Saitama Soccer Game

Remember back when I mentioned settai? If not, you can scroll back in time to find the blog, but if you do recall this little Japanese vocabulary, let’s pick up where we left off.

Well, waaa~~yyy back, my Wadaiko group was set on a string of settai. One was run by our president ("Nani Sore Something Something" Shunyo, the boy looking at this red phone and standing next to me in that ever-so-flattering photo). He absolutely loves soccer, and practically lived on the soccer field in high school, so he opened up a goup outing to see his hometown, pro-team play. A chance to see a Japanese soccer game AND hang out with the Wadaiko members?! I’m in all the way!! And so were the OYRangers, but the other kids….were busy. But even if it was just the foreign students who promised to come, Shunyo went all out; he brought all of his official jerseys and t-shirts for us to wear on top of all our jackets and sweaters, taught us soccer terms, gave us the team’s stats, showed us chants and cheers, and escorted us from start to finish. Thus were the OYRangers made into Urawa Red Diamonds fans. Or, as they say in Japanese, “We are Redzu!” Engrish makes me smile.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. A few things happened before we even made it to the stadium. First of all, we were running a little late. We had to dash straight from practice, so everyone was pretty tuckered, but had to stay somewhat awake on the series of buses and trains. As we were waiting at one of the many stations that took us to Saitama, Shunyo made a call, and then walked down a narrow hallway, stopping in front of a tall, thin boy with a high school uniform.

“What is he doing?” the Yellow Ranger asked. “Maybe the boy is asking him something” the Red Ranger speculated. “Nah,” the Green Ranger piped up, “He wouldn’t have gone all the way down to hallway to get asked a question.” The Red Ranger gave another guess “Maybe they know each other. We’re near Shunyo’s hometown, you know.” After a moment or two, I noticed something a little strange.“Um…hey, guys…does that kid have a white envelope with him? Yeah, it kind of looks like …Shunyo just snatched it away!! Now he’s pushing that kid around! What’s going on!? He’s, he’s hustling that kid!”

After the brief wave of panic, we were able to find out what was really going on. In actuality, that “kid” was one of Shunyo’s kid brothers and was just dropping off our tickets to his big bro (so rough housing is totally normal).

A. Ny. Way. We finally get to the field and this thing is super! I'm so glad that Shunyo used to pretty much live at this field when he was younger, because just navigating the parking lot was an adventure. It tuns out that although we bought tickets, we couldn't find a place to sit, so instead we all stood in the isle, which wasn't that weird as it turns out. From our lofty spot we could see everyone from the opposing team's fans to the players, the die-hard flag wavers, and the ocean of Reds fans.

The stadium was made especially for the FIFA World Cup 2002 Korea/Japan and can hold 63,700, making it Japan's biggest specialized football ground. But more than come to see the game, the fans who fill these stands feel like they are actually a part of the victory. There are dozens of songs, chants, and dances that everyone seems to know. If you don't, you learn them right quick, to be sure. I was worried about using my camera to record them because I figured, "As soon as I turn it on, they'll stop." Not true: one song was repeated for a timed 20 minute interval! The fans feel that if they have just as much energy as the players, it will all be channeled to victory, somehow. We just faked like we knew the words and sang along with the rest of them for the fun of it.

Bad news? Reds lost. Good news? I got to scream at the top of my lungs in Japanese with my friends!!

After the game, there was a huge closing ceremony because it was the last home game of the season/pre-season/actually I'm not sure why they had it. Sorry. I'm sure that you fine folks at home are probably bored to tears with this, so I'll end on some fun videos. Also, if you were looking in my photo gallery and were wondering what the final image that the crowd made was, watch the last video!

For more Reds Fan fun, check out their English website!

http://www.urawa-reds.co.jp/index_en.html

All You Can Hit!

(Before we start things off, I just want to say that to tell this I had to really reach back into my memory banks. I’ve really got to start writing events as they happen, instead of going back a few weeks or so every time. I’ll be doing that a lot for the next few posts. But anyways!)

In late November during fall break, I had that chance to attend Wadaiko’s 20^th Anniversary All You Can Hit Party! Literally, that was what they called it: an uchihoudai (打ち放題). Besides being another gathering of Wadaiko players past and present, people made more of an attempt to come and celebrate ICU Wadaiko’s 20^th Anniversary. The current members had quite a task of setting up the event, contacting everyone, and preparing for the day’s activities, but luckily the retired members made sure to help out and we all ended up having a great time. As usual, the OYRangers were dazed and confused throughout much of the day, so we ended up doing odd-jobs, served food, or sat around and tried to stay out of the way. Wadaiko used up the whole basket ball court that day; half of it was covered in blankets for people to sit on and watch, the other half was covered in taikos. I mean it. Absolutely covered in taiko drums! We had every, single drum that was owned by the school and our club out on the floor. Large, small, often used, hardly touched – it didn’t matter.

