Japan!

JAPAN!!!! I love Japan, it was absolutely AMAZING! I think this would be the port that I would choose to come back to…or South Africa, or Vietnam, or Malaysia…no, actually Hong Kong…hopefully I can start making my millions as soon as I graduate because I plan to go back to all these places!


We woke up early to welcome the land of the rising sun to only welcome fog and cold weather. I guess health regulations are really strict in Japan so everyone on the ship had to take their temperatures several times before disembarking. We had the opportunity to see a few Japanese people play the drums. It was great! They played the drums like crazy for like 10 minutes straight while incorporating their entire bodies to make the sounds and rhythms but hardly broke a sweat.
We followed our usual routine and just explored the city on the first day. I had to buy shoes for the Ambassador’s Ball (a ship formal) so we went to the mall. Luckily I found some that were on sale. Japan is extremely expensive. But I guess only in comparison to everywhere we’ve been. Prices are actually comparable to U.S. prices. For lunch we went to a 350 restaurant. We didn’t know what that meant at the time but it meant that everything on the menu cost 350 Yen which is about 3 or 4 dollars. The conversion is 116 Yen to 1 dollar. Val and I ordered sushi to share and for the first time, I actually enjoyed sushi! I’ve had it a few times but basically forced myself to eat it. I really liked it this time, hopefully it doesn’t become an expensive habit of mine.

The fashion in Japan is ridiculous (in a good way…kinda like bad not bad but bad meaning good…hehe). The women wear lots of shorts and heels with knee highs. I’ll try to bring it back to Colorado but I have a feeling I’ll be looked at like I’m crazy, especially since I’m not a very fashionable person to begin with. I felt like a slob in jeans, flip flops, and a hoodie. Everyone was dressed for the day like they would be for the club. They had full makeup and hair. And by hair, I mean HAIR! It was huge, curled, teased, crimped, “extensioned”, everything possible. They were gorgeous. The guys went for the fashionable grunge look.

The hip hop scene in Japan is just as huge as the hair. American hip hop was played in a majority of the stores we went in, which got me in a dancin kinda mood. We went back to the ship and got ready to go out. We had to take the subway/train everywhere we went in Japan which costs at least 200 yen each way so we spent quite a bit on travel alone. Taxis were much more expensive.

After wandering the streets for a little while (partly because we were lost), we went to a club named 2nd Chance. It was pretty tiny and filled with SAS students. There were a few crew members there as well but per SAS regulations, we are not able to associate with them too much. So other than hello, we had to both keep our distance. I understand the necessity to maintain a professional atmosphere especially while on board but I hate that we can’t talk to the crew outside of the ship. It makes it feel like their only there for our convenience which I guess in some aspects is the truth. I just feel like it takes their humanity and leaves them only as services when we aren’t able to associate with them. It’s hard to not form bonds with people that you see nearly everyday for 3 months, whether it’s in a classroom with another student or in the cafeteria with a crew member.

The rest of the night was fun. We went to another club that was just down the street and danced there for a little bit. A few people were hungry so we decided to leave the club and head to McDonalds. Even though I was craving Chubby’s – hahah!

I had a Japanese homestay the next day. My host mother met me on the ship at 11:00 am. There were many families there to meet students who they welcomed to their home to learn about Japanese culture. They are from the program HIPPO which emphasizes the importance of foreign language acquisition. They did their greetings in several languages including German, English, Korean, and Spanish. Children as young as four were learning at least two other languages. It’s strange to see how much other countries stress foreign languages so much when in the States it’s only a couple years in high school that is the minimum, and most likely the maximum, that one will take. One of the host mothers that was in my group spoke 6 languages and another man spoke 11. Embarrassingly, I am hardly proficient in English ;)

That afternoon, the two host mothers, another student, a professor and I went to a Saki museum and learned the traditional methods of making rice wine. The atmosphere was very relaxing with traditional Japanese architecture and a garden. We had to take our shoes off at every door entrance.

After the museum we went to a Japanese restaurant. I had pork and fried rice with some soup with extra slippery noodles. It was really good! I wasn’t able to finish it though, as hard as I tried. Even though my chopstick skills are on point (compared to where they were before), they still aren’t very good. The women finished every grain of rice in their bowl before I even finished half of mine. We were taking the same number of bites but I had a quarter of the food in each bite. It’s considered polite to slurp noodles here. To serve food, we are supposed to use the opposite side of the chopsticks (the one not in our mouths).

