My speech was about the pluses and minuses of 現代か (gendaika/modernization), which has both made traveling and communicating much easier (for instance through blogging!) and yet seemingly left people with less to say to one another (when was the last time you wrote a long letter to someone?). 歴史 (rekishi/history) and 現代 (gendai/modernity) seem to have been the de facto theme for my experiences last week. For instance: I've often wondered about the numerous 自動販売機 (jidouhambaiki/vending machines, lit. self-moving sales machine) which can be found almost every block of 函館 (Hakodate) and even out of the city where I live with my host family.
販売機 (hambaiki) always sell only drinks (I have yet to see a single food vending machine in Japan) and are often run by individual stores or homes which otherwise don't sell food or drink. These reminded me of the small stalls that are everywhere in the Philippines, and I asked my host parents about them. Sure enough, I was told that when they were young, families used to run individual shops to sell cool drinks to passersby.
In addition to normal coursework, every student at HIF has to complete an independent study project outside of the classroom. I decided to look at local 神社 (jinja/Shinto temples), and Monday I had my first interview with a the 宮司 (guuji/chief priest) of a local shrine dedicated to 亡くなった軍人 (nakunatta gunjin/deceased soldiers). The 宮司 and his wife were very kind, and afterward they gave me a bag of souvenirs, including food, a good-luck charm for studying, and a bottle of お酒 (osake/saké)! The interview, conducted entirely in 日本語 (nihongo/Japanese) was fascinating: the shrine has been in their family since 明治二年 (Meiji ni-nen/Meiji year two, or 1870). He was also delightfully philosophical: when asked what would happen if there ever be a time when there is no more war he answered that the shrine is dedicated to the fallen and that they pray only to them and not to any god of war for the end of all conflict. He said that every fallen soldier has an increasing affect as time goes on and the number of the deceased's relatives continues to multiply.
I had another experience concerning traditional Japanese culture last week on Sunday: July 4th is 七夕 (Tanabata), an annual festival commemorating the story of two lovers who can only meet on that one night every year. Children dress up in traditional 和服 (wafuku/Japanese clothing) and go door-to-door singing the 七夕 song in exchange for candy. I helped hand out treats to kids (as long as they sang the song!), which was very cute, though one little girl burst into tears when she saw me, despite my protestations that I wasn't a 怖い外国人 (kowai gaikokujin/scary foreigner). It was fun!
After midterms were over we had a four-day weekend, and about half the program went on a trip to 札幌 (Sapporo)! It was a blast. 函館 is a great, comfortably sized city, but 札幌 really is a bustling metropolis.
(There are no Starbucks in 函館!)
The weekend was completely unscheduled, and we got to do what we liked. Admittedly, one of these things was to speak 英語 (eigo/English), after weeks of basically only seeing each other in the Japanese-only facility, but we also made good use of our 日本語 out in the city.
We stayed in this youth hostel for three nights. It had a more traditional gender-separated public shower and bath.
札幌 is one of Portland's sister cities, and I was delighted to find this information placard on display.
プリクラ (purikura/"print clubs"): a more modern side of Japanese culture! From the left in the top picture are Emily Moody (Bates '11), Yanqiang Tan (Brown '13), JR Tan (UPenn '13), Erica Tso (Smith '10/Oxford), and Eli Tung (UPenn '13); in addition to myself, Michael Liu (Sacramento City College '12) is in the bottom picture. I'm actually kind of glad that that latter picture is a bit blurry… Eli, whose nickname is 社長 (shachou/'boss'), was a master at adding many cutesy decorations to our photo in the limited time the machine allows.
札幌, of course, is very famous for its brew, and a visit to the beer factory was very interesting.
A group of us also went to watch 野球 (yakyuu/baseball) at the city stadium. I'm happy to report the Hokkaidō Nippon-Ham Fighters triumphed! Japanese baseball fans seem very intense, and a rousing crowd rendition of YMCA was definitely memorable.
Finally, three of us went out last night to watch the final game of the World Cup! Kickoff was at 3:30 am, but we were determined to go (we had gone out to see the first game the first week of the program). It was an exciting, if a tad sloppily played, game, as I'm sure everyone knows. I mean, eight yellow cards and only one goal in second overtime?! Go Spain!
Just before the game we went out for ramen. I am convinced this is the best bowl of ramen I have ever had and promised the shopkeeper to return someday.
We picked a bar without any other 外国人 (gaikokujinn/foreigners), which was a great way to interact with local fans.
Finally, this is our victory photo, as Emily, I, and Neil Richler (UC Santa Cruz) prepare to venture out into the morning sun at 6:15 am to pack and return to 函館 for the fifth week of class!
またね！
Hi Sergio - Dad and I would love to go with you to Sapporo and taste the best Ramen in the world! What a great week for you! And yeah... Go Spain - we were rooting for the two soccer players: Sergio Ramos & Sergio Busquetz!
ReplyDeleteLove, Mom and Dad