Days 20-23: Week 3

Monday, Monday… another week began, as if the weekend hadn't even happened, it seemed (though I guess that is usually the case). Throughout the week, class felt a bit less interesting. It's definitely not my favorite part of this experience; my teacher is nice, and class is fine, I just really loved my Yale courses. At any rate, throughout I was also re-filled with gratitude for this opportunity, and for the funding provided by the Light Fellowship at Yale. SO, Monday, after class, instead of hitting the books immediately, I wondered around a bit with a new Yale friend, Aaron, and we ended up finding some other classmates at an arcade at the top floor of the local department store. There were a few senior citizens who seemed quite keen on the slot machines, but otherwise the floor was packed with kid/teen-geared entertainments.

From here, Aaron and I headed to our Judo (a Japanese martial arts form) culture class at a local high school. We suited up and were led through a basic warm-up and a couple very, very basic moves. It was really nothing like a real Judo practice, though we did get to observe the high schoolers practice with each other at the end. And that warm-up included a Spiderman-like deep-lunge-crawl thing that left me sore for days. But hey, Aaron and I made it into a small article in the next day's local newspaper!

International fame right here.

When we walked in the room, by the way, the Kendo team was practicing. Kendo is another form of martial arts, derived from samurai fighting style… to my uncultured eye, the first impression was a bunch of people whacking each other on the head with lances while shrieking. You can imagine my surprise walking into this:

Back at home, I realized that today was Okaasan's scheduled knee surgery (apparently a routine procedure, nothing big), and she'd be in the hospital until Wednesday. So, Mariko (along with Kento and Haruto) came to make us dinner and stay with us for the night.

Tuesday, right before class, as I was studying for our daily quiz, my friend Jordan (Boozon-san) plopped down a can of melon soda right on my desk – after I had told him that I had been looking and couldn't find it anywhere. It may seem silly to you, but it was an act of kindness that touched me and completely made my day. After class, I had my second shamisen lesson (nothing much to report there; I have no access to the instrument except for this hour every week, so let's hope I can learn enough to present something by the end of the month). Back at home, we got to meet Kento's girlfriend (according to his mother, his main other hobby other than basketball) and had sashimi for dinner, including octopus sashimi, which after trying I gave to Kento to have. It was somewhat reminiscent of a snot ball, so, yeah.

 After class on Wednesday, we had a fascinating lecture on some things that just don't translate between English and Japanese, by a professor from Michigan State. Konnichiwa, for instance, while often translated as hello, is really a form of "good afternoon" that is rarely used among friends or family, especially not to the extent of everyday greeting in English. One of the most striking examples, and the main focus of the talk, was the absence of an equivalent for "I love you" in the Japanese language. It really isn't said. There are certain other phrases that are used – and they differ based on the nature of the relationship, e.g. boyfriend-girlfriend, parent-to-child, child-to-parent etc. But by and large, most often nothing is said at all. Does this mean that love doesn't exist in Japanese culture? Of course not. Rather than explicitly stated, it is implied within a relationship, in silence, intimacy, or other roundabout phrases. It got me thinking a lot, about how different people groups, all essentially the same as human beings, can grow to develop different customs and ways of engaging with each other, their environments, and expressing this engagement through language systems. How different people, and groups of people, connect to and communicate their emotions; in the case of the Japanese, emotions are largely internalized and held private.

After the lecture, I attended a cultural class on traditional Japanese dance, which was mildly interesting. We learned a brief (and quite slow) dance to "Sakura, Sakura." Back at home, I was happy to see Okaasan back and in good health/spirits.

Thursday, all throughout class, I was pretty distracted by the news of my dog's dying. After class, we went on a tour of a local Buddhist temple. An old monk came out to give us the history of the temple, and he was almost a caricature as he shuffled his feet along, inch by inch. I couldn't really understand much of what he was saying, and I may or may not have dozed off, but the temple was aesthetically cool, at any rate (Okay, I forfeit my culture points for the day).

On the walk back, I got myself a pineapple soft serve, recommended by a friend. (Soft serve is ubiquitous here, in case you hadn't picked that up). Then, I sat down at a nice local park for a little while, studied a bit, and thought for a bit.

Signing off for now. More catch-up soon.

There was a woman hanging out in the middle of these bushes – ha!
Trimming them, I think… can you see her?

A cute turtle pastry I got as a snack.