At Last

08/12/08 Tuesday: Sunny
Sigh. As I am sitting here in sunny California, so much is flowing through my mind that I don't even know where to begin. For the last two months, I studied a year worth of Japanese in Tokyo at SANC Nihongo Academy. However, my studying was definitely not limited to the Japanese language; rather, I learned so much about the Japanese society, culture, history, and most importantly, people. I learned that Japan is an amazingly efficient, respectful, and hard-working society. I also learned that Japanese-flavored salad sauce is so much better than American ones. This summer was definitely one of the best experiences of my life, and I would never trade it for anything else.

So my last week in Japan consisted of studying for finals and preparing the final presentation. I don't think I did too hot on the final, which was sort of disappointing. However, I did think that my final presentation went really well. Even until the afternoon before my final presentation, I didn't know what my topic was going to be on. However, I wanted to write about the Japanese spirit. Since the theme of our final presentation was "Nihon no Kokoro," which meant the heart of Japan, I thought it would be appropriate to write about the hard-working spirit of the Japanese people. I didn't know how much I've improved this summer until I finished writing my presentation.

Before I went to Japan, I could barely write a coherent sentence in Japanese. I knew fews words and few grammatical patterns. However, by the end of the summer, I was able to write a relatively good presentation that's about 5-6 mins in pure Japanese. I was actually kind of proud of myself after I finished. It was hard, but I still did it.

So after the presentation, we had a goodbye/farewell dinner with our teachers. It was really sad saying bye to my teachers because they were so nice and understanding. I probably wasn't the best student because I talked a lot, asked a lot of stupid questions, and resorted to English when I didn't know how to say things in Japanese even though I signed the language contract. The teachers, nonetheless, were always extremely patient with us. They never yelled at us for acting stupid or not understanding a particular grammatical structure. They were just so yasashikatta. By the end of the dinner, my teachers told me that they were extremely proud of me and what I have accomplished from the bottom of their hearts. That really meant so much to me. I mean, to be honest, I am pretty slow when it comes to learning Japanese. People in my class sometimes were frustrated with me because I couldn't remember words or grammar that we've already learned in the past. And at those times, I would be very frustrated at myself as well. I would be frustrated because I couldn't learn at the same speed as everyone else. However, when the senseis told me that I improved beyond their expectations, I was definitely overwhelmed with joy. It really gave me the confidence and motivation to continue my studying of Japanese.

After our farewell party, we all went partying and stayed up all night. It was a very, very interesting night. Met some funny/interesting people. Li san was freaking so zyouzu at talking to Japanese girls--a skill that I wish I had.

Next day, Li san, Kevin and I went to someplace to buy my Japanese dictionary. It was sweet because we played ping pong, pool, and videos games. After dinner (a pretty bad, expensive dinner), we went to a bar and watched the USA vs China men's basketball. It was interesting because I, as a Chinese-American, had a conflict of interest. Nonetheless, I ended up rooting for China, though they lost terribly anyway. It was a great relaxing day.

This concludes my 2 months in Japan. It has been absolutely amazing, and I definitely hope to return to Japan in the future to work or just to visit. Finally, I would just like to say that I've made some awesome friends this summer. Everyone in SANC was great. I had such a good time with you guys. This summer was definitely one of the highlights in my life, and I hope it was in yours too.

Now for some pictures to recapture the good times in Tokyo:






With that, I'll conclude my summer blog.

Yours truly,
Hans Liang

Kyoto

08/01/08 Friday: Sunny
Man, it is August already? Time sure passes in a flash. I only have about 10 days left in Japan, and then I go back to LA! On one hand, I am dying to see my friends that I haven't seen since winter break. But on the other hand, I definitely know that I will miss Japan once I leave. The thing is, I don't know when I'll be able to come back here.

It's been a while since I last blogged. So after the elementary school visit, I went to Kyoto with 6 other people. Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan before the Meiji Restoration; it's a city that's rich in history and ancient Japanese culture. To be honest, I actually liked Kyoto more than Tokyo. Compared to Tokyo, Kyoto was more slow-paced, composed, and elegant. Tokyo is the typical metropolitan city that's fast-paced, busy, and oppressive at times. Kyoto, however, was hotter than Tokyo. And we stayed at a really cheap and ill-conditioned hostel. I felt like I was in rural China or something.

First day, we took the Shinkansen to Kyoto. I don't know what's up with the public transportation in the United States, but the public transportation in Japan is amazing. You can go anywhere in Japan without a car, and that is definitely not true in the States. The Shinkansen, which is like the Amtrak, takes about 2 hours to go from Tokyo to Kyoto. It was super awesome, albeit the tickets were expensive. After we arrived in Kyoto, we dropped off our stuff at the hostel and went site seeing. We went to a couple of shrines, temples, and then went to a Gion Matsuri, a kind of Japanese festival. It was so much touring that by the end of the night, I was completely exhausted.

