Japanese families display enormous rice cakes called kagami-mochi, namely, mirror rice cake, during the New Year Holiday. The kagami-mochi is as large as a volleyball, but it is flat like a pie.
The kagami-mochi is a sacred food for Japanese. The New Year Holiday is for Japanese to welcome the god of the incoming year, and the god must be welcomed to their houses and entertained by the special rice cake.
The incoming year god is called Toshi-gami-sama, namely, Mr. God of the Year. The god visits everyone’s house on January 1, and after a few days the god leaves back to the mountain. Then people are allowed to eat the rice cake. People eat it on a certain day, which is called “the day to open the mirror.”
They believe the rice cake has special powers: they will not get sick and can avoid disasters by eating the mirror cake on the mirror opening day. To sum up, kagami-mochi represents traditional beliefs that have been passed from generation to generation.
Osechi a dish that can be eaten during the New Year in Japan. There are 20 to 30 types of side dishes in osechi. I think osechi is a gift from ancestors who have wished for good health. The reason is that each side dish in the osechi has its own meaning.
For example, shrimp symbolizes longevity because a shrimp is bent, which is similar to the back of an old man who lives long until the waist is bent. Black beans have the meaning that they work hard until they get a black tan. In addition to this, osechi also has wonderful meaning that each side dish can be healthy for one year this year.
Also, osechi has a very long history of 1000 years. These are inherited from the generations of ancestors. Therefore, osechi is a present from forefather who is connected to the past and the future.
This is a calligraphy set which I used when I was an elementary school child. In this bag, there are brushes, ink, paper wait, pieces of thin paper, and felt mat. This smells like the ink that reminds me of my calligraphy experiences.
Calligraphy was brought to Japan from China in the 11th century and Japanese started to learn how to write. Since then calligraphy has been an important subject of education. Japanese children take calligraphy lessons in elementary school and junior high school as a required subject.
Currently Japanese do not use brushes and ink for regular writing, but letters drawn by a brush has special meanings. For example, Japanese perform kakizome, the first writing of the year, to show their new year resolutions on long sheets of paper in January.
Such letters are displayed on the wall because Japanese feel something spiritual in the brush drown letters. There are so-called a shodo performance, an exhibition where writers wearing white kimono and traditional black trousers draw powerful letters using an enormous brush on a sheet as big as a carpet, among calligraphy clubs at high schools.
The audience enjoy watching the exciting process of brush-drawn lines and dots turning to something spiritual. I am glad I took calligraphy lessons because I am able to admire the beauty of calligraphy.
Tourists who travel in rural areas of Japan in May can watch colorful fish-shaped objects fluttering in the wind. They are called koi-no-bori, namely, carps climbing upstream.
The fish objects are carps because carps are considered strong and beautiful fish in Japan. The carp streamers are a symbol of the ideal Japanese family. There are usually more than three fabric carps displayed, symbolizing the nuclear family.
The set should have the biggest one, the second biggest and the smallest. The biggest one on the top, usually painted in dark colors, represents the father. The size is usually seven meters long. The second one painted red, represents the mother, whose size is about five meters long.
The smallest one shows the child, whose size is about three meters long. If a family has more children, they should add the number of the small one. Since they are enormous, it is rare for families living in cites show off traditional carp streamers, but they hang smaller sets made of paper in their balconies, hoping that their children will grow up healthy and strong just like the carp streamers.
Photo by “Apr09(2009-04-30)308” by giu205 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Do you know the country called Laos? I went
to Laos last August and this activity became a special experience for me. The
reason why it was a special experience is that I was able to experience something
new. Originally I studied the language of Laos by myself, so I was able to
speak the language of Laos with the people and play with the children of Laos. Also,
I was able to understand the literacy problem facing Laos.
Laos is one of the countries of South East Asia and it is next to Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. Because it is a poor country, some people can’t go to school because they don’t have money for school. It has two seasons, the rainy season and the the dry season. In Laos, when summer comes, it became the rainy season. Also, most people speak Lao, the language of Laos. The capital in laos is Vientiane. A lot of building is built, but it is smaller than Tokyo or Bangkok. There are some temple, we can watch religious mendicancy in the morning.
In Laos, I went to two libraries built by
Kiyoko Yasui in Vientiane and Sivirai. Kiyoko Yasui is the leader of the NGO “The
fund of library for the children in Laos”. She lives in Vientiane, Laos. She is
originally interested in work involved in children’s book. And she went to a
refugee camp in Thailand to do puppet show. Then she had interested in children
in the Southeast Asia and came to participate in the project of children’s
library in Laos. Now she do two activities, one is to protect the folk talk of
Hmong tribe, another is to support of
library’s management. I studied about literacy in Laos and the support
from Japan and other countries. In Japan, SVA(Shanti Volunteer Association)
mainly send the children’s book to Laos. When I visited the library, many
children came, so I communicated with them a lot. One day, they waited for me
for three hours this day because they are looking forward to us coming to the
library. I read Japanese book for them in Japanese, played with Japanese toys,
and danced. As Japanese toys, I introduce kendama, darumaotoshi, origami. They
play with them well soon because they are skillful with their fingers. They are
interested in Japanese books and Japanese toys, so I was happy. I was also able
to see their smiles.
