haven’t replied to my messages yet, so maybe they’re out somewhere, or in a coma from the trip. Mark was still around, and it had been a long time since we have had the chance to hang out. He didn’t go to Korea, so he came to dance practice a couple times, but mostly he was traveling and hanging out with the other exchange students.

We tried to go eat at the Ramen place near our apartment, but it was closed! It was a huge disappointment. We didn’t want to walk to the station to find a place to eat either, so we just grabbed some food from the convenience store and watched TV in Mark’s room as we caught up with our recent adventures. Even when our conversation ended I stayed to watch TV— the TV in my room has been unplugged for months, one to save energy, and to because I have had no time to watch it. I even missed the overly dramatic commercials. The show that I was watching was called “Homecoming”, and I learned an interesting fact that one in every twenty-eight Japanese people are married to a foreigner. That seems like a lot, but when you consider big cities like Nagoya, or even the heavy Brazilian population around Toyohashi, I guess it makes sense.

MARCH 3

Dance practice today was strangely lonely. For a while it was only me because I showed up a little early. Then Ken and the others were coming late, so it was a solo practice for most of the time. In the end, only three people including myself showed up, and we all seemed kind of drained. After only a couple hours I decided to head home and rest up. Tomorrow I can still practice at AIDAI. The looming battle is also starting to weigh on my mind— I don’t feel like I have accomplished any new moves, my body still feels heavy, and I can’t dance as fluidly as I want to. I don’t want to let Yusei down… I’m all out of ideas at the moment though.

MARCH 4

I almost injured my arm today at practice. Though, I say ‘almost’ injured, but it was more of a scare than anything. I was practicing a freeze on my right arm, without going into a full cartwheel. In order to perform the move, you have to put your body weight over your left side. I have no problem going into the move, but reaching the freeze point is a bit more difficult. After a few warm-ups I was able to reach the full extension of the move, however, I couldn’t hold it so I quickly set my legs back down. It was close, so I thought I’d give it another try and push a little more.

I threw my legs up, over my head and to my left side. Freeze. I held it, but suddenly my arm locked and I just collapsed. It didn’t hurt from the fall, and I didn’t break any bones. If anything it was a muscle spasm in my arm. I couldn’t really lift it right away. It was as if all the strength had left it. Mentally I was panicking a little: if it did turn into an injury, I didn’t want to explain it happened while dancing. I also didn’t want to bother with going to a doctor. We have a very good health insurance plan, which costs us less than 2000 yen a month, and if I did go to the doctor the insurance would cover 80% of the costs. So, no, money wasn’t a problem.

As I walked around the practice area, I checked to see if anyone had noticed my fall. They seemed preoccupied in their own practice, which was both a relief and small disappointment. A few minutes passed and I was able to quite literally shake it off. The feeling was back in my arm, and I could return to normal practice. I just won’t be practicing that move for a while.

Practice ended early for me anyway. Totoro is heading home to Thailand on Thursday, so tonight we’re going to Yamachan for some of its famous tebasaki, chicken wings, for the last time. Junko also came; we haven’t seen her since December, but as it turns out she just started her training session at work this week. Soon, she and the upperclassmen will officially graduate from the university. The German students, Totoro and the Chinese and Taiwanese students who started their program last March will soon be returning to their countries as well. I can’t say I’m looking forward to this change.

MARCH 5

We spent another day out with Totoro and the gang. Of course, we had to eat Naan Curry for lunch. It’s all smiles and joking around the table, as if nothing has or will change. Tomorrow morning I’m going to wake up early to take Totoro to the station before she heads to the airport.

(Our last lunch together: curry and naan bread.)

MARCH 6

I woke up at 6am to help Totoro take all her bags from our apartment to Nagoya station. Yesterday, she had the final check for her room, so she stayed with us in Chambre 72 for the night. I woke up only with the intentions to go to the station, but as we were crossing the subway station with her luggage I just decided to join Joy and go all the way to the airport with her as well. Three other students from AIDAI who are also studying Thai came to see her off as well. Up until it was time for her to go through the security check we hung out in the airport lobby, joking around and taking pictures. She kept on smiling that wide grin, similar to the character she’s nicknamed after. We didn’t see tears from her until she was passing through security and saying her final goodbyes. It was hard to watch her go; slowly, the realization was setting in that we wouldn’t see her around anymore.