Next day, we did some more touring around Kyoto, went to a World Heritage Site, Kinkaku Ji, and couple of other places. At 5, we took a train to Kobe to meet up with our first year Japanese teacher, Nishimura Sensei!!!!! I was so happy when I saw Nishimura Sensei because she was my favorite teacher in Japanese class. During my first year in Japanese, I was probably the stupidest student in the class. I would always ask the most retarded and obvious questions. I never knew the answers to the questions that the teachers asked. I was just such a retarded kid. But, Nishimura sensei was definitely the most patient and nicest teacher to me. She was always there to help me when I needed her help. She was definitely one of the reasons why I decided to continue Japanese. After we arrived at Kobe, we had a delicious dinner and then went to her house. Her house was so freaking huge (by Japanese standards) and clean. She already set up our rooms with futons and pillows and gave us towels for showers. This, in contrast to the night before, was heaven.

Next day, we went to Himeji Castle, which was another World Heritage Site. It was pretty cool. By then, I've become pretty numb to touring historical sites. After that, we said goodbye to Nishimura Sensei and took the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. Overall, Kyoto was an amazing experience because it represented a completely different face of Japan.

Now for pictures!






That is it for now.

Until next time,
Hans

Elementary School Visit

07/17/08 Thursday: Sunny
I can't believe that I only have three weeks left in Tokyo. It makes me so sad. Tokyo has been so much fun; I really don't want to leave. Moreover, my leaving Tokyo will symbolize the end of my summer. I am seriously not ready to be a junior. Can't I go back to Freshman year or something?

On another note, I feel like my Japanese has actually improved. I can now watch TV and make out what is probably going on. I can speak basic Japanese to native Japanese people.

On Tuesday, we went to a local elementary school as part of our culture exchange. There, I received the most elaborate welcome that I've ever experienced. They sat us down on the stage of their auditorium and welcomed us like we're some kind of celebrities. Except we're just Yale students. They even had a band that played the Star Wars theme song for us. It was pretty cool.

After that, we each had an assigned class that we were supposed to teach. My class was a second grade class. I nearly had a panic attack when I found out. First, I couldn't even speak coherent Japanese to adults, how was I going to communicate with kids? Second, I had to teach them a game. That's right, a game. How am I suppose to teach second graders how to play a game in Japanese when I can barely order gyouza in a restaurant.

However, I did the best I could. My students first introduced themselves to me, made me introduce myself, and asked me some basics questions. By this point, I was sweating like crazy because I was so nervous and scared. I felt like I was back in third grade when I first came to America and didn't speak a word of English. Ok, maybe that was a little different, but you get the idea.


They then taught me a game that was similar to musical chairs. I got owned by this fat kid. Man, I was terrible at the game. I think the kids found it amusing, though. After we play musical chairs, I tried my best to explain the newspaper game, where you have groups of 4 and everyone has to stand on the newspaper. Then, you fold the newspaper in half, and everyone has to try to stand on the newspaper again. Surprisingly, the kids loved the game, and they went crazy. It was really fun.

I ate lunch with my students. I have say, I was thoroughly impressed by the disciplines of Japanese kids. There were designated students within the class that day who wore little aprons and hats and served lunch to the rest of their classmates. They were in second grade! In second grade, I definitely was not trained to serve others. The lunch wasn't too taste, but it was definitely nutrious with a good balance between carbohydrates, protein, and fat. During lunch, all the kids asked me interesting questions, such as did I have a girlfriend or what my zodiac was. Haha, such funny kids.


After lunch, they gave me a bunch of hand-make gifts. It included paper frogs, cranes, flowers, boxes, etc. It was the cutest thing ever. I loved my kids. When I was leaving the classroom, they ran after me, crying out "goodbye"s and "we'll miss you"s and chased after me all the way until the principal sent them back to their classrooms. I only spent 2-3 hours with them, and they were so sad to see me leave. I was really touched. I've never been so loved in my life. That was probably the high point of my week. I was content.





Anyway, it was a great day. And it made me love Japan just that much more.

Until next time,
Hans Liang

A month in Japan

07/13/08 Sunday: Cloudy
I have been in Japan for a month now. I remember during the Light Fellowship pre-departure orientation meeting, Kelly said that after a month, I would hit the trough of my language learning experience--that I might grow tired and weary of the foreign culture. However, I have only grown to like Japan more and more. Over past month, I've learned so much about the Japanese culture, society, cuisine, and of course, language. It is kind of eye opening because it is so different from both of the cultures that I am familiar with: Chinese and American. I feel that there are so many positive attribute of the Japanese culture that are worth learning. For example, the Japanese people are very hard-working, diligent, and respectful; their society is highly evolved and efficient. Thus, I am definitely very fortunate to be in Japan.

