Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Finished!

I've officially finished ICU now! Even though my final exam for Japanese was on Friday, I still had one essay to do for my Writing Ethnography (民族誌作成, Minzokushi Sakusei) elective class. I went into ICU for the day yesterday and finished that off.

And now, except for going in for my results on the 28th, I don't have any reason to go back to campus. Which is really sad! I definitely will be going back though, hopefully several times before I leave in two and a half weeks.

Even though sometimes I really didn't fancy going in for lessons, and the workload was definitely a big stress, overall my experience at ICU was a great one, and I'm really going to miss my friends and the teachers here.

But, if coming back to Japan after a year has taught me anything, it's that things don't change much, and ICU will still be there for me to visit when I'm in Japan next time. And there's no doubt that there will be a next time, it just depends on money as to when I can manage to come back!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Hello Rainy Season

Japan's rainy season (梅雨, tsuyu) officially arrived today! It's actually been a long time coming, as I was expecting it at the very beginning of June, but it's taken until the 14th to arrive in Tokyo.

Rainy season in Japan is caused by cold northerly air masses meeting warm air from the south, which creates a stable front across Japan, bringing clouds and rain. The average rainy season in Tokyo lasts from 8th June until 20th July, which seems like a long time for it to rain! But it doesn't rain every day, and I read an information page that said that Tokyo records an average of 12 days of rain in June, and 120 hours of sunshine. But this fluctuates from year to year. Okinawa (沖縄) and the other southern islands get rainy season from the beginning of May until about the 23rd June, so it's much earlier, and then it spreads north from there. But Japan's northernmost island, Hokkaido (北海道, Hokkaidou) hardly sees any of the rain because of the northerly latitude. So lucky!

I remember the rainy season two years ago, in 2008, was quite short and not very intense. It arrived earlier than usual, and I recall it only lasted about three weeks. It was actually quite comfortable, keeping the heat down, and the misty drizzle made me very nostalgic of Britain. But it was very humid, and on the days when the temperature rose, it was very sticky and uncomfortable! The humidity seems to average about 95% in rainy season, but there were plenty of days when 100% was recorded.

This year so far the humidity has only started to worsen over the past week or so. Up until then it was gorgeous sun and clear blue skies, but now it's getting to the time when you walk home at night in sandals and shorts and see moisture dancing in car headlights.

The next week's weather forecast is mainly for cloud or light rain, with temperatures hovering around 28C, but today is only 19C, so it's being kind and easing us in slowly. Thursday is going to be a bit of a killer, with predictions of 31C and cloud. That's going to be a very humid day!

It's a shame because from now until I leave rainy season will be in full swing, so my immediate memory of Japan will be cloud and mist! But it might mean Britain is a relief from the rain! (Which I don't think I've ever said before...)

There's more information about the dates tsuyu starts and ends on the Japan Meteorological Agency website.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Soul Run Leaving Party

Last night was the Soul Run leaving party for all of the one-year students who are leaving over the next few weeks. Soul Run is the traditional Japanese dance that I joined the society for at ICU.

It was at a really cool Hawaiian restaurant in Kichijoji (吉祥寺), and we'd rented the whole place for the evening, so it was quite expensive (Y3,200 per person) but it was definitely worth it. The atmosphere was incredible, with everyone just wanting to celebrate their amazing year in Japan.

But, it was bitter sweet, because we all knew it was the last time we'd all be together, and there were some teary-eyed people by the end of it. It was made much more emotional by Rei, our leader (団長, danchou), because he'd made a presentation for us and showed us on his laptop. It was a slideshow of photos and videos of us over the last year, and the full video of our performance. Apparently he'd spent a month collecting the videos and everything for it, and we were so grateful!

And after that, he called each of us up to him one by one and presented us with a copy of that video and a small board with personal messages from the permanent students to us. They were all so sweet and heartfelt! Definitely something I can treasure.

The whole night was one I will never forget. And I'll never forget the friends I made here.

Leeds Exam Results

Yesterday morning my results from the Leeds Exam that I took at the beginning of May came through via email.

I was anxious to get these results because if I failed the exam, I would have one more chance to pass in the Summer, and then if I failed that one, then I wouldn't be able to continue my degree at Leeds Uni.

But, thankfully, I passed! We didn't get a breakdown of how we did on each section, but I know that my overall mark was 84%, which I'm really really pleased with.

That mark makes the 12 hours of study a day, and getting ill afterwards, all worth it! (That's not sarcasm, by the way.)

Most people I know passed the exam, with varying marks, although I've heard of a few people who didn't meet the pass mark. So they now have to study over the summer for the re-take, and then will hopefully pass and be able to continue.

I'm so relieved to have passed, so now I can relax about that and enjoy my last month here.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

One Month Left

The countdown has begun! It's officially one month until I go home. Everything is starting to wrap itself up here in Japan, with my final exams and essays next week, and my starting to arrange to see people for the last time before I leave.

As you can imagine, I have very mixed feelings at the moment. I'm really sad to be leaving again, and anxious to make sure I do everything I want to while I still can, but at the same time I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and friends again, and being at home.

With ICU's last lesssons next week, I'm really looking forward to being able to enjoy myself without the pressure of essays and schoolwork etc, but I've had such an amazing time there I know I'm going to be really upset to leave.

Tomorrow after teaching I have a farewell party in the afternoon on campus, and then the last ever Soul Run get-together in the evening in Kichijoji. It's going to be so sad!

But I know that the people I've met will still be here, or spread across the world in places like California, New York and France (which obviously gives me an excuse to visit!), so it's not a goodbye forever. But it will feel like one, as my adventures in Japan come to an end, again.

But because I remember how it felt to leave two years ago, and I remember how it felt when I came back last summer and saw my old friends and my old house, and everywhere I love in Tokyo, I know that I can come back in the future, and hardly anything will have changed.

Or so I'm telling myself now, so I don't get upset!

For now, I can focus on the amazing month ahead of me, and the memories I have yet to make. It's going to be a good one!