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!)