Japan: Week 15

15 - Opera. Week ending Sunday 23rd June

I need to catch you all up, I think. To anyone who doesn't know me in "real life", I'm terribly sorry if you thought I'd fallen off the face of the planet. No longer in the incredible place I write about, but still here, nonetheless.

The week-days at this point were filled with studying and felt-pens and re-living exam stress of the like I had not experienced since the GCSE years. It's the sheer quantity of subjects you're supposed to be able to be interested in and theorise about which always got me.

However, as any perfectionist student will tell you, upon glancing up from their textbook, the way to study to the extent that it is feasible for you to hold yourself to such ridiculously high standards is to give your mind a break once in a while. Appreciating the beauty existing in so many places and ignoring the futilities of your worries for a few short hours is a wonderful way to gain some distance from those revision notes. Enough that when you return you'll realise how much you learnt from what you were trying to.

To arrive at the point, the appreciation of beauty which soothed my soul and calmed my fraying nerves was 'The Marriage of Figaro' by Amadeus Mozart, performed by Basel Theater, a Swiss company, at Aichi Arts Centre on 22nd June. This had been arranged for us by the university many weeks previously, and I was at once excited at the prospect of seeing the opera again, but this time in its original Italian. At the time it was merely from a cultural perspective; I will always enjoy an event held at a theatre. I hadn't calculated that this would be the weekend before deadlines would finally creep on top of us, and how necessary the performance would be to my sanity.

We were invited along with Japanese students taking culture classes in Global Studies at NUFS, and instructed to wear formal attire and bring opera glasses... I arrived in the closest dress I had to 'formal', but unfortunately sans opera glasses.

As it turned out, they were unnecessary. We had fabulous seats, ones I would have chosen if I could have my pick of the auditorium. The very front row of the first tier up, but not dead centre so that I could soak up the atmosphere from the viewers as well as the performers. Perhaps it was the fortunate acoustics which made this production so beautiful.

But I doubt it. It had been a while since I'd heard an orchestra of such a high standard play music by one of the most talented composers the Earth has ever known, and it could be needless to say that I was moved. I struggled to remember the plot-line (my spoken Italian and written Japanese not being up to much, and that being an understatement) and cursed myself for not looking up a synopsis before I left, as had been my intention. But in the end it mattered very little. The story is one of love, and all the tribulations which go along with it. This is how great minds become immortalised, they were the ones who figaro-ed out how to write down the stories the human mind obsesses over (Sorry. Not sorry). The plot contains jealousy, multiple story-lines, and the only truly confusing bit in the end revealed its meaning to me because I know the Japanese character for 'mother'.

So, the plot was sufficiently under control in my mind. It was unimportant, compared to the talent of the musicians. I discovered the perfection of orchestral music all over again that evening. Memories of all the ensembles and people I had played with often filled my mind, and these, coupled with the clarity and beauty of an orchestra in full voice tugged on my heartstrings and brought a tear to my eye more than once. In that place, 'Cherubino's Aria', sung by Franziska Gottwald, and her voice as pure and crystalline as water was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

I'll be forever grateful that music has no language barrier. Not English, nor Italian, nor Japanese can mask the unadulterated joy caused by the soaring notes of the like of Basel sinfonietta.

And that, friends, is how a heart, tattered from stress like mine, can find its peace in music. And so we go home, and carry on revising.

Japan: Week 11

11 - Culture party

The weekdays didn't contain too much excitement last week, although I have started a programme with the Arts & Sciences section of the university, and the first session was on Thursday. It's supposed to be an English tutoring system, but in reality it's much more entertaining, as a group of English-speakers just chat to a group of Japanese students. The idea of this class was to improve fluency and understanding of native speakers' speech patterns, which meant that we could legitimately teach the students slang. Next week we're doing Show and Tell!

