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!

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!

Leeds Exam

Last Friday was the dreaded Leeds exam for all the students on their Year Abroad in Japan. I think I nearly killed myself revising for it - every day during the three weeks before the day I spent around 12 hours studying for it.

We were using Kanji in Context, a very well-organised textbook that takes you through the kanji and vocab by using example sentences for each one. We were expected to know 1,003 kanji and the vocab that goes with them. And the idea was that we could work through the textbook throughout our year abroad, and know it inside-out by the time the exam arrived. But with the workload from ICU, I just didn't have the time. The blessing was that there was a lot of overlap between the two syllabuses, and we had our six week holiday and then the Golden Week public holiday in the two months before the Leeds exam, so we had more time to study.

The exam itself was not as hard as I was expecting it to be, but I'm sure that's because I was in the Intermediate class at Leeds last year. The beginners who have only been studying for a year and a half found it quite hellish, and a lot of people I've spoken to are convinced they failed. If people do fail, then they get one more chance to pass in September, and if they fail that one then they can't continue with their degrees. It's so strict! And a lot of people aren't happy at all with the system, as students from other British Universities don't have to do anything on their year abroad except pass their programmes of study in the host University.

The exam was made up of four sections - kanji reading (20%), kanji writing (20%), Japanese to English translation (30%) and an essay (30%). The hardest section for me was the Translation, and the easiest was the kanji reading.

I'm really glad the exam is over. ICU's workload seems so much more bearable without the extra responsibility. And we should get the results at the end of May or the beginning of June. So until then I can live in ignorant bliss, and then deal with the reality of my result when it comes!

Job Application

Because my dire money situation has been getting me down over the past couple of months, I've been eagerly waiting for a time close enough to when I can pick up my Work Permit from the Tachikawa Immigration Bureau for me to apply for a job.

I decided to apply at my old company, Gaba English conversation school, because they offer amazing flexibility that I really need with my constantly changing University schedule. So I used my old CV on Gaijin Pot.com to apply, after updating it with my past year's experience. Gaijin Pot is a website that allows foreigners to make a CV online and apply for jobs and apartments etc. It's the only way to apply for jobs at Gaba.

When I applied, I didn't actually have my Work Permit, but I can pick it up tomorrow, and Gaba still haven't gotten back to me, so I think I timed it okay.

I really really hope my application is successful, because I am quite far into my student overdraft already. If I didn't have that, I would have to leave Japan and quit University. It's the first time in my life that I've ever been in minus money, and it's a horrible feeling. Every time I buy something, I know I'm spending money I don't really have.

There is a chance I can get the JASSO Scholarship for three months (January to March), which is Y80,000 (£500) a month! ICU sent me an email about it a month ago, but they said that I'd hear back from them by the end of December, once JASSO had screened all of the new applicants. So I don't hold out much hope of getting it now.

So fingers crossed I can get the job!

Back to Lessons

Yesterday we started back at ICU after our Winter holiday (冬休み, fuyu yasumi). It was quite ncie to get back into the regular routine of getting up at 8.30 and having breakfast of granola and orange juice while watching NHK's Seikatsu Hot Morning (生活ホットモーニング) programme, and then leaving at 9.30 for 10.10 lessons.

It's a nice little life. It gives me lots of time to study as well as enjoy Japan. So I'm very glad I can be here to enjoy it!

Merry Christmas!

Well, it's Christmas! This year, I've been anticipating it and slightly dreading it at the same time. I really wasn't sure how I'd feel, with it being my first ever Christmas away from home.

I made sure to make plans for each part of the day, to try to minimise loneliness, which would be awful on Christmas Day! I planned to watch a film with Katy and Dan, who couldn't make it from Kobe in the end due to flu, (Rob is in Kyoto with his parents until New Year), then go to a dinner we were invited to at ICU, and then meet some other friends who came from Kobe in the centre of Tokyo for karaoke or something afterwards.

Things didn't go exactly to plan, but everything turned out okay in the end.

I opened all my cards and presents in the morning after a lie-in (I figured the longer I sleep the less time I have to be alone!) and put them all out on my chest of drawers.



Katy had gone to meet her friend in Akihabara, and they both came back to watch 'About A Boy' with me at about 3pm. We watched that, but didn't quite make it to the end because I'd arranged to Skype with my family at 8am UK time.

I spoke to my family via webcam for an hour, and I watched my brothers sit on my parents' bed and open their presents. They put the laptop in the place I'd usually sit in so it really was like I was there. It was lovely to feel so close to them, despite being on the other side of the world.

The hour flew by and suddenly it was time for me to leave for the dinner at ICU. I felt so lucky that I could speak to them and take part in the family Christmas.

Katy and I left the guesthouse and cycled the twenty minutes or so to ICU. When we got to the teacher's house, everyone else was there, with glasses of wine sitting on the sofa or by the fire. She has a lovely Western-style home inside a traditional Japanese house. It's really interesting to be there.

