changing impressions~

I have to say that my impression of japan has not changed but to say that  maybe my impression has grown. I never came to japan with a set idea that this is what japan is and this is all there is. I came here with an open mind and ready to learn. I feel that living here for the past four months has been one of the best experiences in my life. I will never forget the wonderful people I have met or the wonderful places I have been. Everyday was a new experience and I will treasure these memories always. I hope to one day return to this country and maybe even live here. who knows what lies ahead but I know some where down this road it will lead me back to Japan.

Politics!!

If there is something that I don't really know anything about, it would be politics. Here in Japan when you walk the streets you see posters everywhere of the people who are running for positions and also unlike in the US people drive around in cars with loud speakers asking the people in the community to vote for them. They also will stand on the street corner talking to people who walk by and sometimes you can see them cleaning up the streets. This is the only place you can see this kind of thing taking place it also happens in the schools as well. There is one person who is running and they have a sort of helper to help talk on there behalf. They also go to each classroom and ask the students for their vote and they stand at the front gates to welcome the students and teachers and then after about a week they have a meeting for all students when they give their speeches and then the students cast their votes. This form resembles a lot of what the adults do. Its very interesting how serious they take it here.

Sports

In japan sports I would say are a big thing especially in the schools. Schools believe in balancing knowledge and exercise. Meaning if student are all work and no play they won't be able to move forward in their studies with the energy to learn. Thus almost every school in Japan encourage (makes) their students join a club.

Also in Japan they have sports day which is a huge event. Students from all around the city come together to compete against each other. Students prepare for weeks and maybe even months. It's really like watching the super bowl but only better!

Clubs take up a huge part of the students time. My little sisters come home around 6 or 7 and some times even later. But clubs give the students a chance to interact with people outside of the class and get to experience what it's like to be a and/ 先輩or こうはい.  The relationship between these two are very strong not only playing their sports but also in school. Clubs or sports provide many things besides a way to stay healthy and fit but also learning experiences.

Gender

In Japan the term gender means something more than just a classification of male and female, as it does all over the world. But in Japan about a long time ago the role for women was to stay home to take care of the house/land and the children. While the role for men was to go to work and bring home the bread so to speak. This image that we as Americans have had in our head for the longest time is that  japan is still like this even today. A lot has changed since then and some not so much. What I mean by this is that by law men and women in Japan are to be treated as equals and women can now work just as men. The only thing is that when a women becomes married and starts her family the boss and works almost pressure her to leave so that she can be a mother to her kids. It's looked down on to work when you have a small child.



Also recently when I was traveling and meeting people a new group of friends of mine acted in a way I had never seen. When the men were thirsty the women filled there drinks and they would all sit the same way and they would act almost as a hostess of a party. It was so surprising for me.

Also at my house my mom is a stay at home mom and from what I've seen and heard its not as easy as you would think. In the morning after all 5 of the kids (counting me) come home, the house is trashed with clothes, backpacks, papers and toys. But by the time we come home everything is spick and span it has almost a shine to it.  She also takes care of all of the laundry and dishes and with 7 people there's a lot! She also the head mother over the club activities thing ~ I was kinda confused when she told me what she did.  I also she her taking care of accounting and outside work. So being a stay at home mom isn't as easy as you thought right!  I really believe women are like super moms ! Because even if and when women go back to work they still have to take care of all everything when they stayed at home.  Gender what a crazy thing it is.

Globalization~!

Today in class we actually talked a little bit on this topic. To me the term globalization is when a community or country integrate traits or behaviors outside their normal from other countries. Also when I think of the word I think many countries working together, but my ideas may be different from others. Today in class someone said that their idea of the term is that by learn and studying English they are working towards becoming a more globalized community. Because English is a global language.

religion

I have to say I personally don't like talking about religion in general. I believe people have the right to believe in what or who they want to if they want to at all. In Japan people believe in a couple of different things the most popular here seems like Buddhism, Shinto, Christianity and lastly nothing at all. In some peoples houses they have shrines for the members of their families that have passed and they give offerings to them such as food. Also even if people don't have  really have a religion people still go to shrines for certain occasions such as new years or for naming children.

