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