15 April 2009
It’s Wednesday, the middle of the week. So far I have attended three Japanese language classes, International Law, and Gender and Development. The rest of my schedule is somewhat up in the air until I can talk to my academic advisor, Morigiwa-sensei.
I have been spending A LOT of time drilling on Hiragana! There are 106 characters, and we had to learn them all in two days. According to Sam, this is not even as intense as it could be...but still! I learned the first thirty fairly solidly, but I need to keep working on the last 73. What makes it harder is that we are learning to recognize and say them while at the same time learning to write them. I have been mostly practicing the writing part, since that is what we are quizzed on. When the professor holds up cards and asks us to read them, however, I have a hard time.
For some reason, even though I knew I would have to learn to read, I didn’t picture having to do so much work to do it. Silly? Yes. I have been spending a lot of time just doing lines--copying out the characters over and over again, trying to cram it into my brain.
The weird part is that, okay, I know the characters and I can say the sound that each one is assigned to--so I can read out loud--but I don’t know what the word means yet! I just have to have faith that this is going to work, and I will be able to learn to speak and read at at least a 4 year old level, so I can at least be polite and say certain things.
The upside of all this is that I have been walking a lot, and have lost a couple inches already. I know because the pants that Jen fitted for me before I left are too loose now! I’m going to try washing them in hot water and see if they will shrink a bit. I’m counting on losing some poundage while I’m here, to give me a head start so I can just get the extra off.
Last weekend I went to Kyoto to visit Heather, Steve and Jamie. Heather’s parents, Connie and Ken, were still there so I got to meet them too. We went to Daigoji Temple and caught the last bit of the cherry blossoms.
It was a hot day (it has since cooled off considerably, after a rain yesterday). We crossed town on the subway (Jamie was tired and didn’t like the noises the train made) and got on a special bus that took us to the temple. Most notably, the temple is home to Japan’s oldest five-story pagoda, built in the 900’s. They were having a festival, where people were dressed up in period dress (I think 1600’s) and reenacting a visit from the shogun, complete with his entertainment. The cutest were the little cherry blossom hat-wearing girls, who did a little dance in a circle around an umbrella decorated with cherry blossoms.
I also took the Shinkansen (bullet train) to and from Kyoto. Talk about fast! But you can’t even feel it. It only took about 40 minutes to get from Nagoya to Kyoto. To put it in perspective, it takes about 30 minutes on the train to get from the Nagoya airport to the subway connection to my building.
The problem with the fast train is that it is expensive to ride--about $100 round trip--but I wanted to do it once, for the experience. I doubt that on future visits I will be taking such a luxurious ride...the JR train goes too, and it’s about half as expensive. It just takes three times as long! Shouldn’t it be a third as expensive, then? Hm.
So basically I’m settling in fairly well, missing my peeps, but enjoying the beautiful weather and learning new things. I hope to finalize my classes by Friday and settle into some kind of routine. I can’t believe I’ve only been here a week and a half. It seems like a lot longer!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Personal Responsibility and the Presentation
10 April 2009
I have some kind of illness coming on. An illness where only my right nostril is leaking--can’t quite blow it, but it’s stuffy--and I have itchy eyes. It occurs to me that it could just be pollen--FOREIGN POLLEN. Only I am the foreign body in this environment.
So tonight I took a soak in the tub, trying to get the swelling in my ankles to subside. I don’t know if the swelling is from all the walking or if I’m retaining water or what. Actually I remember my ankles swelling when I have flown before, I wonder if that has something to do with it.
Today we had an academic orientation, and registered with our respective schools. Then we paid the co-op fee. Then I went online and arranged a time to meet with Heather and Stephen. I’m going to Kyoto on Sunday to visit with them and go to a temple, where there will be a procession of people in traditional dress. Judging from the weather this week, it should be a beautiful day. I also emailed Mom and Amanda. I haven’t heard back from Dave. His email provider changed recently, so I wonder if he even got my email. I have to get a calling card tomorrow so I can call my honey!
