PII In Retrospect

Today, PII held its closing ceremony. It has already been eight weeks since I first arrived in Japan. I remember how nervous I was. While I waited for my host family that first day, I half-fantasized that some official would come and tell me they had a mistake in admitting me, and that they would pay to fly me back to the States. After a few hours with my host family, all of my fears subsided. I knew I would be comfortable and happy here. Staying with the Nakahashis has been one of the best experiences of my life, let alone my life in Japan.
But what about the other part of PII. The class part. Well, it's been a mixed bag. Nakama, the textbooks they use here do not match up well with JSL, the Yale textbook. Whether I had been placed in year 2 or 2.5, I would have had to go through at least half of the Nakama year two book. About 75% of the book's grammar is review, while only 75% of the vocab and kanji is new. Meanwhile, there were grammar structures, like the potential form, which he did not cover at Yale, which PII expected us to already know. So my classroom mindset could switch from extreme boredom to extreme confusion rather quickly. Nonetheless, I think the 2nd year program helped me improve my Japanese a great deal. Before PII, I felt extremely uncomfortable reading hiragana, let alone kanji. The Nakama book forced me to read both, and I now feel competent in that area. Also, while some grammar structures had already been beaten into me by the Yale senseis (like giving/receiving verbs), other structures felt rushed during the school year, and so the review helped me (for example, the nominalizer koto).
The senseis at PII made classes go relatively quickly considering that they lasted three hours. A basic day consisted of two hours led by a lecturer from an American university, then one hour of drills and review with a sensei from Kanazawa. The picture features two of the most attractive teachers I have ever had : Park Sensei and Kojima Sensei. I'm also there, blushing more than I would like to be. For some reason, I felt compelled to study more whenever I knew they would be leading class the next day. Unfortunately, some of the homework they assigned us was not so compelling. Every assignment in the Nakama workbook seemed useless to me. But there were also interesting projects, like the speeches.
The bottom line is I am much better at Japanese now then I was in May, but since the Nakama books are so different from the material they use at Yale, I am not sure if I will be well prepared for third year in the fall. But regardless of the quality of the classes, the homestay alone has made this trip an important experience for me.

Harry Potter and Billy Blanks

Above: Rio Nakahashi and the Golden Room.
I just finished the final Harry Potter book. I know I've wasted some of my precious time in Japan on something that has nothing to do with Japanese Culture, but I could not help myself. I had to know what happened before I heard it from someone else. There were two advantages living in Japan when this book was released. First, since this is the land of the rising sun, I got my copy of Deathly Hallows four hours before I would have in the States, even though I bought it at ten in the morning instead of midnight. Second, I got to talk to my host family and their friends about Harry Potter, as well as watch Japanese media coverage of the new movie.
Of course, Harry Potter is very popular in Japan. Some stories have universal appeal, and this seems to be one of them. And of course, compared to the States, a higher percentage of people seem to have only watched the films without reading the books, since the Japanese translations can take a full year to be released.
But there have been some surprises. For example, in an interview with Daniel Radcliffe, one of the reporters asked him if he had ever confused himself with Harry, and tried to use magic in the real world. He was taken aback by this question, and so was I. But since none of the other reporters laughed when this question was asked, it made me wonder whether magic is taken a little more seriously in Japan. I know they have beliefs here which would be viewed merely as superstition in the States, but... I don't really know.
A second surprise. Although the elder of my host brothers is a big fan of the series, when I finished the seventh book, he did not hesitate to ask me what happened. When I refused to tell him, he seemed slightly put off. I wonder if this is a fundamental difference in our cultures ideas of enjoying the story, or if he assumed he would inevitably hear about it before he read it, some he might as well find out as soon as possible. Really I don't know.
In many ways, my appreciation of Japanese culture, and many Japanese appreciation of Western Culture seems to be quite distorted by our physical distance. For example, one of the few exercise fads to make its way to this side of the pacific is Billy Blanks' Boot Camp. When I went to a high school a few weeks ago, the first American they asked about was Billy Blanks. I had no idea who they were talking about. They did some punches in the air, I still didn't know. Only when I googled him did I discover his identity: apparently he is the man behind the Tae Bo video my sister used to work out to in high school. He might count as a c-list celebrity in the US, but he has an infomercial on Japanese T.V., so the students assumed he was huge.
I've made the same mistake. Satoshi Kon's films have gotten quite a bit of attention in the US. His last few, Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, and Millennium Actress, got really good reviews in the American press. So when I mentioned his name to a few Japanese people, I assumed they would have heard of him. If he's an arthouse fave in the States, he should be a full-fledged star in Japan. I suppose that is not the case.
At least they've heard of Harry Potter.