This week we had our first semester final. It was kind of intense because it was 3 hours. But I think I did ok. I think. Maybe it's me, but I think Japanese is getting easier. At least I didn't have to study 20 hours for this final.

This weekend was fun. I went to my first baseball game ever. It's kind of ironic that my first baseball game was in Japan. It was the Tokyo Giants against the Yokohama Baywatchers. We dominated Yokohama. It was great.





After the game, a bunch of us decided to go to a freaking scary bar where they serve all kind of weird but tasty drinks. Since I didn't eat anything amazingly special this week, I use these drinks as substitutes.




And then Liz ate the eyeball. Gross.



Although Japan is an amazing place, everything here is so outrageously expensive. Some of the SUN students are thinking about going to Kyoto next weekend, but a single, one-way Shinkansen train ticket to Kyoto is $130. That is not cool. I guess everyone who live in Japan must be rich (or how do they afford everything?). Seriously, I feel like I'm burning money in Japan because everything here is so expensive.

Well, until next time,
Hans Liang

Light Fellowship Dinner, Tokyo Tower, Yokohama, and Kamakura

07/06/2008 Sunday: Cloudy
Wow, time has definitely been passing at light speed since I got to Japan. I can't believe I've already been in Japan for 3 weeks! This week was definitely fun-filled. This blog will be less writing and more pictures, because a picture is worth a thousand words. On Tuesday, our lovely Yale Japanese Senseis took us out to dinner, with the courtesy of the Light Fellowship. By courtesy, I mean the Light Fellowship paid for our entire dinner, and we could order whatever we wanted. Let me repeat that...wait nevermind that's not necessary, but you get the message. We went to a restaurant that served a combination of Japanese and French food. We started off the meal with champaign, red and white wine. Then it got kind of intense after that. We each had a six course meal. I've never had a six course meal in my life. I didn't even know what to do with myself, so I just drank my champaign (and then sake after I finished my champaign). Now I could describe how delicious the meal was, but you probably wouldn't believe me. So I'll let my pictures do the convincing. In short, the entire meal, from beginning to end, was like an orgasm in my mouth. It was that good. And free, which made it even more delicious.
















Appetizer 1
















Appetizer 2
















Appetizer 3
















Main Course 1
















Main Course 2
















And Tiramisu for dessert.

But here is the kicker: after we finished our SIX course meal, we STILL had stomach to eat more. So we ordered some lobster, clams, Foie gras, and chicken. Best life choice ever.



It was so good. So good. Thank you so much Mr. Richard Light.

On Thursday, because I didn't feel like doing homework, I went to the Tokyo Tower (an imitation of the Eiffel Tower) with Kevin, Afua, and Rina. You could see the entire Tokyo city at night, which was pretty sweet.

On Friday, a couple of people and I decided to go visit Shawna in Yokohama and celebrate the 4th of July. It was pretty fun, and Shawna's house was HUGE, even by American standards. Not only was Shawna's house amazing, she also had enough food in her house to feed around 8-9 people. Thank you Shawna for you hospitality!

Today, we went to Kamakura to see the Great Buddha and some temple. It was hot, humid, and freaking expensive. And now I'm tired =[ Although trains in Japan are very convenient, they are also very costly. I spent like 30 dollars just on transportation today. Balls. Well, this concludes my 3rd week in Tokyo. Man, I'm really loving Japan. It's such a sweet place.


Until next time guys,
Hans Liang

Host Family

06/28/08 Sunday: Rainy

This week was pretty usual in terms of classes. A lot of homework. I started watching Japanese drama to practice my listening--or just using that as an excuse to watch Japanese drama. I've been watching this drama called "Beautiful Life." It's a wonderful drama recommended by Afua (aka sexy lady). However, I could only understand 45% of the Japanese in the drama. It's kinda sad that my Japanese is still terrible.

This weekend was my home stay weekend with my host family. I have to say, I fell in love with my host family. They were so nice and easy-going. And I really had a chance to gain an insight on the workings of a modern Japanese family.


