Wrapping things up

I had no idea I'd left this for over two months. I knew it was well overdue for an update, but I guess I just didn't feel as if I really had anything of value to say.

My year abroad is coming to a close now, and I don't feel that I can sum up how I feel about it quite yet. Usually if someone asks, my standard response is a shrug and no more than "alright." It's not that I'm bitter, at least, most of the time, it's just that if I look back on what I've done this year, something feels lacking.

If I could focus the root problem of why things didn't go quite as planned, I'd say it's to do with the fact that I didn't get a well paying part time job, or even a marginally decent paying job. I didn't get a scholarship. Due to Facebook and such, it was quite easy to see what everyone else was doing. Those who did receive a scholarship tended to go to Disneyland several times at once, frequently socialised, and went travelling across Japan, and in some cases to other countries. It genuinely bugs me that money was such an issue this year. I've never been especially good at Japanese, my marks have always been in the lower tier, which makes it understandable that I wouldn't be eligible for a scholarship or anything of the sort. I just feel that my progress has been more stunted by not being able to really get involved in any social groups, and more often than not, debate whether I can really afford a new grammar or kanji book.

That is, in fact, what I've spent most of this year doing. Staying in my room, and studying. Granted, it will be useful for my degree, but it doesn't feel as if that was how this year was supposed to go. Before I went, some seniors told me that "it's the best year of your life", but it really doesn't seem that way. I feel I could get as beneficial an experience from staying in England and studying there instead.

But, I don't want to just harp on and on and on about how much this year feels like a missed oppurtunity, because there have been some good things that came out of it. I do feel as if I have developed my Japanese, and social skills, and I guess "life skills", if those really count for much. I've got a good idea who my friends are, who I can count on, and I did have the pleasure of making some new friends, which will hopefully be lasting ones. I was able to go to a few events and places, and meet a couple of celebrities, albeit in very niche circles.

I know from the start, Sheffield told us that we should not compare our year abroad to others, that it is "our year", but that doesn't help a slight odd taste when some people had clear advantages over others, or completely different experiences. I'm not only speaking about myself there either, I know I had it better than some, which is why it feels bad that I'm complaining, but I just have to vent that kind of thing while it's still fresh in my mind.

One thing I do know, is that this isn't the end. I've reinvigorated my interest in the language, I have some new goals that are not just limited to what Sheffield has to offer me, and I do plan to return to Japan. If I look at those problems I've just listed, I can't blame "Japan", as some nonspecific entity for them all. A lot of them were to do with my university. I know also I should blame myself for a lot of that, as I let myself believe certain things and have certain expectations.

It'll be a long time before the benefits of this year become truly apparent I think, but I'll be sure to try and get at least one last, final post on here before I'm back in England.

The times, they are a changin'

This week, I bought some ground coffee instead of instant by mistake. Lacking a filter, I learnt that you can use a sock instead. It wasn't that bad.

I think this sums up where things stand with me at the moment.

As usual, it's been a while since my last visit. My girlfriend has been and gone, I've got back into the regular routine of lectures and... that's probably about it really. I'll go into detail as I go along until things are up to date again.

Over a month ago now, Monika came to stay in Tokyo for about two and a half weeks. It's not exactly fresh in my memory, but we spent a large amount of that time exploring Tokyo, and I got to have an idea of what it's like to be a tourist here. Needless to say, I'm now of the mindset that Tokyo is best experienced as one. I think the main places I went to that were new to me were Ueno, Odaiba and Disney Land. She had a huge list of places to visit, and I think we did less than half of that, entirely due to time and money limits. It was a busy few weeks, but it was easily one of the highlights. There's not a great deal to say about it outside of the photos that can be seen on my Facebook, I guess.

Classes have been a bit different for me now. I've decided to focus more on preparing for JLPT tests, and as the classes at Hosei do not count towards my grade at Sheffield in any sense, I decided to drop the ones that aren't language. While this does mean I'm getting an E grade, it still means I can pass the year, and not feel like I'm putting a lot of effort into something that doesn't count for anything. In a sense I have more free time, but that time is being put into studying Japanese, so not a great deal has changed there.