On Saturday there was a cultural party given by the International Society of Nisshin (The town in which I currently reside) and hosted at NUFS. Members of the society performed Taiko drumming and set up an origami table, and NUFS did, in my opinion, what it does best, and set up food which looked like THIS:

The party was attended by a large number of us international students, and we were at least matched in volume by residents of Nisshin, who brought there whole families along. It was a lovely experience; in Japan people tend to completely ignore each other unless there is a deliberate removal of the boundary. There were no boundaries in the room that day, and if you were stood without someone to talk to for 30 seconds, someone would come up to you and introduce themselves, and ask you about your country and how you're finding Japan. This was also clearly a group of particularly open-minded Japanese people, who seemed to relish the difference in ethnicity we provided.

I also met the family I'll be visiting on a home-stay next month. The mother attended the party to meet me, and her daughter showed me ever so carefully how to fold an origami helmet. I'm hugely looking forward to seeing them again.

Sunday brought good weather, and so the chance for another hike! Enjoyable as the first, the views from 600m were spectacular, and there was definitely never any danger of falling off the edge. Ever surprised by Japan's superior natural beauty, we saw a hawk from very, very close, and continued to spot them all the way up the mountain.

We also visited a shrine in the middle of the forest, containing an earthly beauty I'm sure can be imagined. I have no idea how difficult it must have been to build, though.

The hike was finished in perfect fashion by a visit to the onsen. It was gladly received, as the trails we take aren't easy, and we covered 12 miles or so and 684 metres in 4 hours. I've never experienced too much hiking before, but the sense of accomplishment is something I could easily become addicted to, the exercise is refreshing, and the new things I learn about Japan all add to the experience. We saw a baby snake. How cool is that?

So, back to work for now, and more updates will follow next week.

Yours,

Abby

P.S. For all the photos, visit my tumblr! http://abbyinjapan.tumblr.com/

Japan: Week 6

6 - School

I don't have that many lessons, just five 1.5 hour classes spread over Monday - Wednesday, and then an observation and a teaching practice every week. It feels a lot like 6th form again with the same four students in each class, and most of them discussion-based. However, I feel a trend might have been set when we were given homework from each lesson, and although you do get a whole week to complete it, there is the necessary reading to go on top of it... But it'll be okay. I knew it would be hard work here.

I also had my two weekly sessions in the Language Lounge. With some Japanese students it is literally like an English lesson, which is fabulous practice for me, and others are so competent that I was discussing with them why British girls think Japanese girls are so beautiful and vice versa, which was eye-opening and just generally fantastic. I also get to have bi-weekly conversations with the girls on the frisbee team, and it's obvious that in amongst the students is where I'll be doing the majority of learning about this country. We talk about what we eat, what we do in our spare time, and I get to see how they interact with me and each other.

Everyone, go to all the countries.

A very cool place I did go to was a second-hand shop, where the downstairs was just full of books and mostly comics, and even had a little foreign books section!

One of those things you never know you need until, all of a sudden, you find out about them. Harry Potter set, in Japanese... The upstairs was possibly even cooler, row upon row of clothes, as well as shoes, bags, games, and crockery! This wasn't a jumble sale either, everything was in brand new condition, in original sets and packaging. Japan does many things so well.

My week was finished off in the perfect way by a trip to a very nearby onsen. My skin is glowing from the hot baths, the showers and the saunas, and my girly senses are tingling from the gossip shared. Many trips will be taken there for relaxation purposes, I think.

So I'm afraid I don't have any ridiculous sight-seeing tales to tell from this week, but next week will be different. One of the few times Japanese employees can have some well-deserved time off is Golden Week, two long weekends in a row at the end of April/beginning of May when people go on domestic holidays, often to onsen! My week will be no different, getting a bit of travelling done myself, and expect to see mentions of some special guests who are coming to visit!

