Month: February 2024

Japan: Mid-Program – Ethan McConkey

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   Ethan McConkey

Consistency is Key

To say I’ve been on top of writing these entries would be an overstatement. It might actually be an outright lie. While I would love to be able to say that I’ve been busy diligently studying, a more honest answer would be that I’ve been having a lot of fun. I’ve been thinking about how to write this “Day in my Life” type entry for a while now, and I’ve found myself too caught up in trying to contain every thing I’ve ever done in one post, and frankly I don’t think anyone wants to read through that!

A Day in My Life in Akita

Though I got here in the Fall, I’m going to talk about more recent stuff here in terms of my daily activities.

For the Winter, I bought a single pan and a single spatula and have been cooking eggs, sausage and toast for breakfast, which I have almost every day. Very traditionally Japanese, right? Some of my roommates left after Fall ended, so now I currently live with 6 other people, but our suite is somewhat like two apartments glued together, so it’s not crowded at all. Usually it’s pretty quiet everywhere after many people left in Fall.

Akita gets lots of snowfall, some of the most in the entire country, in the country with the highest snowfall by land area, so often times there is snow on my walk to my classes.

Snowfall under an overpass near the library on campus.

In Winter I’m only taking two courses, but they are double-timeslot, intensive courses. Intermediate Japanese 1, from 9:00-11:45 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and Japanese Film Studies from 3:30-6:15 Monday and Wednesday. As a testament to how “quiet” (I’ll stick with that) the intensive Winter program is, my Japanese class has a grand total of 3 people. The film studies course is a pretty normal size, probably around 25-30, though.

In the gap between the two classes on Monday, I will typically go back to my room and work on any homework or assignments I got in Japanese that day after eating lunch, or occasionally I’ll head over to the library and study there.

Other than that, my day typically consists of studying, reading or hobbies.

Saturdays are typically the days where I go into the city these days. I used to have a club activity every Saturday morning in Fall, but that club has suspended operation for the Winter. In the city, I’ll typically go thrift shopping for camera gear or clothes or something like that. Getting to the city takes a little over an hour, since there is an infrequent bus followed by a train to get there, so actually going there is somewhat of an all day thing. Gotta make the trip worth it.

On Sunday mornings I do my grocery shopping at a local mall which has a supermarket on the bottom floor. The mall also has a very large arcade in it, and I’ll usually spend some time there as well, playing crane games or rhythm games usually. Recently I’ve been playing a lot of a drumming rhythm game called Taiko no Tatsujin! After I get back from shopping, I’ll typically talk or play games online with friends from the US.

On some weekends, I’ve taken trips to mostly nearby places. So far I have been to a few cities and towns on the northern island of Hokkaido, and I’ve also been to Aomori prefecture, Sendai City in Miyagi prefecture, part of Yamagata prefecture, and I’ve spent some time in nearby but not very well known Iwate prefecture. For an upcoming national holiday, I’ll be going to Tokyo for a few days. Of course, there are a million other places I want to go, but time and money only allow for so much. Regardless, I’m really happy with just about everywhere I’ve gone to.

Goals, and How They are Going

One of my main goals coming here was to learn and use more Japanese. A lot more. I believe I have been succeeding at this to the best of my abilities. One thing I didn’t anticipate (which has been a blessing and a curse) is that the other students here mainly want to learn and practice their English, so more often than not my conversations are in English. Outside of Japanese class, of course. The upside of this, of course, is that communication is easy and frequent. I’ve never really felt isolated on campus. In the city or at the mall I’ll occasionally feel like that a bit, but that is only more motivation to continue studying.

Community Engagement

One thing I have learned from my time here is that people around Japan know about Akita International University, and people in Akita seem to really appreciate its presence. One time, when speaking with a very kind worker at a tea store in Sendai city, I told him that I was a student there and he turned to his father (also very kind!) and said in Japanese, “Did you hear that? He’s a student at AIU, that Akita school where they teach all the classes in English!” To which his father seemed surprised to hear.

AIU runs many community outreach opportunities for their students, and my Japanese class in Winter also had their own outreach thing that we did with some of the other Upper Elementary and Intermediate courses. Most of the time they involve going to a local school, and teaching the students about English and about the culture of the country we come from. It is very exciting and very rewarding, and the students are always so engaged and excited to participate. Through these outreach opportunities, I feel as though I have been able to interact with the “real Akita,” outside of campus.

Conclusion

While I had really hoped to become more consistent with these posts, it seems as though time is escaping me. This whole experience has been so rewarding so far, and I really hope to make the best of what time I have left here.

Mid Program: “A day in the life” + Study Abroad Advice, by Anna Hedrick

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Anna

¡Hola! Today I am going to share what a “day in the life” entails in San José, Costa Rica, based on my experiences thus far. I am a month into my study abroad program and I’ve settled into a good routine, with some variations from week to week. ¡Empezamos!

