Daily Thoughts
As I begin this new adventure, I will be encountering a lot of thoughts and feelings about what is happening. In order to process my day better, I'll be recounting some of the highs and lows of my days and utilizing this space the create connections between what is happening in and outside the classroom.
I'm Going to Japan?!?!
June 11th 2023
(Reflection on my thoughts and feelings before heading to Japan in about a week)
(To be written)
Across the Pacific Ocean
June 18th 2023
It was 1:30 am in Seattle Washington when I had woke up as my adventure to Japan would begin when my flight took off at 6 am. It still seemed so unreal that I was leaving for Japan as I had been looking forward to going since I had accepted my spot for the Honors Japan study abroad. I knew the day and the trip would pose many challenges, but dealing with these challenges was a good thing because it meant I was getting out of my comfort zone. However, I did not expect my first challenge to have occurred such early on in the trip, when the Air Canada counter to drop off my checked luggage was closed. What do I do? Where does my luggage go? Am I in the wrong spot? I asked a few people around me and they also were not quite sure what was going on, but after a little while the counter finally opened up and I was able to carry on with my journey. My second challenge presented itself during my layover in Vancouver Canada when I got a Subway sandwich. I ended up not finishing my sandwich because I did not like it and I started to get worried that I would potentially not like the food in Japan. What would I eat? Would it be rude to leave so much food on my plate if I didn't like it? I continued to ponder this question as I tried to discreetly hand the flight attendant my uneaten tuna sandwich that was given out on my flight from Canada to Japan. Unfrequently, this could not be solved while sitting in Canada at the airport and that I would just need to trust myself to pick things I am comfortable with, but try to expand my choices every once in a while.
After a long 10 hour flight, I finally arrived in Japan and from there we somehow managed to end up at The National Olympic Youth Center. Trying to pull up the QR codes for custom and immigration and praying I had filled it out correctly. Crossing my fingers while standing around the luggage carousal hoping my luggage would pop up. It being 4:15 and the bus to Tokyo was supposed to leave at 4:20 and one of our group members was gone getting their pocket wifi. Trying to get a taxi the rest of the way to the hotel and hoping that we gave the taxi driver the correct address. The entire day was filled with new things and lots of different emotions. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I am in Japan and I am super excited to see what else there is for me to face and enjoy!
Right Into the Action
June 19th 2023
The day started off very relaxed, but it did not stay that way for long. We were first introduced to our classroom where we would be gathering every once and a while as a group to have a formal discussion on our readings, our previous trips, and other tasks (like movies). Since we had gotten a good night sleep and were less tired then from the day before and all our traveling's, we were briefed more about the innerworkings of NYC, Tokyo, and our program/assignments. We were given a Suica card which would then be our golden ticket to everything public transportation. We quickly moved on from the classroom to take a look at the area surrounding NYC were we identified notable train stations, grocery stores, and convenience stores. We then headed for Shinjuku station, one of the busiest stops in Tokyo where we learned how to load our Suica card. We had already gone through so much information and we were still getting familiar with the area, nonetheless, our programs decided to drop a bombshell on us not even 5 hours into our first day-we were left at the station and asked to find our way back on our own. My eyes widened in fear at the realization that since we were all adults that the program directors would not be babysitting us the entire trip. I decided though that I was nowhere near ready to be on my own and I paired up with a group to go get lunch. After eating some very delicious ramen, me and two other group members decided to head back to NYC so we could do our reflection assignment on our own but in the safety and comfort of the semi-familiar neighborhood (read more about that experience here). For the last thing on our agenda, we headed to Shibuya for a group dinner at one of the highest floors in the building! It was such an incredible view, and my observation on the limousine bus from the airport to NYC held true that Tokyo is a very big city. It makes me feel kind of lame calling Seattle a city. At dinner I ate some amazing food and showcased off my terrible chopstick skills and I left the table feeling more than stuffed. We had salad, some sort of deep fried crab ball, salmon, kabobs, tempura, and soba! Although some of the folks headed for ice cream, I left back to NYC as I was wiped from the day and my mosquito bites from the day before were starting to become very bothersome.
