Cell Phone Diary 2 (Thomas)

携帯日記７月２日（火） 

僕は今朝(けさ)電車のホームで電車を待っていた時に、下を見てみると面白(おもしろ)い事を見つけた。ホームに「６号車乗車口(ごうしゃじょうしゃぐち)」が書いてあることに気がついた。アメリカの電車の駅にそんなことが書いてあるかどうか分からないけれど、すごくいい事だと思って、写真(しゃしん)を撮(と)った。日本では、大体(だいたい)人が静(しず)かに立って電車を待つ。でも、一番びっくりした事は電車を待っている間に日本人は一、二列(れつ)に並(なら)んで待つことだ。なぜびっくりしたかというと、ニューヨークでは地下鉄(ちかてつ)を待つ時、人たちはめちゃくちゃな群衆(ぐんしゅう)で待つからだ。

Cell Phone Diary July 2, Tuesday

By Thomas Rover

This morning when I was waiting for the train on the platform, I looked down and saw something interesting. I realized that “Train Car 6 Entrance” was written on the platform. I don’t know if that sort of thing is written in the train stations in America or not, but I thought it was great so I took a picture. In Japan, people generally line up and wait quietly. However, the most surprising thing for me is that, while waiting for the train, Japanese people make one or two lines. I was surprised because when waiting for the subway in New York, people wait in disorganized groups.

Cell Phone Diary 1 (Kimberly)

Hello!

A little introduction for what is to follow. The students are asked to complete three times a week as homework a diary-like assignment called Keitai Nikki (Cellphone Diary). The point for them is to write about one of their new experiences in Japan via email or phone mail and send it to Dorsey-sensei to be graded. The following is one example of this written by Kimberly Hassel '16 and is followed by an English translation and picture. 

携帯日記、６月２７日

今週から授業が始（はじ）まっているから、毎日私は一人で家を出ている。その時に、日本の家のあいさつをよく使っている。家を出る前に、くつをはいて、「いってきます！」というあいさつを言う。そうして、私のホスト・ファミリーは、「いってらっしゃい！」と言ってくれる。家に帰ったら、「ただいま！」というあいさつを言う。私のホスト・ファミリーは、「おかえりなさい！」と言ってくれる。玄関（げんかん）でそのあいさつを言う。日本の家の玄関（げんかん）は、最初（さいしょ）に、入る部屋（へや）だ。家にくつをはいてはいけないから、玄関（げんかん）でくつをぬぐ。私は、日本の玄関（げんかん）が好きだ。ほっとするところだ。そのところで、私のホスト・ファミリーは、私にやさしいことばを言ってくれるから、毎日の午前と午後にそのやさしいことばが聞けて、うれしい。

Cell Phone Diary, June 27, 2013

By Kimberly Hassel
Because classes started this week, I leave the house by myself every day and thus often use Japanese home greetings. Before I leave the house, I put on my shoes and say, "Ittekimasu!" (meaning "I'm off!" or "See you later!"). Then, my host family says "Itterasshai!" (meaning "Have a good day!" or "Take care!") When I get home, I use the greeting "Tadaima!" (meaning "I'm home!") My host family says "Okaerinasai!" (meaning "Welcome home!") We say these greetings in the entrane of the house (called a genkan). The genkan of a Japanese house is the first room you enter. Because you aren't allowed to enter the house with your shoes on, you take them off in the genkan. I like the genkan. It's a place where I feel relaxed. I am happy every morning and evening because my host family uses these kind greetings in the genkan.

First Week

One week down!

We are starting to settle in here in Makuhari, all have moved in with their homestay families and classes have begun. Leading up to now, we've done quite a few fun group activities involving trips to different areas of Tokyo.

Wednesday was spent mostly at the airport. Anne came first a little bit early so she, Dorsey-sensei, and I kind of wandered around Narita until the rest of the lot came. During that time we noticed that there were a bunch of TV crew looking people walking around so we strategically placed ourselves in various spots of the airport (upon Sensei's request) until they came over to us and asked us why we had come to Japan. The program was called "Youは何しに日本へ?" or, "What did you come to Japan to do?" and it apparently airs on Mondays at six or so. Still a little questionable. So we were interviewed by one group, then we went to sit down until Sensei realized that there was another crew in the same wing and so Anne and I walked with him to the opposite end of the wing to wait and "look foreign" until that crew came up and interviewed us as well.

So there was that.

Then everyone came, we all got on a bus to the hotel, arrived, checked in, and went to dinner with Yukari-san at this all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant on the 41st or 42nd floor of the hotel. The food was great and the people who worked there were really nice and accomodating. It seemed to be that you needed a reservation in order to eat there, so they were hesitant at first, but then a different manager came out and showed us to our table. After dinner we went to take identification photos for our student ID's and then came back and had a well-deserved rest.

Thursday morning we got up bright and early and explored Tokyo a bit. We started  at Asakusa with Sensoji Temple. It was raining a little bit, but still pleasant. Once we arrived, Dorsey-sensei so kindly gave us a short history lesson about the Temple and then we walked through the market-like street, passing different shops selling an array of foods, trinkets, and souvenirs, etc. We continued walking until we got to the entrance of the temple and the area where you are traditionally supposed to purify yourself before you enter. There's a fountain-like stone, water-filled structure covered by a roof where you take a wooden ladle in your right handle, pour the purifying water over your left, then switch. You can also put some in your mouth and then spit it out, but I think people don't really do that anymore as it's not that sanitary...