The five of us that saw her off grabbed a quick snack and drink from the Starbuck’s in the airport. We talked casually about our studies, and our study abroad programs. It was nice to have the distraction, but at the same time, I wasn’t in a mood to make new friends.

Regardless, we hung out for some time, and then we all started to head back to Nagoya on the same train. Joy and I actually got off a few stops later at Tokoname; since we had traveled all that way, we decided to take the opportunity to try and visit the Costco. Once we got off at the tiny station, we followed the map on Joy’s phone for a few blocks, before arriving at the said location and finding nothing… The map was no help, but we knew beyond a doubt that Costco was there, somewhere. It was a gigantic warehouse store, how could we miss it?

We back-tracked and headed down the main road towards the highway. I remember seeing that Costco was very close to the highway back when Akane’s mother picked me up from the airport. We drove right past it, so I was confident that if we headed toward the highway overpass, we would find Costco. My internal GPS didn’t let us down. Soon we came upon the large parking lot packed with cars outside of the Costco building. All we wanted was a slice of pizza. Now, it’s common knowledge that places like Costco and Sam’s only allow members to enter. However, according to Joy, the Costco in Hawaii has their food court outside, so anyone can by their snacks. We hoped it was the same at this Costco, but it wasn’t so. After trying twice to enter, just to get to the food court, we had no choice but to relinquish our quest and return to Nagoya.

It was hardly past noon when we reached Nagoya station, but by then any motivation was evaporated. Initially, I planned to head down to Toyohashi for the buropa, BPM’s party/event, but it wasn’t going to happen. We ate McDonald’s “crack fries” fur lunch (they’re really called ‘classic fries’, but the first time I read the sign in Japanese I misread it as ‘crack’— the name stuck). Then we spent the rest of the day lazing around Rachael’s room, munching on all kinds of snacks left over from past parties. Then, we ordered pizza from Dominos. That was my first time ordering pizza in Japan, which we did on the Internet. It was really good pizza, but the size was smaller than expected and it was a bit more expensive than in the States.

None of that really mattered. I didn’t care what I ate, or about doing anything. Maybe that was my subconscious way of dealing with Totoro’s absence. It’ only going to happen again, and again, so I need to spend as much time as I can with my friends before we are all pulled back to the reality that exists after this study abroad is over.

MARCH 7

I still don’t have much motivation to do anything, but the show must go on. I actually didn’t make many plans today except for one; dinner at SUSHI-RO. I set up the “event” so that everyone would have a chance to hang out together, catch up and kick back. That was the plan. Are you shaking your head yet? Do you know what’s coming? Yeah, things didn’t go as planned.

What could have been a big gathering withered down to a whopping four people Mark, myself, and two Japanese students, both of whom wanted to practice speaking English. Actually, one of the students has been… very interesting, to put it politely. When he sees either Mark or I on campus he has a tendency to interrupt whatever we are doing, even during conversations, just to say ‘Hi’. He also tends to start conversations, but not finish them and walk away. We receive messages from him in the same manner. I can’t really understand what he’s up to. It was actually more natural speaking to him in Japanese for some reason, so the evening wasn’t completely awkward.

(At 105 yen per plate, it’s easy to go overboard. One of us ate 20 plates!)

MARCH 8

Practice! Gotta practice!! It’s my last chance to accomplish something before the battle tomorrow!

Mark actually joined me at the park for practice. Even though he hasn’t been practicing lately, he, like the other dancers, was quickly able to slip into moves and do hand stands and what not. My only consolation is that he, like the others, has been dancing for years. It’s natural to them. I try to remember that, but I’m still jealous.

My arm/shoulder/upper back is feeling a bit strained. I suspect the muscle is really tight from all the hand stands and shoulder freezes I have been practicing lately. It doesn’t just while I’m actually doing the moves, only when I’m resting… or trying to sleep. I hope it’s gone before the battle tomorrow.