I also made my debut on Japanese TV recently. It wasn't anything particulary outstanding, merely impressions foreigners have of Japan, and I was limited to talking about food for the most part, but it was an interesting experience. It was exactly scripted, but it was very directed, with a lot of re-takes and prompts to answer in a certain fashion. What's annoying is that I don't think I'm going to be able to see the show, as I don't have access to a TV at the time the show is broadcasted, what with being in the dorm.

Outside of that, the only real change has been that I've come to the realisation that Japan isn't really for me. I know that I enjoy learning, using and improving my Japanese, but living in this country doesn't suit me. I'd still consider visiting, and maybe applying for the JET programme, as that would entail not being in Tokyo, which I feel might be a major contributing factor to this feeling, but yeah. Not really something I expected to feel this year.

Not sure when I'll update next, doing very little outside of studying from now on.

Spring

At long last, Spring seems to have arrived. It's been almost too cold as of late, which leads me to think that I've almost certainly acclimatised by now, but the comfort of that doesn't really give me much in the way of actual comfort. The lack of insulation in Japan hasn't made it easy at all. I also kinda feel as if I have hayfever at the moment, which isn't ideal!

Trees are starting to bloom in Tokyo, and I've seen a number of sakura trees that have begun blossoming. I've seen a few photos from around Kyoto and they're very much in bloom at the moment, so that should gradually develop over the coming weeks. Almost perfect timing for the missus visiting in a matter of days.

With the season changing, and a new term beginning very soon, some new transfer students have begun to arrive in the dorm. The first of whom arrived today, in fact, which is partly what sparked this update. Now, as of late, I've been speaking more and more to the dorm parents, either because I'm feeling more confident or just because I'm getting fed up of most of my daily vocabulary consisting of "thank you" or "that's okay". As such, that seems to have led them to think I'm alright at Japanese now, and they asked me to interpret for them upon the arrival of a rather nice fellow from China, who can speak more English than Japanese.

I've not really had much experience with interpreting so far, but the fact my understanding is stronger than my speaking helped with this, as I only had to relay information from one side really. By some standards, it's not much of an accomplishment, but by my own, I'm very pleased with it. It certainly paid off as well, as the dorm father bought dinner for me as thanks.

I also decided to weigh some of the books I'd bought while in Japan. Not the grammar books, as I'm not going to be sending them back any time soon, just the little novellas. Somehow, I've collected about five kilograms worth, which is reason enough for me to hold off buying anything like that for the time being. Especially as I've been strongly considering getting a thirty plus volume collection of a manga I'm fond of.

At least that'll help with budgeting.

Musings and minor notes

Spring holiday drags on. I've done a few things here and there, but the majority of my time has had a slant towards self study, translation and going to the gym. Still.

I do feel as if I'm settling in more and more though. I don't really think it's a result of the studying I've been doing lately, but I do just seem to be speaking more and more. I'd been told to expect it, and it's very pleasing that it rang true.

One thing that allowed me to realise this is that one of the actual friends I've met here has had to go home earlier than expected, and I helped out here and there with speaking to the dorm parents or the local institutions so that it could all be okayed. Before doing both of these, I was adamant that it was beyond my level, and that I'd need assistance from other people to do it, and while there were a few hiccups here and there, I managed to do what was asked of me. I realise after typing that sentence that it makes me sound proud of the fact I did the bare minimum, but my confidence can take it.

Another thing of note is that, myself and a few friends made a visit to the Ghibli museum in Mitaka, which is quite a way towards the outskirts. They have scheduled entrance times, so while killing time we were in a park, and I happened across a notebook on the floor, which appeared to be for travelling, and had an address and various other contact details inside it. It seemed like it might have some value, and rather than doing the typical Japanese thing of leaving dropped items on a wall or something (mostly as there were none nearby), I took it to the closest police office. Once there, I explained what was going on, they wanted to take some details, and after I wrote my name down they asked if I wanted a reward. I didn't, and said as much, and then they just took the sheet I'd been putting details onto. It seemed a bit of an odd exchange, and now a potentially stranded man in Tokyo only knows that a person with a foreign name handed one of his belongings to the police, but I've long decided to consider it a victory of sorts.

