Skip to main content

Maddie- The First of Many New Experiences

The First of Many New Experiences

So, what have my first weeks been like in Japan?

ABSOLUTELY BUSY! But, also...AMAZING!

Truly, it has been a busy couple of weeks here, but not overwhelmingly so. Furthermore, I`d prefer to be kept busy! Too much free time = too much thinking = homesickness. By keeping a full, fun schedule, with some relaxing and downtime, I can keep engaged with my surroundings, make new friends, and stay sane. To prevent a wall of text, let me break down for you some of my recent activities. So far, I have:


  • Presented about my life in Wisconsin to classes of middle school and elementary school students.
  • Eaten kaiten-zushi, or conveyor belt sushi. 


  • Been interviewed about my biggest surprise when I came to Japan (it`s bluntness in regards to appearance, people won`t hesitate to call someone fat, or tell you that you`ve gotten skinny since they last saw you. As I`ve seen it, it`s never been malicious, just matter-of-fact). 
Post filming. To my right is Kahye,
intern from South Korea. She asked questions
in Korean, while I answered in English.

  • Gone to two overnight camps. One at the Olympic Youth Center in Yoyogi Park (Tokyo), and another one in Saitama (2 hours away by car), in the mountains.
  • Gone shopping with my host sister in Kichijoji--a fun, youthful neighborhood by the station I use when going to work.
  • Eaten tomato ramen (Italian-style ramen).
Dat mozzarella tho

  • Had dinner in Shibuya (downtown Tokyo) with a friend from University of Wisconsin. Go Badgers!
  • Experienced an evening party at the Hippo Camp in Saitama, complete with live performances, snacks, and alcohol (the latter for legally-aged adults only). It reminded me that, "Ah, I`m not at 4-H anymore..." It`s a good reminder that various cultures and institutions have different perceptions of when it`s appropriate to imbibe. Neither is better or worse...just different!
  • Met other Hippo interns from Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, and France!
Nancy from Taiwan and Ivan from Mexico!

  • Made ohagi, chewy rice cakes with red bean paste or roasted soy powder, with my host mom for Ohigan, a Buddhist holiday celebrated in autumn and spring. 
  • Participated in the LMP speech, a multilingual speech contest held by LEX for high school students and young adults. Participants had to use at least three languages in their presentation! I used English, Japanese, German and Spanish.

  • Tried my hand at pounding fresh mochi, a delicious, sticky, rice cake.

  • Ridden the trains and buses by myself on almost a daily basis (no big mess-ups yet, knock on wood).
  • Eaten oodles of my host mother`s amazing cooking!
  • Tried on a high school uniform costume and took purikura (fancy photobooth pictures) with a Japanese friend who studied abroad at University of Wisconsin.

  • Gone on several walks/runs around my neighborhood, getting the feel of the place. 
  • Been touched by the kindness and patience of my host family, co-workers, and Hippo members, especially in regards to my slow Japanese.

...And that`s only part of it! It`s been a lively past three weeks, but I truly enjoyed every second of it. If I ever felt grumpy or tired, I reminded myself of the amazing opportunity I am taking part of (and then I made sure I got some exercise and a good night`s rest. Nothing like an evening walk and a solid eight hours to revamp your attitude). 

Well, September is almost over...Wow! I can`t wait to see what October brings.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Daniel- こにちわ！！

こにちわ！！　(Daniel) Hello,こにちわ, bonjour,  Привет ! My name is Daniel Panasenko, and I am the 2012-2013 LEX intern in the Hippo office in Tokyo. I am from Sacramento, California, although originally from Dnipropetrovs'k, Ukraine.  I first came across LEX and Hippo when I came to Japan with People to People in 2009. I was hosted by members of the Hippo Family Club for four days, and I enjoyed the experience so much, that I came back to work for Hippo as an intern. Although I am fairly new to Hippo, I have been received warmly and welcomed into the Hippo family. Everyone at the office and at the family clubs are very kind, supportive, and incredibly patient as I unintentionally butcher their language. As the year progresses, I will blog about my experiences in Japan as well as my insights into the language and culture. Although I am a bit overwhelmed by the novelty of the lifestyle and language, but I am more than happy to be here, making fascinating new discoveri...
Post a Comment
Read more

Michael- Koto-ku Community Festival

Koto-Ku Community Festival Wow! It seems like just yesterday that I was writing my last blog post, but yet it was really 2 weeks! I have been told it has gotten a lot colder in the U.S., so I should probably tell you I've only worn a light jacket once so far...And that was when the latest typhoon was offshore and pulling wind down from Russia. Otherwise, it has been amazing weather here. As always, I've been doing a lot, but I will talk about one thing I really enjoyed. I worked at a Hippo booth at my community festival. The festival was held over the weekend a week ago at Kiba Park near my home. The park is quite large and known for the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art, but mostly it's cool because it has a suspension bridge over a canal in the middle. The event was quite exciting for me as it was also my first Japanese festival. I want to say it was a mix between a flea market and a trade show. There were many tents set up in many different areas. Booths varied a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Danielle- Shopping Malls

Shopping Malls I noticed I don't talk about shopping enough, so here's a brief overlook of some of my favorite shopping malls (so far~) out here in Japan. AEON I have one about 5 minutes away from my local train station here in Chiba. It feels very homey to me, just because it's really spacious and open and reminds me of a shopping mall I had back in Illinois. What I love about Aeon, too, is that it has a bunch of different stores (other than just clothes). On the first floor, you have your groceries, bakery, and cosmetics, and stuff like that. On the other floors, you have your clothes, electronics, food court (talk about majorly nostalgic, especially with the KFCs and Subways), and mini arcade. Chiba is kind of out-of-the-way, and so Aeon has been a very convenient place for me to buy my toiletries and CalorieMate... and just walk around, if I feel like it. I bought my first winter coat there and some gloves, and it was all reasonably priced, I think (granted,...
Post a Comment
Read more