The first hour or so was spent setting up, signing in, and waiting for everyone to arrive. 10 am marked the start of the party with sensei leading us in a group warm-up exercises. Then the real fun started! On a board was written all the major songs that Wadaiko has played in the past 10 years. No system was given, we just waited for the leader of the event to name a song and everyone who knew it, performed it, liked it, or wanted to try it could go up grab a drum and have a go! Some of these songs were written for 3 to 4 people, but it didn’t matter. We set up every drum we could find for each piece so that anyone who wanted to had a chance to play. There was an army of kodaikos, a plethora of chappas, a swarm of odaikos, you get the idea. Everyone else got to sit and watch the massive group play. I had only been there for one term, so I only knew that songs that they had played for the ICU Festival concert. There were so many songs that I had never heard of before. It was really strange to see the upperclassmen join the retired members to play pieces that I didn’t recognize at all. There were songs that used flutes, different sized/styled drums, and some that had bells, symbols, and gongs! People weren’t trying to have a real performance, just play Wadaiko’s pieces. You see, all but two of the club’s songs are composed by its members. There are two traditional Japanese songs that we play, but everything else is an original, which makes each piece very precious to the club.

Besides just other members, some people brought their children, too. Most of them were under 6 and they were really curious about the drums and what their parents were doing. They would stand next to the taikos as their moms or dads play and were amazed that their parents knew how to do all of these songs/dances. On little girl insisted on sitting in her mother’s lap while she played the kodaiko and another boy hovered around sensei as she performed an odaiko and chime solo. We brought out a giant, fluffy, stuffed pig for them to cuddle with and we had little Wadaikos for them to hit. Anything to keep them interested. Derek's parents even came all the way from California and got a chance to play the drums with him. Afterwards, he took them out around town, but they left us dried mango strips from Trader Joe's! What a treat!

I got to perform all the pieces that I really likes, and even played on some drums that I know the club would never allow me to perform on. That’s what the kick out parties and All You Can Hit sessions are for, after all: experimentation, exploration, and just hitting a drum in a loud room!! Afterwards, we went out to an All You Can Drink place, but I went along for the company and the food. It all turned out to be a great day. I’m really lucky to have come to ICU this year and met the Wadaiko players. They’ve helped me make some of the greatest memories here.

Sweets Paradise

Are you ready for this?! It is Sweets Paradise!!

Okay, you may remember me talking about All-You-Can-Eat/Drink places here in Japan, right? You know, those restaurants where you pay, like, $10-$35 and get a buffet and a time limit? Bonus info: the longer the time limit, the more you pay. Well, they are really popular for parties and group outings. Well, my friend took some of us out for a newly opened All-You-Can-Eat-Dessert-Buffet! I know, it’s great!!!

The place was called Sweets Paradise and was all done up in a old-fashioned train car feel with an extensive display of cakes, pastries, a chocolate fountain, a fair-ground style popcorn machine, and fruits. For drinks, you could have hot chocolate, soda, teas, coffees, or shaved ice. There was also a pot of curry, rice, a bowl of salad, and several pastas to balance out the meal. It was all so lovely, but not as sweet as you might imagine. Japanese desserts look deceptively sugary. But they mostly taste like fluff or aren’t very sweet. Natural sugars, like those found in fruits and honey, are more appreciated. The Japanese, it seems, have an aversion to anything that’s flavor is too strong, so spicy foods aren’t that spicy and sweet foods aren’t that sweet. Give them a Reese’s for example, and most of them will say, “Too sweet!” or “Too buttery!” Many of the Japanese students at Witt would complain that the cafeteria slacker desserts were amasugiru (too sweet).

Because of this neutral flavor, I didn’t eat more than three platefuls of sweets, but went straight to the curry, which overflowed from my plate and burned my hand! I did what anyone would have done, ate that curry to the last drop and showed it who was boss!!

Would I go back to sweet’s paradise? Definitely, it is surprisingly close (Kichijoji) and I’d be able to get a full meal besides the desserts bar. Maybe sometime in January as a pick-me-up when school starts getting hard, the weather is depressing, and I just feel like eating my weight in strawberry jelly rolls!