Mosquitoes 1, Hailey 0
June 20th 2023
(To be written)
My Not So Ideal Shopping Trip
June 21st 2023
(To be written)
The Grass is Greener on the Other Side
June 22nd 2023
(To be written)
Kabuki and Ramen
June 23rd 2023
(To be written)
A Small Excursion to Yokohama
June 24th 2023
(To be written)
Cash Only
June 25th 2023
(To be written)
Some Things Aren't All Bad
June 26th 2023
(To be written)
A 42.3 Meter Underground Subway
June 27th 2023
(To be written)
I'm Not From Here
June 28th 2023
(To be written)
A Bird Ate My Bag
June 29th 2023
(To be written)
A Park That Isn't a Park
June 30th 2023
Today we started off our adventure as a group as we headed to the Mori Art Museum, where they would be showcasing a collection of pieces that connected back to themes in school and how they can be worked into pieces of art. After arriving at the building we got hit with a little bit of rain, but I allowed it to hit me and be reminded of home. We rode the elevator up to the 52nd floor where the art museum was located and we all took off and followed the museum at our own pace. There were lots of different mediums, canvases, photography, sculputures, there was even one piece where there was a motorcycle on the wall. My favorite piece was called "Root of steps" where there were different kinds of white shoes that were in frosted boxes. All the shoes had a connection to someone living in the Roppongi district, where the museum is located. The artist was inspired by the idea that people from all over the world, wearing different kinds of shoes, have all convulged at this one location. The locals and tourists have helped shaped Tokyo to what it is today even if it is not directly visible. This piece remined bme how I feel whenI am goin the airport because I find it so fascinating that people come far and wide and gather in this one place. After some quick pictures from the 52nd floor, we had a quick break where I ate lunch and wandered around for a bit. I found myself at the Nintendo store, which is apparently the place you go if you wanna find as many tourists as possible in Shibuya.
Bad Rain
July 1st 2023
I started off my day strong by waking up at 10 when I wanted to wake up at 8:30 (whoops), but nonetheless I kept moving forward. When I went outside it was raining, raining (not sprinkling), so I decided to run upstairs and grab my rain jacket and change out of my skirt and into my pants so I could save my skirt for a warmer day. Little did I know that because of the high heat or humidity, I would be seriously warm as the rain would not cool me down. As a matter of fact, it made me feel even worse because it just added to my sweat so I was just walking around very wet and not cool. I could now see the appeal of an umbrella. I carried on with my journey hoping things would get better, but I some how ended up going to the wrong train station. To be fair that's what I get for thinking I could navigate myself to the station and that I didn't need google maps. Once I got to Shibuya, I began to make the transfer to the JS line, however, I was struggling to find it. After asking a very security guard, and somehow still getting lost along the way, I managed to find the station. But all was still not well, as I begun to panic since I didn't know if my sucia card was enough to pay for the JS line, since there was a sign pointing towards a ticket machine. After doing some research while standing in line, I believed that I would be okay, crossed my fingers, and border the metro. I found out on the train that you only needed to pay the extra money to go in certain train cars that had more room and I was therefore okay just using my sucia.
Once I got to Saitama city, my luck caused by the "bad rain" did not subside, as I followed signs to the Railway Museum, that ended up making me walk 20 minutes to it. Normally that wouldn't have been bad, but I was hot, exhausted, hungry, and already pretty emotionally drained from the day. I decided to go into a café to fuel up before the museum, where I had to put my name down for the wait time. I ended up quickly google searching how to spell my name in Japanese and it ended up working quite alright. After fueling up on pancakes and a cream soda, I headed to the museum. The history of the bullet train was quite interesting, it was super cool to see all the models of the old cars (including the cars specifically for the imperial family), and seeing how parts of the bullet train operated. It definitely would have been fun to stay longer and train the train simulators, but the museum was closing soon and the pancakes I ate were unfortunately not agreeing with me. I was a bit upset that I also missed out on checking the bonsai tree village and museum after waking up late, but I was very glad I had gotten to see the railway museum and would definitely go back again. I ended my day going to Harajuku and getting a pulled pork sandwich and a virgin pina colada and it felt like the bad rain was finally starting to wear off.
A New Area
July 2nd 2023
After my troublesome day yesterday, I was determined to make it up. I started off my day going to my favorite little bakery shop nearby, 365 days, and then begun my journey to the Yushukan Museum (the museum I missed going to with the group while I was resting from my swollen foot). Although today was pretty hot, it was not as bad as yesterday as I didn't feel as sticky. When I got to the museum, I started off at the beginning where they talked about samurai, the development of the swords, some of the bow and arrows The arrows would be decorated with gems), and the progression of canons and guns. I accidently went to the wrong way after that, and started looking at the exhibit for WW1 and going back in time, but I still learned a lot and it was cool to see all the artifacts even though their descriptions were in Japanese and I couldn't read them. I was really surprised that I didn't learn about the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in school, and just reminded me how European-centric my history education was. At the end of that floor, I moved downstairs to look at the history of WW2 and then I went to their special exhibit that focused on the themes sea and final moments. After the museum, I checked out the Yasukuni Jinja, a Shinto shrine that focused on the lives of those who dedicated themselves to the Japanese army, which was right next to the museum. I had steak for lunch and drank tons of water and headed off to my next adventure.