In addition, I came to understand that Laotian people don’t read books and there are not a lot of books in Laos through the talk of Kiyoko Yasui and visiting some library such as national library and the library of national university of Laos. There is not custom they read books from young in Laos. In fact, national library, library in university and two library built by Kiyoko Yasui is all small and there are not books a lot.
Through this activity, I was able to enjoy and
gain more interest in Laos and its issues with literacy. I want to try to
continue to study Laos. Also, I want to tell a lot of people about my
experience because I want a lot of people to learn about Laos.
It has been a month since I started my new life in Wenatchee Valley
College. I found many differences between Japan and America. Also, there were
some difficulties and a lot of great experiences.
One thing I noticed is the difference between the number of courses
to take in a week. I have only three courses a week. The three courses are
English Writing, Career Life Planning, and English Communication. Each course
has a class every day and one class is only for 60 minutes. Although the number
of the courses is less, I get a lot of homework after every class.
I was surprised at the number of courses that I must take in the United States, because I used to take ten or more courses while I was in Japan. At the University of Shimae, I had many different courses every day, and one class meeting was 90 minutes.
It is hard for me to speak in class. So far I think that I am not good at group work because my classmates speak very fast and it is difficult to say my opinions quickly. So I raise my hand and answer to the teacher’s questions sometimes. In order not to fail to hear important things, I record my instructor’s voice in every class and listen to it when I come back to my dorm. On Tuesday and Thursday, free tutoring is offered for the international students. I usually ask questions to my tutors about difficult points of my homework.
The life in my dormitory is comfortable and I made many friends there. My roommate Chris is a nice person. He gives me his sodas, apples, and cookies sometimes. There is a common kitchen, and when I cook dishes, I often meet someone who lives in the same floor, and conversation begins. This is my way of making friends. I usually cook some sort of spaghettis such as tomato sauce, and cheese sauce. Recently, we decorated our common area for Halloween. This kind of events make me feel I am really in the American culture.
In my free time and during weekends, I usually go shopping. Fortunately, the students of WVC can ride on every bus for free of charge, so I use the bus to a supermarket. I like to buy fruits. Wenatchee is famous for apples, so if you come here, you should try them. They are very good! When I miss Japanese foods, I buy chicken, teriyaki sauce, and rice which can be cooked with microwave, and cook a bowl of teriyaki chicken. I also like to explore the town. I’ve been to Town Toyota Center, which is the biggest skate rink in Wenatchee, Pybus Market, and Columbia River. I went there by free bus and each place is very good.
My life in Wenatchee, including studying, is extremally enjoyable! I
want to try many new things while I am here and I will keep studying hard to be
able to use English fluently.
English Lessons and Homestay in Vancouver, Canada Eighteen students of the University of Shimane participated in a cross-cultural understanding course during summer in 2019 by joining an intensive English language program hosted by Langara College in Vancouver, Canada. The students had amazing experiences with their host families and students from other countries.
Overcoming my fear of speaking English
By Kaito Takechi
At the beginning I felt nervous because I was not good at speaking
English. And I didn’t know what it was like to live in a house in Canada. However,
when I first met my host mother, I felt instantly at ease because when my name
was called, my host mother said to me, “Oh blonde hair boy!” and all my classmates
and teachers laughed. So I felt relaxed. I thought she was a fantastic lady who
had a great sense of humor. She was very nice and made me feel comfortable by
talking to me gently on our way to her house.
However, I still had my fear of talking with my host family. So on the first day in Vancouver, as soon as my host mother finished telling me how to use the bathroom, when the dinner starts, and how to go to Langara College, and so on, I immediately went to my room and closed the door so that I did not need to meet my host family.
On the second day and third day, I was still nervous due to the same
reason that I had to use English all the time in the house.
But my host mother kept trying to understand what I wanted to say.
She was always calm and always cheerful. She laughed a lot. Her kindness gave
me a courage to speak English. I started to talk with my host family in
English.
While I was in my room and being alone, I asked myself why I paid so much money for coming to Vancouver? I thought hard, but the answer was simple. My answer was that I wanted to improve my English skills through this program! After realizing what I really wanted to do, I always tried to stay in the living room to talk with my host family in English, when I’m in the house.