"It's settai, everybody!!" The Basics

Glancing at my photo albums, you'll notice that there is a lot of food. Why is that? I love food, that's why! I use food when I'm celebrating, when I'm bored, when I'm sad, when I want to do something nice for a friend, as a conversation starter, and as a treat (something to reward myself after a long night of studying or a big project). Food is just good all around, and more food is better than less food, so let them eat cake!

Where was I? Right, sorry.

Anyway, most of the time, I eat by myself, but there are a few pictures already of me eating with a group of people. The people are probably the Wadaiko club, the Yearbook club, Keyaki/Zelkova Dorm, or the Soul Run group for settai. Let me explain: if there are three prominent Japanese values, they would be seniority, collectivism, and group harmony (WA!). Still explaining: when you join a group (be it business, club, neighborhood committee, whatever), you place yourself within the context of that group (age, time active, and rank). That is the seniority part of it. Now, of course you want the group to be the best it can be, so you and the other members work together to for the sake of the whole. Collectivism, deshou? Well, the fun doesn't stop when you clock out. Oh, no. If the older, high ranking members deem the stars to be in position, they might suggest a night out for the group. You're not to going to say no to the boss/president/club leader, right? OF COURSE NOT! Besides, in spending this extra time together, you'll become closer with the other members, increasing your group harmony, making you work better together, making the company better, etc. Phew! You get the idea.

This "extra group bonding time" is called settai, and people have some mixed feelings about it. Businessmen from American companies hardly like the idea at all: work is done, who wants to go have a drink with the boss? That could take hours, be expensive, and after a day of work, you're tired! Americans would rather go home and spend time with their families. Club members usually don't have a problem with it because they are all friends and looking for a fun time! But there is not nearly as much pressure to say "yes" to go to every club settai as there is for one at the office. And I'm fine with them (for the most part), if I know that they are happening. Like I said, they can be decided upon at the drop of a hat, so you sort of dawdle around after a club activity, feel the air, and see if tonight is going to be a settai night or not.

So far, I've been on about 6 settai, and I've had a blast! They are great opportunities for me to practice Japanese, and since we are all out, we don't have to talk about the club activities or school. The Japanese students know all sorts of cheap, fun places to go, too, so I find a lot of good restaurants that I'm sure I'll go to again later on this year. We've been to parks, different cities, around the college, the train station, and Mitaka, so I'm learning more about the area each time.

When's the next big settai? Within the next two weeks, I couldn't say, but there is going to be a big blowout at the ICU festival!! Then, I'll have my pick of settai, nomi/tabehoudais, and parties. Haha, we'll see what happens. Curfew is 11:30 at the dorm, so I need to be careful in whatever I do. :) Be on the lookout for more food photos, though! I'll be sure to let you know if they are settai or not.

Till then, cheers!

My Clubs So Far

(Sorry for initially back tracking in this post, but I'll get back to the present in just a second.)

Back home, I was in all sorts of international and Asian-themed groups: martial arts club, East Asian studies club, Japanese discussion table, American International Association, and FLA (oh, wonderful FLA~). But here, I'm surrounded by all that is Japan!! So do they have an EAS group here? Nope. We don't have an American Student Union back in the states (do we?). However, I was surprised to find out that they don't have an American Culture Club or at least an American Movie Club. Get on that, Japan!!

As you saw from my tsukimi photos, all the clubs came out to vie for new members. You have to be really careful about your wording (which I found out the first night). As you left the auditorium, there was a mob of club members sitting outside the door ready to nab and new foreign student. And, boy, did I feel foreign that night. One group I saw was the ICU Handbell Choir. They rushed up to me and asked, if I'd like to see them play. I didn't know what to do, so I didn't answer the question, but instead said, "Oh, there is a handbell choir at my school in America. I think they have 30 members." These. Girls. Flipped. Out! They were so excited to learn that not only had I seen handbell before, but that I came from a magical land where young people wearing white gloves could play bells in a group 30-strong. I was soon captured by the eager handbell members.

As the choir members ushered me down to their mat, I heard a few phrases that I think I should clarify for anyone else going abroad.

"Kyoumi ga arimsuka?" "Do you have an interest (in our club)?"

"Shimitai desuka?" "Do you want to try it?"

"Onamae to addoresu wo kaitekurenai?" "Won't you write your name and email?"

"Hairitain desuka?" "Do you want to join?"