It was decked out properly for Christmas, with the tree and stockings by the fire. It was so nice!

There were some lovely people there, including people from England, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Japan. Katy and I were the youngest ones there, but it wasn't at all uncomfortable - everyone was very friendly. One of the other teachers (who was from England) brought her two year old son, and he was so sweet! He ended up dragging me into a game where I had to pick him up from one sofa and fly him to the other where his Mum was. Children are so cute!

The food came out at about 7pm, and it was such an amazing spread! It was all Western food, and it was exactly what I'd hoped for. It was all delicious, and we ate so much of it! There was even real mulled wine, which they gave to me and Katy to take home at the end of the night, because, being British, we were so excited to see it!

We had two helpings of the main course, and were stuffed! I really didn't think I could eat anything else, but then all the puddings came out! The Japanese idea of a separate stomach 別腹 (betsubara) was definitely true here!

The meal was absolutely fantastic. Everything was really well made, and the atmosphere made me feel really at home. It was everything I hoped it would be, and more.

I got a ring from Matt, who I was going to meet in Shinjuku after the meal, and he said that people couldn't stay out all night, and were going to head home in a couple of hours. That meant there wasn't really any point in me going to meet them for such a short time, so Katy and I stayed until the very end of the meal. I wasn't at all disappointed, although it would have been lovely to see them, I was having such a nice time I wouldn't have felt right about leaving early.

We helped clear away the dishes and chatted for a bit longer, and then cycled home at about 10:30pm. I spoke to my family again very briefly, as they were just leaving for a park near our house called Lickey Hills, for a Christmas barbecue in the snow.

And that was my first abroad Christmas! It was slightly lonely, but the atmosphere at the meal was so nice I completely forgot about it. I survived it! And next year I'll be at home with my family again!

Next up, New Year - which is much bigger than Christmas in Japan. I'm looking forward to it!

Work Permit Application

Over the last two weeks, during the run-up to Christmas, I have been sorting out everything for my work permit, which I need to get a job in Japan as I'm here on a student visa.

ICU don't let their students who start in September apply for their work permits until November, and even then the process takes a long time. I understand the reasons behind this, as they don't want students to spread themselves too thinly, but my money situation is getting pretty dire, so I could have used a job at least a month ago! But there you go, you can't argue with the rules.

So I gave ICU my information and they made up a letter saying that they give permission for me to apply for a work permit. I then took that to the Immigration Bureau in Tachikawa with some friends, where I went to get my re-entry permit.

I took a number from the ticket machine by the desk as before, and it was twenty numbers away.

I filled out the form, but there were two that looked like the work permit application. The correct one has much more to fill in, with sections for your employer's information, and legal proxies etc. I filled out both of the forms just in case, but I didn't need the other, sparser one. Because I didn't know who my employer would be I left that section blank, and it wasn't a problem. I did have to write how many hours I can work down, and ICU say that I can work 32.5 hours a week based on the fact that I'm taking 9 credits this semester.

They were working much quicker than the last time I went and waited over two hours, and we were all done in under an hour. There was barely time for me to eat my lunch!

I gave them my:

- completed application form

- Alien Card

- letter from University (or other, allowing you to apply for the permit)

- passport.

Katy hadn't brought her passport, and was really annoyed that she had to go back the next day and do the whole process again. And all they need the passport for is to staple a date in there so you know when to return for the actual permit! Oh bureaucracy, how we love you...

The date we were given is 7th January, which is three weeks after we applied for it, but it might not usually take that long. Because New Year is in the middle of the period, it might have extended the time.

Anyway, now I'm eagerly awaiting the 7th, so I can find a job and start earning some money!

Term One Results

Back to ICU and normal Japanese life after my trip home! Going home has really helped me to appreciate the life I have here, as I know that home is still there, and most things are the same, but I can have all these fun, new and exciting adventures in Japan while I'm here.

On the first day back to ICU, which was a Thursday, I registered for my Winter Term courses - I took the next level of Japanese (Japanese 6) and an elective module in Psycholinguistics, which is taught by the same teacher as my Linguistics class last semester. I really enjoyed her lectures, and Psycholinguistics has turned out to be just as well taught, so I'm glad I chose it.

I also got my results for the Autumn Term. I got a B in Japanese, and an A in Linguistics. They didn't break everything down for Japanese, but I expected a B, judging from how I did in all the different assessments. Of course I would have loved an A, but that would be at least 90%! My Japanese is not that good!

I will try my best this semester to get an A, but I think another B would be okay!

Very Busy Two Weeks

This post is just a quick apology for the lack of updates over the last week and a half! After the ICU Festival last weekend, which was busy enough with all the Soul Run practices for the performance, I have entered a period of exam after exam after presentation. The end of term is next Friday, and the run-up is full to the brim with tests and various deadlines.