Gorging and Purging

On of the many strengths of Japan in general, but Kanazawa in particular, is its delicious food. I cannot think of a single meal I've had here which disappointed me. Even when I have to eat a conbini bento, I find that I am quite satisfied afterwards. During the school week, PII students have to fend for themselves during lunch, and many stick with the fare at the nearest Family Mart. However, I have found it quite worthwhile to branch out every once and while (or everyday), and try the restaurants within a ten minute walk of the school building. There's a single counter place, with a solitary old cook on a small street opposite Rifare. He makes the best Katsudon(fried pork, egg, and rice) I've had here. The meal comes with soba (being hand made in the picture by yours truly), veggies, and miso soup, and it only costs 600 yen. Since the whole operation is run by one old man, it takes him about 3o minutes to make it, but the food is well worth the wait. There are a multitude of restaurants in the nearby Forus Depaato, as well as in the Porte Building's basement, and they are all good. Even El Torito, the only Mexican restaurant I have seen in Japan.
Lunch is great, but the best food I have had in Japan has been shared with my host family. Anything my host mom, Eriko, cooks is delicious, but at dinner time, I'm a particularly big fan of her sukiyaki. For breakfast, she makes me salads, crepes, banana stuffed hot cakes, and my favorite food before coming to Japan, cold cereal. Although it is usually only my host mom and two younger siblings at dinner, it is always an excellent opportunity to practice both my Japanese, and my Sumo wrestler impression. According to my younger brother, Kouji, instead of saying gochisosama deshita after a meal, Sumos say gotsusan. Whenever my extremely busy host dad, Ken, and elder younger brother, Yutah, find time to make it back for dinner, we all go out to eat. In the picture, all of us, including Rio, my younger sister, are awaiting a meal featuring the best tuna sashimi I have ever had. Which means it is probably the best food I've ever had. I'm a glutton here in Japan. I stuff myself at every meal, and within a half-hour I'm salivating at the thought of the next one.
Of course, with all of this eating, I have to do something to keep my figure. Luckily, in the Porte building (the same place to get cheap ramen for lunch), there is a perfectly good gym. Sports Central takes up the fourth and fifth floors. With the exception of cable cross, it has all of the exercise machines I'd expect, as well as a free weights, a pool, saunas, massage chairs, a driving range, and squash courts. I've been able to go four days a week pretty consistently. The staff is friendly, although one personal trainer seems to have a weakness for gaijin, both male and female. Some may pause at the price, 16000 yen for two months. But with all of the food I've been eating, what was once a luxury is now a necessary expense.