Pop culture?

The first thing that pops into my mind when I hear Pop Culture as in things that are popular now. To me that is music. The kind of music that is popular in America is definitely different  then what is popular here in Japan. For Example in America right now you could definitely say that Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj and many other artists of this time. I asked one of my friends here in Morioka what his idea of pop culture was he replied back along the same lines as me only adding more to it. He said to me pop culture is what is popular now he said of course music, but not only that you have to think fashion. He then went into talking about food and how much he likes certain things but that's for a different time. So anyways back to the point. He said fashion plays a major role in each generation. Your either in or your out.
In Japan if you go to any combini (convenient store) or honya (book store) you will find amongst the shelves a huge supply of fashion magazines. In these magazines they show you what types of clothes are cool or in and what goes with what.
They also give make up,dating and hair care tips. Our ideas of pop culture are slightly different, but also kinda the same.

Today I'm going to tell you about some of the people that have come into my life here in Morioka. To start off there is my awesome family. Back in the states I don't have any siblings but here I get to experience what it is like to be an older sister. Back in the states I live with just my mom and we have a very close relationship, my host mother doesn't have an older daughter and so I'm really happy to hangout with her and do stuff together. I think she enjoys it also. Also something that is new for me is having a father figure in the house hold as well as having brothers in general. Boys are like a whole different creature and they are completely crazy and funny.
Since coming to Morioka I've made a lot of friends. One thing about me is I like to talk and I like meeting new people. haha The people in this city are very nice and friendly you just need to open up and they will follow. Whether if your at school, in a combini or on the street give a friendly smile to all the people around you, you never know who you will meet!

Neighborhood~!

This blog post I'm going to talk about the neighborhood around my house! To start off with its very quiet and peaceful. Down the road from my house there is a small park that has playground equipment, but I have only ever seen a mother and her child play there once. It's kinda sad that not many people use it. If you go down another from my house you will find a grocery store and also 2 combinis. The best part about my neighborhood is the train station is close by! It is about a 5 min walk from my house, which is great since I use the train everyday!
In the morning when I am on my way to Gandai or to the school I help at, I always see a lot of people out in the morning, but when I come home that's a different story. If I am lucky there will be one or two people also out at night, which is weird since the train is always packed during that time. All in all my neighborhood is nice and I really like it here a lot. It has a very homey feel to it.
I would also call my neighborhood Gandai and the school I assist at. Both places are just like my home very peaceful and beautiful. I visit these places everyday and I am slowly recognizing the people that are at these places everyday! Its an awesome feeling!

I arrived~! and a week in tokyo~!

I forgot to post that I even arrived in Japan!!!! Shows you how busy I have been.
When I arrived at Narita airport one of my Besties Mayu Sato was waiting with a sign  that said, "Welcome to Japan Rosa!" it was so cute and it made me so happy! After we reunited we headed for the car and we were off to her house! There I met her mom for the first time and she is exactly like mayu, very kind and sweet! I stayed with them for twos days and during that time me and mayu went shopping in Harajuku and Shinjuku. We also ate at alot of different places around tokyo!

After that I head for a hostel not far from her house it was really cheap and actually very nice for how cheap it was. The downside no elevator and the girls are on the 3rd floor! During the time I stayed there by myself I adventured to Asakusa, which is a temple and has many little shops along the way with all kinds of different little nick nacks. You can spend hours there! That night I met up with Momoko for dinner and later on Tomoki joined us so we could take purikura!!! haha

For the next couple of days I would stay with Atsushi and his family. They are awesome!!! This was the second time I have been allowed to stay with them. Atsushi made sure there was never a dull moment while I was staying with him. We went all over tokyo and went up with almost of his years TSA students. I had a wonderful time there.

