Valley of the Hobbit and the Journey to Hokkaido

After four months of studying Japanese at AIU, I have finally arrived at Sapporo, Hokkaido with my Japanese relatives. I rode a ferry from Akita to Hokkaido, and it was not as bad as I expected. The boat shifted occasionally while moving across the water, but I did not feel seasick. The ferry was called the Shin Nihonkai, and for a ticket that cost 3500 yen it was well worth the admission. Here are pictures and the link for the both the English and Japanese website of the Shin Nihonkai.

This was the boat I rode from Tomakokai to Sapporo

Sleeping like a Baby

 Since coming to AIU, I have had to become more dependent, and more cautious about the things I do. Compared to back home in Hawaii, I need to cook more, be careful of waking my roommate up at night, pay for gas, water, and heater bills, and clean my apartment unit that I share with my roommate.

My roommate and me have a good relationship, but I remember for our first few weeks living together, he complained about me making too much noise when I walk. I tried to be careful after that, but occasionally I would wake him up at night because I would drop something on the floor accidentally. By the end of the semester, I have gotten better at being more quiet at night, but I discovered that regardless of how quiet I try to be, it is really hard to not make noise in the apartments at AIU. Other students seem to have the same problem with the noise like me and my roommate.

My bed makes a sound whenever I try to move in my bed, and regardless of how quiet I try to be, the floor always makes a noise whenever I walk on it. Usually if my roommate wakes up at night when I am around, it is usually because he cannot sleep not because of me.

Aloha' Oe to the People leaving AIU

My Japanese 300 Class this semester.

It is so sad. The semester is already ending soon, and after getting to know all of these great people at Akita International University (AIU), I may never see some of these people again. Some of the students I have met will be graduating or returning to their home country. Also the Japanese students at AIU are required to study abroad for one year, so they be leaving to study abroad at the beginning of next year. As for me, I will be at Japan, until next August, but I am pretty sure time will move by too fast. 

I know that are there some people who are thinking about staying here for at least a-year-and-a-half, but I think that may be too long for me. I do not have enough money to stay here for that long, I need to graduate, and I do not I think I will use my time at AIU more efficiently if I decide to stay at AIU for a year-and-a-half instead of a year.

My Taiwanese roommate is staying at AIU until March of next year because he needs to write his thesis for graduate school. His major is Chinese Teaching. My friend, and fellow blogger Will from Gonzaga University, is only staying here for this semester because he does not have enough money. Both of them will not be at AIU as long as me so they need to be more efficient with their time year.

My roommate is apart of the Taiwanese-Japanese Club here, so he does a language exchange with a Japanese student that wants to learn Chinese. He is also apart of the AIU's Academic Achievement Center so he gets to practice his Chinese teaching skills with other Japanese students.

Thanksgiving and a Taste of Malasada

Last Thursday night, I celebrated Thanksgiving with most of the American students, a few Japanese students, and a few of the other international students. For most of the Japanese students and a few of the international students that went, it was their first Thanksgiving.

It was nice celebrating Thanksgiving because although Akita International University (AIU) is an "international school," Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that is not celebrated by most of the students at AIU. Usually Christmas and Halloween are celebrated at AIU.

The Thanksgiving party that I went to was a private party, and it was required that anyone who went to the party pay at least 600 yen entrance fee or bring food. For the Thanksgiving party, I had made yakisoba with my friend from the University of Hawaii, my Japanese friend, and another international student from Thailand. Both my Japanese friend and the student from Thailand were unable to go to the party.

As for the yakisoba, originally I wanted to use spam for meat, but because one of the American students complained about how much she dislikes spam, we used teriayaki meat instead. It seems like not everyone can understand Hawaii's love for spam.

The food we ate at the Thanksgiving party was very delicious. I was able to eat food that I have not eaten for a while since coming to Japan such as cake, potato salad, and macaroni and cheese. Unfortunately, the timing was very inconvenient, because their was a Dancing Contest at the same time in the same building on the same floor.

Aloha Akita Snow

Snow has finally arrived at Akita. I have seen snow a few times time before in Japan, but this is the first time that I will be experiencing what it is like to live in the snow. Right now the ground has become really wet because all of the snow on the ground, and it has become really cold. Recently, I have started sleeping with my long underwear and a long sleeve shirt because it is really cold in my room.

Snow outside my dormitory

Possibly One Week Left Before it Starts Snowing at Akita

In Hawaii, the weather rarely changes. The weather is always warm, it rains occasionally, and during the Winter, the sun goes down earlier. In Akita, Japan, the weather changes constantly. It was really hot when I arrived at Japan during August. In the beginning of September, it got really cold and started to rain more often that I needed to wear warmer clothing. It is already November now, and according to my friend it will start snowing at Akita soon. I heard the snow can get up to at least three feet or higher.

I am looking forward to the snow because I have never seen snow fall during the Winter, but I am also not looking forward to the snow. I am looking forward to doing things like learning how to snow board or ski, and eating snow cones. However, I am not looking forward to the coldness or the fact that my heater bill will be really expensive during the Winter. I know that I intend to stay at the library most of the day when  it starts snowing to reduce the cost of my heater bill.