So I'm afraid I don't think I'll have the time to write up the happenings of the last two weeks until my break starts. I'm so looking forward to that two weeks off!

I will catch up soon!

Soul Run Performance & The ICU Festival

Halloween weekend (31st Oct-1st Nov) was my University's festival (学際, gakusai), where we performed the heavily-rehearsed Soul Run dance.

Rob, Katy and I cycled in at lunchtime on the Saturday to get ready for the 3pm performance. We met the others at the gym and got changed into our happi (法被), the costumes for the dance. And we got hachimaki (鉢巻) headbands for the first time, and tied them ourselves, with a little bit of difficulty!

We then took all our things from the gym to one of the buildings near the stage, Shin D-kan. I was so nervous! I was terrified I was going to mess up in a really obvious way... We had half an hour to get even more scared, but the time passed quickly, and then we were lining up behind the stage, waiting for the act before us to finish.

I had invited one of my housemates from last year to come and watch, and he saw me waiting and wished me luck before going to join the audience.

Our leader (団長, danchou), a very cool guy called Rei, went out first and introduced us on the microphone to the crowd gathered on Ahoyama (あほ山), the name of one of the hills outside the main building (本館, honkan) in ICU.

He gave the signal for us to file out and take our places. As soon as I stepped out in front of everyone my mouth dried up completely. I was so nervous!

We found out places and took the first position. Rei took his place in front of us, and we all waited for his shout. And then we were off!

There are lots of videos of the performance on YouTube (unfortunately I don't have any). Here's one of them, but if you put "ICU Soul Run" into the search bar it comes up with several of them, including performances from previous years.

The following photos might give you an idea of what the dance was like... I'm the tall white guy closest to the camera in this top one.

I made a couple of timing errors, and one bigger mistake towards the end, but thankfully nobody noticed until Rob pointed it out (thanks Rob, haha), so hopefully it's not too obvious.

But I was so so happy to have accomplished that. We put in so much time and effort into that four minute performance! Towards the end of the seven weeks we were doing 8-10 hours a week after our lessons to try to make it look as smooth as possible.

And I was so pleased we did it! It was a similar feeling to when I finished the Midnight Walk across Tokyo a few weeks before.

And everyone was overjoyed to have done it!

After the performance, we congratulated each other and celebrated back in Shin D, before splitting up to enjoy the rest of the festival without worrying about the dance!

There were lots of stalls selling food and drink made by the students, and everything was organised and arranged by students. It was really amazing, how hard people worked to make everything happen. And it was the nicest atmosphere!

That evening we had an after party (お疲れ様パーティー, otsukaresama paatii) in Kichijoji. We went to an all you can eat and drink place and had a really nice time. Everyone was in the party mood, and framed photos and teddy bears were given to Rei, and three other members who are in their final year at ICU. The staff (幹部, kanbu) all worked incredibly hard towards the performance, and we owe them so much for everything.

It was Halloween night so there were some people out in costumes. As we were deciding who was going to karaoke, and who was going to a club in the centre, two small Japanese children came up trick or treating, and the boy found me hilarious, as I was wearing a Tigger hat with a tail. At least I hope it was the hat that he found so funny...

We went to karaoke and had a really nice evening, knowing that we'd done a good job.

We went back to ICU the next day as well, to see other performances, and soak up more of the fun atmosphere. The weather was lovely on both days, clear skies and around 20-25C. It was the warmest Halloween I'd ever experienced!

The taiko drumming was incredible, and the performers worked really really hard - you could see the amount of effort it took!

Rob and I watched Smooth Steppers, which is ICU's hip hop-style dance club. It has well over 50 members! The dances were all amazing, and I really enjoyed watching them. One of our friends, who's in my Japanese class, and also lives in our guesthouse, was performing, and she did incredibly well.

After Smooth Steppers, the performances were over, and it was time for us to watch the Closing Ceremony. It's usually held outside, but because there was a risk of rain, they held it in the auditorium.

This was where we would find out who won first, second and third prize for the performances. There were 40 performances in total that we could vote for. But I don't think the way the voting was done was very good, because people could only vote for who they wanted to win 5 minutes after the act. Which means that people can't see everything before deciding which was the best.

But, despite that, we had received a text saying that Soul Run was in the top three as the votes stood, without Smooth Steppers being counted, which it had never done before. So lots of us headed to watch, as there was a chance we would be asked to dance again.

The ceremony was very good, with lots of good acts - juggling and dancing, and things like that.

And then it was announced! Soul Run didn't make the top three! We were knocked off by Smooth Steppers in the end. But they did deserve it, they worked really really hard. But Soul Run still came fourth, which is the best they'd ever done! So that was definitely a good achievement.

It was a really nice weekend, and it made me really feel like I was part of the ICU community, and even more a part of Soul Run. I wish Leeds did something similar - I should suggest it!