After being online for a while I had to go to ANOTHER orientation, this one for the dorm. I am going to be so glad when the semester is underway and these endless orientations are over. I’m beginning to notice a pattern with respect to their content.
You check in with someone whose job it is to mark you present. You get a big stack of papers, mostly in English, some in kanji, and you sit down in a chair. Most people get there on time, and the presenters (of which there seems to be an unnecessary number) wait nervously/somewhat impatiently, not wanting to start until all the attendees have been accounted for. Finally someone decides to begin, about five minutes late, and then they turn on the microphones. These are invariably wireless, and through them the presenters welcome you and thank you for coming to their (mandatory) orientation.
The presenters are introduced both in English and Japanese, and the number of words needed to say anything in Japanese seems to be A LOT BIGGER than the number of words needed to say (presumably) the same thing in English. From there the ENTIRE PRESENTATION consists of the presenters either reading to you from the big stack of papers they gave you to keep, or verbally informing you of VERY IMPORTANT PROCEDURAL INFORMATION that somehow did not make the cut when they were deciding the content of the big stack of papers. For instance, take the Co-op membership. There was a whole stack of information about it, and nowhere in the information did it say that we were REQUIRED to join the co-op. They even had a co-op member come and talk about why she encouraged us to join. After she spoke, Claudia took the mic and told us verbally that membership was mandatory so that we could get the personal liability insurance through the Co-op. Okay, fine. Why, then, not WRITE THAT FACT in the big stack of information, and why have someone talk for ten minutes about why we should join? We HAVE TO. Just give me the damn form and I’ll fill it out, and I will put the date as “year/month/day” and my name “surname/given/middle”.
On the other hand, in the U.S., even at school, we are given information in writing and no one calls a meeting with microphones and attendance to read it to us. We are given the information, and the first subject covered in the information is that it is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to read and understand the information. If we do not understand, it is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to ask for help in going over the information or having it explained to us. More and more often, we are asked to sign a statement saying that we have read and understood the information and have been given an opportunity to ask questions. Most people do this BEFORE they read the information, if they ever read it at all. Furthermore, people who actually sit there and read it before signing are treated by the info giver as though they are freaks, losers, or slow. The info giver looks put out if the person won’t sign the form stating s/he has read the information before s/he reads the information. God forbid you have any questions--the info giver usually can’t answer them. They have to check. The underlying message: just sign the form.
The message from the U.S. approach is clear: My job is to get you to sign this form, and then file it away to present as evidence should you try to say you didn’t know the rules when you mess up and violate some rule that’s in this information. Just sign it, and we’ll all be happy. Oh, by the way, even if you don’t read it or understand it, it’s still your responsibility to abide by it. If you don’t, you can’t say it’s my fault because I have this piece of paper that YOU SIGNED that says you do understand. If you read it but don’t understand, I don’ t have time to explain it to you, dumbass. Just sign the form.
The Japanese approach, while tedious, is actually more friendly, not to mention effiective: My job is to make sure you receive this information and, if you have questions about it, to answer them. In fact, I hope you have questions because I spent a lot of time and energy learning how these procedures work and how to help people follow them properly. We know you were at this meeting because we took attendance. We know you got the information in two ways: in writing and by us reading it to you. You got to see everyone responsible for various areas related to this information, because here they are, and we introduced them to you. We know you heard us because we used a microphone. We gave you ample opportunity to ask questions about the information presented. We invited you to ask if any questions arise after the meeting, when you are using the information presented here today. Our contact information and maps to our offices are included in your packet. We’re not going to say it out loud, but if you don’t understand this information and don’t ask questions, and then you don’t abide by the information, it’s your own fault.
All of this raises interesting questions about ethics of personal responsibility and how different cultures approach it. But right now, thanks to all the information, I am fading.