We then entered and looked around inside the temple for a while. Everyone tossed a coin into the designated space in front of the temple and said a prayer, as is tradition, and then moved to the side and pulled fortunes! Luckily for me, you're allowed to tie your fortune to this stand nearby if you get a bad one, leaving it to the gods of the temple to take care of. After we took care of our fortunes we walked to the Shinto shrine next door. In order to get to the actual shrine part, you have to go through this loop thing in a certain way (that was conveniently written on a sign next to it). So we walked through the loop, around to the left, and back to start; through, around to the right, and back to start; once more through, around to the left, and back to start; then finally straight through. Then there was some more praying and we continued on to Ueno.

This next photo is of Dorsey-sensei with a statue of a golden kappa, a water creature from Japanese folklore. We found this little treasure in Kappabashi-dori which incidentally makes the amazingly realistic plastic food you find in the front of stores. We made a stop here on the way to Ueno and this picture is amusing, so I thought I'd include it:

Anyway, after Kappabashi-dori we went to Ueno (which used to be the place where people from the country or poorer families etc would come to get work) and visited a street called Ameyokocho. There is some debate regarding the name of this street because the first two characters "Ame"
(アメ）can be interpreted in two different ways. The first is the first part of the word "America" which is possible because of the amount of knock off stores around. Dorsey-sensei made a point to warn us that if we somehow found a $15 Rolex, it probably wasn't actually a Rolex. The second is the word "Ame" (飴) meaning candy. The rest of the name, "yokocho", means alley or sidestreet. So Sensei let us loose around here and we all had ramen and did some exploring of the shops. Afterward we met back up at the station and took a look at a statue with the lyrics of Izawa Hachiro's song "Aa, Ueno Eki" written on it which basically portrays the singer's love for Ueno Station and the nostalgia that comes along with it. Either before or after the statue we went to the historical statue of Saigo no Takamori next to Ueno Park and then visited a Shitamachi Museum that, on the first floor was filled with replicas of a tenement and a merchant's house and on the second with toys, dolls, games, and other exhibits.
We then made the journey home and stopped for karaoke before dinner. Here's a commemorative karaoke photo:



Friday.
On Friday we started out at Meijijingu Temple. We walked around and through the beautiful temple grounds and came out at the street facing the 1964 National Olympic Stadium. There seemed to be no way for us to get into the stadium itself, but we got a good look at the outside through some trees and cars, etc.


After that we looped back around to Harajuku and Takeshita-dori (dori means street) which is usually packed with tourists and high school students. There are a lot of shops and it's rather known for the funky Japanese street fashion that has kind of drifted over to the US and other countries.

So Dorsey-sensei let us loose and our aim was to get to the end of the street and find a building that was designed by a famous architect but we got distracted by stores and then didn't go far enough over to the right so we ended up almost where we started. But luckily, we met Dorsey-sensei by chance and he was able to lead us in the correct direction. Sadly, in said building they did not allow photos so I have documentation of that.

Afterward, as we were making our way to the station, we came by another place that Sensei had mentioned, the Oriental Bazaar, and got to shop around in there a bit. They stock an incredible amount of things that are stereotypically asian looking (specifically, Japanese) such as swords, yukata (summer kimono), tea sets, and the like.

We then traipsed through the rain, back to the station and moved on to Akihabara, partially to get denshi jishos for those who wanted them and partially to check out some of the otaku culture for those who had the desire (otaku is a word that is close to "nerdy" but really means someone who is an anime/manga enthusiast). We ate as a group at a family restaurant called Gusto and then split up to look around. Once we all met up again, we made the trip back, took a small break at the hotel and met for dinner at the Green Tower Hotel Makuhari with three Dartmouth alumns.

Saturday we had a reception with our host families and then went our separate ways with them. Then began the first week of classes and getting used to the swing of things in good ol' Chiba and at Kanda. Seems to be that everyone is getting the hang of things quite fast. :)

And the Journey Begins.

Hello from Makuhari!

My name is Lauren Gatewood and I am the Director's Assistant for this summer's LSA+ in Chiba, Japan. A quick introduction so you know a little bit about the person writing these blog posts: I am a rising senior at Dartmouth College. Japanese major, Studio Art minor with an emphasis in photography. This is my fourth term living in Japan! I did the LSA+ my freshman summer, but rather than live in Chiba (which is the prefecture next to Tokyo, see map at left) and due to the disaster in northern Japan, the program was moved south to Kyoto. Then, the fall and winter terms of my junior year I lived in Ichikawa City in Chiba--attending Kanda Gaigo Daigaku (Kanda University of International Studies) in the fall and doing an internship in Tokyo in the winter. So that's me.

Anyway, Dorsey-sensei, his wife Yukari-san, and I are currently staying in a hotel in Makuhari, which is very close to the Kanda campus (where everyone will be studying at), doing some pre-program things.

Last night we had dinner with a Dartmouth alumnus, Max, and his girlfriend at a small Izakaya-restaurant near the station and today (in about an hour) we are going to go pick everyone up from Narita Airport.

To close, here are some pictures of things around Makuhari. We are right next to the ocean and it is lovely. I tried to go running there this morning, but the wind was so strong I had to turn back after 20 minutes because I was almost not making any progress. But I got a couple good pictures so that was okay! We then have a shot of Sensei, Yukari-san, and Max looking up at a sign on the building we ate at, one of the station, and one of the view from my (former) hotel room.

So excited to get things going!