Yours,
Abby

Japan: Week 5

5 - It all begins

This week I had a small insight into what term-time's going to be like. On Tuesday, the four of us TEFL students met up with the teachers we'll be working with for lunch, at an adorable restaurant close to the university. It's a bright blue shuttered house, back from the road a little with an elaborate front garden with a stone path, complete with archway. The couple live upstairs, and the restaurant is downstairs. Lunch was delicious (even the sea-snail) and I was surprised how easy it was to relax into conversation. Afterwards we went back to uni to receive the timetables of lessons we'll be observing, and lessons we'll be teaching (!!). Thankfully we have just a couple of weeks to prepare ourselves for teaching, but our first observation was on Thursday.

'Observation' is a term used lightly. Although there was a teacher taking charge of the class, we were put into four groups with one British student as a team leader, and were very interactive with the students. I experienced trying to explain and define really quite difficult English terms, and having everyone look to you when they didn't understand something. Daunting, but will no doubt be practice I'll be grateful of once I have to start taking classes of my own.

I also signed up to be a tutor for Language Lounge sessions; rooms where students can go to learn a language from native speakers, and no other language is allowed to be spoken in the room. I feel any practice I can have at this teaching thing will only do good.

Something to make me very happy indeed was my first frisbee training session in Japan. Nagoya University is split into several colleges; I'm currently studying with Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. Well, Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences is located very close by, and students often join each other's cross-curricular activities.

So when I spotted NUAS students recruiting for frisbee, I positively squealed with excitement and promised to train with them, 5.30 - 8 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. The rules are the same and I've got the head-start on height, so it was pure relief to get back outside, running after a plastic disk, doing something I really know how to do, and not have to worry about the correct grammar structures to use whilst doing it.

This weekend I've taken a bit of a break and relaxed, including a trip to Aichi Arts Centre which I've been promising to myself from pretty early on. This Saturday there was a concert given by 'Rainbow Chorus' and as far as we could tell, would be of traditional Japanese songs and Nursery Rhymes. There was definitely one I picked out quite a lot from, on the subject of a bicycle.

Music never needs to be fully understood though. The way a choir moves just a little as they breathe, the way voices fill a concert hall, and the feeling a conductor puts into their direction is not restricted by a language barrier. It was relaxing and enjoyable. In addition to all that, when a concert invites you to sing along with the final piece, thoughtfully providing music and lyrics on the back of your programme, it's always going to get my vote.

Lessons start in earnest tomorrow, wish me luck!

Yours,

Abby

Japan: Week 2

2 - Settling in

This week reminds me of the first minute or so of Bjork's 'It's Oh So Quiet'. So peaceful, so relaxing, at a calm, laid-back pace. And then Saturday night/Sunday morning happened - A.K.A The Most Japanese Day I will Probably Have in Japan.

The week began with a welcome party for us held at the University where they provided astonishingly delicious food (given that we're students and and all), and a selection of performances from some of the clubs we might like to join.

As I've brought my clarinet all the way here, I'll be doing my utmost to make my way to Wind Orchestra rehearsals and keep up with their precision and enthusiasm.

I was struck yet again by how comprehensive are the efforts of the university to ensure we all fit in, feel included, and above all enjoy our stay here. In England there are individual teachers who will want to make sure you're enjoying life, but it does not seem to be a priority of the institution. Perhaps one of the reasons Japan is so successful that it's currently lowering the worth of the yen so that other countries can continue to do business with it, is that they understand the necessity of welcome distraction. Everyone knows that the brain works more effectively when it is given occasional breaks and stimulated in different ways, but how many nations so persuasively arrange and encourage your participation in such activities? Japanese people work hard, play hard, and consequently work even harder. There are so many things to learn here, and I haven't even begun lessons yet.

Speaking of working, I had a meeting with the head of my course on Thursday, so that he can let us know how our term is going to pan out. I will have 5 classes; Theory of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (here-on referred to as TEFL, I can't keep writing that out) Methodology of TEFL, Japanese Language, Phonetics, and Comparative Culture. All these classes will contain just the four of us who have come from Winchester University, as other foreign students here will be studying either Japanese language or Japanese Culture.