Physical and Spiritual Health in Kanazawa

At 3 morning, on the day of my first semester final, I woke with a start. My left ear felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and beyond the cotton something was trying to burst out. For the next hour I tried to relieve the pain a variety of ways, from q-tips, to water. Although my remedies failed miserably, I did fall back asleep, and when I awoke, the bursting feeling had subsided. I could not hear out of one ear, but I decided to worry about it after my test.
4 hours later, I looked up my symptoms on WebMD, and decided that I had an ear infection. I went to my host mom, asking if she had ear drops. She did not, but said she would look for them when she went grocery shopping. However, the store did not carry ear drops. It turns out, when some feels some serious pain in Japan, they immediately go to the doctor, since the health care system here is inexpensive and inefficient for Japanese patients. She recommended that I go to the hospital the next morning, before my bus to Kyoto.
Naturally, I was worried. I spent hours trying to figure out what to do about insurance, because I imagined a trip to the hospital would be pretty expensive for a Gaijin. With the help of my American parents, I learned that I would have to pay for my treatment up front, and then hope to get reimbursed later. This made me even more nervous. I thought I would be draining a large amount of my bank account the next day, right before my trip.
But my fears were unfounded. I spent a total of an hour and ten minutes at the hospital and the pharmacy. The doctor prescribed to types of antibiotics, ear drops, and pain killers. Including the meds, the visit cost me 70$ and stopped my eardrum from bursting. Now my ear is fine. The pharmacy translated my medications into English, so when I report this to the Yale Health Plan, they'll understand what treatment I received, and might actually reimburse me. Even if they do not reimburse me, 70$ is quite a deal, but if I were a Japanese citizen, this treatment would have cost maybe 10$. I sure do hate the American Health Care System.
This week, I also had an opportunity to heal my spiritual self. A group of students were led to a temple on a hill and did Zazen. It was the most worthwhile cultural activity I have participated in at PII. An Obousan taught us the proper technique, and the we sat in silence for 20 minutes, like our consciousness float towards tranquility. Of course, I never got close to an enlightened, or even blank state. I was to worried about my breathing, my posture, and my numb leg to focus on nothing at all. Nonetheless, I liked the experience very much. If I thought I could wake-up at 4:30 every morning, I might even consider joining a temple for a while.
Besides sitting in silence for a few minutes, life in Japan has become lost in the doldrums. Hopefully the weekend will replenish my enthusiasm, but right now, all I want to do is read Harry Potter.
Next week, a review of The Order of The Phoenix movie. Or maybe something about Japan.

Kyoto

This past weekend I went to Kyoto for nakayasumi, a four day vacation between terms here at PII. After the brief time I spent there, I have to say it is one of the best cities I have ever visited.
The photo to the left was taken at Kiyomizudera, one of the many busy temples around the city. Like almost all of the other sacred places we visited, kiyomizudera was packed with tourists and merchandise aimed at tourists. Somehow, every temple managed to separate itself from the secular clutter of the huge city, and at the same time embrace the throngs of people that walked through their gardens each day. Of the places we visited, Kiyomizudera had the most beautiful views, but Ryoanji was far and away the most tranquil and spiritually satisfying spot. I am constantly astounded at the power of shared, thoughtful silence. Ryoanji, with its famous rock garden, managed to find that silence no matter how many people chose to sit within it. Unless the people were part of a large, Japanese tour group, in which case they totally ruined the Qi.
While I liked the temples, the best part of Kyoto was the city itself. It managed to feel both exciting and safe; overwhelming and manageable; a tourist mecca and a hometown. Everynight, we went out until past three in the morning. My friend from Swarthmore, Arthur, had a friend who was living in Kyoto, Lily. She was able to show us around the less famous parts of town. She also introduced us to Japanese people, who actually live in Kyoto. On Friday night, five of us (two kyotans, two swarthies, and one yalie) sat in a quiet bar for some three hours talking. The picture above is me with the two nihonjin, Komoe and Mami. We practiced our second languages, while enjoying the Nomihoudai. The next night, we wondered around the nightlife district and happened upon many Japanese people who had drunk themselves to oblivion, or at least pissing in the canal. And it was the most fun I've had in Japan.
Here's how I planned my Nakayasumi. I took the bus to Kyoto. I bought the tickets for 6600 yen roundtrip out in front of Kanazawa Eki. I stayed at the Budget Inn, a ten minute walk from the station. It cost 25oo yen a night to stay in a dorm with five other people. The building was clean, and the people were nice. That's about all I did before hand.
Next time, I'll talk about dealing with my ear infection, since that story is ongoing.