New Years was very special.
I went to my Japanese friend's, Ayaka (who studied abroad at Ursinus for the whole year), house and spent New Years holiday with her and her family. Japanese New Years are similar to an American Christmas- it is a family holiday, while the Japanese Christmas is akin to the American New Years- it is a friend/couple's holiday, so I was super excited and honored to spend New Years with her!
There is a show that is played every New Years, and basically it is a group of comedians and they are put through situations that are very silly.... and if they laugh, they get hit on the butt with a foam stick. The name is ダウンタウンのガキの使いやあらへんで!! in Japanese (Downtown's 'This is no task for kids!!' in English, Downtown is a comedian group's name and they are the hosts of the show) I really don't know HOW this started, but it was very funny. This year the theme was that this group of comedians were training to become secret agents. We watched this show until 11:20pm and then we head out to the Shrine.
[This video is from a few years ago, but you get the idea- Everyone in this video, except for the extras just sitting at the desks, is a comedian trying to get the participants to laugh]
We went to a local shrine (one of 2 in her town) and on the way Ayaka told me of her town's New Years festival, basically it is translated as "naked festival"! But, that is not true what really happens is a group of young men wear traditional underwear, (fundoshi) which comes up to their waist, and run around the town carrying a portable shrine on their shoulders! I am not 100% sure why they do this, but I admire their strength! Akita is pretty chilly at night, not to mention they are practically naked, so I am sure a lot of them are home sick with the cold now.
However we ended up going to another shrine where Ayaka's mom was working as a shrine maiden, and there we bought good luck charms for the new year. We also asked for blessing from the Gods and then visited the nearby smaller shrines, lighting candles as offering. I also tried some special New Years sake, it was very salty, but a new experience.
The first of January is another family day, and Ayaka's family (with me in tow) went to her Grandparent's house for dinner after we lazed around the house and Ayaka took me on a walking tour of her town. It was super yummy and although her aunt, uncle, and cousins were a little surprised to see a white person in the house, they were all nice. I could not understand the grandparents very much because they spoke in the Akita dialect that I just could not understand, luckily Ayaka helped translate it into normal Japanese for me. The entire family was super sweet, the grandparents were just so cute! I wanted to hug them, but I shook the grandfathers hand and bowed many times to the grandmother and thanked them both many many times.
Today I came back to my empty dorm, and it is a little lonely, but I am happy to have a couple hours where I am not translating and thinking in Japanese all the time!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Sendai! -Not finished, I will post a video once I figure how to shorten it-
In short, my trip to Sendai was awesome! I got to see one of the 3 most scenic sites in Japan; Miyajima! It is a bay with hundreds of small islands with trees and all sorts of beautiful greenery growing on them! I also got to sleep in an Internet Cafe! It was super exciting, we had our own room and unlimited drinks and ice cream! It was awesome- and 12hrs cost 2,400 yen- around 30$! A pretty cheap 1 night stay!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas in Japan!
Okay, before we go any further, I must introduce you to one of my favorite videos on Youtube: Please Watch before reading the rest. Annnnnd, an explanation of the lyrics can be found here .
Anyways, I spent Christmas Eve with some friends. I helped organize a potluck lunch where people were supposed to bring dished that they always have at Christmas, but not everyone did that. For example, 2 of my Japanese friends made Takoyaki. (Yay Wikipedia for following through!) [which is a snack and not traditional at all for Christmas. Actually, in Japan the traditional food is KFC chicken! When KFC came to Japan they said that 'all Americans eat KFC on Christmas,' so now it has become tradition and it is almost impossible to buy KFC chicken on Christmas! You have to reserve it in advance!!]
And an American friend of mine bought some frozen pizzas and we cooked those, but I made Sardines and pasta which is the only time I like sardines, but it a dish I always have at Christmas (Italian family and all that). And some other friends make other yummy foods such as pie and other traditional dished. All in all it turned out great.
The only problem was that the event was in the afternoon, and I had nothing to do in the evening! I skyped with my family... but besides that I was all alone in my room until a good friend of mine (who I met here and is also from the states) came up to my room and we had hot cocoa together in the cafeteria while watching weird Japanese talk shows about becoming a Santa and the like.
Christmas day was also pretty uneventful, except that it snowed! :D My first White Christmas in years!!!
All in all, for my first Christmas not surrounded by my family it was lonely but not as bad as I had thought it could have been.