Two weeks passed, and I realized myself enjoying talking with my
host family about host family’s cat Rio, culture, places to visit in Vancouver,
where I would go and where I went on the day, what I bought, and so on. I truly
enjoyed talking with my host mother and I felt using English improved my
English speaking skill.
Gradually the final day in Vancouver approached, and I felt I did
not want to go back to Japan, and I wanted to stay in Canada longer like one
year or more.
Now I am grateful for my host mother because she made my Canadian life enjoyable. Thanks to my host mother, all the things went well! I think I overcame my fear of speaking English.
On the last day I was sad because I need to say good bye to my host family. So I wrote a letter for each family member. My host mother enjoyed reading my letter and said, “You can come back to our house anytime.” When I have time and money in the future, I would like to go to Canada to meet my host family to say “Long time no see!”
Overcoming my asking for help
By
Yuko Madono
I had a scary experience in
Vancouver. My homestay family’s house was located in the suburb of Vancouver
and I needed to ride on a bus for 45 minutes. One day, I rode on a usual bus
and paid attention to the display that showed the bus stop’s name. On that day
there were not many passengers on the bus and the bus did not make many stops.
I saw the name of my bus stop, so I got off.
However, the place where I got
off was not at the usual bus stop. The scenery was completely different.
I managed to confirm my whereabouts, but I did not have Wi-Fi and there are no stores around, so I became anxious. But I kept walking because I was worried of asking people for directions. But after all, it didn’t help. I was completely lost. I was becoming very scared. It was getting late. I decided to ask for help.
I saw a woman and stopped her.
I said to her that I was lost. Then, the woman kindly taught me how to go and
then I could finally got home after walking about 10 minutes. I felt relieved
to see something familiar.
Thanks to the woman, I was
helped. It was very scary to get lost in land I don’t know, but I thought it
was important to ask people with courage.
While I was in Vancouver, I had some troubles, but people were always very polite. I realized that there were many kind people who would were willing to help.
Bothering others means trusting others
By Kazuki Enomoto
When I woke up in the bed of my host family’s house in the morning
of the second day in Canada, I realized that I did not have an important bag
with me. The bag contained the important item for overseas travel: my passport.
I turned pale. I usually try to solve problems by myself, but I immediately
reported to the teacher by LINE because this was serious. Unfortunately, she
did not reply.
It was early in the morning, but I wanted to tell this incident to my host family, so I went downstairs and waited in the living room for everyone to wake up.
Then my host father came down. After I greeted good morning, I immediately said to him, ”I lost my important bag, so I would like to go to college.” He said, “Today I was supposed to guide you to Vancouver, but would you like to go to college?” I tried to convey my problem in my own English, but I couldn’t think of good words at all and the silence continued between him and me. I thought that I needed to locate my passport immediately, and I used a translation app to communicate my problem. The host father kindly contacted the college and talked to a teacher instead of me. The teacher found the bag in the classroom where we had an orientation program in the previous night. I got the bag on the next day and found my passport.
Another incident happened on the 15th day of my stay in Vancouver. On
that weekend I went to Stanley Park, where I decided to ride on a bike. I
rented a bicycle and went along the bike lane around the beach. I approached a
small roundabout, and I tried to make a turn, so I just applied a little brake,
but I was speeding too much and I lost my balance and my body flew forward.
I was struck to the ground so hard. It was so sudden and violent that I could not tell how things happened.
People came near me immediately. Two men and women who seemed to be old couples and one young woman rushed to me immediately. At first, I heard many things in English quickly, but I did not have the translation app, so I was in trouble. They asked if I was okay with pointing their knees, because I injured my knees. They also asked me where I rented the bicycle and they help me to return the bike. Fortunately, the accident was not very serious and I only hurt my knees a bit. I sweat more in talking to them in English.
After staying in Canada for a month, I was able to experience the warmth and kindness of people overseas. My host family, my teacher and people in Stanley Park were very nice to me. They did not hate my bothering them. I think I learned a lesson that I was able to overcome troubles by trusting people. I usually act alone because I do not want to bother others, but I think it’s okay to bother others.
Have you ever experienced studying abroad? These days, the number of international students studying in Korea is increasing every year. Especially, the University of Ulsan is currently interacting with more than 50 universities abroad, so more and more foreign students come to the University of Ulsan to study. However, living in an unfamiliar country with no acquaintances and taking classes in different language can be challenging. To solve these problems, there is a student club called HOW.U which assists international students to adapt to the Korean life.
HOW.U is a club under the University of Ulsan, International office. The name of the club stands for ‘Hang Out with Us’, which means everyone is welcome to visit and hang out. The main function of this club is to help international students who need assistance at school or in their daily lives. For example, students with lack of Korean skills who might have problems reading and filling out documents in Korean, when opening a bank account or registering for an alien registration card.
