Hey all,
So the day has finally come..my last day in Japan.
It has been quite a journey! I have made some great friends and great memories that I will never forget. I am real busy today packing and sorting things out before I go, but I just wanted to say thanks for reading!
I will have one more blog entry once I am back in the states and have had some time to reflect, so please check back!
Also, I want to give a BIG thank you to all the good people at Honjo International Scholarship Foundation, Rikki Mitsunaga, and Professor Misawa for making this trip possible!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
かなしい！ (sad)
Yeah, I'm sad its all winding down, but in a good way. (Sorry, my next few posts until I leave are probably going to keep mentioning how sad I am to be leaving.)
Tomorrow is my last concert here at Sophia University. I'm playing in 4 bands, got a lot to memorize tonight, but I am looking forward to it. I will post pictures when I get a chance. Its going to be my last hurrah on stage with a lot of my friends from this music "circle".
I cannot emphasize enough how good of company these people are, and it is kind of funny reflecting on my relationships with them a mere 4 months ago when I first arrived. First off, I didn't know that so many of them could speak English. They were very shy at first (a common trait here in Japan) and were very hesitant to use their English skills. However, as we got to know each other (and they figured out I wasn't a crazy Gaijin, well not completely crazy at least) they opened up and BOOM all of a sudden everyone was an English speaker (slight exaggeration). It felt like a snowball effect. As soon as I got close with a couple people in the circle, the metaphoric "Warning Label" was lifted off of me, and others felt like they could actually talk to me!
The "shy" factor, as I call it, is the biggest difference between the US and Japanese culture. They know it. Us foreigners know it. However, it's a gap that when bridged, opens up so many deeper and frankly more interesting cultural insights. I see many instances where this initial bridge is not crossed and as a result many misconceptions about one another remain. My friends from this circle have even told me that as long as they have been a member, no exchange student has gotten close to knowing them as I have. Its a great honor, and I hope it will help them warm up to the next batch of exchange students more quickly. After all, there is so much to learn from each other!
Ok enough with the cheesy life lessons, gotta get back to practicing for tomorrow's concert. じゃあね。
Tomorrow is my last concert here at Sophia University. I'm playing in 4 bands, got a lot to memorize tonight, but I am looking forward to it. I will post pictures when I get a chance. Its going to be my last hurrah on stage with a lot of my friends from this music "circle".
I cannot emphasize enough how good of company these people are, and it is kind of funny reflecting on my relationships with them a mere 4 months ago when I first arrived. First off, I didn't know that so many of them could speak English. They were very shy at first (a common trait here in Japan) and were very hesitant to use their English skills. However, as we got to know each other (and they figured out I wasn't a crazy Gaijin, well not completely crazy at least) they opened up and BOOM all of a sudden everyone was an English speaker (slight exaggeration). It felt like a snowball effect. As soon as I got close with a couple people in the circle, the metaphoric "Warning Label" was lifted off of me, and others felt like they could actually talk to me!
The "shy" factor, as I call it, is the biggest difference between the US and Japanese culture. They know it. Us foreigners know it. However, it's a gap that when bridged, opens up so many deeper and frankly more interesting cultural insights. I see many instances where this initial bridge is not crossed and as a result many misconceptions about one another remain. My friends from this circle have even told me that as long as they have been a member, no exchange student has gotten close to knowing them as I have. Its a great honor, and I hope it will help them warm up to the next batch of exchange students more quickly. After all, there is so much to learn from each other!
Ok enough with the cheesy life lessons, gotta get back to practicing for tomorrow's concert. じゃあね。
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