The leaves are starting to change at AIU

Anyways, I hope to accomplish as much things as possible before it starts snowing because it is supposed to stop snowing around May I heard. In addition, as for this past week, despite staying at a farm last weekend at Nishiki, I had somehow lost my bicycle lock key, my windproof umbrella, and hanko (stamp I use to sign things that has my initials inscribed in it). I am not sure how or when I lost these things, but I guess regardless of how careful you are, sometimes things get lost. According to my AIU Student Advisor, I need to bring my bicycle to Aeon Mall by car to get a new lock and show the locksmith proof that I own this bicycle.

Halfway through my First Semester

Although studying at Akita International University (AIU) is fun, I am sad to know that despite meeting all of these great people I may not see them for while. This semester I got to go to a "Ninja Park" for my birthday, got lost in Japan, and I got the opportunity to live by myself without relying on my parents too much.

Recently I have been feeling culture shock because I miss certain things from Hawaii like food, family, dog, and friends, but I think I am slowly getting adjusted to life in Japan. As of right now, I still think I do not want to live in Hawaii because I want to experience some place different, but I am not sure if Japan is where I want to live yet.

According to my friend from Hawaii that has lived in Japan for five years due to the JET Program, it is difficult for foreigners to apply for citizenship in Japan because the Japanese people do a thorough search before approving foreigners as Japanese citizens. Some people that apply for citizenship in Japan find the process humiliating.

In addition, there is a lot of food and cultural traditions that can only be found in Hawaii, so I know may miss that. Therefore my current plan is to learn as much as I can about Hawaii so that regardless of where I live, I can still enjoy the things I like about Hawaii. I want to be able to make delicious Hawaii food like poke (raw fish cubes), lomi salmon, malasadas, and meat-jun.

Back with a new haircut

These past few weeks have been pretty busy. I have had a few exams, one presentation, got a haircut, signed up for Amazon Japan, and got to finally make some spam musubi's. Recently the leaves have started changing color and pretty soon it will start snowing at the beginning of next month. I am definitely looking forward to seeing snow however, I have not completely adjusted to the cold yet. Due to the cold wind, I have to wear two jackets outside, and I have started staying at the library more because my room is so cold.

Although I like living on my own in Japan, it does have some disadvantages. Some of the disadvantages are lack of money, unable to get a part-time job, making plans for the winter, cleaning myself, and my poor cooking skills. Despite the fact that Japanese food is very delicious, everything in Japan is so expensive so I need to budget my money carefully. Currently I spend a lot of money on food, utilities, cellphone, and rent.

My roommate and me go grocery shopping every weekend because certain food ingredients such as eggs, bread, and vegetables run out very quickly during the week. In addition in order to save money we both rarely eat breakfast in the morning, but eat at our apartment at night normally. Compared to him, I usually eat lunch at the cafeteria so I think I spend more money on food. Meals at the cafeteria cost around 200 to 400 yen. Occasionally we can get free food or money from school events, but they fill up pretty fast. About a week ago I was able to get free sweet potatoes from a school event so my roommate used them to make sweet potato french fries.

The girls are getting to pull sweet potatoes with the kids

Spreading some Aloha to the AIU Festival

After many weeks of preparing for the Akita International University (AIU) Festival, the AIU Festival is finally over. The festival lasted for two days and because of the festival, the students had a five day weekend.   I was apart of the Hawaii booth so I was busy preparing for the Festival on Friday and Saturday with seven other international students and spent Sunday and Monday managing the booth from 9am to 4:30pm. The Hawaii booth consisted of five people from Hawaii and three other students that were not from Hawaii but were interested in helping us manage our booth.

My friend with oil paints on his hands after preparing for the festival

For our booth we had hula lessons, an ukulele performance, origami workshop, an Okinawan dance performance, shamisen performance, Kikaida marathon, a video about Japanese Americans, Hawaiian trivia, sign painting, a lei making workshop, and a list of pidgin words with Japanese translations. Originally we wanted to sell spam musubi and poke (raw tuna fish cubes with seaweed), but decided against that because the food committee had a lot of regulations, and we realized that the cost to make the food would be too expensive.

Biking Adventures around Akita

Here are pictures from my biking adventures around Akita. Overall despite getting lost, I am happy that I bought a bicycle. With my bicycle I am able to explore the beauty of Akita and get a lot of exercise before it starts snowing. So far I got pictures of rice fields, a shrine, a wild deer, and a water fountain nearby the university. In addition, on Thursday, I had the opportunity to ride my bicycle late at night. Compared to Hawaii, Akita does not have many lamp posts in the rural areas so it gets really dark outside. Thankfully my bicycle comes with a flashlight, and the drivers are very friendly here so I do not have to worry about getting hit.

