Wow, where do I even start. It has been a full month since I left cozy ol' Northfield, yet it feels like eons. There is no possible way I could even begin to recount all of the wondrous things I have seen and done in Japan already, but will do my best to help you understand how amazing this country is.
FLIGHT AND FIRST WEEK
I arrived at the airport that morning more excited then ever. The night before I had to really focus on not letting my nerves over come me, I couldn't believe I was leaving the next morning. However, when I awoke, that fearful aura had left and I was ready to face my adventure head on. I was strangely calm saying goodbye to those I loved at the airport, and a quick stop at Starbucks kept me awake at 5:00 in the morning with two hours of sleep. I was hungry, I had not eaten since dinner the previous night. As I waited in line at a Burger King (breakfast of champions) a man came up to me and asked me where I was going, he knew the rotary emblem that my blazer sported. I told him about Japan and we had a quick conversation, he was an official at some other Rotary club in the Mid-West! Then, as it was my turn in line to order, he handed me 10$ and said "Breakfast is on me, good luck". What a way to start the exchange year!
The flight was as you would expect any 15 hour flight to be, quiet and uneventful. I watched 5 full length movies, slept for a few hours, and still had time to kill by practicing Japanese and eating the meals they brought. Because it was a Japan Airlines Flight, the meals were very traditional, Miso soup, yaki soba, chicken in sauce on rice, and it was all quite delicious. We arrived In Japan at 3 in the afternoon, with no mishaps or disturbances like a lost bag. As I exited the airport, the airport, I had no trouble spotting my host family, a bright and colorful sign that read "Welcome Connor!" was easily spotted in the crowd. It was all a bit surreal, it seemed like a second ago I was in Minnesota with signs I could read. However, the warm welcome my host family gave me was un-like any other, and I knew instantly that this next year would be amazing. Perhaps one of the largest things that calmed my nerves was my host brother Yusuke. Speaking nearly fluent English, Yusuke answered all of my questions with a smile, and taught me plenty of new vocabulary on the 5 hour drive back to Shibukawa, my new home town. I experienced TRUE Japanese cuisine that night, when we stopped at a sort of shopping/restaurant center. There I had a filling meal of Tako- Yaki (grilled octopus in a sort of dough ball smothered in delicious sauce) and a sort of tempura shrimp on rice, which also was delicious.
To be honest the rest of the night was quite a blur, I was so tired from the flight that I only thing I really remember is how happy I was to have a bed, a normal bed just like the one I left back home. The next day I awoke in that same, delightfully comfy bed, at 5 o'clock to go with my host family to drive Yusuke to the airport, for now it was his turn to embark on his Rotary adventure, in Hopkins Minnesota. We said our goodbyes and then started the long trip back to Shibukawa, where I once again fought valiantly against the jet lag, but was in bed by 6pm. As my sleeping pattern began to settle in, so did I.
Tako-Yaki (Octopus balls)
First Sunrise in Japan
JAPAN: FIRST MONTH
Japanese is difficult. Very difficult. It seems that whenever I want to speak the language, I am caught somewhere in between wanting to say the words in Spanish, playing charades, and mispronouncing the most basic of vocabulary. For those who do not know, Japanese consists of 3 alphabets, Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. The first two contain 47 characters each, while kanji has many thousands, each word depicted by a unique and different symbol. Because Japanese is so difficult, I find much of my spare time trying to figure out how to say the most simple of phrases. However, when I say spare time, I mean when I am not eating in amazing restaurants, exploring the city, at the mall with my school friends, or practicing with the kendo or tennis teams. The only time I really have to study my Japanese is during school, where the only class I can understand is English. Despite not being able to understand most of what is going on in school, school is something I look forward too each day. It is at school that I get to see all of my new friends, eat amazing school lunches, and even co-teach classes in English. School is perhaps the biggest difference from America, and it definitely takes some getting used to. Instead of the students switching classes when the bells ring, the teachers will rotate classes. All classes have a very lecture-y feel, with little to no work to be completed in class, and are replaced with chalkboards covered in notes. Actual class can get pretty boring at some points, but the teachers are really nice about letting me study, or read in class, understanding that I can not follow along with the lesson. But, like I said, I enjoy school. I know that each country presents its own unique scenarios with being an exchange student, and I must say, Japan is probably one of the more enjoyable ones. I say this because everyone knows you an exchange student, people on the street, waiters, and practically every person you see. I think I can count on one hand the number of Caucasians I have seen in Japan in the month that I have been here, and that fact really makes being an exchange student fun. I always expected being the new kid in school would draw some attention from others, but it is hard to explain how much attention it draws when you are the new American kid in a Japanese school. Because of this fact, I think that Japan really presents a unique exchange experience, an experience that will contain the "Oh wow, he is a foreigner! Cool!" experience the entire year. For example, my trip to Disney Land with my host family.