After a couple of weeks we will start observing English classes for foreign students, and a couple of weeks after that we will start teaching classes! All in addition to the five original classes. After all this was explained, my initial misgivings owing to the fact that we will not begin lessons until the 15th of April (!) were reduced. Clearly, I have a lot to get ahead with, and my free time once term starts will be minimal. Kyoto in full bloom is calling my name, as well as Osaka, and now I'll have time to do a little travelling before getting down to work.

This week also contained a visit to a very nearby shrine, who's name I'm afraid I never learnt. To reach it, you walk off the main road and climb a grassy, winding path onto a clearer pavement, winding its way uphill through woodland, and passing the occasional Japanese family grave along the way. When the ground levels out, you can choose either to explore the cemetery further, or climb the many steps leading to the shrine.

We chose the cemetery first, which is leafy and laid out with a gentle disorder, each group of headstones inhabiting their own little corner.

I couldn't walk through an English cemetery so calmly, and I think this shows a rare occasion where ignorance really is bliss. I've never even seen a picture of a Japanese grave yard. These slabs of stone fit perfectly into these hilly woods, and I felt only calm as I wandered among a place for the dead, my mind unencumbered by images supplied by film and television of dark forces lurking. It felt natural, a place where relatives believe their loved one's spirits would come, who wouldn't mind tourists educating themselves and paying their respects.

Back through the cemetery, and up the many steps to the shrine. I'll admit it was comforting next going to a place I did know about, and feeling as though I'm not completely at sea in this beautiful, foreign country. The water trough with the bamboo ladles is for purifying hands and mouth before prayer in the shrine, the lions guarding the entrance, the strings of cranes for peace, the folded strips of paper on a string containing hopes and prayers, and incense to sharpen and concentrate the mind. Yes, I thought, I know how to live here, and appreciate the difference a few thousand miles can make to the development of a culture.

The last peaceful day was Friday. My main activity of the day was to go to the (free!!) gym for an induction into how the machines work (and internally confirming that I will not be getting to know any of them except the treadmill). This also happened to be the Graduation of last year's NUFS students, meaning that they were all gathering in front of the uni in their beautiful kimono, and didn't at all mind being photographed.

This weekend was the longest of my life. Perhaps that's not entirely scientifically accurate, but it was the weekend when I was awake for more hours than I ever have been before. Saturday began with leaving I-House to catch a bus to the station, then catching a train and a subway train to central Nagoya, to walk a little distance to the impressive Nagoya Castle. Built in 1612, the castle was the biggest fortress in Japan at the time, to protect Tokyo from enemies advancing from the West of Japan. We had a wonderful volunteer tour guide who gave us a good insight into the history of the Castle; concise enough to ensure you both stayed interested and left wanting to know more.

From the Castle it was onto Osu, a district of Nagoya the students wanted to show us for its modern architecture and numerous shopping opportunities. We ate Udon Noodles for lunch, very welcome after a hard morning's climbing of stairs, and explored shops containing more items that I wished to purchase than I would be able to return to England to 50 suitcases. We also had a go at Purikura - those famous photo booths where you can digitally doodle all over your photos, which everyone wishes they would build in England.

We also made a quick stop at Sakae, where we found a Totoro shop, and Nagoya's newest Ferris Wheel located next to Japan's oldest Ferris Wheel. As you do.

Finally, after what had already been a long day, we returned to I-House. I napped, to prepare myself for what was to come. Karaoke, was what was to come. The best karaoke bars are in Sakae, and the trains stop fairly early, besides which, there is a curfew of 11 pm at I-House. You don't have to be in, but you won't be able to return to the building until 7 am. The result? Overnight stays at karaoke bars and catching the first train home in the morning.