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 17

DECEMBER 22

While still in Toyohashi, I had a small interview, or briefing session, for a possible job opportunity. It’s a small cram school located near Toyohashi station, but here is the current situation:

1) The new location that they are moving to in March is a bit farther from the station.

2) The new building is actually a one-story house, in which I would be able to live. Classes would be from the evening, so during the day I would have the place to myself.

3) From February I can start working there a couple days a week to build experience until my study abroad is over, and then I can start to work full time.

4) Gathering students and promoting will be necessary.

At this point there are a lot of unknowns, and I have a few concerns, but I think I’ll try the place out for a bit and see how it goes.

DECEMBER 23

Rio and Yuki invited us to join them at the A Cafe for a Christmas gift exchange. It was kind of last minute, but we met them there for lunch. It was the same cafe we always had the English Cafe at; however, we had never tried to the food before. We ordered a large plate of fries for the table, and two dessert pizzas (apple cinnamon). The gift exchange itself was kind of interesting. I brought Nutella, which is more expensive here in Japan. My gift in return (all was drawn from a lottery) was a pen. It’s a good pen though, with red, black and blue ink. It’s also erasable, my favorite part.

DECEMBER 24

Survey class presentations: comparing Christmas and New Year’s celebrations between Japan and our home countries. Everyone was able to do their presentation in a group, except for Totoro and me. The Hawaiian students presented on New Year’s, and also some special traditions they have in Hawaii during that time. I mostly focused on Christmas, since we’ve always had a Christmas gathering at my grandma’s house ever since I was little.

In the same spirit, since today was our last day of school before winter break, I sort of arranged a Christmas potluck during lunch. As usual, more people showed up than I thought would, and one even dressed up as a reindeer. We feasted ourselves on all kinds of snacks and chatted through the whole lunch break. We didn’t even finish all the food in time for the next class, so we had to hurry and throw all the extra food in baggies. I’ve been sharing the leftover goodies with random people all day, so thankfully there’s none left for me to carry home.

DECEMBER 25

Merry Christmas! Let’s go on a road trip!

Mark, Long and I made plans to join Long’s friends on a trip out to Nagashima’s outlet mall. I was looking forward to it because I hoped I could find a lot of discounted clothes and shoes. Not so much. All the stores were top-brand names, so their idea of discounts seemed anything but. I did, however, buy an Adidas hat on sale, and also some gloves and a shirt from the Gap. I guess there were time sales also, but we missed most of them.

(Nagashima’s artistically designed outlet mall.)

It was about 6pm when we left the mall and I assumed we would then return to Nagoya. Again, not so; turns out that our driver and one of the girls were dating and he wanted to take her to see the famous illuminations in Mie Prefecture, Nabana no Sato. I had a hard time enjoying it the second time around, but I did my best for the couple. It was also 2000yen I didn’t plan on spending, so when we put in our money for the rental car and gas, I had to borrow my portion from Long.

At least I got to eat the beef rolls again~

DECEMBER 26

Tonight is the Christmas Party/Winter Break Party that I set up at an izakaya called Nezumi. In preparation for the party, and the 19 people that said they were coming, I stopped at the hyaku-en shop and bought 19 different odd items. Then, I wrapped them and stuck a number on them, which the party attendee would select at random.

We started to gather for the party just after 6pm. Once all the members had arrived I tried to say a short ‘thank you’ speech, but that was overridden, so I just passed out the numbers and let people receive their gifts. It was interesting to see some guys receive pink and purple patterned tissues, while other people received portable ash trays and they didn’t even smoke, or a light for their bicycle, when they don’t have one. As for the menu, at first, it was just an all-you-can-drink deal, but in order to get that deal there must be at least one food order per person. We could have all ordered a 300 yen stick of meat, but in the holiday spirit we ate all kinds of food. In the end, we even managed to keep the bill at less than 3000 yen per person!

When we left Nezumi it was nearly midnight, but I’m not sure if we had to leave because our group was so loud, or if we just decided it was time to go. In any case, we had to take the party to karaoke!

All in all, it was a successful end of the year party. Hopefully, that’s the last one that I have to initiate.

