2012
Japanese Academy hosted by Randolph-Macon College at Ashland
(Opening Ceremony on Sunday June 24th, 2012)
Hai, minna-san, konnichiwa~! As you
all are well aware, we. your children will be here at the Japanese Academy at
R-MC for the following three weeks. It might be hard for you all to adjust to
not having us around at home, and it is also safe that for some of us here,
that it is also hard adjusting to life without you, our parents. I am not sure
if you all are aware, but this blog will be run by a group of students, or a
"company," throughout the duration of this academy program. We will
be trying our hardest to keep you all updated on things that we have done while
here at the academy. We will most likely be switching off writers every time.
Therefore, you all will be able to experience a new personality each time! For
the very first blog entry, I will be in charge of giving you all the juicy
details! Oh, I forgot to mention, watashi no namae wa Katie ka Ringo desu! If
you didn't quite get that, it's alright! Most of the beginner students didn't
quite get it either our first day of class! What I said was this "My name
is Katie or Apple!"
As for the things that have happened
thus far at the academy, it has definitely been A LOT. It’s almost overwhelming
how fast paced things can get, but we’ve all made a commitment so we’ve gotta
pull through! Gambatte, minna-san! For me, these past few days have already
been a great experience. I don’t regret applying and coming to the academy at
all! But I’ll be honest, a little before arriving at the academy Sunday morning
I was so worried about how things were going to turn out! I mean, coming
together at a college with so many other students from around Virginia can be
intimidating and stressful. I had heard so many things from my friends about
how scary it is to live on a college campus for the first time, but when I got
here, I was totally amazed. It was definitely the opposite of all the
frightening things I had heard. My roommate and dorm mates are so easy to get
along with and a blast to be around! From what I’ve heard, the academy really
did take the time to sort through and pair us with compatible rommates, which I
am truly thankful for!
Now to move onto the classes~ I’ve
never formally taken or studied Japanese as they don’t offer it at my school
back home. Learning all forty-six Hiragana the first two days was…definitely a
fun ride. Learning a new language can always be a challenge for everyone, but I
think that it was definitely harder for me personally. I’m not sure if any of
the other students feel the same, but I’m sure some can relate. I already speak
four other languages aside from English, and now I’m adding Japanese to my
inventory. It’s hard for me to take in the new language and think in the right
language at the right time. But I will put through, gambare! Now, I think I’ve
hogged the blog for long enough! The other company members have written on
specific experiences that they have had so far!
Mallory~
During
the Japanese Academy we were offered specialized classes, one of which was learning
about Shintoism through the animated movie Princess Mononoke. During this class
we learned about one of the religions of Japan, Shintoism. We also learned many
mannerisms of Japanese people through the religion. We are learning a lot, even
over the course of just two days.
The
very first day, as we are all completely new students, some of us were given
placement tests. I personally was put into the intermediate classes. In this
class we are all on very different levels. Through the first couple days we
have reviewed and learned many, MANY things. Every class must be rather over
whelming, but we’re all pushing through and being taught effectively.
Evan~
For the first week at the 2012
Governor’s Foreign Language Academy for Japanese held at Randolph-Macon College,
we all had to sign up for one of three different extended studies classes,
which would be taught over the course of the week. The different options were a
class on Buddhism, another one on an analysis of a movie and the religion and
history in the film, or a class on entertainment in Japan, taught by
Schaeffer-Sensei, a scientist from JMU. I chose to take the entertainment
class!
In the first class, which happened
on Monday evening, Sensei presented a PowerPoint on many different forms and
the history of Japanese entertainment, which was quite impressive. It started
off with Japanese theatre, and it talked about the different types of Japanese
theatre like Noh and Kabuki. They also talked about sports, like baseball and
sumo. And they covered information on different martial arts, such as karate,
aikido, and kendo. There was also great information on Japanese comedy. Haha!
Sensei had a bunch of links to YouTube videos and the ones on Japanese comedy
were the best! I thought that I was like done so many times from laughing at
the people getting trampled and hit by wrecking balls in Japanese game shows!
There was also dying laughing at manazi and all sorts of hilarious people!
Japanese comedy! WOW!!! I was cracking up so much that Sakamaki-Sensei asked if
I was okay! It’s really a great class and I’m glad I was able to take it. I can
honestly say that I can’t wait for the next extended studies class!
Kelsey~
I
won’t lie: having no limit to how much we’re allowed to eat is awesome. There
is salad, fruit, desserts beyond your wildest dreams, and so many French fries
we could drown in them. It’s a kid’s paradise in the dining hall.
Personally,
I find my problem with this to be that I simply eat too much of the food. It’s
not that they starve us and we’re all ready to devour a camel by lunchtime, but
more that I actually have the freedom
to do it. And three days in, I’m starting to disillusion myself. The food is
great – if not gourmet – but eating too much just won’t be possible for three
weeks. Already I find myself not hungry when the next mealtime comes around,
but I continue to eat; probably not the best habit.
