Weekend Nagasaki Trip!

Everyone in my program went on a trip to Nagasaki through the school. We left at 8:15 on Saturday morning on a charter bus that came equipped with our personal tour guide for the weekend! We got there in about 3 1/2 hours which I definitely slept through. Upon arriving, we ate dinner at a really nice hotel restaurant and then had a couple of minutes to explore so we toured the oldest Chinatown in Japan- which happen to be right next door. It was such a beautiful day and we all hopped back on the bus and headed to our next destination- Dejima.
Dejima is an artifical island built a lonnng time ago for trading purposes. I have never heard about this place before so it was a great learning experience. The Dutch were the last to own it so the whole island was very European.
The Dutch traders used the island as a trading post because it was the furthest point off Nagasaki so everyone who was dropping off cargo would post up at the island. They also were not allowed to have their families live on the island so the Japanese would supply them with Geisha Girls!! We walked around there and learned some pretty neat things about the area and the island (which actually isn't an island anymore since the Japanese expanded past it and further into the ocean).
Afterwords we got back on the bus and headed to our next stop, the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and the Peace Park. It was a quick ride to the museum and a couple of sightseeing spots on the way so it went quickly. All 34 of us stumbled out of the bus and entered the museum. They did not allow any pictures to be taken inside- like most museums, so all I did was take in all of the information. I learned so much about the atomic bombing like how the bomb was detonated before it hit the ground for it to have a bigger impact and that 100% of the people in 3ish km died from the bombing. It was a pretty intense museum but I feel like going to the Holocaust museum before coming to Japan helped a little. They had piles and piles of paper cranes all around the museum and park. They told us that 1,000 cranes represent getting well if you are sick and also represents peace. Children that would come and visit the park with their schools would make 1,000 cranes and donate them to the museum for peace (these are some of the cranes that students have made on chains). The Japanese do not necessarily have an army anymore because they do not have a draft so they only have a safety group that people can volunteer their time to help in crisis. They focus heavily on peace and no war instead.









After the museum we went to the Peace Park which was just a few streets away. The Peace Park was built to house sculptures that are representative of the bombing as well as ground zero. They have a famous statue of a blue man who is holding his hands and placing his feet in certain places to represent different symbols like peace and meditation (The picture above is me standing in front of the statue, being a crazy tourist). There was also a beautiful fountain and a memorial for those who have died from the bombing as well as related causes to the bombing. The number is around 150,000 and is still growing today- fascinating!!
We got some ice cream while there and then got on the bus for our next destination, Glover Garden.


Glover Garden was named after Thomas Glover since his house is located in the garden. It is located at the top of the hill so we worked our way up the hill passing dozens of small souviener shops that sold a lot of the casella- the Spanish bread that Nagasaki is famous for that has been around for years. We reached the top after a steep hill, stairs, and two moving walkways to find ourselves with a beautiful view of all of Nagasaki. There was a coi pond at the top of the hill that was filled with huge coi that just swam around eating the food that was given to them by tourist- I of course joined in. There were pigeons there also that learned to sit in your hand and ate the fish food also. We walked around the plantation and his house that was located a little ways down the hill. There was coi fish all along the way down to the bottom of the hill so we stopped to feed them a couple of times. Thomas Glover was not only a famous entreprenuer but also the creator of Kirin beer- a famous Japanese beer, which I've tried and liked!