DECEMBER 27

No plans today except to take it easy until Jordan’s party. I headed down to Toyohashi around 4:30, but it felt as though it was already getting pretty dark. This was a special Christmas party because we were having tacos!! Jordan invited one of his coworkers, and her friend, and also another ALT. It was a small, but fun party. And, of course, it’s been so long since I’ve had tacos~~!! I can’t thank him enough for that. Had I known it would have been so much fun, I would have stayed all night to play games. However, tomorrow I plan on playing futsal, so it’s back to Nagoya for me.

DECEMBER 28

I’m still feeling a bit under the weather. It’s not a full blown cold, just fatigue and sinus drainage. I ended up deciding against going to play futsal, which I regret a little because that was the same time that it started to snow: the first snow in Nagoya. Then again, I don’t want it to get colder…

As a side note, I learned that I can roast a sweet potato on my little stove if I wrap it in foil!

STUDY ABROAD: WEEK 15

DECEMBER 8

Did nothing today but sleep, homework, and then sleep again.

DECEMBER 9

I mentioned before that the shoes I brought from the States, the black ones that I usually use for dance, have worn out: holes in the soles, and no more cushion. Even so, I still want to wear them a bit longer. That’s why I went to the hyaku-en shop today and bought some cheap shoe inserts. It’s just a simple cushion to line the bottom of my shoes, but it makes up for the lack of any cushion at the balls of me feet. Simple as it may be, it makes a difference. At least I can use these shoes until I find a new pair.

Sadly, today was the last International Cafe of the semester. Though exams are not until mid-January, soon we will have winter break, and once we return from back it will be time to prepare for the examinations. In other words, people will be too busy studying to come and hang out in the cafe. With that in mind, when the Cafe time ended we took the party back to the apartment for a nabe and tenpura party, courtesy of Rachael. I helped her buy groceries on the way home, but not from MaxValu. Instead, she showed me a little shop a block east of MaxValu which sells produce for significantly cheaper than any supermarket. This is because some of these items are bruised, or their sell-by date is approaching soon. That said, I think I might try to shop there for my fruits and veggies from now on.

DECEMBER 10

Yesterday, when I was at the super cheap grocer I saw a bag of mikan (mandarin oranges) for only 550yen. This was a HUGE bag, with at least two dozen mikan. Normally, a bag barely have that size would be about 400 yen or so. However, when I went back there today after class, the bags were all gone! Instead I bought a bunch of bananas, not just five or six, but literally a bunch of bananas for 250 yen. With bananas, sometimes you can get the value bag with three to five bananas for 90-150 yen, and if they ever sell single bananas, they are usually about 60 yen. I have probably a dozen medium-small bananas now, and most of them are perfectly ripe. There was also a pack of apples, two for 100 yen. Apples seem to be generally expensive. A single value apple will still sell at 150 yen, so of course I bought two of these 100 yen double packs.

(Huge bunches of bananas for only 300 yen, the night before I bought them for 250yen!)

Later, during dance practice I felt a bit sluggish. I wasn’t very motivated to go today, but I’m not sure if that’s partially because of the weather or if it’s just a mood. I went anyway and practiced for a bit before it felt like I pulled a muscle in my leg. Not sure why it happened all of a sudden, but maybe I didn’t warm up enough. I was also practicing handstands a bit, so I was stretching the one leg a lot more than usual. Who knows, it doesn’t feel that bad. I’ll just stretch more next time.

DECEMBER 11

Mikan flavored melon pan (a sweet bun that looks like a cantaloupe) is delicious!!! Usually on Wednesdays, Joy and I stop in the Mini Stop to grab a melon pan between first and second period. Today, on my way to school I stopped by Maxvalu and they had mikan flavored melon pan. The top layer is crusted with orange flavorings. It made up for the bag of mikan that I was unable to buy yesterday.

