Japanese Fashion, Part One (of many, I'm sure)

Miki, I, and an alumna from Oberlin were strolling around Shinjuku the other day discussing Japanese fashion. Although the conversation was in a mix of Japanese and English, the translated version goes a little something like this. *note: some names may have been shortened to protect the identities of the speakers (ex. mine).

Alex: Did you see that? I would have never matched leopard leggings and a baggy, purple shirt! That was such a cool idea!

Luna: Yeah, you'll see a lot of that.

Miki: A lof of what?

Alex: Japanese fashion. It is pretty cool, but I don't know how to duplicate it yet.

Miki: I don't see much of a difference in what you're wearing and what Japanese people usually wear.

Alex: Awww, thanks, Miki.

Luna: You do look nice, but there are major differences in Japanese and American style.

Alex: True story.

Miki: For example?

Alex: Um, okay, well, for example that boy with the leopard leggings and the purple shirt. He'd probably get laughed at in Ohio. In New York, that might be more common, but most people would think he can't match his clothes well. And a lot of guys, I mean a LOT of guys, at school wear fanny packs over their chests like a purse. That hasn't really caught on in America yet.

Luna: That's true. And overalls are actually popular here. I mean, back home that's what people wear to work in or do something on a farm, but look at that girl! She's has overalls and the cuffs rolled up to her calf.

Alex: Yeah, that is something I would have worn when I was 5. Much of the style here is very young and cute.

Miki: But I wore overalls on Thursday....

Alex: I know, I know, and you looked so adorable! But in America, if you wear that, people will think your a little strange. Or maybe even poor.

Luna: In a few years, people in America will be dressing like the Japanese do now (a little), but by then, you will be doing something COMPLETELY different.

Miki: So if I wear my clothes in America, people will think I'm strange?

Alex: No, no, no, no. You're style is so sweet, Miki. And since you're from Japan, people will expect you to have slightly different clothing combinations.

Miki: Ahhh. I still don't think there is much difference....

Luna & Alex: Trust us, there is.

Now, none of this is to knock the Japanese fashion world. I love the fact that ankle boots, hair bows, headbands, little straw hats, and sweaters are all on the "hot list" for this coming fall line. Some girls on my floor and I were pouring over a Japanese magazine, and the outfits looked so adorable. Another positive aspect about fashion here, I can pull off leggings with anything here! Girls might wear super short skirts or have strapless shirts, but they always have something underneath. Leggings, undershirts, t-shirts, anything! You hardly see a Japanese person exposing a lot of skin, and when they do, it is because they're making a statement or trying to look more like Western girls. My friend Gina was stopped by someone the other day and told that she looked very nice, but have the Japanese fashion down pat yet. Why not? Her collar bone was showing in too many of her outfits.

Now, you see some really strange stuff here (you do everywhere), but the Japanese take great pride in their appearance. It starts in junior high school where students are drilled in proper uniform attire, hair style, and (no matter how busy one gets) always looking sharp and well groomed. Once they're older, I can definitely see how many of them carry these teachings into the work world, and even into different fashion sub-cultures. No matter what the trend, they look great.

There are so many things I'd like to say, but I'll stop here before I ramble. The next fashion entry will have to be about the shoe culture here, but I'll save all that for later!

Lost and Found: A Duck's Story

Horror of horrors!

Yesterday was Keyaki's 2nd floor yearbook photo. So as many of the residents who remembered (not a whole lot, actually) came back to the dorm during lunch to get a group snapshot by the yearbook staff. Most of the girls were already gathered, when I started asking around for Kaya-chan. That's not the name of a girl: it is the name of our floors mascot -an adorable little duckie. All the girls start looking around, but he's not in the social room, the common area, or the kitchen. One girl even sent a floor-wide text asking if anyone gathered or absent had accidentally moved little Kaya. But none of the floormates remember seeing him for some time. So we had to take the picture duck-less.

That night, everyone received this email asking for anyone who knew were Kaya-chan was to return the duck safe and sound:

皆さんこんばんは、有加です。

実は私のぬいぐるみの「かやちゃん」が消えてしまいました。私が長い間放置していたのもあり、本当に申し訳ありません。すみませんでした。  見付けたり、見かけたりしたら私までに連絡をくださいf^_^;ルームメイトにも聞いてくれたらとても嬉しいです。御礼に何か差し上げますf^_^;  お忙しい中本当にすみません〓  有加

Soon after that, someone posted a Wanted sign for the beloved, pajama-clad mascot. But, in the end, all the worry was for not, because Kaya-chan was promptly returned to his usual spot on the social room's sofa. The terror had ended, and there was much rejoicing.

(Side note: Since Keyaki dorm is so new and pretty high security, many people at ICU have never seen the dorm. After taking the yearbook shot, the two photographers asked for my permission to snoop about the place while they still had clearence. It was so funny to see them oohh-ing and aahh-ing over everything in our kitchen, laundry, and pod areas! I would have offered to show them my room, but Miki and I had to make a mad dash for Mitaka! Haha, hopefully what the yearbook kids saw will help raise the hype for our dorm among next year's new students.)

My Miki!!

I almost forgot to tell you about my roommate, Miki-chan!

Even though she's just a sophomore, Miki is the RA for my floor, and she knows everything that is going on here at Zelkova. Besides being a very clean, quiet, and relaxed kid, she has dynamic dreams and always tries to help other people. Last year, she helped to teach English in Tanzania (I know, right?), but really wants to go to California to study for a term or a year. In order to apply for study abroad, she has been studying like crazy for the TOEFL Examination. Every night she'd pour over vocabulary, listening practice tapes, and essay notes. I only got to see her cramming for the last month, but it was like nothing I've ever witnessed! She just got her results back today and she passed!! Now she can start the application process and hopefully be abroad starting this spring.

Miki is really patient with my Japanese, and we became pretty fast friends. We're in Wadaiko together and she was floored when I told her that I knew Kai from Wittenberg (apparently he's a star here at ICU). It will be sad having her gone in my final term here at ICU, but hopefully she'll be at the school of her choice studying English. Good luck this year, Miki-chan!

Japanese Crows, A Warning

These birds are terribly frightening! There laugh sounds unnaturally evil, they eat small dogs, attack Japanese children, and they have a bad habit of stealing things left outside (cell phones, keys, ipods, your dinner, etc). And they are around. All the time!! If there is anything about Japan I dislike, it is the CROWS!

They are huge!! I swear, the smallest one stands up to my knee! They are bold too. Most birds fly away when they see you coming. Crows look at you and say "bring it on!" with their eyes. Too scary for me. I don't like them one bit. Imagine if some mad scientist took a wolf, shrunk it down, turned it into a bird, accidentally let it loose, and all the subsequent birds developed a New Yorker's attitude: that is the Japanese Crow.

I tried to imitate an American crow's call and a Japanese crows call for my roommate. She was not too impressed with my bird noises and said that they sounded alike. But I don't remember American crows actually laughing at people the way the Japanese ones do. And when I was in the park, a girl named Olivia and I heard one of the crows repeatedly say "Ohayo", which is a typical greeting in Japan. Scary, scary stuff. I don't trust them in the least.

Fear the Japanese crows. You have been warned.

By the way, I found this rather adorable bird that looked almost like a piper. So cute! But they move very quickly. I'll try to find it again, but now that it is getting cooler and very rainy, I don't if it has migrated or not. We'll see.

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.