In about my second month in Japan I joined the kendo club. Most of the clips in this video were taken by me at a competition that we had at Funabashi Arena. Most of the people videoed are obviously my friends, but I also have clips of random people I videoed in here as well. I myself am not really in it much (since I was still a complete beginner I didn't compete), but the clips that are of lower quality are videos of me at practice matches.
I took most of these videos the week after exams. For exams, we have to sit in number order, and since I'm the exchange student I'm the very last so I get to be in the very back in the corner. But that was actually a good thing for taking these videos because the teacher wouldn't be able to see me as well, and my classmates also wouldn't notice me being strange as easily either. Yeah, I took most of these videos without really asking, but whatever. I'm sorry that some of the video my not be too great because I was trying to take it without the teacher noticing, so I kept hiding my phone and stuff. This video does not show all classes that I am taking. I only videoed maybe four classes. It's not like there's a huge difference in how any of it goes though. If you want to know specifics about the way a class schedule goes in Japan please follow this link to another video I made that explains all of that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvT1iVLMgBs The music is Issun's theme from Okami. It's the end of January, which means I've been here for approximately five months. Which also means I'm halfway through my exchange... NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I even had a small burst of craze and blew up my class's group chat saying ”やばいやばいあと五か月やばい帰りたくないよ!” But I'm not just gonna talk about the end. Let me try to make this positive and tell you about how far I've gotten in five months and what I have to look forward to in the next five.
When I first came to Japan, I had been studying three times a week with a private tutor for seven months beforehand. Before that, I had a little experience in Japanese, but not very much. By the time I arrived in Japan, I was able to communicate on a very basic level, could read all hiragana and katakana, and knew about 400 different kanji. But that was still hardly anything. The first month was the hardest for communication. I was still getting used to everyday phrases, different usages, and all that stuff. Really, it was pretty painful to talk sometimes which felt horrible because, of course, there's a ton I'd like to talk about being in a new country and around new people. But the problem was, we didn't know how to understand each other yet. When two months had passed, my language was better. I could communicate pretty well by then, but often had to have repeats or different explanations. Third month: getting better. Fourth month: hey I can read quite a bit of kanji now. Now: Wait a second this is easy now! I'd say that one of the biggest thinking processes I have now compared to the beginning are other people's conversation. Until about my fourth month, it was actually kind of difficult to understand conversations other people were having. I could understand all right if they talked to me directly, but if they were talking to each other, for some reason, I couldn't follow. Another thing was that, until my fifth month, talking to people my own age was a LOT harder than talking to adults. Again, I'm not quite sure why, but that's how it was. But now, I can actually understand my friends really well now, so I'm super proud of that! My reading is also a heck of a lot better. I still can't read most things I see either on TV, in the newspaper, or on the street. But what do you expect? There are thousands of kanji in existence, an average of 2,000 are used daily, and I only know about 700-800 right now. Still, I can read at least some of everything that I see. I really want to be fluent in Japanese by the time I leave (I guess this sort of fluency depends on your own opinion). If I'm as far as I am now (conversationally fluent I'd say) in only five months, then I just might be able to do it with my remaining time! 頑張ります! So, of course, many people wonder what the difference between Japan's Christmas and New Year are like in comparison to their own country's. Well allow me to tell you what I experienced.
In Japan, New Year's is much bigger than Christmas is, which is sort of backwards from most countries. Christmas is usually the time that you spend partying with your friends. Or if you are in a relationship, it's a big day for couples to go out. New Year's is the day that families spend together. In America, it's sort of the other way around. Christmas is the day for family while New Year's is the day for partying with friends. This is how I spent my Christmas: on the 23rd, we had a party at my host family's house. I had my friends Piyo, Iwashi, and Miko-chan (these are nicknames just so you know) come over. One thing that I found really interesting is the way gifts are exchanged. In the USA, you typically buy presents for a specific person, write their name on it, and give it to them. In this way, you get a lot of presents, but you also buy a lot of presents. A common thing to do in Japan is sort of a game of surprise. At the party I had, everyone bought one present. All of those presents then were randomly switched back and forth between ourselves. In this case, everyone only had to buy one present, could only receive one present, and received the gift randomly. Hopefully that makes sense. Anyway, I thought that was really interesting, and I kind of liked it. One of the biggest problems I run into during Christmas is what the heck to buy for whoever I'm buying a present for. Not to mention you've gotta buy at least one for all of the important peoples. So I kind of like this idea of buy one random present and get a random one back. But a con would have to be you only get one present. So, an obvious difference for New Year's is that you go to a shrine. Many people also travel to go visit family, just like you do in the States. I'm making a video showing a bit of a Japanese New Year so hopefully you get some idea from that. It is a music video though, so it's not too detailed. But, it gives you a taste, and I honestly think that if you want to know about it, it's an event that should really be experienced for yourself. That is a little bit about what the winter holidays are like in Japan! I'm sorry I haven't updated in well over a month let alone post any videos, but they are in the workings. I've got the tape for lots of different videos I want to make, and I just have to put it all together (which depending on what kind of video can be the longest part). These are my upcoming videos: Japanese New Year, a day in class, okonomiyaki (eating out with a friend), possibly some kendo stuff, and I've been thinking of doing a random side adventures video too. Lots I've got in mind, but it'll take time, so please be patient! I'll see you on the web! P.S. I said what I did on December 23rd, but not on actual Christmas day. I was actually at a kendo practice match with the rest of the kendo club. That was on both the 24th and the 25th. Yeah, sports clubs in Japan ain't soft. But I still enjoyed it anyway! |
AuthorHey everyone! My name is Marline and I'm currently on foreign exchange in Narita, Japan. I'm from the US and my program stay duration is from late August 2014 to early July 2015. Please follow along with me on my Japanese Exchange Adventures! |