After second period, we all headed to the drama classroom to eat lunch. By chance I ran into Yuya, one of the poppers from BPM. He asked if I was going to Toyohashi tomorrow, and I said ‘Yes’ without really knowing what was going on in Toyohashi. I messaged another one of the members, Gakki, to find out what was going on. It seems as though they are going to have a little party in honor of the seniors who will be graduating in March. In place of usual club activities, the party will go on tomorrow, Thursday night, until morning. I’m looking forward to being able to hang out with BPM again outside of practice. Though I am friendly with a lot of the members, I’ve never hung out with them in such a large group before. I think it’s worth losing sleep over again, haha.

DECEMBER 12

It was an easy-going, event-less morning. No one was practicing in Nagoya that afternoon, so I simply waited until 4pm to meet Gakki. Together, we boarded the Meitetsu train for Toyohashi. She’s told me before that she is going to study abroad in California for the month of March, so I had her practice speaking English with me. Somehow we got on the topic of jokes and humor. I’m not a skilled joke-teller, nor do I know that many jokes off-hand, which made trying to explain American jokes to her interesting. I taught her the ‘Interrupting Squid’ knock-knock joke, which was the extent that my brain could explain. I wish I could have seen us from the other passengers’ point of view, randomly speaking in English and Japanese, and then throwing our hands in each other’s faces.

Once we arrived in Toyohashi, we jumped onto the Atsumi Line (the local train line). It was a few stops out to the nostalgic Aichi Daigaku Mae (in front of Aichi University). My memories of the campus came flooding back to me, nothing had changed, save we were looking at the campus at night.

The party was held in the building across from the student union; the same building that I had looked at with awe as dancers practiced in the studios across from the dining hall. It’s amazing how all these little things are tying together. I never could have imagined standing in those same studios, celebrating our senior members. Half the studio was lined with blue mats to keep the floor clean from eminent spills. There were a variety of snacks, sodas and tea, and some 3% alcoholic drinks, or ‘juice’ in my opinion. The seniors all gave quick little speeches, one by one. One of the seniors gave a long speech that sometimes seemed to be going on tangents. However, as he spoke, our current club leader was crying. That had a big effect on the other members, too. As I listened more carefully, the words and the stories became more meaningful. They had gone through so much together, and whether it was hard or not, they did it together. It doesn’t matter if they are the best, as long as they keep trying.

I am going to keep trying. I wish that now, more than ever, I had come to AIDAI sooner and joined BPM. These people, the upperclassmen, are the same age as me, but I respect them and look up to them as if I really was a new freshman member. From now until March I hope I can get to know them better, and that starts tonight.

The speeches were done, and the party started again. Drinking games continued on into the night. Those of us who didn’t drink found places to dance in the hallways, and in the open half of the studio. Yuta played DJ most of the night, playing off various tracks for the bboys and the poppers. At one point, Koudai and I took over for some karaoke, which gave rise to a whole different party vibe in the studio as others started to request songs to sing. As they sung on, a small group of us went down to the convenient store near the campus for ice cream and snacks. The night pressed on in good spirits, but around 3am many people began to nod off. Those that stayed awake, myself included, played a mystery game called Jinro. Each player assumes a character and each round they try to figure out who is Jinro, or the werewolf. If they can’t guess correctly, the player rolls change and some are killed off. The person who is Jinro doesn’t want to be discovered, so they hide their identity and try to convince other players that they are something else. It was my first time playing the game, and I’m fairly sure that I still don’t know how to play it well.

DECEMBER 13

Last night turned into another all-nighter straight into a Friday morning class. A few of the other students and I caught the first train from the station around 6:30am. A few of the freshmen girls and I ended up on the same train back to Nagoya together. They had brought a change of clothes, so they looked fresh for the day. I, on the other hand, didn’t know what to expect so I was going home in the same clothes. They were still clean, but they smelled a bit like smoke. We arrived in Nagoya around 8am, which meant there was no time to go home and change. Thankfully, I didn’t have to prepare anything for class today, so I went as I was. As per usual, once class was over, it was back home for a nap.

A few weeks ago I made plans with my host sister to go to a sendo, bath house. A sendo, is similar to an onsen (hot spring), but it is of course all man-made and in the city limits. It was going to be my first trip to a public bath house. I’m glad she invited me almost a month in advance, because in a way that gave me time to mentally prepare myself. As someone who grew up in a culture based on modesty, the idea of being naked around other people was nearly incomprehensible.