I have one of the greatest host families there is. They take me out as much as possible, feed me great food, know that sometimes exchange can be tough, and overall are just very very nice. I am so thankful to have such an amazing host family and know I will dearly miss them when I switch. One example of being such an amazing host family was our trip to Tokyo Disney Land! I have been to Disney Land in America before, but I was so young that I only remember the extreme discomfort of air pressure in the ears as the plane landed in Florida. Lets face it, I was awe struck pulling in to the vast parking lot, the Disney castle and rides towering over us. It was once we got out of the car though when I realized what I was in for. I had grown accustomed to people in school staring at me, being the new kid and all, but I never truly realized that I was the "new kid" to the entire country. It was never disrespectful, but people would always be looking at you! From the moment I left the car I swear there were always a few sets of eyes on me. This was perhaps the largest source of culture shock, if you see a minority in America, you do not give it a second thought, here, however, it is treated like something you would tell your friends at the end of the day. It was rather fun, actually, feeling almost like a movie star walking through the immense crowds of Disney Land. In the 11 hours we spent at the park (where no line was shorter than an hour and a half) I saw one other Caucasian person. Talking to my other rotary friends in Japan, they have similar experiences, which really makes Japan an interesting country to be in. At Tokyo Disney Land I realized that the entire year will carry that cool foreigner feel, as people ask you where you are from, how you like Japan, and a whole bunch of silly questions! Some of my favorites include "Does America water taste really bad" and "How many of your friends are fat". Despite all of this, it was still an amazing day with the family, with rides and food o' plenty. From soy sauce popcorn to Pan-Galactic Pizza Port, Splash Mountain to haunted mansions, every little part of the day was fun. I even broke the driving rule (don't tell Rotary!) when my host dad took me in to the Go-Kart course! We left the park that day with smiles on our faces, great food in our bulging bellies, and happy memories in our minds.
FOOD
Eating is an international constant. No matter where you go or who you go with, I think the love for food will greet you everywhere. Food does not judge, it does not care if you can not speak the language or not, and therefore I believe that the Japanese cuisine has become one of my closest friends here in Japan. Much to the relief of my mother, I do not think I have been hungry since I have stepped in to this country. My host family not only feeds me plenty and often, but delicious food as well. In this section I want to talk about just some of the food I have eaten, and convince you that a trip to Japan is worth it just for the meals.
The bacon wrapped meat rice stick!
Here is another meal that was absolutely amazing, sashimi and Ramen. Sashimi is sushi, but the fish is raw (and in this case, octopus as well). This is a fairly common restaurant meal, but it was delicious none the less!
This here is just your everyday meal you can get at a Mall. Maybe I am over-reacting a bit, but I had never seen anything like this before in America, or at least could only imagine this style of dinning in fancy restaurants! If you can not read the photo, you recieve a sizzling metal plate with beef and chicken on it, onions and mushrooms too. You then move the meat around to cook it to your liking, dip it in the sauce, and enjoy! And this really reminds me of my most favorite Japanese meal to date.
Here we have Yaki-Niku (Grilled Meat), a popular restaurant in Japan. What makes it so special? Well, besides from serving cows tongue (Which I ate, not a fan however) It gives you an amazingly fun dinning experience. In yaki-niku, all meat is brought to your table raw. Say you want a sirloin, you would tell your waiter who would then bring raw strips of sirloin to your table. In the middle of every table is a grill, which you then use tongs to place the meat on. You can cook it for however long you want, and when you are done, 15 sauces await your dipping. In addition to the meat, spicy ramen is served, which started my ramen craze in Japan.
Lastly, I give you Tako-Yaki. Again. But this time I made it! Isesaki (a neighboring city to Shibukawa) has an annual firework festival, and I was lucky enough to be invited to party by a girl who lives there! It was an amazing night, the fireworks surpassed any fourth of July I have ever seen, the festival was amazing, and the food was delicious! On her roof top while watching the hour long firework show, we all made Tako-Yaki. Pouring batter on to a skillet with a bunch of ping pong sized semi circles, you then placed octopus, onions, a type of wheat crunch things, and whatever else you wanted on top of them. Then, as they cooked, you turned them about so they would cook as perfect balls. It is much harder said then done, but it seemed I had a knack for it. So much so, that I made a plate of Tako-Yaki for the Mayor of the city, who was also at the party! Although the language barrier was quite immense, the plate of food between us didn't judge, it didn't care what language we were speaking, and so it was pretty neat to bond with the Mayor of a large city over a plate of food I had made.
It has been an incredible first month in Japan, and I am actually pretty sad that I only have 9 more to go. I can not wait to continue sharing whatever adventures may find me, thank you all for reading!
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