This was for the most part an incredibly enjoyable experience. Paying double of an already reasonable price will gain you unlimited access to a drinks menu of both soft drinks and alcohol, which can help a group of friends who are going to be in an ultra-violet lit room for 7 hours.

Even if I didn't already enjoy letting stress go, singing wildly out of key and enjoying cheesy songs for the genius they secretly are, the fact you are taking part in so thoroughly a Japanese activity cannot be ignored. Karaoke is as much as a part of Japanese culture as a site like Nagoya Castle, and a perfect example of how Japanese people do in fact, let it all go and have a good time.

I astonished myself by not sleeping at all Saturday night, a feat I have never managed before, even in reaction to fast-approaching deadlines. Knowing that I would have absolutely nothing to do on Sunday (apart from blogging!) helped relax me and allow me to have as much fun as I wanted. The only downside to this party was that I'd forgotten how privileged I am to live in a country where smoking is illegal inside. It hadn't occurred to me just how much of a headache could be gained from second-hand smoke in a small room, but hey, for this experience I put up with it, and I'll be infinitely more grateful for a relatively smoke-free England on my return.

We left karaoke at about 5.30 am, and from there it's a blur of tubes, buses and McDonald's breakfasts (another first) at 7 am until I fell into bed at 8 and woke up this afternoon at 3. I find myself in the difficult position of being unable to explain how an experience I found so enjoyable I would be unwilling to repeat for several years, but there it is. Thus concluded the most Japanese weekend of my life so far, and I'll be very interested to see if anything can rival it in the time I have available.

I anticipate another calm week and ridiculous weekend, but for more information of course, you'll have to check back with me next Sunday!

Yours,

Abby

For my photo blog: http://abbyinjapan.tumblr.com/

Japan: Week 1

1 - Arrival

Just to make sure all my readers are on the same page, I am not in England right now. I've come to Nagoya, Japan to complete a Teaching English as a Foreign Language qualification in four months at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. I'll be posting every Sunday an update of my stay, and some extra Japan-related posts might slip themselves in mid-week as well.

I'm staying in University accommodation a 2 minute walk away from uni, a supermarket, a sushi bar, an 100-yen (75p) shop, and several restaurants. However the best thing about the International House is not its location. The people contained within its walls are going to be the reason I have an unforgettable time here. Within my first 10 minutes of entering the building, absolutely everybody had spoken to me, and I was very quickly invited out to the Combini (convenience store) for my first clutch of Japanese goodies.

Half the students have been here since September, they're on a year long course and will be leaving at the same time as me. The rest of us arrived at some point this week and will be completing either 4 months or a year. Us newbies are all subjected to the odd sensation of feeling like we’ve lived in I-House all our lives and known each other for years, while simultaneously in disbelief that a whole week has passed since we left our home countries.

I have finally got over my jet-lag, which actually took conscious effort and a degree of timetabling, making sure I ate and slept at the right times so that my body could adjust. As such, I no longer wander around feeling dizzy, or wake up in the middle of the night, alert and ready to start a day. This is comforting, as when lessons start (I believe, Monday week) I want to be as prepared as possible.

Japan is just as I remembered it. Terrifying drivers; bright packaging, as yet still a little incomprehensible; people who will carefully work around each other, living independently of strangers, but who become engaging and grateful of your stay in their country when they interact with you.

Do you know any other countries where the manhole covers look like this?

I've nearly collected everything I'll require to get by. Cooking utensils, frying pan, saucepan, cleaning products, 5 kilos of rice... My room is starting to look colourful and occupied; a space I would like to live in for a few months.

I'm genuinely excited for everything to get going. This week we had orientation sessions and tours of the university and local area. I feel prepared to go to lessons and start a qualification I have absolutely no experience in. I want to spend my free time investigating more of Nagoya and reading in a Japanese library and attempting to cook authentic cuisine. Roll on next week, and all of the rest of it.

Yours,

Abby

PS. If you want a pictorial blog to follow try here! http://abbyinjapan.tumblr.com/