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This is
Ryan, reporting to you from the future.
I’m referring, of course to the time difference here, 13 hours ahead of
Miami, which is only one of the many differences in language and culture
here in Japan. Things are so different here (and thus exciting to me) in
ways I couldn’t have imagined. People, for example, seem to be very
friendly and considerate towards one another. Many of their manners and
body language expressions are based on respect of personal space and
respect of seniority. One even uses a different set of words to express
politeness when speaking to an elder. Subsequently, there are several
varying levels of politeness, based on how far one is from the speaker in
the social food chain. This is something I’ve come to like already in less
than a month, because I feel this respect is lacking in many modern
societies. The other things I’ve noticed here is the sampler-pack-like
variety of different influences within the culture. I see plenty of
European influence due to Japan’s involvement in early trade routes with
The Netherlands and Portugal. I also see plenty of American influence,
especially in the popularity of American sports on TV and in the schools.
These influences sometime mix in amusing and interesting ways. I saw for
example, an older woman wearing a traditional Japanese dress, a Kimono,
and when I looked again I noticed she was also wearing headphones. There’s
also plenty I’ve never seen before, much of which I find interesting or
interestingly confusing.
As far as my journey here is concerned, everything went fine, except that
I had a four-hour delay in Chicago due to a malfunctioning back-up air
conditioning unit. Not taking this as a bad sign, I endured my flight to
my new home, which thankfully unlike my delay, was uneventful. When I
arrived I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. There were flashing lights,
loud music, bright signs with brilliant colors, helpful and attentive
people, and I hadn’t even left the airport yet. When I got to the waiting
area, having picked up my luggage, to my surprise I saw Mayuko! She was my
RYE host sister from Japan two years ago and this was the first time I’d
seen her since then. With her was my host father, Aikira Sato, whom I now
call “Otoh-sama” (the most polite way of saying “dad”) and his assistant,
Hagiwara-san. When I got home the family was well receiving. I was
surprised to find that everyone that Hagiwara-san had mentioned in the
email I got from him about the Sato family lived in one large home: my
host father, his wife, their three adult children, the eldest son’s wife
and their two sons, and my host grandma too. Including me, that’s ten
people under one roof, which is definitely exciting to me. They are a
great family and we get along fantastically, and have plenty of laughs
together.
If Mr. Sato is my host father, then that must make his grandsons my host
nephews. They are five and two years old, and it’s great to have them
around because for the first couple of days, they were the only ones I
could easily understand. Also, if there were ever a “Cutest Human Being
Ever Born” contest, I’d put my money on the two-year-old. The three of us
get along great. I’m even teaching the five-year-old how to write -- in
Japanese. I’m also teaching the youngest of my host brothers Kendo, a
Japanese fencing martial art. I wasn’t expecting to do that at all in
Japan.I took a month of private tutoring from Meiko Avello Sensei before
coming here about three weeks ago and I’m thankful I did. The language is
very challenging, and is difficult because of its complexity, but more
importantly in how it varies so strongly from English. For example, there
are no articles, and the verb is always at the end of the sentence. The
English sentence “The meeting is from 11AM to 1PM,” would be in Japanese
the equivalent of “Meeting AM 11 hour from PM 1 hour to is”. The point is,
I’m glad I learned that before I got here, otherwise basic Japanese would
have been one more obstacle to overcome.
Speaking of learning, I finished my first week of school today and I am
already very happy with my teachers and schoolmates. My teachers are
helpful, my classmates are friendly, and my classes are interesting. My
classes consist of several English classes, as well as Old Japanese,
Biology, Math, Shodo (Japanese calligraphy), and Judo. During the English
classes I help the teachers by reading aloud for the students, for
example, so that they can hear a native speaker. I also help them with
their class assignments and homework (which is encouraged by the
teachers). This helped me become friendly with the students quickly, as
one can imagine. Old Japanese is the study of the language from centuries
ago. It has changed a lot over time, as English has and students find the
class challenging. I suppose this is similar to native English speakers
finding studying Shakespeare’s works challenging. Shodo (calligraphy) is
very interesting and it is the art of writing Japanese characters
(borrowed from Chinese, because the Japanese had no previous written
language). This is very helpful for my study of “Kanji”, Chinese
characters used in Japanese. This is one of the most difficult and
interesting aspects of the language.
School life is very different from what I had imagined. As a foreigner, I
am the only one in the school (besides an English teacher) not of Asian
decent, and I do not yet have a uniform. The combination makes me stick
out like a sore thumb dipped in fluorescent paint. People literally follow
me down the halls trying to talk to me and girls scream at the tops of
their lungs trying to get my attention. I feel like an ice cream truck.
Today I stepped out onto the balcony facing the courtyard from the highest
story of the building in between classes, and dozens of girls came out
onto the balconies of their classrooms and were hollering for me across
the school, waving to me.
This all comes as a shock to me and I suppose I feel like Paul McCartney
in the 60’s when he had all kinds of girls he hadn’t even seen before
calling his name. I just stay friendly and keep a low profile, but that
hasn’t calmed anyone down yet. It’s difficult to describe their behavior
in writing, but I’ve never seen anything close to it. It’s all very
overwhelming.
Before things got particularly strange when school started I fortunately
had the opportunity to visit the local attractions in Yokosuka and the
neighboring town in which I live, Uraga. I got to visit several shrines,
eat in several different restaurants (the food is strange, but delicious.
Luckily I like seafood and rice.) I even got to take the town’s
traditional ferry across the bay and meet a priest in the town’s largest
Shinto shrine and had tea and cakes with him after a tour of the shrine.
My host family and host Rotary Club also arranged for a wonderful tutor, a
distinguished retired Admiral. My tutor has subsequently arranged Kendo
lessons for men from his friend who is a high-ranking Kendo master.
I’m seeing a completely new culture from a perspective I could never have
gotten as a tourist. Thanks to everyone at Rotary Youth Exchange and my
host club Miami Sundowners Rotary Club! Thanks again to Roy for the room
and board, and a special thanks to Todd for fighting to make this happen.
Thanks of course to Mom and Dad for letting me go so gracefully.
Ryan Williamson, Japan.
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