留学ウィーク:Study Abroad Week

Last week was Study Abroad Week, filled with fun events for both Japanese and International students, international food in the cafeteria (that part is actually continuing this week as well), and topped off by a Friday morning of presentations in Japanese by some study abroad students...including me!

I participated in the Origami/Tanabata and Calligraphy events. Origami, the Japanese art of folding paper, is pretty well known in America. The first thing I did involved scissors and was supposed to be a decoration for the Tanabata tree, but I failed miserably. Next I made a little origami warrior's helmet that won't fit anyone but may fit my cat back home. We'll see. Tanabata is a holiday that I will write more about on the actual date (July 7th).










Calligraphy was headed by a professional calligraphy artist, who instructed us to use passion and grunts. First he demonstrated painting a phrase onto a large piece of paper, then one kanji, then everyone did one stroke a piece on a huge paper, and then we all practiced on regular sized paper. The paper was very thin and fibrous, so the ink easily leaked through, but made a nice effect on the paper itself. The large brush we used for the large paper was made of sheep or goat tail hair (I'm not sure about the smaller brushes). After much practicing, we all did some calligraphy on our own uchiwa (round, Japanese fan). I chose "Thunder" since I love thunder and lightning and storms, love the kanji, was enamored with the Thunder Gate in Tokyo, and feel like it is a nice, powerful word. (On the back I wrote the kanji for dragon, but messed up a stroke - tried turning it into a picture of a dragon - not too bad, but it got some giggles).

After a lot of preparation, some stress, and a stomach of butterflies, I gave my speech on manga history in a large hall (though only a portion of the seat were filled (thankfully)). I also got to present with my slides on a giant screen! Afterwards, I received a lot of positive feedback and even was told by Japanese teachers that they learned something new. It was a great experience. All presenters received a certificate and special pen (mine was blue, of course!).

My weekend was quite relaxing, filled with my doing homework, watching anime, and planning for future trips. I did take a small outing Saturday night with some friends to see nearby fireflies! Apparently the famous Ghibli film "Grave of the Fireflies" is based here in Nishinomiya and one particular scene of fireflies is based on Shukugawa (the sakura-filled river I visited earlier). We did not go there. We heard of the season a bit late and it was breezy, so not many were out, but between the school and landslide museum is a small creek with a walkway alongside it. We saw some adorable fireflies (or hotaru). Some were just small, white, twinkling lights, like stars just out of reach. Others were larger and more yellow, bold and beautiful. It was especially pretty when they flickered, flew in random patterns, approached the water and created a double image of lights, or landed on a puffy flower, and blinked in and out, lighting up the petals (that might have been my favorite). I also held two different fireflies! The first one landed on my outstretched hand, believe it or not, and the second one I picked up from a thick blade of grass. The second one then spent several minutes with our group, kindly going from person to person before flying off. It was a lot of fun. And, although I tried my best with my shabby research, lack of tripod, and lack of experience in nighttime photography, I did not get any good pictures. But it was a learning experience and very beautiful in person.

This week has been full of schoolwork, manga, anime, delicious food (pictures below), and planning for this weekend's trip to...South Korea! Yes! I am so excited! A fellow study abroad student and I will be staying in Seoul for about two and a half days, leaving Friday night and coming back Monday day. We will have wi-fi (and South Korea is famous for its internet speed) so I hope to write at least drafts of posts each night on my phone, adding pictures once I get back. Of course, I'll have to buy an adapter the first night or morning for my appliances, but it will be worth it (my appliances are fine with the voltage). 

Well, I must try to get some sleep now to prepare for my weekend adventure! Good night and good day!

(Below are some food pictures from this past week)

 Chinese food complete with pork buns!

Hot salad of potatoes, green beans, and bacon.

 Soumen (a type of cool noodle dish where you did your iced noodles into the separate sauce, adding toppings into that separate dish, and enjoy)

 Tofu with ooba (a delicious herb/leaf in Japan) and umeboshi (plum) on top

 Tempura style fish (I believe a type of tai, but I cannot recall specifically - don't quote me! - but it's delicious and has incredibly silvery skin). It was over this dinner that I learned that in Japan, some species' of fish have different names for the different stages of life they are in and how big they are. A bit confusing.

 Cakes! This did not come with a guide, so we guessed the flavors. I got a banana-bread one with a little chocolate and a pine-apple/coconut one. It was funny though because, other than the obvious chocolate and matcha ones, my host parents had no clue what they ate and we all had a good laugh.

 That is not cheese on top of that konnyaku and eggplant! It is a mix of miso, sugar, egg, and something else. It is sweet and delicious.

 This was a bit Chinese styled as well. It was incredibly sweet and not spicy, but there was a warm kick after swallowing.

Today we had an Okinawan fruit called gouyo. It is extremely bitter, though the flavor itself is nice. Apparently, it is known for helping people feel better. It is grown on trees and hangs, like mango.