I usually wake up with the sun streaming through my bedroom curtains around 6:30am. I might lounge around and slowly get ready, or, sometimes I go for a walk at Parque La Paz (Peace Park) which is 15 minutes away from my home stay.

I love to see people walking, running or chatting on the benches, and I try to pick up on their conversations. Recently, I’ve enjoyed walking around the lake in the center of the park. It may seem as if there is grass, but it’s actually plants floating on top of the water.

7:50am – When I return from my walk, my mamá tica has a beautiful breakfast prepared. Here is a traditional plate of gallo pinto (rice, beans, cilantro), scrambled eggs, and yucca (cassava). Coffee is always fresh and absolutely delicious! There is also a side of fresh fruit, usually plátanos (bananas), fresas (strawberries) and papaya. ¡Buen provecho!


After breakfast I head to school around 8:30am with my housemate Clarissa. On my way to school, I always hear the chitter-chatter of birds, the rush of nearby traffic and casual conversations in Spanish from the neighbors that I pass on the sidewalks. I smell the wafting aroma of freshly baked bread as I pass the panadería, contrasted with stench of animal feces on the sidewalk (so great!). Even though I’ve been here for several weeks and I’ve adjusted to this new lifestyle, I try to remind myself of how incredible it is to be walking around in a new city and seeing new sights everyday.

I live in barrio Córdoba (neighborhood Córdoba) and cross into barrio Zapote to reach the university.

I start my first (and only!) class at 9am, which is Advanced Spanish Grammar and Conversation. It’s a small class of only 8 people, but everyone is friendly and I like our dynamic. Everyday, we work on grammar exercises from our textbook, give oral presentations, group projects, and recently, a field trip to the former capital of Costa Rica: Cartago.

We visited the Basilica de los Ángeles, which is a stunning and ornate church built in 1924. Outside in a small covered area, there is a piedrita (small stone sculpture) of the Vírgen de los Ángeles and visitors can bless themselves or drink from the holy water (many faucets available). My host mom also has a small figurine of la Virgen in the living room.

After class, sometimes I’ll go home to eat lunch or stay on campus to eat with friends. There are multiple favorite places when it comes to dining out. The university’s cafeteria is pretty convenient and not too expensive (about $6 per meal), and is always packed full of students trying to squeeze in lunch before dashing off to their next class. I’ve visited other little restaurants in barrio Zapote, including Pana’s Food (a fun combo of both Venezuelan dishes and sushi), and Le Rendez-vous (French pastries and lunch items). I love to explore new food places with friends. Since today was my last Spanish class, my professor and classmates went to Le Rendez-vous after our final presentation to enjoy some pastries.

In the afternoon, I usually return to my home stay to relax and catch up on assignments. Sometimes I sit outside on the patio and listen to the birds and distant traffic. It’s a pretty relaxed ambience!

In the evenings, San José becomes alive with bright lights, upbeat music and busy crowds. A few weeks ago, my friends and I attended some on-campus events, such as La Noche de Arte (art-making), Karaoke Latino, and El Festival de Colores (Festival of Colors). In addition, I’ve attended a few dance classes and learned the bachata and salsa. These events through the university provide the opportunity to meet new people, which I’ve enjoyed. There are few upcoming events through ISA (my program provider) which will allow for more community engagement. For example, I look forward to TINGO (Tico Bingo) and the language exchange with ticos. I’m excited for service-learning to start next week, as well!

One thing that has surprised me is how challenging it has been to socialize with local students. Even though everyone is attending the same school, the study abroad students do not have classes with local students. It can be hard sometimes to approach someone you don’t know and initiate a conversation, especially in Spanish. Luckily, I’ve had several encounters with local students so far. For example, Clarissa had befriended some local students in the lunch line, so my friends and I had lunch with three ticas and we became friends.

I’m becoming more comfortable with interacting with ticos and understanding conversational Spanish. Not everyday is perfect, my progress isn’t linear, and some days my brain is tired and defaults to speaking and thinking in English. It’s hard to comprehend fluent speech and form my own coherent sentences sometimes. My goal is to become fluent in Spanish and understand more about Costa Rican culture. Everyday is different, and I am trying to be patient with myself. I feel like I’m making progress with my Spanish, little by little.

To close out, one piece of advice I have for students studying abroad is rest when needed and focus on one day at a time. When studying abroad, there are many events and experiences that may cause you to feel overwhelmed; between taking classes, trying to speak/learn/understand a new language, going on excursions, dealing with culture shock, and more, it’s likely you’ll feel overstimulated and exhausted at the same time. Therefore, I think it’s important to focus on one thing at a time. I know this is easier said than done, but learning to be present in each situation and taking each day as it comes may reduce feelings of stress and allow to appreciate your study abroad experience more. Take the time to rest when necessary and be kind to yourself, because your well-being matters.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Feel free to comment or ask a question below. Please share any updates in your life, so we can connect.

Saludos, Anna