Anyways, I spent Christmas Eve with some friends. I helped organize a potluck lunch where people were supposed to bring dished that they always have at Christmas, but not everyone did that. For example, 2 of my Japanese friends made Takoyaki. (Yay Wikipedia for following through!) [which is a snack and not traditional at all for Christmas. Actually, in Japan the traditional food is KFC chicken! When KFC came to Japan they said that 'all Americans eat KFC on Christmas,' so now it has become tradition and it is almost impossible to buy KFC chicken on Christmas! You have to reserve it in advance!!]
And an American friend of mine bought some frozen pizzas and we cooked those, but I made Sardines and pasta which is the only time I like sardines, but it a dish I always have at Christmas (Italian family and all that). And some other friends make other yummy foods such as pie and other traditional dished. All in all it turned out great.
The only problem was that the event was in the afternoon, and I had nothing to do in the evening! I skyped with my family... but besides that I was all alone in my room until a good friend of mine (who I met here and is also from the states) came up to my room and we had hot cocoa together in the cafeteria while watching weird Japanese talk shows about becoming a Santa and the like.
Christmas day was also pretty uneventful, except that it snowed! :D My first White Christmas in years!!!
All in all, for my first Christmas not surrounded by my family it was lonely but not as bad as I had thought it could have been.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
An awesome weekend!
(Also- you should view this video at its Youtube page- a lot of the text and some of the pictures are cut out when it is displayed here. So just double click on the video and you should get to Youtube)
As a belated birthday present to myself (but really because I wanted to leave campus and explore), I used the money my Aunt generously gave me as a birthday present to go to Tazawako and see the lake with the same name, stay at a ryokan, and go to Kakunodate. I went on this trip with two friends Katrin (from Germany) and Megan (USA).
Lake Tazawako is the deepest lake in Japan, and I am sure it is pretty, but when we got there it started to pour rain! Not cool. So we basically stood at the beach for 10 minutes and then spent the next 40 waiting for the bus to take us up to the Ryokan we were to stay at for the night.
A Ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn- that means tatami floors, no chairs, raised beds, and slippers everywhere! It was super fun to stay at Tsuru no Yu (lit. Crane's hot water) because we went into about 5 different baths during our stay. Needless to say, we smelt pretty sulfur-y afterwords. However, the most magical thing about this trip was that it snowed! I got to enter an onsen (hot spring bath) while snow was falling. It was so wonderful!!!!!! While waiting for the bus to get us back to the bus stop we all went on a little exploration, and boy was it pretty!
We then went to Kakunodate, which is a town famous for all its old Samurai Houses... but since we went on a Sunday, a lot of the houses were closed (they are run by families who live in the houses). But it was still cool, I look forward to visiting it again in the Spring.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
成人式- The Coming of Age Ceremony *UPDATED*
In Japan the age of Majority is 20, and to mark this landmark age the Japanese have a ceremony called the 成人式 (Seijin shiki) on the second Monday in January, more details can be found here.
When I found out about this ceremony in High School it was because I was looking at kimonos. There is a special type of kimono that unwed women wear called a Furisode, and now-a-days it is most commonly seen at this ceremony. Originally I wanted to do this ceremony just so I could wear a furisode, but that is no longer true, sure it is still a big part of my reason to participate, but this is also a once in a lifetime experience and one that every Japanese person goes through. Although I am not trying to be Japanese, I want to experience something that every Japanese person goes through and takes for granted. When I figured out that I would be turning 20 in Japan, I thought it was fate that allowed this to happen (yay being young for my grade!) and I knew I had to do this.
Now, how did I get involved in the Coming of Age Ceremony in Akita? It is a pretty funny story, actually.
I went to the COS (which coordinates almost all the exchange programs/excursions for the international students) and asked if they knew anything about the ceremony, because I wanted to sign up for it. The stars must have been aligned again, because they had just received a flier from the Akita City Government about it. They asked if I wanted to sign up, and I said of course!
What I did not realize was that I had not signed up to merely participate in the ceremony by sitting in a furisode and listening to speeches, no. I had signed up to PLAN what was going to happen at the actual ceremony! Imagine my surprise when I was told that I would be going to the city to meet with the other members of the group- I thought I was meeting some of the people who were going to just be normal people in the audience, but no. This was the first meeting of the committee that would decide what was to happen at the ceremony, when and how much money to spend on what. I was lucky to have a COS worker help my at this first meeting by translating bits and pieces, but it was still nerve wrecking to realize that I was playing a whole different game than I had expected.
The second meeting was terrifying. I went to the meeting by myself, and sat through it without understanding most of the conversation, I strongly considered leaving the committee, but I decided that I needed to stick with it. This is one of my few "Japanese only" experiences, so I wanted to stay, and I was the first international student/person to have worked on this committee and I wanted to make a good impression. At this meeting there were photographers and reporters, I was super nervous and my Japanese stunk, but I didn't think much of it.