I headed down to Shimokitazawa which I heard was a good place to go thrifting. I headed towards one shop that I heard was pretty popular and used to be the location of a bathhouse. Unfortunately for me, they were having a 50% off sale and so it was very crowded and loud so I did not have the energy to carry on. I walked around the town for a little while and poked my head into a few stores, but the things I liked were a bit out of my price range. For the first time during this trip, I saw a designated room for smoking. During my research for Japan I knew that smoking was still pretty common in Japan, but I had only encountered a few people in the ally ways here and there. This observation showcased the benefits of exploring new areas as new areas typically are accompanied by new perspectives. However, it was pretty cool to participate in the shopping scene and I got some good ramen and head back to NYC. I then began packing for our trip to Okinawa, as we would be flying out of Haneda airport at 10:40. As I was packing, I realized that I did not do a very good job of prioritizing what I needed and did not need and there was many things I could've left at home. My suitcase was packed to the brim and I still wanted to get souvenirs for my friends and family!! In my defense, this was my first trip without my family and my first time being gone for a month so I gave myself some grace for not knowing how to pack better. I then went to bed for my last time at NYC.
Little Duckling
July 3rd 2023
I started my morning in the NCY lobby at 7:10 where I ate breakfast and joined the rest of the group. We all huddled in the lobby very sleepy but excited to continue our learnings in a new area. We scurried to the bus that would take us down to the airport and about 40 mintues later we were dropped off. Even though I was in a big group, many of whom of traveled plenty of times, I still felt overwhelmed and confused as to what to do. I am not sure if it is the stress of the airport, not have traveling by plane very often, or the heavy worry of messing something up. Nonetheless, I managed to get my stuff all checked onto the plane and even learned a cool trick from one of my program directors, to lay the suitcase on it's side to make it weigh less. After going through security, and being very confused for about 30 seconds on whether I needed to have my shoes on or off to go through security as the lady working their tried to communicate to me through pointing, we made it to the other side with lots of time to spare. I got some food to nibble on for the time being and got to take a break to breathe and watch the planes go by. I am not sure why, but I find airports so fascinating because there is so much happening yet there is an order to the craziness. I think that it is also pretty cool that everyone is in this one singular spot, but we will all soon disperse to regions near and far. I find this juxtaposition of feeling stress but also the excitement I feel while being in the airport to be quite compelling. I felt very lucky to have gotten to window seat so I would be able to watch us depart and land and further contribute to the thrill I get by traveling by plane. The trip was a bit intense withas there was a lot of turbulence, but me and Emma relaxed by watching Alice in Borderland, a show I have previously watched but wanted to show Emma since it takes place in Tokyo.
After two and half hours, we arrived in Okinawa! When we got off the plane, the shock of the temperature change wasn't nearly as bad as arriving in Tokyo and we were greeted by many flowers. While we were flying in, I did take notice that there were a large amount of planes in Okinawa even though the island is so small. I took a moment to reflect on how many people n the planes are arriving for tourism/vacation and how many had friends/family that lived there or that lived there themselves. I also suspected that the many flowers that lined the walkways were there to greet the tourists. After picking up our luggage, we headed to the monorail and basically took over one of the train cars with our plethora of luggage. But after that it was just a short trip to the hotel, where we bathed in the hotel lobby air conditioning and then we got our key cards and were greeted with a very big upgrade from our NYC hotel room. I took a moment to reflect on the travel part of the day and how even though I was following the led of the program directors on getting from hotel #1 to hotel #2, like a baby duck just following it's mom led, I still noticed that it was still a lot to process and I wondered how well I would fare in the airport while traveling alone. After unpacking, we headed out for a second big group dinner of the trip where we were once again given a large variety of food, but this time is was shared amongst a few other people. I really enjoyed this dinner because it felt like there was a lot less pressure to eat everything that was in front of me and so I could take my time and enjoy the food. And thanks to Emma's persuasion, I tried to seaweed tempura even though I was hesitant to do it at first. Davinder noted that she observed that my chopsticks skills had improved a lot since our last group dinner and I couldn't have agreed more. We got to enjoy the dinner with a performance and ended the dinner by satisfying my sweet tooth to a cup of ice cream. After that, I headed back to the hotel to sleep off the long travel day and to get ready for our final two weeks of the trip!
