End of a chapter

Well it has been about a month since I returned; inevitably I’ve settled back to living in Sydney and all of its craziness. Time to focus on my last year and hopefully not fail any subjects if I want to graduate next year!

So what am I doing now since my return? I’ve taken Japanese 7 and 8 as my last two electives. Classes are good and continue on well from Gifu University class C. Unfortunately I do feel that my Japanese is slowly deteriorating since I’m not using it as much and I don’t have that everyday exposure. I guess it is up to me to keep practicing and learning Japanese if I want to keep on pursuing it. Bummer, that is so much harder to do! At least while I was in Gifu, the teachers always handed out homework and taught new grammar.

Plans for the future? I’m hoping to graduate with a job in hand but that seems overly optimistic when one looks at the current economic situation. If that doesn’t pan out, I plan to apply for a masters course, ideally somewhere overseas. There is this Japanese course that I am interested to do but we’ll see how that goes. When you don’t have a job, you might as well keep on studying! Also, I would like to continue with Japanese if possible, otherwise it seems a waste of four years. Who knows, I might end up in foreign affairs with ties to Japan or something!

This is probably my last post for this blog. It is really sad for me because this blog has been almost like my diary and confidante. It is where I’ve poured out my feelings, hopes and disappointments as I’ve gone through the ups and downs of my Japan year. I have really enjoyed sharing my experiences and impressions with all my readers and I thank you heaps for reading this blog. When I met Richard at the ICS 2008 and 2009 meeting, he praised me on my blog and I got such a massive rush from it. I’m glad I could be of help and I hope there is enough information available for future ICS Japan kids, especially for ICS Gifu. Let me know otherwise. Hopefully in the future, I can start another travel blog if I do decide to study my masters overseas and then you can read about my experiences as I do battle with another completely different culture. In fact, count on it guys!

My love to my family, friends and blog supporters. You have been great and thank you so much! Nothing sums it better than the line from The Truman Show -  Good morning, and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!

Peace out!

International Studies Student Profile

IIS wanted some student volunteers to do profiles so that they could add it in their future brochures. Hopefully you’ll see mine in them!

1. What course are you studying?

I am currently a fifth-year student in communications and international studies.

2. Why did you choose a double degree at UTS?

I was interested in studying another language and learning about a new culture and ICS was a great way to achieve it. I learnt so many new things while I was in Gifu University, made a lot of new friends and experienced so many interesting things. It was an added bonus that my fourth-year felt almost like a vacation after the previous three years of stressful studies!

3. What country is your major?

I chose Gifu University in Japan because:

a) It was much cheaper to live there in comparison to the bigger cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto. My rent was three times cheaper than ICS Tokyo and it meant that I had more money to spend on shopping, travelling and going out! I did so much shopping; I went there with 30kg and came back with 100kg! I also saved a lot on transportation cost since the student dormitory was right on campus, making it so easy to go classes in the morning.

b) It was right in the middle of Japan and so near the bullet train line. I could easily travel to the north and south of Japan as regional transportation was really accessible.

c) I didn’t know it at that time, but Gifu is so much fun! It is a much smaller city in comparison but the people there are so lovely and friendly and I really enjoyed the country atmosphere.

4. Why did you choose to focus your studies on this particular country?

From young, I’ve always been reading manga or watching anime and this exposed me to a lot of their culture. As I grew older, I became more curious as to whether these media actually reflected their culture truthfully and so what better way to find out than to live at that particular country for a year! By the end of the year, I learnt what I had wanted to learn and I even did my major project on it.

5. What is your favourite part of the course?

Obviously the not waking up really early everyday to get to my really early classes! Even though the Japanese classes were really good and taught me a lot, the most enjoyable part of my experience was to travel and see Japan. Living there for a year afforded me the time to properly explore and interact with the people as you wouldn’t get if you were just there for a short time. In other words, you could study Japanese anywhere in the world but you can’t experience Japan unless you are actually there.

6. What did you enjoy about your year overseas?

One of the best parts was meeting and making new friends from all over the world. There were heaps of people from China, South Korea, America, Sweden, Scotland and Malaysia, and I was glad to have met them. They really enriched my experience there as they taught me more about their culture and language. I now know that Sweden is one of the most gender equal country in the world and Scottish people enjoy a bit of black pudding (made from animal blood) for their meals! Oh yeah, I also found out about the deep-fried Mars bar from my Scottish friend – so bad but tastes so good!