I also made a visit to a Capcom themed bar recently. I had been to a Gundam cafe before, which was essentially just a themed venue and food, but the Capcom one was infinitely more entertaining, owing to skits that the staff members performed, arranged around the various dishes or drinks that people ordered. Understandably, and unfortunately, no photos were allowed, but it wasn't the most expensive place I've been to so far, so I may potentially make another visit should I have disposable income some day.

Not much else to add, so I'm unsure yet when I'll update next. Next month, the missus will be making a visit to Tokyo, so I'll potentially be revisiting the place as a tourist, which I've been told is the best way to fall in love with Japan, so things should be interesting in one way or another!

Blurred days

The Spring holiday at Japanese university continues.

I may have previously stated, here or otherwise, that I don't particularly mind having months of holiday and no classes when I only have a few days short of a year abroad, and that statement continues to be true. I feel I have gained so much from self studying in a month or so than I even got close to from classes here. The problem is that at my particular university, and from what I gather holds true for most universities in Tokyo, the Japanese students are not particualrly interested in speaking Japanese to foreign students. This leaves me in a state of feeling that I can't actually make use of what I am trying to learn.

Another issue is that, Tokyo is so expensive to live in, and had so many hidden costs everywhere, that I cannot actually afford to leave it. Generally I have been living within my means, I've not had many nights out, I've not bought extravagant things. If I have really, really wanted something, I sought out the cheapest deal I could find. Yet, I find myself worrying about what money I have on an almost daily basis, even when buying food.

It isn't all frustration, though. Thankfully, as other institutions have begun their holiday season, I've had the chance to meet friends from Sheffield, something which raised my spirits so much I actually struggle to properly put into words how much it cheered me up. The main thing I've noticed this year is just which people actually want to communicate with me. It's felt quite enlightening in some senses.

Another little aside is that, in an attempt to actually test my knowledge of Japanese, is that I've got involved with a fan translation of a SNES videogame. It's not something I've ever heard of, which might indicate just how niche it is to people who know me well, but so far it's been pretty plain sailing, which has boosted my confidence quite a bit.

Outside of that, my days have generally consisted of going to the free gym at university in the afternoon, studying in the evening and translating at night.

I get to feel productive at least.

Discount books and wrestling

While on the train today, a woman sat down next to me, covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief, and stared at me for the duration of my journey. Upon leaving, she removed the handkerchief, but continued to look at me, seemingly aghast. My only feeling was that it's about time to update my blog. Additionally, on the return journey to the dorm, a man stood next to me, and upon his departure, seemed as if he wanted to compliment my facial hair without using any words, just a sequence of nodding, pointing and other assorted gestures. That made me want to update this even more, which brings us to this update.

Puzzlement towards actions of the locals aside, it's been an interesting month. Holidays have well and truly got underway, marked by a complete lack of anything. My days have essentially devolved into going to the free gym on campus in the afternoon, studying by evening, and fitting attempts at reading books or playing games in between. It's not overly exciting, but it's rewarding enough. My drive to do much outside of that has currently waned, but I have a few things lined up over the holiday. Considering I have a little under four months to occupy myself, I'm making sure that I pace myself.

Yesterday, I went to a Sumo tournament, mostly for the simple reasons that I had little other than a very, very basic understanding of Sumo and the tickets were half price thanks to Hosei University. I can honestly say that it was one of the most enjoyable sports I've ever watched, which is a reaction I didn't expect at all. I could just be that the vast majority of it is new to me, but I really could enjoy watching it for a long period of time, and the entirety of the tournament lasted for seven hours and remained interesting throughout. It was a one day tournament, which I'm told are bi-monthly, so I'm really quite eager to go again should I have the oppurtunity. I'm horrible at describing sporting events though, so I don't really want to attempt it, but it's something that's definitely worth experiencing for more than the atmosphere alone.