After Glover Park we went shopping in the shops on the way down to the bus, I surprisingly didn't get anything- just taste tested foods and pet some tailless kitties on they way down. We got back on the bus and by this time it was 5:30. We checked into our hotel and had half an hour before dinner and then going out- and the hotel had real beds thank goodness, I'm so used to sleeping on a Japanese bed which is practically a board with a thin futon mattress that I slept like a baby when we got back. Our tour guide took us to a traditional dinner place in the middle of Nagasaki that was hard to find- she even had to ask for directions a couple of times. We got a set dinner that was filled with rice that had egg noodles- real eggs made into noodles, fish soup that was solid, daikon- pickled radish, pickled cucumbers- that were definitely not American pickles, a slice of beef in a sauce, and some watermelon. It was actually all very good but I was one of the few that ate or tried everything and liked it. Some people stopped at our now favorite Japanese burger joint called Mos Burger. They have delicious burgers that are healthy and some even have rice patties for buns. I didn't eat anything because I was so stuffed from dinner but I joined the crowd for the conversation. We then hit the town to find a local bar or some place that was playing the World Cup game. We ended up stopping at an outside bar to watch the game and it was across from a pachinko parlor!! We all just hung out during the night and drank while exploring this unknown city. We actually found Nagasaki's makeshift red light district that they call the pink district. The girls here wear business suits and prom dresses here though if they are "workers"- Japanese style is so confusing. Some of us retired back to the hotel later and went to bed so we would be ready for day two. (The picture to the right is one of the many Japanese people we met during the night).
We got up in the morning and had breakfast at the hotel restaurant before hitting the town- and of course it was pouring down rain. We split up into different groups and my group decided to head to a famous shrine. It was located right in the middle of houses and shops in the city. It seemed to fit perfectly even though it was an old shrine that did not belong with the modern buildings standing around it. We walked up the many flights of stairs to find us at the top of the hill in front of the main building. We washed our hands in the communal pool before entering the shrine. There was a wedding taking place in one of the buildings so we could not enter but we walked around outside and found many different places to explore. There were shrines hidden in many different places in the yard but we managed to find some of the pretty ones including a beautiful wishing pond. After exploring some cultural aspects of Nagasaki, we headed over to the local mall. We took the street cars to get from place to place which reminded me so much of Amsterdam. If there wasn't as many cars on the road and no Japanese characters on the buildings then I would have sworn I was still in Amsterdam from looking at everything.
Most of the mall was expensive but it was a good break to be able to shop after all of the walking we had done before. We met up with a couple of other groups and hung out before getting back on the bus. The bus ride home I fell asleep for most of the time also and we then arrived back at APU. We were all exhausted so we all managed to get to our rooms and take naps before we had to work on our homework and get ready for school the next day. It was an interesting and informational weekend to say the least but I had a blast!

This week is mostly going to class everyday and doing homework. We are going to all go to karaoke on Wednesday and then many a public onsen (public bath) and dinner while in the city. It should be a fun day!

Pachinko!

A couple of us went on the Friday night before our trip to Nagasaki to go play pachinko. Pachinko is a gambling game that is somewhat like pinball but also deals mostly with luck. There are pachinko parlors everywhere in Japan and they look exactly like casinos would in America. You sit in front of a machine and try to manover the balls that are being shot out of the side down the pegs and into the cup. Every ball you shoot is minus one but every ball you make in the small cup/slot is plus 2 or 3. The more balls you have at the end of the night, the more money you win. The only thing weird about pachinko is that gambling is illegal in Japan. People have worked out a system though to get around the rules. After winning the game, you turn in all the balls that you have won and get a card with the amount you have received. From there you can choose to get a prize that they have at the counter (things like purses, cameras etc.) or you can ask for money. One of the people in my program asked for money and told me about his experience. He said that they gave him a card with the amount of money he was to receive and they told him he needed to collect his winnings across the street. He was escorted out of the building and into a small shack directly across the street. In there was a man sitting at a desk who took his card and gave him money in return.
What they were doing was a completely different business that happen to accept the cards that the pachinko parlors had, in exchange for money. The "other businesses" are owned by Japanese gangsters called yakuza. It is a pretty interesting concept.
A few people and I went to go play the other night and realized that since everything is in Japanese- it's harder to play then we had expected but we still gave it a try. We didn't end up winning anything but it was a fun and interesting experience. I definitely plan on going back after I am more experienced and hopefully winning some money!!!

World Festival Dance

Here are some of the RA's dancing at the World Festival on stage. They had a long dance that was all so cool!