I have some kind of illness coming on. An illness where only my right nostril is leaking--can’t quite blow it, but it’s stuffy--and I have itchy eyes. It occurs to me that it could just be pollen--FOREIGN POLLEN. Only I am the foreign body in this environment.
So tonight I took a soak in the tub, trying to get the swelling in my ankles to subside. I don’t know if the swelling is from all the walking or if I’m retaining water or what. Actually I remember my ankles swelling when I have flown before, I wonder if that has something to do with it.
Today we had an academic orientation, and registered with our respective schools. Then we paid the co-op fee. Then I went online and arranged a time to meet with Heather and Stephen. I’m going to Kyoto on Sunday to visit with them and go to a temple, where there will be a procession of people in traditional dress. Judging from the weather this week, it should be a beautiful day. I also emailed Mom and Amanda. I haven’t heard back from Dave. His email provider changed recently, so I wonder if he even got my email. I have to get a calling card tomorrow so I can call my honey!
After being online for a while I had to go to ANOTHER orientation, this one for the dorm. I am going to be so glad when the semester is underway and these endless orientations are over. I’m beginning to notice a pattern with respect to their content.
You check in with someone whose job it is to mark you present. You get a big stack of papers, mostly in English, some in kanji, and you sit down in a chair. Most people get there on time, and the presenters (of which there seems to be an unnecessary number) wait nervously/somewhat impatiently, not wanting to start until all the attendees have been accounted for. Finally someone decides to begin, about five minutes late, and then they turn on the microphones. These are invariably wireless, and through them the presenters welcome you and thank you for coming to their (mandatory) orientation.
The presenters are introduced both in English and Japanese, and the number of words needed to say anything in Japanese seems to be A LOT BIGGER than the number of words needed to say (presumably) the same thing in English. From there the ENTIRE PRESENTATION consists of the presenters either reading to you from the big stack of papers they gave you to keep, or verbally informing you of VERY IMPORTANT PROCEDURAL INFORMATION that somehow did not make the cut when they were deciding the content of the big stack of papers. For instance, take the Co-op membership. There was a whole stack of information about it, and nowhere in the information did it say that we were REQUIRED to join the co-op. They even had a co-op member come and talk about why she encouraged us to join. After she spoke, Claudia took the mic and told us verbally that membership was mandatory so that we could get the personal liability insurance through the Co-op. Okay, fine. Why, then, not WRITE THAT FACT in the big stack of information, and why have someone talk for ten minutes about why we should join? We HAVE TO. Just give me the damn form and I’ll fill it out, and I will put the date as “year/month/day” and my name “surname/given/middle”.
On the other hand, in the U.S., even at school, we are given information in writing and no one calls a meeting with microphones and attendance to read it to us. We are given the information, and the first subject covered in the information is that it is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to read and understand the information. If we do not understand, it is OUR RESPONSIBILITY to ask for help in going over the information or having it explained to us. More and more often, we are asked to sign a statement saying that we have read and understood the information and have been given an opportunity to ask questions. Most people do this BEFORE they read the information, if they ever read it at all. Furthermore, people who actually sit there and read it before signing are treated by the info giver as though they are freaks, losers, or slow. The info giver looks put out if the person won’t sign the form stating s/he has read the information before s/he reads the information. God forbid you have any questions--the info giver usually can’t answer them. They have to check. The underlying message: just sign the form.
The message from the U.S. approach is clear: My job is to get you to sign this form, and then file it away to present as evidence should you try to say you didn’t know the rules when you mess up and violate some rule that’s in this information. Just sign it, and we’ll all be happy. Oh, by the way, even if you don’t read it or understand it, it’s still your responsibility to abide by it. If you don’t, you can’t say it’s my fault because I have this piece of paper that YOU SIGNED that says you do understand. If you read it but don’t understand, I don’ t have time to explain it to you, dumbass. Just sign the form.