Okay, here is the danger. Question 1 REALLY means that, "you have given thought to their club and want to learn more about joining." Question 2 REALLY means that, "you are very interested in their club and want to come to a meeting/practice/demonstration." Quesiton 3 REALLY means that, "the club can contact you as if you were a current member." And question 4 REALLY means....well..."do you want to join?"

Now, through a series of adventures too long to post, I was able to free myself of the handbell girls (but not before sitting through their rendition of "It's a Small World After All").

Flash forward a few weeks: We are now on or around September 24th, and I've joined only three groups officially: Yearbook, Wadaiko, and Soul Run. The Yearbook group is helpful because it is FREE to join, while other clubs cost about $30 just to join. Yearbook also lets me meet a lot of people, use primarily Japanese, work with really nice cameras, and see most of the groups here on campus. Wadaiko is the traditional Japanese drumming group that I joined last week, and it is a blast! Such a work-out and getting to use the drums is a great stress reliever. Soul Run is the Souran Bushi Dancing gorup here. I taught Souran Bushi back at FLA (oh, wonderful FLA~), but this group has its own twists on some of the movements. I'll say this right now: it hurts. Terribly. But this is a great way to strengthen my legs since most of their movements are done extremely low to the ground. Plus, they meet during lunch, so I don't have to worry about staying out late, I just swing by the gym. I'm still looking at Aikido (they have lovely mats to use and a great group of kids) and Judo (but I've yet to join in on their practice session). I don't want another martial art to ruin my taijutsu, but it would be nice to have someone to practice with regularly here on campus.

One of the great things about joining these clubs (even though they are much more demanding and strict than the ones at Witt), is that I can see different leadership styles. Club activities, meeting procedures, and organization are a bit of a change (and some of the clubs are held just in Japanese :S). I've already got a list going of what things I want to take back to America and use at my clubs in Witt. If they let me.

Study Abroad, the Basics

As I mentioned earlier, this year I'm heading off to International Christian University (ICU) in Mitaka, Japan. I'm rather fortunate to even be going there for two reasons.

1. Getting the opportunity for study abroad is fantastic in and of itself!!
2. Wittenberg was very lucky to be granted admittance to ICU and send students on an Invitee basis.

"But, Alexandra, aren't you going to be an exchange student?" Naw, not really. This is a tad different. Most colleges have partnerships with other schools in and out of the country. Depending on who and where those other schools are, students can bop around to different colleges, expanding their courses, cultural understanding, and language proficiency. Going into study abroad you have a few different options: exchange, direct enrollment, programs, and invitee. An exchange is a simple trade; one of our kids for one of yours. The students don't have to swap in the exact same year, but after a while, the number of students coming in is the same as going abroad. This works pretty well for the schools since they were expecting that American student to be living at the college anyway. Their numbers didn't change for the year, just their diversity level. Direct enrollment is when you study abroad, but it is a little more than the limited time deal. A student who is directly enrolling into a foreign school typically is now regarded as a student of that college, must fulfill all the general course requirements, and can graduate from that school. You only directly enroll somewhere if you plan on being there all 4 years and are already proficient enough in the language to live there. Programs are like tourism packages; sure you have to go to school and study, but the program staff will make sure that you visit the major cites in the area, meet and mingle with other people in your program, and act as your support group away from home.

This all brings us to the invitee end of it all.

Probably not "the best for last," invitee standing can be seen as a gift from a benevolent ruler. What do I mean? Look at it this way, if you come from a big school, you probably have a lot of programs, students, funding, and fame. Everyone wants to be your friend because they can then say that their students have the chance to study abroad at your school. But if you are a small school, people in the town next to you might not know you exist, so how is someone in another country going to know you are there? They won't. And they won't care. That is why invitee programs are so special. Being on an invitee basis with someone means, "I don't want my students to go to your school necessarily, but you can come to my school. Just don't come rushing in all at once! One at a time, if you please." See? it isn't that they are rude, just more focused on the bigger prize. But this means that I can sneak in under the radar and attend the same sort of school that the students from larger universities get to go to!

Wittenberg has an invite from ICU because one of the professors of Japanese here knew the president of ICU and a few years ago worked out a deal to have one Witt kid per year come to ICU. But just ONE student per year is invited over! I'll be the fourth student invited to ICU, much in thanks to my helpful sempai: Tyler Roberts, Kai Wiesner-hanks, and Joani Schaffner.

Phew!! That was a lot for just a little question. What was the question again? I'll have a couple other posts under my "Basics" category over the summer. For more on ICU, feel free to check out an online article I wrote about them and their official website.