The third meeting went much better than the second, and I offered to help make a movie [because I am good with computers, and I can't really do much else for the group. ゜゜(´□｀。)°゜ ] that we will be showing at the ceremony. I was actually late because I went to the wrong building, but I think it all worked out in the end.
However! About a week ago, the 19th of November, a flier went out to almost all the residents of Akita (maybe even the prefecture?!) and guess who is on the front cover? Yours truly. The pictures and comments from the second meeting where placed on the front page and the next 2 pages, I am now a famous Gaijin in Akita, apparently. SO EMBARRASSING!!!
The little bio they gave me goes like this: "In America there is no Coming of Age Ceremony. When I realized that I'd be turning 20 during my time as a study abroad student, I thought it must be fate. "It is super interesting" ... Judith Claire Peterson (Student. Akita International University)
EDIT:
You can also see it online Here
Also! I have chosen what my Kimono will be. I tried on 3 (1, 2, 3) kimonos with my host mother at a cute little kimono shop, and I chose the first one I put on. The picture makes the kimono look really blue, but it is actually rather purple, but depending on the light it can look either blue-ish or purple-ish.
The man who I am renting my Kimono from is being super generous, and although I am still paying over $500 for the whole package, he helped me get a better deal on the hair salon (my possible hairstyle) and photography place. He is also lending me the fur shawl, tabi shoes and the obi accessories without charging more (although I will have to buy an under-kimono [think something similar to a slip] and tabi socks.)
All in all? I AM SO EXCITED!!!
When I found out about this ceremony in High School it was because I was looking at kimonos. There is a special type of kimono that unwed women wear called a Furisode, and now-a-days it is most commonly seen at this ceremony. Originally I wanted to do this ceremony just so I could wear a furisode, but that is no longer true, sure it is still a big part of my reason to participate, but this is also a once in a lifetime experience and one that every Japanese person goes through. Although I am not trying to be Japanese, I want to experience something that every Japanese person goes through and takes for granted. When I figured out that I would be turning 20 in Japan, I thought it was fate that allowed this to happen (yay being young for my grade!) and I knew I had to do this.
Now, how did I get involved in the Coming of Age Ceremony in Akita? It is a pretty funny story, actually.
I went to the COS (which coordinates almost all the exchange programs/excursions for the international students) and asked if they knew anything about the ceremony, because I wanted to sign up for it. The stars must have been aligned again, because they had just received a flier from the Akita City Government about it. They asked if I wanted to sign up, and I said of course!
What I did not realize was that I had not signed up to merely participate in the ceremony by sitting in a furisode and listening to speeches, no. I had signed up to PLAN what was going to happen at the actual ceremony! Imagine my surprise when I was told that I would be going to the city to meet with the other members of the group- I thought I was meeting some of the people who were going to just be normal people in the audience, but no. This was the first meeting of the committee that would decide what was to happen at the ceremony, when and how much money to spend on what. I was lucky to have a COS worker help my at this first meeting by translating bits and pieces, but it was still nerve wrecking to realize that I was playing a whole different game than I had expected.
The second meeting was terrifying. I went to the meeting by myself, and sat through it without understanding most of the conversation, I strongly considered leaving the committee, but I decided that I needed to stick with it. This is one of my few "Japanese only" experiences, so I wanted to stay, and I was the first international student/person to have worked on this committee and I wanted to make a good impression. At this meeting there were photographers and reporters, I was super nervous and my Japanese stunk, but I didn't think much of it.
The third meeting went much better than the second, and I offered to help make a movie [because I am good with computers, and I can't really do much else for the group. ゜゜(´□｀。)°゜ ] that we will be showing at the ceremony. I was actually late because I went to the wrong building, but I think it all worked out in the end.
However! About a week ago, the 19th of November, a flier went out to almost all the residents of Akita (maybe even the prefecture?!) and guess who is on the front cover? Yours truly. The pictures and comments from the second meeting where placed on the front page and the next 2 pages, I am now a famous Gaijin in Akita, apparently. SO EMBARRASSING!!!
The little bio they gave me goes like this: "In America there is no Coming of Age Ceremony. When I realized that I'd be turning 20 during my time as a study abroad student, I thought it must be fate. "It is super interesting" ... Judith Claire Peterson (Student. Akita International University)
EDIT:
You can also see it online Here
Also! I have chosen what my Kimono will be. I tried on 3 (1, 2, 3) kimonos with my host mother at a cute little kimono shop, and I chose the first one I put on. The picture makes the kimono look really blue, but it is actually rather purple, but depending on the light it can look either blue-ish or purple-ish.