First night, I had the best meal since my coming to Japan: Yakuniku, which means "grilled meat." It's similar to Korean BBQ: Galbi. Basically, you cook sauteed meat on a griddle, add some kimchi, then wrap it lettuce. It was so good. Along with yakuniku, I had some edamame and miso soup, and a can of Yebisu beer. Because I'd been eating bento boxes from convenient stores for 2 weeks, dinner was heaven. Heaven. I felt like I was at home, except I was in Japan. My host dad worked for Lehman Brothers so he wasn't there for dinner. God I don't want to be an Ibanker. During dinner, I had a nice, long and simple conversation with my host mom and grandma in Japanese. It further made me realized how terrible and retarded sounding my Japanese was. It would take me 30 seconds to think of what I need to say, another 30 seconds to conjugate the verb in my head, and after I would finally say it, it would still come out wrong.


My Japanese was hopeless when talking my host family. My host mother tried to talk to me like a 4 year old, and even then, every time after she spoke, I stared at her, dumbfounded, until she asked, "Wakatta?" "Did you understand?" I would then shake my head and apologize for my stupidity. They were very, very tolerant indeed. They not only didn't make fun of me, but rather often complimented me on my desperate attempts at speaking possibly the worst Japanese they've ever heard in their lives. "Suuuugooooiii" was what they said. I don't think there is an English word for it, but it means something along the lines of "Wow so good!" Except not. My Japanese was anything but sugoi. Nonetheless, I loved how nice they were to me.


For lunch the next day, my host mom taught me how to cook Takoyaki, which literally meant "baked octopus." It's batter, with octopus, ginger, and tempura scraps pan-baked then topped with okonomiyagi sauce, mayo, green laver, and katuobusi. It was also delicious, and I had a lot of fun making the takoyaki. And because I made it, it simply tasted better. But no really, it was really good. The only down side was that it was more like a snack rather than lunch, so I got pretty hungry in 2 hours.




Today, we went to Asakusa, a really famous touristy spot in Tokyo. The place was really cool, with a lot of foreigners, delicious snacks, and expensive souvenirs. However, because it was raining all day today, the place wasn't as enjoyable. I nevertheless got a really good fortune that claimed that all my wishes would come true. Let's hope so.

My host mom reminded me of my own mom, which kinda made me homesick. She was so kind and nice to her son. Such a lucky boy. It's weird because after staying with such a great family, I couldn't help but think what it would be like to have my own family. But I'm only 20, so no.

This weekend has definitely been the most rewarding weekends I've had in Japan. However, for the past two weekends, all I did was drink and go out, so not much of a competition there. By the way, the legal drinking age in Japan is 20, in case if you were wondering why a good citizen like me would ever disobey the law. Ha. Tomorrow is monday, and we don't have class....time to catch up on homework.

Until next time!
Hans Liang

06/22/08 Sunday: Rainy

I have just experienced my first week in Japan, and it has been absolutely amazing. First of week class was kind of intense, given that I forgot like 80% of the Japanese that I learned. However, the classese were a lot more relaxed than I thought they'd be. The senseis were actually pretty lenient when we forgot our vocabularies and grammatical structures. On weekdays, I didn't get to do much because after class, I would go home, take a nap, wake up, eat dinner, then do my homework and review for next day's class. On Wednesday though, I, along with Ben and Yu-han, to Harajuku. I swear I saw girls who dressed up in cartoon characters! I thought they were working, except they weren't. That's just the way they dressed. That was...interesting. On a random note, Japanese signs are hilarious.

Apparently, groping happens a lot on Japanese subways, so here is a sign that warns against groping.
















And isn't this the cutest no smoking sign ever?
















This week, I'm going to focus on one of the most popular foods in Japan: Ramen. First I would just like to say that Japanese ramen is sooooooooooooooo outrageously delicious. Mmmmm, just writing about it makes me salivate. Ramen was first introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912) from China. The men, or noodles, is made from four basic ingredients: wheat flour, salt, water, and kansui, which is essentially a type of alkaline mineral water. The ramen soup is generally made from stock based on chicken or pork, combined with a variety of ingredients such as kombu (kelp), katsuobushi (skipjack tuna flakes), niboshi (dried baby sardines), beef bones, shiitake, and onions, and then flavored with the likes of salt, miso, or soy sauce. There are generally four kinds of ramen (mainly based on their soups): Shio (salt) ramen, tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen, shoyu (soy sauce) ramen, and miso ramen.

There are a couple of characteristics about ramen that are worth mentioning here. First, most of the Japanese ramen restaurants that I've gone to were relatively small and cozy. The chief makes the ramen right in front of you. This creates a great ambiance because it feels like the chief is catering his cooking to you. Second, ramen is considered a kind of fast food in Japan. Most people who are pressed for time can enjoy a delicious meal in a short amount of time. Its fast food without the fast food taste :). And third, the service is great. If you want extra meat in your ramen, or do not want your ramen to be too salty, they'll gladly and politely make the ramen to your liking. I'll end this post with some pictures of the delicious ramens I've had.































Mata,
Hans Liang