天気 (Weather)

As you might be able to tell, I've been working on my peace signs since arriving in Japan. I noticed that most of the girls here do it so I've been trying to fit in. Some of the girls here and I went shopping the other day and I got some Japanese clothes so hopefully I will fit in a little more.
Every day we have classes and then we have a group study session after classes with our buddies. Our buddies are Japanese students that we are paired up with to help us out whenever we need it. They help us all with our homework at these sessions and then we have a fun game to end the period with. Yesterday we taught all of the Japanese students "Duck, duck, goose!" which we played in the lawn in between the buildings. It was extremely funny to play because they were getting a kick out of it and it had rained the day before so the ground was a little slippery and everyone kept falling when running around the circle.
The weather has been pretty crazy the last couple of days here. Since we are on top of a hill, the clouds sometimes loom over the school. The day that we were supposed to go to Monkey Mountain- I opened my window and could barely see the ground that was 4 stories below. It is either really nice and hot here or it is cold and really foggy. This is the tower that we have to climb everyday to get from our dorms to the campus which is slightly higher up the hill.
This is a picture of my dorm hallway. I live on the 4th floor and almost all of the students on my floor are from an Asian country- most being from Japan. I've been working hard on my speaking skills which have already improved a lot since being here for only two weeks. I feel like when I was in America I would never practice my speaking skills and since I am forced to talk in class and with my friends here then I am progressively improving. I've actually met a lot of people even though I haven't been here for that long. Every time we go out, most of the students gather at the beach before going out to the bars so that is where we meet so many different people. I met a lot of people who are from a different American program that started a couple of weeks before ours did. I've also met a lot of Japanese students that live on the floor above me and on my floor as well.




The sunrise from my room and at the beach:

Different Cultures

Every week they have a different country that they designate for cultural week. Last week was Chinese week where they had many different events held on-campus during the week. Chinese students celebrate this week by showing other students what Chinese culture is all about by hosting events and activities. Each country makes their traditional food and serves it in the cafeteria for the week. I didn't get a chance to try and of the food in the cafeteria but I did get to write some calligraphy words in Chinese. My dorm also holds activities almost daily and since it was Chinese week they made some Chinese tofu and rice for everyone to try. Below is a couple of people from my program.
This week in Vietnamese week and I tried to food in the cafeteria today- it was a little weird but not too bad. There was a gooey corn soup with coconut sauce and a teriyaki like chicken that I tried. They also have performances during the middle of the week and bunch of different foods for people to try. This school is so diverse that there are so many different cultures and never ending cultural events.

This weekend was also the biggest international and cultural festival that APU (Asia Pacific University) hosts. It was all day Saturday and people have been planning for this day for weeks. Every floor preforms a little dance or skit in front of all the dorms during the day and whoever did the best wins a prize. They also have activities all day that people can participate in. Some were trying on traditional cultural clothes, learning languages, eating Hawaiian ice, and even a host party. Host and hostess parties are rooms full of good-looking people (either men or women) that normally sweet talk you into spending a lot of money at the bars.
The best part of the day is definitely the food though. They give you a booklet before the day starts with three different empty spaces for stamps. There are about a dozen different kinds of foods that are cooked on each floor by the students that you can try but you can only try three of them and then get your book stamped. At the end of all the taste testing, you receive a sticker where you place it under the food that you liked the most. I tried some Korean cabbage pancakes, Japanese egg rolls, and some flan which was all really good - the best was definitely the cabbage pancakes though. I asked for the recipe so I will probably be making that and kimchi pancakes (another type of spicy Korean cabbage) a lot when I return to America. Everyone wants you to try their foods so you will vote for them as the best food so they dress up and try to steer you to their tables. It was a pretty funny sight. Some of the guys dressed up as girls with make-up, short skirts and all (they seriously don't mind being feminine here) and some other people had animal costumes that they wore. Here is a picture of them all performing in front of everyone.
The World Festival is the biggest event on-campus every year and it was definitely a great thing to be a part of. I learned so much and tasted so many different dishes I've never even heard of. The next night a bunch of people went to an いざかや(izakaya) which is a traditional Japanese party with a lot of sake. I didn't feel well and was extremely tired so I skipped out on going and went to bed early instead.
On Sunday we were planning on going to Monkey Mountain- the place where there are monkeys that you can play with that is about an hour from campus- but the weather was terrible so we decided to stay in. A bunch of us worked on homework together instead and then I started classes back up on Monday.