Something I've been meaning to write about for some time now, is a wonderful shop called Book Off. It's a second hand media store, and thus the contents range from games and DVDs to trading cards and everything potentially between the two. Books are obvious enough for me to not mention, possibly. The turnover seems almost constant, as I'm often looking in to find different content. There's a rather well known book store in Alnwick back home that works in a similar fashion, so discovering that it's essentially a chain in Japan excites me immensely. The downside to this is that I have a substantially large pile of books that are being considered as "I will hopefully be able to read these in the future" sort of material. I should mention that about 90% of those books were the equivalent of £1 each, should anyone reading be concerned about what I'm spending on things I can't even make use of. While I could go on and on about the vast list of things I am ever so keen to buy, or the wondrous things I have found so far, with a gag comic about Kim Jong-Il springing to mind, it's probably best I restrain myself.

I'm starting to notice that I'm considering myself as a resident more than an extended tourist now, which has both it's ups and downs. I'm not sure what sparked the change in attitude, but I'm happy at least that I'm feeling settled in now.

Horrors and Delights

Good heavens. It has been a whole month since my last update. Once again, it's not through any lack of interest, it's entirely the fault of... things. I was in Akihabara a few days ago, the first day I have actually seen snow in Japan. I was wearing two layers, under a thick coat, with a hat and gloves on, and I was on the verge of shivering as I was walking down the street, when I saw a maid, in little else than a French maid outfit, looking as if she was on the verge of tears. Somehow the sight of this made me realise it's been too long since I posted here. I shall try to cover as much as I can remember!

As I said, the reason for the lack of updates is not to do with lack of interest. It was instead to do with a sudden surge of essays, presentations and exams, all of which came at the same time. It's a bit of a shock to go from preparing for each class and doing some self study, to having three exams in one week while writing four five-page essays. Part of it has made me ever so slightly bitter that I came to Japan, just for a year, to spend at least one month of that researching and writing in English, for stuff that will not count towards any of my grades. As a result, I'm strongly considering taking up at least a couple of language classes during my second semester at Hosei. At least then it might count towards something I value.

Obviously the big occasions that I'm yet to write about are Christmas and New Year. Christmas was... any other day really. There was a much more noticeable amount of couples, and a few Christmas themed offers in shops, but otherwise there didn't seem to be much to it. The day was also rounded off by an American friend of mine falling down some stairs and spraining his ankle, which thankfully did not amount of anything more serious. It was also nice to have been very quickly assisted by a member of the public, something which I somehow came to believe wouldn't be something to expect. Memorable in a few ways, I suppose.

New Years, on the other hand, was a much bigger event. Due to the difficulty in spending time with Japanese students if alcohol isn't involved, I instead met Rory and Kim, a couple of friends from Sheffield, and made a visit to Meiji Shrine, which I believe I have written about previously, but could possibly be wrong about that. Ideally, if you go to a shrine, you should follow the process of making a request, paying some money, praying to the gods and such, but with several hundred people and as a result, slowly edging forward in a crowd for at least three hours. That was not exactly a situation any of us envied, so we decided to go to a couple of bars, and then, lacking a warm place to hang out, decided to ride the Yamanote train line, which is a big circle line that goes around the metropolitan area. It is something I've had on my list of things to do, and it takes an hour or so to do, but I'm just quite pleased with myself for starting the year off that way.

After that, I joined a few of the French people and their Japanese friends to watch the first sunrise in Tokyo at Roppongi, right next to the Mori Arts Tower, where I had previously been to see a Dragon Quest exhibit for the 25th Anniversary. I knew that Roppongi had a reputation for being popular among foreigners for a night out, but suddenly being in a train station in Japan where a mere 10% of the people there are Japanese was quite jarring. It was also slightly more chaotic than the drunken, angry shenanigans that I've witnessed in Newcastle and Sheffield. Following that up with watching a sunrise and gradually noticing a few birds was something I feel I will remember for some time to come.

With exams and essays finished for the time being, I have three months of spare time to make use of. I've decided to attribute most of it to self study and going to the youth centre in Daikanyama. Following some words of wisdom from Rory that I can be a tourist here anytime, I've decided not to get bummed out about not being able to travel around as much as I'd like to, and focus on improving for final year instead. Admittedly, there are a couple of places I'll be going to, but these are both inside Tokyo, so unlikely to break the bank.

Potentially a good way to start the year.