Second Half

May 17, 2018

Today we went to the Kimpo Elementary School after class. It was hot inside the gym but I had a lot of fun playing with the kids. I had the chance to be one of those that danced in front when we were teaching the Baby Shark dance to the kids and I thought of just enjoying with them. I was waving to this one kid in front who wasn’t dancing so that he would join in and he started moving and giggling. I liked the air inside even though it was a room full of sweaty kids desperate for candy. I knew the latter because I accidentally started playing this game with the kids where I hid candy in one of my fists just for fun. If they picked the right hand, they would get the candy. The problem was that there was this kid named Paulo, along with his friend, could not disappear from our faces because they kept asking for candy. But I had to let the other kids have a chance at the game but I also modified it so that both my hands had candy in them so they were all winners. It’s not that I’m just giving away candy so they’ll like me. It’s not that at all. There was this thing I witnessed when they saw they won the game. There was a sudden glow that made me feel like I could be there all day. But of course I couldn’t indulge in the happy air. Though I’m pretty sure the next time I feel bad, I would remember how happy and light that time was.

We weren’t allowed to take pictures that time but the images are still clear in my head. I see kids jumping up and down while playing Bring me. Then I remember this one girl who really got all her books out of her bag when we played Longest line. Even though it was really fun, I know it could have been more exciting when we spoke a common language. Fortunately we had our buddies to translate for us but it sort of took out the momentum when the kids didn’t understand us.

Nevertheless, I will always go back to that part of the trip anytime something out of my control barges in to try to put me down.

May 18, 2018

Computer class with my buddy Hiroki

The first time I actually fully understood something in class, besides Calculus was this Microcomputer class they had. Hiroki, my buddy, said that it was their first time as well in programming the microcomputer. I was so excited because we got to work with actual microcomputers! Back in junior high school, our facilities were just miserable. Even in a science high school, our lab equipment smell of rust and most of the time they’re not being used at all. As I got into DLSU, we finally had proper lab experiments, especially in Chemistry. But this microcomputers class, man this was really the best class throughout my whole stay.

I felt closer with my buddy Hiroki that time because we were both trying to figure out what had been wrong in our program when the “Build Failed” as the screen said. I knew my buddy was quiet and all but he was also nice and kind. He’s the opposite of me because I’m often loud and hyper around specific people but we did have a similar sense of style. He always wore a sweater and I had been wearing sweaters the whole trip. Even at home, where it’s hot and humid, I still wear sweaters. The way he behaved in class was also similar with mine, because I would always have my notes with me. I would never get out of class without notes from a lecture. Except that usual habit was pretty difficult to apply because their classes were taught in Nihongo. Though I didn’t feel like I wasted my time because I’d often ask Hiroki for help. He has difficulty speaking in English though. When it would come to that point, he would either laugh or whip out his translator. Though he tries to develop his English speaking skills. He even plays this game on his phone that teaches him English. He would do that in his free time and only that though but that’s just what I know. It’s really cool that he’s coming to the Philippines in September! I can’t wait to see him again and just show him how crazy it is in the Philippines! I can’t wait to show him our library in DLSU right after I asked him to show me their library, which was just one floor of crammed books, unfortunately all in Nihongo so I couldn’t, as of now, understand them. But I will some day. I wouldn’t want to waste all the books that could bring me unique perspectives all because I couldn’t read the language when in fact these days, learning a language has never been more accessible, especially online, even in the form of games as Hiroki showed me.

Hiroki wasn’t actually the only Japanese I met that had trouble speaking in English. On the train going back to the hotel, Aeron, Sir Moi and I sat near this old lady who asked us whether we were students or not. Though, it was difficult to understand her because I sometimes couldn’t tell if she had been speaking in Nihongo or mumbling in English. Luckily, Sir Moi lent her his phone which recorded her voice. It would translate to English for us and vice versa for her. But even then, we still had difficulty in communication. We were talking about the Philippine government though and in the latter part, she showed us this flyer which seemed to be the place where she worked because she had so much of it in her paper bag. It was really a memorable moment and how was it that out of all the seats that we could have sat in, we sat where this nice old lady would talk to us. How lucky. How incredibly lucky.

The Last Day

Getting Sushi with our buddies on the Last day

It was a long stay in Japan, longer than any other time I went to stay outside home. Usually, I’d only have a maximum of 4 days in unfamiliar territory and this 10 days of walking and eating has made me feel more comfortable with roaming around in foreign places.

It was definitely an honour to be part of this program because of the bonds I’ve come to develop, both with my fellow delegates and buddies. I must say though that having their classes in English would change how the exchange program would have been but my inability to communicate in nihongo did not stop me from learning. I’ve witnessed so much about their culture, how friendly they are, especially in shops, how kind they are, even when you bumped into each other only very lightly, and how calm and quiet they are. It’s amazing how growing up in another piece of land in the same planet makes us so different from each other. It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t clearly converse with the Japanese people in English but instead of thinking how inconvenient the gap is, I feel even more motivated to study Nihongo. I had studied Nihongo before and to be honest, it started to become boring, but now it’s really an ability I have to develop myself because then I would be able to atleast communicate with the Japanese people.

I was able to witness their calm culture in the comfort of our autonomy. We were free to roam around as long as we informed our teachers of our whereabouts. I got to taste a lot of japanese food, takoyaki, ramen, and sushi. Every time we ate though, we had to do a lot of walking to go around but its fine because walking around in Japan is levels better than walking around in the Philippines. It has become such a big part of my daily routine, like passing by a vending machine and scanning for ice cream or ginger ale. It has become such a refreshing experience that I am incredibly excited for the incoming schoolyear. I feel ready to take the blow of stacked college entrance tests and application forms. Also, I cannot wait to continue writing our Research Paper!

But no matter how excited I am in anticipating the coming challenges, I still cannot believe I spent 10 days in Japan and walked around it as if I were a student going to school at 9 and going home at 5. Of course I’d want to stay here longer! But from what I saw, I wouldn’t just want to stay in one place. I want to keep moving around! There’s just so much I can learn from the attitudes and personalities of people from around the world.

This was my first time being an exchange student and I hope this wouldn’t be the last. I’m pretty sure that in just ten days, I matured to be a more active and responsible representative of my school.