The Japanese approach, while tedious, is actually more friendly, not to mention effiective: My job is to make sure you receive this information and, if you have questions about it, to answer them. In fact, I hope you have questions because I spent a lot of time and energy learning how these procedures work and how to help people follow them properly. We know you were at this meeting because we took attendance. We know you got the information in two ways: in writing and by us reading it to you. You got to see everyone responsible for various areas related to this information, because here they are, and we introduced them to you. We know you heard us because we used a microphone. We gave you ample opportunity to ask questions about the information presented. We invited you to ask if any questions arise after the meeting, when you are using the information presented here today. Our contact information and maps to our offices are included in your packet. We’re not going to say it out loud, but if you don’t understand this information and don’t ask questions, and then you don’t abide by the information, it’s your own fault.
All of this raises interesting questions about ethics of personal responsibility and how different cultures approach it. But right now, thanks to all the information, I am fading.
Orientation
8 April 2009
Yesterday was a siege. We had a two hour orientation from the EICS and NUPACE office staff and administration. Then we went on a campus tour, led by ACE students. The one woman (I am going to have to find a way to remember people’s names) spoke English with an Australian accent. At first I couldn’t place it, but then she started telling me about her time there. She said when she arrived the ground was still smoldering from the wildfires. She just returned two weeks ago.
We all ate lunch in the student canteen/cafeteria. During lunch I tried to explain the term “old school” to some Japanese students looking for new American slang. Anyone who would be so kind as to contact me with their personal favorite slang terms should do so: am afraid I blanked out after “sick” and “sick and wrong” (both of which are hardly current, anyway).
After lunch two incredibly cute Japanese women--one around 50 and the other older--from the YWCA helped the twelve of us who live in Omeikan get our paperwork for alien registration and health insurance in order, and then took us all to the government offices in Gokiso to apply for registration and insurance. There was a lot of waiting around and counting heads. She was great, though--she reminded us that we were going to have to make the journey ourselves in a couple of weeks, and that we should take note of the directions. All I remember is that we have to change trains to the blue line, and get off at Gokiso. And once we are at the subway stop we go to Exit 8, take the elevator up, and the office is literally right there. I think I’ll be able to find it again. The guy from Indonesia is really nervous about going back; yesterday was his first subway ride ever. I think we’ll go together next time.
The subway is REALLY clean and nice. And it’s so fun to look at the crazy advertising there. I took a few (blurry) pictures of our journey.
(later on)
A very interesting aspect of life here is sorting garbage. Some of it is familiar: sorting cans from plastic, paper, boxboard, etc. But plastic from wrappers is also recycled, and everything else is either combustible or non-combustible. Food waste is combustible; plastic bags from Lawson’s are not. So while in the US we have de jure recycling--it is available and strongly encouraged that people do it--de facto, we always have the option of just throwing everything in the trash. Here, there is no “catch all” receptacle, and one is forced to actually figure out where everything goes. Indeed, I did not know that I had to wrap my banana peels in newspaper before putting them in the combustible can. But before the day was out I heard about it--albeit in a very polite manner.
Yesterday was a siege. We had a two hour orientation from the EICS and NUPACE office staff and administration. Then we went on a campus tour, led by ACE students. The one woman (I am going to have to find a way to remember people’s names) spoke English with an Australian accent. At first I couldn’t place it, but then she started telling me about her time there. She said when she arrived the ground was still smoldering from the wildfires. She just returned two weeks ago.
We all ate lunch in the student canteen/cafeteria. During lunch I tried to explain the term “old school” to some Japanese students looking for new American slang. Anyone who would be so kind as to contact me with their personal favorite slang terms should do so: am afraid I blanked out after “sick” and “sick and wrong” (both of which are hardly current, anyway).