But, it was just a culture thing, right? It’s a tradition that goes back many centuries. It’s normal. Though that idea itself is interesting because many Japanese people are very aware of their personal space, yet when it comes to hot springs or crowded trains, they meld with the situation.

The sendo we visited was just a few subway stops from Nagoya Station at a place called Higashi Betsuin. From the outside, the location looked like a pachinko parlor, but maybe that was because it was right next to one. The first floor was actually a little cafe restaurant. The second floor was the entrance to the sendo itself. After passing the reception desk, we walked into a large lobby with various entertainment and relaxing stations. One could read manga, or watch TV, or sit in massage chairs; all the luxuries for only 700 yen. From the lobby, there was a grand staircase that led up to the changing rooms, where the women and men would be separated.

Don’t let your face show you’re uncomfortable, or they will notice. That was my mantra for the day. I just went through the motions in my own little bubble of a world. We undressed and put our things in a locker, save for a small towel to cover our privates. Once I realized everyone was just minding their own business, enjoying their own little bubble, and then I started to relax. We tried each bath, from the hot tub, to the sauna, then up to the top floor for an open bath, much like a natural onsen.

After the initial bath experience we changed back into our clothes and went down to the first floor to eat dinner. I became very sleepy. My host sister went back into the baths again, but I was more content to sit in the big pillow chairs and watch TV. I think going from bath, to dinner, to a comfy seat was the most relaxing experience I’ve had in a long time. I could have fallen asleep right there.

The night wasn’t done however. When I finally gathered up the energy and motivation to grab my things from the locker room, my host sister was also done with her rounds of bathing. We went back to Nagoya station and caught the tail end of Open Mic Nite at the Heart n’ Soul Cafe. It was literally the last 10 minutes, but we had the chance to see two wonderful performances and sample the green tea smoothies. My timing is never that great, but hopefully we can go to the next Open Mic Night.

DECEMBER 14

BIG BANG CONCERT!!

Today was my first concert ever! To be honest, I didn’t actually plan on going to a concert, but actually, the sister of a friend of mine invited me a couple months ago. The tickets were a lottery, so I didn’t actually know that we were going until a couple weeks ago. Joy, Rachael, and Chi (one of the German exchange students) are also going, but we will all be in different sections.

The doors to the concert venue would not open until 4pm, but when we arrived at 10am there was already a significant crowd. For those of you who don’t know, BIG BANG is a Korean Pop band. My friend Lynnette would have died to come to this concert and see them live. Since she could not be there, I made a point to get her some merchandise. My friend’s sister, Ai, and her mom who also came, also wanted to buy some of the concert goods so we arrived at the venue at 10am. We thought it was early enough, but it took us two hours in line to reach the merchandise. I bought a sports towel, tote bag and earrings for Lynnette. It was a little expensive in my opinion, but it was the least I could do. The ticket for the concert itself was also 9500 yen.

To my surprise, and relief, I was treated to lunch. The venue, the Nagoya Dome, was right across from an Aeon mall, so we went to a buffet there, and then killed time until the venue opened. We ran into Joy, Rachael, and Chi for a bit, but once we entered the concert hall I was back with my friend’s family. Our seats were a bit far back, but they were just off center, so we had a great view of the concert overall. One of the things that you can only appreciate by going to a live concert in Japan is the crowd’s synchronization. Almost everyone had a light-up wand, made specifically for that’s concert’s performers. As the concert goes on they all bop and wave their wands with the music.

I have mentioned before that I have bad timing, due to their being different rhythms in one area. In this case, while everyone is bopping their wands at a steady 1-2-3-4 pace I had a tendency to follow the flow of the music more, which often varied from the standard. It was fun though and we stood up for the whole concert, which only made me want to dance (not enough room). That was my only unmet hope at the concert, I would have liked to see more dancing in the performances, but I understand that’s harder to do when the music is live. I’m not sure if I would pay for the same giant concert experience, but I can say that I have more respect for BIG BANG’s members now. I know how hard it can be to pull together a performance like that—well, theoretically I know. Just for the whole experience itself, I’m glad I had the chance to go.