Besides,
I’m sure all you parents out there know that your students brought an
apocalypse-worthy supply of junk food and juice boxes along with their luggage,
and you’ll probably be getting letters soon asking for more food. By all means,
SEND MORE FOOD. The chow in this place is good, but there is little variety as
the days go by, and already people (myself included) are longing for not only
home-cooked meals, but also some of the foods that aren’t available here – in
other words, nothing greasy and nothing fried.
On
the other hand, mealtime isn’t used just for eating. It’s a chance to interact
with the people we’re living among for three weeks, and during lunch it’s
mandatory to speak nothing but – or mostly – Japanese. I know that this
practice has helped me a lot after just two lunches. Conversation with the
fluent sensei has shown me that I
actually know more than I believed I did, and I’ve heard improvements in just
about everyone’s Japanese.
To
wrap up, mealtimes here at RMC are tanoshii
(fun) as well as a valuable learning experience. The teachers have been doing an
excellent job in tying in learning with everything that we do, and the dining
experience is no different. However, I am sure that none of the students would
object to receiving boxes of delicious homemade cookies or other food stuffs!
Jaa mata ne!
Sarah~
Today
is only the second day of the academy, but in my advanced Japanese academy we
have learned so many things already.
There are only five people in my class. Since we didn’t know each
other’s names, we spent the first day interviewing and introducing each other
to get to know each other better. We
also learned new kanji and typed up the essay we had written the day we came to
the academy to test our Japanese level. The second day we listened and learned
about the story of the gods IZANAMI and IZANAGI who first created the island of
Japan. It was really interesting to know how Japan was supposedly created.
Also, we read many short stories in Japanese and wrote the summary of the story
and wrote down kanji’s we have never seen before or forgotten. Also, we read a
letter that was written to the donors to Japan for the terrible earthquake and
tsunami and watched a video about the one year memorial of the terrible
tragedy. As a Japanese person it was very painful to watch and could not stop
crying. I really felt a connection to the people of japan and understood that
Japan still needs a lot of support in order to recover. When I watched the
video I thought inside that I will keep telling people of the tragedy and how
the world became as one to help japan.
Sidney~
In
three days, it almost seems as if the dorm rooms are our own. I’ve gotten used
to the shower schedule, waking up, jumping down from the bunk, and quietly
padding over to dresser in the dark before we go out for the
Ichi-ni-san-shi-ooo-go-roku-hachi! of Raijio Taiso. What were mornings like before rajio taiso? Oh my gosh, what were they like?
At
the very beginning, it was quiet in the room as we hung up our posters and stacked
manga, hung up our clothes, wondered who this person was we would be spending
the next few weeks with.
Now
the room is full of laughter and friendship. Two rooms are connected down the
middle by a bathroom, which just serves as another door. It’s more like having
three roommates than one.
“What sould I write? What do you
write to peop;le?”
“SEND FOOD.”
“Sounds
creepy.”
“Tell
them not to send popcorn or microwaveables.”
“Or
popsicles.”
The
next day at rajio taiso, we pull our jackets around us. I look at my roommate
and giggle.
“This
is all popsicles.”
Taylor
I
learned my first lesson of the Japanese academy before I even left. Don’t
procrastinate packing. I was running around my house to find odd objects strewn
between my two floor house. Eventually I got a vast majority of my luggage
pack. All through this painstaking and back breaking process, thoughts ran
through my head. Would I make friends? Would I be able to handle the classes?
Would I have a good roommate? At the end
of the 5 hour packing process I realized that I was going to a Japanese Academy
with people I had never met. On the way to the Randolph- Macon campus I did a
mental check making sure that I had everything (Soon realizing that I had
forgotten construction paper and glue). We arrived though and were checked in
and unpacked before we could say Konichiwa. The check in process was smooth and
easy. The opening ceremony came after. 6 foreign sensei’s sat in front of us on
the Blackwell Auditorium stage, and the air was thick with nervousness. The
ceremony consisted of the history of the academy, the rules of the academy,
what was expected of us and absolutely no electrical devices with internet
access. All the fears were for not because soon the parents were gone and I had
made several friends. But I will speed things up from there. Yesterday after
several intense hours of language classes, we all signed up for Extended Studies,
which essentially is the equivalent of an elective. I signed up for Buddhism with
Bo Sensei. I knew a little bit about
Buddhism and found it fascinating. The class was exciting and fun. Our sensei
was very informative and even took time to find a Dalek Relaxation tape for us
to meditate with. ( A little Doctor Who
humor) We learned about the history and essential beliefs of Buddhists (Which
ultimately led to a few civil debates). At the end of the class we finally did
manage to Meditate and left the class relaxed and feeling a little enlightened.
After two days it’s hard to believe we have only been here for such a short
time. I am so excited for the coming days and coming memories yet to arrive. So
I end with a Sayonara.
Well,
I guess that will be all for our very first blog update! I hope you all enjoyed
reading about all of our experiences so far! Hopefully in the next few days we’ll
be able to tell you about some more of the fun things we’ve done. I’m sure by
the time you come to pick us up, you’ll be tired of our stories!
(Trainwreck icebreaker on our first day at the Acamdemy, because Sones-sensei loves seeing pictures about the icebreaker moments!)