After lunch two incredibly cute Japanese women--one around 50 and the other older--from the YWCA helped the twelve of us who live in Omeikan get our paperwork for alien registration and health insurance in order, and then took us all to the government offices in Gokiso to apply for registration and insurance. There was a lot of waiting around and counting heads. She was great, though--she reminded us that we were going to have to make the journey ourselves in a couple of weeks, and that we should take note of the directions. All I remember is that we have to change trains to the blue line, and get off at Gokiso. And once we are at the subway stop we go to Exit 8, take the elevator up, and the office is literally right there. I think I’ll be able to find it again. The guy from Indonesia is really nervous about going back; yesterday was his first subway ride ever. I think we’ll go together next time.
The subway is REALLY clean and nice. And it’s so fun to look at the crazy advertising there. I took a few (blurry) pictures of our journey.
(later on)
A very interesting aspect of life here is sorting garbage. Some of it is familiar: sorting cans from plastic, paper, boxboard, etc. But plastic from wrappers is also recycled, and everything else is either combustible or non-combustible. Food waste is combustible; plastic bags from Lawson’s are not. So while in the US we have de jure recycling--it is available and strongly encouraged that people do it--de facto, we always have the option of just throwing everything in the trash. Here, there is no “catch all” receptacle, and one is forced to actually figure out where everything goes. Indeed, I did not know that I had to wrap my banana peels in newspaper before putting them in the combustible can. But before the day was out I heard about it--albeit in a very polite manner.
First thoughts
7 April 2009
Well, I have been in Japan for just over 36 hours. What a pain in the ass the trip was! My flight out of JFK to Tokyo was delayed, which in turn made me miss my connecting flight to Nagoya. The service at the airport was incredible, though. There was an announcement on the plane telling me to see an agent when I disembarked. She was waiting for me just inside the airport, and she gave me a new itenerary. I went through immigration and customs just fine, and then at Nirita airport in Tokyo figured out how to buy a phone card and make a call to Nagoya U. and tell them I was going to be late. Later a very nice young woman from San Diego, in town visiting family, helped me figure out how to make an international call so I could let Dave know I was OK--I hope he spread the word, because I don’t have phone or internet yet.
So--that’s when the fun started. I didn’t know I was supposed to pick up my luggage at Nirita and then go thru customs again with it. The agent ran around a bit and talked to some people on the phone, and got my luggage onto the flight with me. I figured I wouldn’t be seeing it that night. The flight from Tokyo to Nagoya was a JAL flight, not an American Airlines flight. The flight boarded on time, but then taxied around on the runway for 45 minutes! I fell asleep, and every time I woke up, I thought we were in the air. I would look out the window and see that we were not, and it got later and later. We finally took off at around 6:45, and we landed in Nagoya an hour later. I was one of the last people off the plane, then had to get through customs again, and claim my baggage. Finally I got out into the airport, a little before 9 p.m.....and no Nagoya student.
I walked around a little bit with my luggage, and then decided to ask an information person. (insert stuff about how cute their uniforms are, and all the other ways they helped) She paged the airport, and then I heard another announcement telling me to go to an information station. The student had left a message with the phone number of Ikido-sensei, who said for me to stay there, the student had given up. The student got off the train, got on the airport bound one again, got me, and we dragged my luggage onto the train and the subway, and then the short walk from the subway to the school. She and her friend Amy insisted on carrying the huge bag (50 lbs.) the last block and into the building--it took two of them to do it. It was so funny--two little Asian women struggling with the bag! I felt bad, but I had been carrying it a long way and was pretty tired. They insisted.
This morning I unpacked and went to the campus to check in with the International Students Center. They were very relieved to see me. Although it wasn’t my fault, I felt bad about worrying them. On my way back to the dorm I stopped at a Lawson’s and got some sushi and a really yummy little cup of pudding, my first meal in Japan. Then I slept the rest of the day--really weird, kind of fitful sleep, though.