Another function of HOW.U is planning and organizing events for both international and Korean students. Every semester, members of HOW.U make plans for fresh and enjoyable events for all students to join. One of the best events was the ‘World food festival’, because students from different countries were able to introduce their food and everyone could taste new foods and learn about various cultures. Also, there are events like ‘Welcoming Parties’, ‘Sports Day’, ‘Movie Night’ and ‘Experiencing Korean Holidays’.
With the help of
HOW.U, international students can easily make friends and adapt to the Korean
culture. At the same time, Korean students in University of Ulsan can
experience various foreign cultures through the events and become friends with
foreign students. This club gives great opportunities for both international
and Korean students who want to communicate with each other, and comes highly
recommended for those wishing to settle into life at the University of
Ulsan.
Fifty volunteers gathered at the beach of Iwami Sea Side Park, Shimane prefecture on Sunday, March 10, 2019 for collecting trash on the beach.
The volunteers were 28 US service members of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and 18 Japanese students of the University of Shimane.
The international event was organized by ISP, the company that manages Iwami Seaside Park, which consists of two beaches, campsites, cabins, sports facilities, aquarium and parks.
Mr. Yoshiro Morikawa, President of ISP, welcomed the volunteers and expressed his gratitude to the participants. He said a lot of trash was washed up to the beach in winter and the beach cleaning effort in winter was necessary to welcome tourists in summer.
The volunteers then grabbed big garbage bags for burnable and non-burnable trash and walked the length of the beach and picked up the litter.
There were a lot of objects on the sand. Seina, freshman, said “there were a variety of items: salad dressing containers, fishing nets, plastic spoons and plates. I picked them up again and again, but no matter how much I collected trash, I saw a lot of trash lying on the beach.”
The volunteers worked for one hour, ending up collecting ocean trash that filled two trucks. After the cleaning, a big BBQ lunch was offered by the organizer. Both the students and the Americans enjoyed a great lunch and conversation in English.
The beach cleaning was educational for the college students, because it raised awareness of the litter problem on the beach. Kasumi, sophomore, said she had not realized there was so much litter on the beach because she had never participated in this type of project before. Shusuke, freshman, noticed the trash on the beach was an international issue, because a lot of plastic bottles had labels written in a foreign language.
The interaction with the Americans also motivated the college students to study English more. Amane, freshman, said, “I could not initiate conversation in English. I thought that I had to to overcome my shyness. I also need to increase my English vocabulary, because I could not understand what they said well nor was I able to express myself in English.”
Takumi, junior, said the best thing was that the Americans were friendly and he enjoyed English conversation so much. Yui, freshman, said he enjoyed learning about the life in military. Rie, sophomore, got curious about the life in the base and felt like visiting it.
At the end, the cleanup crew took a group photo and exchanged LINE information each other. Despite the rain, the international beach cleanup was a very successful event: a cleaner beach, insight into the trash problem, motivation to study English and heart-warming conversations. Everyone is looking forward to a next opportunity to make a meaningful contribution.
University in Vladivostok, Russia, visited the University of Shimane on June 26, 2018,while their sailing training ship Nadezhda stayed in the Hamada Port,Shimane, Japan.
About 40 students arrived at the University of Shimane campus, wearing white sailor uniforms and caps. They are cadets who are trained to be officers after finishing their education.
Both Russian and Japanese students gathered around the memorial garden of Miyako Hiraoka to pray. Miyako, whose dream was to study abroad, lost her life when she was only 19 years old in a terrible murder. In 2009, the training ship Nadezhda first visited the Port of Hamada, and Miyako, who studied Russian, visited the ship and made friends with students from Maritime State University. Her dream never came true, but her wish has been, and will be passed on to other students, because the Maritime State University established a scholarship for Shimane students in memory of Miyako Hiraoka.
In the afternoon, both Russian and Japanese students had a great time at the gym. The Office of International Affairs of the University of Shimane prepared for dodge ball, but they failed to communicate the rules of the game to the Russian students. They ended up playing volleyball and Japanese traditional games. It was an instance of a cross-cultural communication problem, but the participants enjoyed being together.
YuriNakano, senior of the University of Students, showed some Russian students how to play a Japanese toy called “kendama.”The player is supposed to place a wooden ball connected to a stick into cups of the stick. She said that it was hard to describe how to play with the toy in English,but the Russian students were quick learners and they enjoyed playing it together.
Yuri said, “I had a lot of chances to talk with Russian students and I got very motivated to study the Russian language. I hope to greet them in Russian when they visit here again.”
Students from Maritime State University in Vladivostok, Russia and the University of Shimane in Hamada,Japan on board the Nadezdha