The man who I am renting my Kimono from is being super generous, and although I am still paying over $500 for the whole package, he helped me get a better deal on the hair salon (my possible hairstyle) and photography place. He is also lending me the fur shawl, tabi shoes and the obi accessories without charging more (although I will have to buy an under-kimono [think something similar to a slip] and tabi socks.)
All in all? I AM SO EXCITED!!!
Friday, November 19, 2010
With the Host Family
November 13th I went out with my host family to the Oga Peninsula. We went all the way to that northern tip- where you can see the Sea of Japan on either side. Super chilly- but super neat. Pictures start with #93
On our way there we saw these Giant Namahage statues, which I embarrassingly remembered from this commercial:
(a Gum commercial)
So, I of course had to attempt to do the dance in front of the statues. (didn't work out very well- but I still felt cool for trying)
We then got a little lost trying to actually get to the beach, but when we got there it was super neat. I was actually at the same parallel as NYC and Philly, so it was kind of like being back at home, but only colder. There was even a sculpture that "showed" the parallel, which reminded me of when I went to England and visited the International Date Line in Greenwich. (Not me--->)
After we went to the peninsula, we headed back to their home. We went to buy dinner ingredients, so while my Host Mom was shopping, the twins and I went and took some Purikura~ ♡♥.
After we got our shopping done, we went to their house and had some of the most yummy Okonomiyaki I have had in a long time! It was the Hiroshima style (so noodles are added) and my Host Mother added kimchi to the mix, and it was SO DELICIOUS! The spiciness of the Kimchi added a whole new layer of flavor to the already flavorful Okonomiyaki, I was so surprised how much I liked it!
I can't wait to visit them again on the 18th of December, when I will be cooking German Pancakes for them.
On our way there we saw these Giant Namahage statues, which I embarrassingly remembered from this commercial:
(a Gum commercial)
So, I of course had to attempt to do the dance in front of the statues. (didn't work out very well- but I still felt cool for trying)
After we went to the peninsula, we headed back to their home. We went to buy dinner ingredients, so while my Host Mom was shopping, the twins and I went and took some Purikura~ ♡♥.
After we got our shopping done, we went to their house and had some of the most yummy Okonomiyaki I have had in a long time! It was the Hiroshima style (so noodles are added) and my Host Mother added kimchi to the mix, and it was SO DELICIOUS! The spiciness of the Kimchi added a whole new layer of flavor to the already flavorful Okonomiyaki, I was so surprised how much I liked it!
I can't wait to visit them again on the 18th of December, when I will be cooking German Pancakes for them.
Manga Mania Field Trip
I am taking a course at AIU called Manga Mania, and as you might have guessed... it is about Manga. So, appropriately we went to a manga museum. Pictures start at #32
Although the museum was kind of boring (all in Japanese and about an artist I did not know), the place we went to after that was soooo much fun! There was a castle called "Wonder Castle" which was basically a 4 story fun house. And boy, it was so much fun! The most scary, and thrilling attraction was the "Namahage slide" where you dropped down 1 story super fast. Really fun, but really scary to look at. (you can see pictures at 112 and 113)
Outside the castle there was also a flower and a Bonsai competition. It was super lovely to look at all the different types of Bonsai and all the flowers made the dreary day much more lovely. And then we found the playground. It drew us like magnets- I mean, what College Student can resist a playground? Like moths to a fire, we just had to play there- and boy it was so much fun!!!
On our way home I bought some of the most yummy apples I have had in a long time, so juicy and red it is almost criminal.
All in all? A good field trip.
Although the museum was kind of boring (all in Japanese and about an artist I did not know), the place we went to after that was soooo much fun! There was a castle called "Wonder Castle" which was basically a 4 story fun house. And boy, it was so much fun! The most scary, and thrilling attraction was the "Namahage slide" where you dropped down 1 story super fast. Really fun, but really scary to look at. (you can see pictures at 112 and 113)
Outside the castle there was also a flower and a Bonsai competition. It was super lovely to look at all the different types of Bonsai and all the flowers made the dreary day much more lovely. And then we found the playground. It drew us like magnets- I mean, what College Student can resist a playground? Like moths to a fire, we just had to play there- and boy it was so much fun!!!
On our way home I bought some of the most yummy apples I have had in a long time, so juicy and red it is almost criminal.
All in all? A good field trip.
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