This evening the international students and Japanese students from ACE met downstairs and all trooped down to a cafe for dinner. There were about 40 of us. It was nice--there are more Americans than I thought there would be, and a couple of Aussies. Also represented are Uzbakistan, Indonesia, Germany, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea and Canada. Now I’m writing this. The room is indeed 12m2--not 12x12, as advertised. That must have been a typo, because this room is BITTY. it’s a long rectangle, probably 6x2 meters, with a very tiny bathroom (about the size of yours, Amanda). But it is very clean and cozy, with a nice little balcony. (see pictures). I want the closet set in my own room! There is so much storage, in such a little area. (Dave, when you are here you should take measurements and try to copy this. it’s really something!)
I am wishing I could call my family and friends tonight--soon I will have internet access and will be able to do that from the dorm room at night.
Well, I have been in Japan for just over 36 hours. What a pain in the ass the trip was! My flight out of JFK to Tokyo was delayed, which in turn made me miss my connecting flight to Nagoya. The service at the airport was incredible, though. There was an announcement on the plane telling me to see an agent when I disembarked. She was waiting for me just inside the airport, and she gave me a new itenerary. I went through immigration and customs just fine, and then at Nirita airport in Tokyo figured out how to buy a phone card and make a call to Nagoya U. and tell them I was going to be late. Later a very nice young woman from San Diego, in town visiting family, helped me figure out how to make an international call so I could let Dave know I was OK--I hope he spread the word, because I don’t have phone or internet yet.
So--that’s when the fun started. I didn’t know I was supposed to pick up my luggage at Nirita and then go thru customs again with it. The agent ran around a bit and talked to some people on the phone, and got my luggage onto the flight with me. I figured I wouldn’t be seeing it that night. The flight from Tokyo to Nagoya was a JAL flight, not an American Airlines flight. The flight boarded on time, but then taxied around on the runway for 45 minutes! I fell asleep, and every time I woke up, I thought we were in the air. I would look out the window and see that we were not, and it got later and later. We finally took off at around 6:45, and we landed in Nagoya an hour later. I was one of the last people off the plane, then had to get through customs again, and claim my baggage. Finally I got out into the airport, a little before 9 p.m.....and no Nagoya student.
I walked around a little bit with my luggage, and then decided to ask an information person. (insert stuff about how cute their uniforms are, and all the other ways they helped) She paged the airport, and then I heard another announcement telling me to go to an information station. The student had left a message with the phone number of Ikido-sensei, who said for me to stay there, the student had given up. The student got off the train, got on the airport bound one again, got me, and we dragged my luggage onto the train and the subway, and then the short walk from the subway to the school. She and her friend Amy insisted on carrying the huge bag (50 lbs.) the last block and into the building--it took two of them to do it. It was so funny--two little Asian women struggling with the bag! I felt bad, but I had been carrying it a long way and was pretty tired. They insisted.
This morning I unpacked and went to the campus to check in with the International Students Center. They were very relieved to see me. Although it wasn’t my fault, I felt bad about worrying them. On my way back to the dorm I stopped at a Lawson’s and got some sushi and a really yummy little cup of pudding, my first meal in Japan. Then I slept the rest of the day--really weird, kind of fitful sleep, though.
This evening the international students and Japanese students from ACE met downstairs and all trooped down to a cafe for dinner. There were about 40 of us. It was nice--there are more Americans than I thought there would be, and a couple of Aussies. Also represented are Uzbakistan, Indonesia, Germany, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea and Canada. Now I’m writing this. The room is indeed 12m2--not 12x12, as advertised. That must have been a typo, because this room is BITTY. it’s a long rectangle, probably 6x2 meters, with a very tiny bathroom (about the size of yours, Amanda). But it is very clean and cozy, with a nice little balcony. (see pictures). I want the closet set in my own room! There is so much storage, in such a little area. (Dave, when you are here you should take measurements and try to copy this. it’s really something!)
I am wishing I could call my family and friends tonight--soon I will have internet access and will be able to do that from the dorm room at night.
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