After that it was back to the hotel for a day, but this time I had a friend! My friend Natsumi came and stayed with me and we even met up with another one of my friends, his name is Keita. We went out for dinner and even went to Yokohama the next day, where we took purikura of course. Lol

The last stop was Kahos house! The problem was getting there... you see my suitcase broke, all four wheels just fell off. As a result I had to buy a new one, transfer the stuff and carry both back to meet everyone. We decided that we would go out to eat before we would go back to her apartment. Tomoya and Kazu being the gentlemen that they are carried my suitcases for me.(thank you!!!) When It was time to leave for the train station Kazu helped me carry it to the train station! Im so glad I have such great friends!!!! My time in Tokyo with everyone was one I will never forget and I will come back and visit soon, but for now I have to venture on to the next place and that is Morioka, Iwate!!! Here I come!!

First Impressions~!

I realize its been along time since I posted on here, but I had no Idea how busy I would be! At first I thought I would have plenty of time to sit back, write a blog every couple of days and hangout with people. From the things I've heard from the  previous SICE students experience ours is going to be a very different one.I assumed we would roughly experience the same things that they did, but due to the earthquake and other events, things have changed a little.
At first I was really nervous meeting my family, going to Gandai, helping with an English class and maybe helping with relief work. Though all of my worries so far were for nothing. Yukisan did a wonderful job of placing me with an AMAZING family! They are wonderful, full of energy, and I lover them ALL!!!! Gandai is also a very peaceful campus and were slowly making friends with people there. Also my school (Senboku) the teachers, principle, and vice principle are all very nice and are ready to help me when they can. The vice principle even bought me a hanko! Which is a stamp with my name on it.
Over all my first impression of Iwate is a great one and I cant wait to see what else is to come!

Packing~!

Couple of days ago I started packing and boy was that something lol
It took about 3 or 4 days to finish mainly because of the weight issue. I even had to take my suitcase to the post office to have them weigh it haha luckily I knew someone who works there and they were able to help me out! ^^ Turned out that my bag weighed 62 lbs and it needed to weigh 50lbs so it was back to packing!! I ended up having to use a scale at home and pray that it was the correct weight lol So in the end I have a total of 3 bags!! haha We'll see how that goes!

6 Days to go~!

Only 6 more days to go~! I can't believe it's getting close. The other day I received a letter from my host family! Each one of them wrote a letter to me and sent me some pictures of everyone! ^^ They look very nice and I feel like I'm going to have a lot of FUN!!!! Since I've gotten their letter I've been emailing with them when I can and they keep telling me to hurry and come to Japan www. My little sister yui wants to play tennis when I get there and my little brother kazu wants me to teach him my favorite games.
They all seem so cute and full of energy!

Today I came home to a surprise again..  MY JAPANESE CELL (ケイタイ電話）arrived!! It seems pretty easy to use, the menu is all in English and I've figured out how to text in Japanese, take a picture, set alarms and so on. I definitely like how sleek and lite weight it is.

Today I also decided to start packing and doing laundry~ I have a lot of clothes so I'm hoping everything will fit! lol I'm hoping that I don't forget anything ~!!!!!!!!

Well till next time! 

まったね～！

Rosa

The count down begins~!

Hey Guys :) I'm starting this blog to keep a sort of diary of all of my experiences in Japan. In less then 2 weeks I will have finished packing my bags and boarding a plane for  Japan~! To say I'm excited is an understatement! I still have a lot to do before I'm ready to leave. Right now I'm working on getting presents together to give to my host family and my friends.

I'm actually leaving 10 days earlier than the rest of my group so this should be interesting and fun. ^^ www 

I'm hoping to meet up with a lot of the friends I've made from Earlham, OU and from hosting these past couple of years. I'm also planning on going shopping and get several necessary things like: a hair dryer, hair straightener, clothes, etc.. Of course I'm bring a lot of clothes that I already own (I just want new stuff hehe), but as for the hair stuff this way I'll have more room to bring stuff  and also they will work better with the voltage in Japan.

For the next 5 months I will be writing about all the new and interesting things that I experience in Japan. I'll also be posting pictures so you can get an idea of what exactly I'll be talking about! ^^ haha

Feel free to comment and ask questions any time! I hope you find something interesting here!

Well till next time~! まったね～

Rosa!