My Birthday and Scavenger Hunt

Yay! I'm 21 finally! We didn't have classes on the morning of my birthday- thank goodness but we had to do a scavenger hunt instead in downtown Beppu. We all met at the campus to get on the bus together and then took it downtown after we split up into groups. The scavenger hunt started at a local onsen (a hot spring that is used as for public bathing) where we got the information on what we had to do. We had to find a restaurant, try some food, go find a really old tree in Beppu, and ask locals some questions along the way. We had to ask people around us directions to each place which was a little hard since they only speak Japanese. My team ended up coming in 3rd and won lime chips that were delicious. On the scavenger hunt we walked down back roads of Beppu and many things that I didn't know Beppu had. There is actually a semi red-light district in Beppu but they call it a pink-light district. We actually walked right through it for the scavenger hunt which was a little weird. Everything is inside though which is different from being in Amsterdam where all the women stand in windows and are in plain sight.

Everything seems concealed here in Japan which I guess is because they focus on privacy and what seems like purity. They also had beautiful art on everything from walls to sewer covers. The covers show where hot springs are located since the town is practically sitting on top of a huge hot spring itself. We walked through a bunch of different places in the town and saw a side of Beppu that many tourists probably do not see which was pretty cool. We stopped in Beppu tower which is a tall building that overlooks all of the town and also has information about all of the hot springs in the area. We took a picture in front of a sign with the famous devil picture on it and the worker at Beppu tower jumped in with us also.

After the scavenger hunt was over, we went and tried some Korean BBQ. There was 11 of us all together so we split up into two tables and had plates of meat brought to us where we just cooked it over an open flame in the middle of the table. It was so delicious and perfectly seasoned. After that, we all went our seperate ways for shopping and touring the town. At the end, most of us seemed to end up in the same place- a small second hand store in downtown Beppu. It is pretty cool, kind of like a Plato's closet but not entirely. The fashion here is so different than America. The men are not nearly as masculine as they are in America and they don't mind wearing purple and I've even seen a lot of them have pink phones. The girls here all wear really cute clothes and it's very rare to see someone not wearing high heels. I realized that I probably should have researched my clothing choices a little better since most of my clothes are very casual.
Or I could just go shopping for new clothes!!!
After shopping we all went back and rested before going out to the beach to party. Some of the World Cup games were on so we watched that at one of the bars that we stopped at. It was a fun night and we went a bunch of different places but ended up staying to watch the sunrise. The sun rises earlier here than in America so we didn't really have to wait as long as I thought we would but it was an absolutely beautiful taxi ride back to campus. All in all, it was a good birthday but I was definitely exhausted the next day. Here are some pictures from the scavenger hunt. One of the side streets we went down, a famous statue at Beppu Station, and Beppu tower- a lookout spot, and a temple/shrine.

Starting Classes

I started classes this week and they are definitely intense. I've been learning so much everyday even though it is just review. We have two 95 minute classes every morning starting at 8:45 and then on Mondays and Thursdays we have another 95 Japanese class after lunch. I also signed up for a Politics and Economics in Asia Pacific class that is taught in English and is for two 95 minute periods on Tuesday after lunch. The first day of that class for the Politics class was long and boring. The teacher has a very monotone voice and repeatedly asks everyone to stop talking yet no one listens. I can tell it is going to be a pretty easy class which is good.
We have a different Japanese teacher almost every day of class which I like a lot. The only problem is that we have a really old Japanese lady who teaches the three classes on Thursday and the other two on Friday mornings- and she is extremely boring. I am not looking forward to the end of the weeks anymore.

Learning Japanese has been hard so far but I feel like I definitely have to study a lot more than I am used to since I seem to be in the middle of the pack on who knows and doesn't know Japanese. I am in the second highest class which is good and bad. We get the most homework and have to study the most but at the same time I feel like it is the best place for me to be. Some of the people in my program have never spoke or learned Japanese at all before coming here so I feel a lot better about my situation.

Me in the cafeteria looking over Beppu city.The great vending machines in Japan. This one has coffee and slurpees!