A house I saw while biking around Akita

Akita's famous rice fields are almost ready to harvest

Hawaiian Culture Shock

It has been a month since I have arrived at Akita International University, and I am slowly feeling the effects of culture shock. I miss my friends and family from Hawaii, but I am starting to miss other things such as Hawaiian food and culture. I miss the bicycle racks on the bus, the aloha spirit, and the food from Zippy's. Although the food here is nice, I miss being able to eat spam every morning and not having to pay for my own food. The spam at Japan costs 500 yen compared to $2 to $4 in Hawaii, and I feel that is too expensive. I miss my spam too much that I tried to get my parents to send me a few cans of spam to Japan.

I think when I leave Japan in a year, I may miss my friends and food here, but as of right now, I cannot stop thinking about the Hawaiian food such as lomi lomi salmon, meat jun, saimin, and poke. I definitely want to move from Hawaii, but it is sad to know that there is something that I will miss about that place as well.

In order to deal with my culture shock, I have kept myself busy. About a week ago I got to sign up for a community service event for the school and meet with some of the survivors from the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. I did not ask them about their experiences from the earthquake, but I tried to play with some of the little kids and practice speaking Japanese with the elders. In addition, I gave them candy from Hawaii to the survivors. 

Best Birthday Party So Far

Yesterday my friends and I went out for my birthday. Normally I do not like to celebrate my birthday, and I try to avoid telling everyone about my birthday except for my parents, but my friends at Akita International University (AIU) found out about my birthday so they wanted to celebrate it.

For my birthday, my friends bought me a jacket from Uniqlo and we walked to this "Ninja Park" that was about two miles away from the school. Our group consisted of thirteen people and two of them were Japanese students. Within our group three of us had bicycles.

At the "Ninja Park" our group of thirteen broke into two groups and we tried the obstacle courses at different times. The obstacle courses were pretty fun and some of them were pretty challenging. The obstacle courses had a lot of bridges, ropes, and surprises for us to try.

Feeling like a kid again at ninja park

Bicycle for Akita

Today I bought a new bicycle at the AEON mall near Akita International University (AIU). I bought it at 4pm and got lost for three hours trying to figure out how to get to AIU before returning to AEON mall. I almost did not buy it today because I do have a cell phone yet, and I did not know my apartment's address until I asked my friend who bought a smartphone.

I tried to return to AIU using the same route as the bus, but I found out that route is for cars only. In addition I tried to ask the locals how to get to Akita International University in Japanese, but I got lost or I could not understand everything they were saying. While biking I saw a wild animal, almost got ran over at a crosswalk, and rode at a road that prohibited bicyclists but I was unable to notice due to my limited Japanese.

I felt really stupid for buying a bicycle at AEON mall when I returned to the mall. I thought I had to ask one of my friends to pick up my bicycle for me tomorrow morning or beg a taxi driver to drive my bicycle and myself to AIU. Luckily I ran into couple students from the university while walking around the mall. One of the students knew how to get from AEON to AIU by bicycle so he rode my bicycle to Akita International University for me.

First Week of School

Today I just finished my first week of school. I am taking Finance, Japanese, and International Business and have classes on only Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Although I would take at least 15 credits back home, at Japan I want to take the minimum amount of credits so I can explore Akita my first semester here. In addition, a maximum of two business classes will transfer to my home university so taking a lot of credits here may not be the wisest option.

All of my classes are in English except for Japanese. In addition, most of my classes have international students instead of Japanese students. Practicing Japanese at this school is tricky because everyone here speaks English but the Japanese students here are willing to help practice their Japanese with you if you help them with English.

Compared to America, the books are pretty cheap. The books at Akita cost about $50 each whereas an American textbook costs about $100 each.

Lake Tazawa and Kakunodate

Here are pictures from a Lake Tazawa and a Kakunodate trip on Friday that I had with the other international students. The trip was free for international students but the full-time students had to pay. We had several stops on the way and my friends and I took plenty of pictures. 

First Week at AIU

It has been one week since I have arrived. I like AIU and life in Japan but occasionally I find myself thinking about Hawaii. I miss the people, friends, family, and my dog but I am also happy with what I have here. Staying at AIU has been a very meaningful experience so far and after talking to people from other countries, I am slowly starting to appreciate life in Hawaii. I still want to move even though it is hard to find a job anywhere.

My loyal sidekick

I do not think I am homesick yet but I think I may experience it latter. I was talking to another exchange student that has been year for almost a year and it seems like it is best to take my time when developing new relationships with people here.

First Post in Japan

I have finally made it to Japan. The last few days have been pretty busy so I was unable to post anything. The university is pretty nice, and I am happy to be here. I like how this university is smaller compared to the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In addition, both the Japanese and international students are friendly, and I have learned a lot of interesting facts about the other states in the United States, Japan, and other countries.

Before Leaving

With one year possibly remaining at college, I am excited to be going to Akita International University as an exchange student before graduating. I do not know what to expect but I do know that things will be different when I return to my home country. For this blog, I plan to learn as much as I can about this country and to tell my story for those who wish to visit Akita in the near future.