...the more I realise quite a number of things... amongst others. None more obvious than that each time I tell myself that I'll blog, I delay if for a few days; if not weeks.
This particular post is going to cover a few things... the first bit will be somewhat negative, however it will get more positive from there.
Firstly, in 2010 there was a conference in Kansas City which comprised of some of the worlds top academics and educators, discussing study-abroad programs and that in general, there was very little mental health support offered from/between partner institutions of students who are undertaking study abroad given the fact that one in three study abroad students suffers severe depression whilst on exchange.
Now, why do I bring this up? When you have limited access to English speakers (or speakers of your native language) you naturally gravitate towards speakers of your native language; you spend quite a bit of time with them, and even those who you don't spend a lot of time with you start to notice that the way they respond to things. You decide after a while that the defensiveness with which they respond to most things that are said around them, especially in regards to the target language/culture/country, are pretty far out... especially if said person has been in that country for 8 months already.
In my application letter to my university for acceptance to the study abroad programme, I was asked to respond to several questions including but not limited to 'how I thought I would deal with the stress of moving'. Now, I went the whole nine yards and explained that my family had quite frequent contact with families from Southern Asia as well as the central Indo-Pacific region. I explained that there is almost nothing food wise that I hadn't eaten, or wouldn't give a go - except Natto, however I've grown quite fond of that recently, and that I was pretty sure that nothing would surprise me. I discussed that I would maintain constant contact with my family and that there would be a wonderful support network for me in the event that I needed it.
Facebook is such a wonderful social commentary tool; A 'friend's' status was as follows:
"A lot of the popular common courtesies we use in America don't really exist in Japan. That's been really hard for me to deal with without walking around convinced everyone is rude and incredibly self-absorbed. I absolutely despise going to the grocery store."
I have been in Japan for nearly 9 weeks neat now, and every day that I am here, I see two things develop. Firstly, my utter dislike for the Foundation level Japanese classes. There is something in re-learning what you already know in a different format that is incredibly useful, but at the same time annoying/confusing/hate-building to say the least.
Secondly, is most of the people that I know here becoming more than 'fed up' with Japan... Some feel that they don't belong to any particular country, other abhorred more than ever at the difference in Occidental/Oriental countries' cultures
My Japanese Lecturer and I were exchanging emails quite regularly previous to my departure from Australia. Having never been to Japan before, let alone travelling within the country itself, I decided to ask him for any advice. Not wanting to pose the question "so, how do I get there", I included a few options. One of which was a peaceful ferry ride from Narita to Sapporo (where I was under the assumption I would be exchanging to, not to the more south Hakodate).
The ferry ride was going to cost approximately Y13,000 or fly for Y18,000. His response was as follows:
"The ferry ride may be an interesting experience, but you could enjoy the experience from a comfortable armchair, in a vicarious way, by reading a travelog ..."
Overall, I see this as possibly one of the best pieces of advice that I was given in response to Japan travel.
You come to Japan to experience Japanese Culture... the Language... everything as a whole. If you were studying Gaelic, it would be ridiculous to go to Ireland and only eat Chinese food, or American style Burgers and stay with an American Family... not go to an Irish Pub. The idea of cultural assimilation may seem silly to some, however it is absolutely necessary if you want to develop any sort of understanding of a target country.
Just the same, the second most important thing to remember, is that - especially in a foreign country, you will be looked at. Especially if you are different. Occidentals will stand out as much in an Oriental Country, as a White Skinned person would in a North African non-english speaking province. Sure there may be a case of you being able to speak a language as well as a native, but because you are physically different, there will always be the chance, let alone guarantee of your ability being second guessed. Don't take it as an offence, take it as a gift. People in the western world don't generally go out of their way to speak other languages to people; thus, if you are in Japan as a non-native Japanese Speaker and you have English thrown your way, take it as the height of service; remember, they could always speak Japanese exclusively and leave you to suffer.
Just the same, understanding that it's a different country, let alone an Asian country, should be enough for a person to at least garner the idea that things will be different. These people are accustomed to being packed in tighter than the proverbial sardines into a Train, or Tram, push past you like it's no-one's problem in the supermarket, but sitting down enjoying quiet time is maximum-personal-space-bubble time.
Frankly, 'get over it'. It gets very hard for me to understand this sort of thing... especially when a person has been here for so long... voluntarily.
Secondly, I can't understand the progression of the development of my Japanese. I get incredibly annoyed with it. I feel that as things stand my spoken Japanese is gradually becoming better. My listening is... well, I feel abhorrid, however I had myself convinced that the service personnel at my regular hangouts had lowered their level of Japanese to suit me. I was standing in line behind a couple today at Sushi Maru, and I understood nearly all of their conversation, so I have a renewed hope.
My written Japanese has come along incredibly - if I may be so bold as to say...writing is my way out of a lot of Japanese situations... it gives me time to put my thoughts together in a sensible manner. As far as reading goes, it gets better with my writing.
One thing that I will work out - one day I'm sure, is how the 'difficulty' levels in the Japanese classes are organised. For example, the classes are organised into 3 levels; Shokyu, Chuukyu, and Jokyu.
Shokyu is Foundation Level, Chuukyu is Intermediate, and Jokyu is Advanced.
This being said... there appears to be no standard 'leveling' system. For example, I take two Shokyu classes a week; these are the Foundation Japanese classes mentioned waaaaaaaaay back at the top of this post. All my other classes are Chukyu and are in some ways 'easier' than the foundation classes. I also tried taking one of the Chukyu classes at Shokyu level; it nearly lead to me ripping my hair out in frustration at how easy it was. There are only a certain number of times you can stay sane whilst responding 'Konnichi wa' to a CD player.
Thirdly, quickly, is money. This nearly deserves its own post and I may even video-blog it at some stage... it's really quite tricky.
Most - if not all - larger establishments will accept Credit Card. Visa, Amex, have your pick. You will have to sign though... apparently Japan doesn't support 'Pin for Credit' even if it's a 'Visa Debit/Mastercard Debit'. The things to remember though, is that Japan is a cash society. I go to the 7/11 Convenience store once every two weeks, and withdraw Y30,000.This equates to about AU$390.00 at the moment and sees me out for two weeks if I am very liberal on spending. I can get by on Y20,000 (AU$260.00) a month quite easily - just remember that cooking for yourself is the way to go, in my opinion. The thing to be careful of however, is that Japanese ATM's which can provide international transactions, dispense Y10,000 notes. Exclusively. So it's easier to withdraw a larger sum, and work out from there how much you are spending monthly/weekly etc.
I shall blog more tomorrow.
It's written on the calendar :D