I stayed with the Nagata family. The mother’s name was Tami and she was a stay at home mother of two: Komiko a 13 year old daughter and Mark, 15 and very into professional baseball. Her husband traveled very frequently for work. The family dynamic was very interesting to observe. They had an arranged marriage and he seemed to be learning just as much about her past as I was when I asked questions. She studied abroad in England for a year and a half and worked at the airport until she was married and began raising a family. It was interesting to compare our first port, Puerto Rico, with this one. At the welcome reception in Puerto Rico, students were dancing with professors, greeting each other with kisses, and hugging. Here, it was much different. I felt like a hand shake was even forced in some instances. In pictures with the family, I’m the only one smiling with teeth. The others have a half smile with hands at their sides. The mother seemed more traditional in family lifestyle than the father. We took our shoes off at every door entrance and basically only wore shoes in the hallways. There were a different pair of shoes at nearly every door. Some at the back door, some at the bathroom door, kitchen and bedrooms. My room was beautiful. It had a tatami (not sure on the spelling) bed, which is mats on the floor with a comforter. The walls were like what I would expect with the sliding panes of wood and screen and I had a little garden just outside my room. The bed was VERY comfortable. She made a wonderful dinner for me and her family. It was broccoli and shrimp tempura with some sort of dumplings and other fried foods. I had some sort of cold soup, I’m not sure what it’s called. We went to a bakery earlier that day and had the desserts that I chose. I took a bath that night for the first time in ages! Showers aren’t very common in Japan and the entire family shares the same bath water. Since I was a guest, I was able to bathe first. I was relieved to go first as I’m not used to this custom. I don’t even like sharing a bathroom with my brothers ;) ha, just kidding. I miss them like crazy. Everyone is getting sick of me saying “I miss my bruders!”. I can’t wait to get home and fight with them. I wonder how long it will take for Tommy to intentionally get on my nerves. I bet about 15 minutes. I really look forward to one of their half hugs/ pat on the back.

The next morning we had a potluck with several other HIPPO members. At first my host mother told me we were having a potpourri with her friends. She confused the two words. I was able to try on a kimono. It was really tight and made me have perfect posture! I can’t wait to show everyone pictures! My camera is acting up and taking really blurry pictures for some reason. I was also able to learn a few chords on a Japanese harp. It was a great experience. We went to a Buddhist temple and rang the prayer bell and got fortunes. I had one of the only bad fortunes :( I guess not too bad, it just said that I’m experiencing bad fortune at the moment but it would get better with time and was better for the future, which could be relevant in some aspects of my life I guess. I guess the future is the best thing to look forward to so it is a good fortune after all!

We went to the train station and bid our host mothers farewell and headed back toward Kobe.

The next morning Greg, Michael, Celina, Val, Sam, Dan, my roommate Kristin and I went to Osaka to meet our friend Bob from CU who is doing an English teaching program. We got off at the OCAT stop. I could have spent all day at that subway. There were a couple young hip hop dancers who were amazing. I stood no chance at all. Even that little Missy Elliot dancer would be embarrassed dancing next to these girls. I have video of course. Later that night, the whole plaza was filled with dancers. Each style had their own corner. The break dancers could spin on their head for minutes on end and do things I never would have imagined possible. One of the young girls was still there several hours after we had initially saw her still dancing as hard as ever. She was dancing with some dudes about twice her age and was holdin her own! Like I said, Hip Hop was HUGE here, even more than in Kobe.

We went to a baseball game that afternoon. It was the Buffaloes (how ironic) vs. the Hawks. Val and I bought jerseys to be extra supportive of the Buffs :). They ended up losing but it was a great time. The subway stopped running at 11:00 and started again at 5 am so we decided to just stay the night in Osaka at our friend’s house. We went to a 280 restaurant (similar to the 350) then to a bar/club/pool hall. After dancing to a few songs, we headed toward Bob’s apartment. They sang karaoke for a while but I passed out on the couch. Next thing I knew, the sun was up and we were on our way to catch the first train. We were all a little out of it since it was so early and we hadn’t gotten much sleep, some of us none. It took us about an hour and 3 transfers to get home…or to the ship…which I have been calling home. Strange.

After napping for a few hours, we were up and on our way again. We basically did the same thing as the first day. We had a little bit of confusions and were lost in translation while trying to eat but everything worked out perfectly. We bought these delicious ice cream snacks. I’ve been dreaming about them ever since. We left Japan that night :( our last real port!!! I really can’t believe it. I am truly on the home stretch now and it has flown by. I can’t wait to see you all. I feel like I’ve missed so much. I bet Ari is walking all over the place, probably even running. Sarai has started taking steps I’m sure, I saw her lil pony tail the other day. Joey is probably speaking. Haha, just kidding but I’m sure he’s army crawling. Everyone should have received post cards by now…hopefully at least. If not, maybe your neighbor has it ;).

CRAVINGS:
Posole
Green chili
CHOCOLATE MILK
Chic fil a
Tamales
Nana’s beans
Steak
Family
Friends

I’ve missed some birthdays: Randy, happy birthday handsome! You’re getting old! I hope school is going well for you, I miss you! Auntie Boita! Daniela – super belated I know. I’m pretty sure I already told my Nina happy birthday but in case not, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Grandpa Martinez. David and Julian. Auntie Jobobadeetendoten. Brianne’s is soon, unless I’ve missed it also. I’m not sure of today’s date. Randi, my babe. I’m sure I’m missing some. Boo hiss. Miss you all but I’ll see you soon.