Everyday we all get up early, go to class, go to the cafeteria for the lunch break, then have time to spare before our third class (if we have one that day) where I normally sleep or study and then we are done. Since the town is so far away we normally just hang out in the common room before or after studying and then go to bed. There really isn't much time to go into town on a weekday anyways with all of the work we get. Hopefully it slows down but I doubt it will. I still need to go into town to go shopping but I have time to do that soon. Speaking of the cafeteria- the food is so good there! They have different stands that you can go to for different kinds of foods: western, Korean, Japanese, vegetarian, and so many others. I've tried about half of the things they have there and it's all so good and cheap! The yen here is about 100 yen equals $1 which makes things easier to exchange in my head. But anyways, they give you pretty large portions of food for a really low price which is awesome. If they don't have something in the cafeteria, I can just go outside and get it from the vending machines. It's awesomely delicious.

View from my room!

View from my room over Oita city, located next to Beppu city.



View from the top of campus, looking down on Beppu city and the soccer field.

Getting settled

Since settling down, I have learned how to get around the campus and even how to get around downtown. The only thing I am still working on is the sleeping schedule. The beds are much less comfortable than ones in America. They have a flat surface and they give you an extremely thin mattress pad, a comforter, sheets, and a blanket. So far, I have been sleeping on everything possible to make it thicker but I still have not been able to sleep through a whole night.


Some things I've learned so far about Japan is:

• The sun rises much earlier than in America so I have to get used to light coming in early.
• The toilets sometimes talk to you, play songs and noises, and sometimes are just holes in the ground.
• The birds sound like bears!
  
• You can find almost anything in vending machines.
• All of the food is delicious. I have yet to have something, besides fermented bean sushi, that is not good (knock on wood).
• They are very intense about staying clean and throwing away garbage. They have certain garbage bags that are color coordinated with information on what is allowed or not allowed to be thrown away. If you throw out your trash and do not separate it, they will go through it and make you do it right.
• Taxis are not a set rate, they are negotiable. The more Japanese you know, the better.
• Everything is smaller here.

The school is located on a hill that looks over the town below and the view is beautiful at any time of the day. I went shopping downtown the last couple of days to get the essentials. The center of downtown is 40 minutes away by bus so it's not easy to get down there everyday. I went grocery shopping and also bought some other cute things. They have anything and everything you could ever want at the shops. Convenience stores, like 7-11's (which they have here), have anything from food to alcohol to fireworks. It's pretty cool. We bought some fireworks one of the first nights we were here and shot them off at the beach after we got back from the bar.
There are about 35 people in my program (Japanese language intensive program at APU) and we mostly all hang out together. I have realized that I do need to start meeting other people, especially Japanese students so I can work on my speaking skills. I have met a few but I know in the next couple of weeks I will get to meet many more.

Arriving in Japan

I arrived in Japan after a 13 hour flight from Dulles in Washington D.C. to Tokyo, Japan, then a flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka, and then finally a 1 and 1/2 hour bus ride to Beppu and a short cab ride to APU. I am studying abroad at Asia Pacific University aka Ritsumeikan University in Beppu, Japan. This is located in the southern most region of Japan, about 2 hours away from Nagasaki. I decided to study abroad to further my Japanese skills as well as travel to a country I have never been to.
The trip here was tiring and uncomfortably exhausting yet I got here in one piece, and so did my luggage thank goodness. Once entering the Japanese airport, it seemed a little hectic but there were many signs in English and symbols that were easy to follow. I arrived at APU around midnight Japanese time after traveling for 24 hours straight. After a short building tour and room tour I passed out.
I soon realized that there are many different things here in Japan that is not nearly the same as in America. Thank goodness they are very accommodating to other nationalities and languages which has made it much easier than I expected to get around. I slept for about 15 hours the first night, waking up on and off while trying to get accustomed to the sleep schedule. The next day I unpacked all of my things- which I was very surprised at how light I packed, for once.
When I took the bus from Fukuoka Airport to Beppu, there were 9 other students from my program on the bus as well so we all introduced ourselves and got to know one another. I didn't realize until later that they would be my lifeline for doing anything in the later days. They all went downtown the day after we arrived and I was too nervous to leave my room that I missed out on the experience and the shopping so I lived off of Granola bars for the next couple of meals.
It was a rough first couple of days but since then I have learned to adapt a little better.