Starting All Over
July 4th 2023
(to be written)
6/23 Significance
July 5th 2023
We started off our day nice and easy by meeting in the lobby at 10 am and taking the coach bus to Sakima Art Museum. The purpose of this museum is to create a space where one could think and find peace amongst all the destruction and pain that occurred from the Battle of Okinawa. When we arrived at the museum, we all took our time silently wandering around and absorbing all the artwork that the museum had to offer. The main piece was the 14 panel artwork that was created by Maruki Iri and Toshi Maruki, which focuses on themes of life and death as well as suffering and relief. Hidden amongst the artwork were deeper stories that further contributed to these themes such as the color palette only consisting of five colors, how the eyes were drawn to represent lost souls, butterflies to represent an Okinawan soul returning to the land, and more. We also got the chance to speak with Mr. Michio Sakima, the Director of the Sakima Art Museum, who was able to further explain the process and meaning behind the museum and the art work. Not only was the inside riddled with beautiful work, but the rooftop also further contributed to the meaning behind the museum. June 23 (6/23) was the day the Battle of Okinawa ended and is also a holiday called "Irei no Hi", a day dedicated to remembering those who lost their lives during the battle. For the staircase leading up to the top of the roof, the first set of steps had 6 steps and the second set of steps had 23 steps, and on 6/23 the sun shines through the window at the top. Additionally, the top of the roof is a place to also find peace and pray.
After the museum, we headed down to Okinawa International University, a college that is located right on the edge of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma base and was the location of a military helicopter crash in 2004. We watched a short video that showcased the accident and some of the pain that it caused. We talked to some students who gave us some insights on their lives and what it was like to go to Okinawa International University, where we heard some very compelling stories and got to learn a little bit more about Okinawa. We then checked out a location in the library dedicated to what had happened and visited the landmark for where the helicopter crashed. Some of us had a quick discussion on if we thought there would be a difference in response to the military helicopter crash if it were to have happened at a university in the United States. We hung around and talked with our new buddies from the university and then hopped on the bus where many of us fell asleep, exhausted from the fun and eventful day. Our quick naps got us through our last stop at the American Village, an outdoor mall with shops, malls, and other exciting places. Here, a few of us explored the beaches, checked out the Bokunen Museum, and ate some delicious taco rice to finish off the night.
One thing that caught my attention on our bus ride up to the museum was just how prominent the Futenma base was. Not only was it right smack in the middle of town, separating the new areas from easily getting to each other. The large fence around the base lined with barbed wire at the top and the egregious signs stating “unauthorized entry prohibited and punishable by Japanese law” further separated Okinawans from their land. Additionally, we found that some of the family tombstones were located inside the base, and we learned that the families needed to get permission in order to visit the tombs. Throughout our time in Okinawa we’ve heard very loud helicopters and fighter jets fly by, causing an enormous amount of air pollution. One of the students from Okinawa International University stated that oftentimes they’ll have to pause class until the noise disappears. The barriers to building community, education, and other rights are the results of having the military bases in Okinawa. It is disappointing that the operations of the military base seems to be taking precedence over the wellbeing of Okinawans. This land is someone’s home and potentially has deep roots and history to it, but it appears that the American’s view of the land is simply a strategic location for military operations. It is additionally upsetting that many of the people on this island have a tragic history with war and all they want is peace. But how can one find peace in a home surrounded by themes of death and destruction? Although I wish the U.S could remove their presence from the island, I understand that such a thing would be very unlikely at the moment. Until that occurs, I hope the U.S can learn to listen to Okinawans and find a way to co-exist together more peacefully.
Home, but Not Home
July 6th 2023
(to be written)
Hands on Workshop
July 7th 2023
(to be written)
Aggressive Rainbow Fish
July 8th 2023
(to be written)
Peace and Manatees
July 9th 2023
(to be written)
Double Left
July 10th 2023
This morning I got up at 7:20 as I wanted to make sure I had time to eat breakfast and finishing packing the last few things I had. I was glad I was able to get some food in my belly before going kayaking as I knew it would be long time before we could eat again and that the sun would drain my energy. Although I made it back from breakfast at 8:25 and I wouldn't need to be in the lobby for another 20 minutes, I did feel a bit flustered packing up. After leaving the hotel on the coach bus, we ended up having to turn back around after about 5 mintues as one of the other program members forgot their phone back at the hotel. When we pulled back into the parking lot, my anxiety ridden brain forced me to check the five things that were most important that I had: my phone, passport, medication, glasses, and money belt. ALthough it has been a lot of fun going to different areas and staying at different hotels, it also causes more opportunities to leave something behind which can just add more stress on oneself. And if you do leave something behind, how do you try to find it, especially with a language barrier? Nonetheless, we were back on the road and I contiued to look out the window and watch all the different
Mixtopia
July 11th 2023
(to be written)