7. What were some of the obstacles you faced during your In Country Study?

The main one was the language barrier. I had studied two years before my departure but it didn’t fully prepare me for what to come. This became a lot easier with time as I studied and learnt more but I still struggle with conversations. Another obstacle was that I didn’t feel like coming home when my time was up; I was having too much fun!

8. What are the most interesting differences you have encountered between your chosen country and Australia?

The Japanese at my university dressed up a lot when they came for classes; the girls were all shiny and sparkly and half of the guys had crazy hair. Put my sweat pants and sweater to shame!

9. Where do you hope your degree will take you?

My future? It is a bit too soon to say but I am still studying Japanese at UTS and hopefully I can continue it in a masters program overseas. It could be a start of a new adventure for me and one that I look forward to!

Anything else to add?

If I could only pass on one piece of advice to future students, then it would be to do ICS or go on exchange. The experiences that you get from stepping out of your comfort zone are so valuable and you learn so much about yourself. Travelling is all about learning more about a different culture, meeting new people and expanding your horizons. I can guarantee that you’ll come back changed for the better so go do it!

Two halves of me in two different countries

It is great to be back in Sydney, see my parents and cat, and talk to my friends however I still find myself missing some aspects of Japan. I feel slightly displaced at the moment; neither here in Australia but neither in Japan. A lot of people who have completed their ICS have said that it is always a little bit weird at first when they come home. I guess I now know how they feel; my mind keeps on drifting back to my Japan life and the niche that I had carved out for myself. I’m not sure how long it is going to last.

It got me thinking – I was thinking that the only proof that I had of my time in Japan are my memories (and tons of photos). Before I left, I had to close down my bank account, cancel my phone, give back my alien registration card; in essence wipe all physical evidence of my life and existence from Japan. In retrospect, that makes me feel really sad; it was like I was never there. I hope that I had left a big enough impression on my friends there for them to remember me but time can dull a lot of memories. I suppose this is where Facebook, chat and emails come in to help keep in contact with each other but it is never the same as actually talking to them face-to-face.

While I was out at dinner tonight, a couple sat down and were speaking in Japanese. The cool thing was that I could understand them. The uncool thing was that it made me miss being in Japan. How ironic; I gripped so long and so hard about not understanding Japanese while I was in Japan but then when I’m not there, I suddenly miss listening and speaking Japanese. I am so weird. In addition, I have fears that my Japanese skills will deteriorate since I’m no longer in an every-day Japanese environment. Even though I will be taking Japanese this year, I somehow doubt the three hours of class will be enough for me. Oh, I don’t know; right now my mind is everywhere! I’m confused about my future and I feel nostalgic and melancholic. I hope I can sort myself out sometime soon.

Tears of loss

It is a lonely feeling flying by youself escpecially when you have just left what was technically your home for the past year. I was waiting to board to plane to Sydney when I was struck by a sense of panic and displacement. It brought me to tears. I had gotten so used to my life in Japan, safely cocooned in my comfortable environment, that it was a rude slap to the face when it finally sunk in that I was on my way home. I didn’t feel like I was ready to return though I suppose you can never really prepare yourself for it. I’m sure I’ll feel better after a while but as I was sitting by myself at Changi Airport, I just felt lonely and scared.

I have left the building!

I am transiting in Singapore right now after leaving Japan early this morning. There were some tears (actually, it was like a water sprinkler had gone off) and plenty of hugs all around. It felt like an end of an era for me because I doubt I will ever have the same experience again. Sad, really.

Anyway on a happier note, flying with Singapore Airlines and transiting at Changi Airport is one of the best things ever. Everything (but the food) about SIA really recommends to itself and the airport is first-class. SIA let me through with 37 kilos of checked baggage, a lap top bag, a cabin luggage and a handbag. How great was that! Of course I had to apply for special consideration in regards to the extra weight allowance but they are very understanding to students. Thank goodness, I don’t know how I could have reduced my baggage weight anymore.

At the airport they even have a small butterfly park within the building, for goodness sakes! Besides that, I managed to have a great shower, use their free wi-fi access while eating at one of the local restaurants. Food was pretty decent too. It definitely makes the four hour transit move a lot faster!

However I can’t really say I got a good impression of the people. It is not that they weren’t extremely polite, but I sort of got a sense of arrogance when they spoke – from the lady at the information desk to the transit lounge person to the cleaning lady who manned the shower rooms. Now this just might be that I’m Malaysian and we have a long-standing friendly rivalry against Singapore and they might sense my “Malaysian-ness”, but I felt that they could be more approachable. This is just my own feelings though.