by Kelli Kosaka and Lisa Peng

This weekend we traveled to Yamanaka Lake at the base of Mt. Fuji with 19 students from our host school, Meiji University. This trip provided us with a great opportunity to bond with the Meiji students in a Japanese-style seminar house by the lake.

Group photo at Yamanaka Seminar House

The first day was a chance for us to get to know each other through icebreakers and time spent together on the bus ride and during dinner. We also lit hanabi (fireworks) to celebrate Janet’s birthday. She turned hatachi (twenty), the age at which you become an adult in Japan. Thus people value this day a lot here.

Enjoying Japanese fireworks (hanabi)

On the second day, the USC students gave presentations on topics we thought were uniquely Japanese. For instance, we talked about the famous Japanese idol group AKB48, kawaii (cute) culture, women’s fashion, omotenashi (Japanese hospitality), video games and ma (the Japanese way of utilizing space). There was also a presentation on institutions that are dying in the US but thriving in Japan, such as convenience stores, vending machines, bookstores and smoking areas. It was not only interesting to discuss what we, as foreigners, found to be the unique qualities of Japanese society, but also interesting to hear what the Meiji students thought was unique about American society. For example, one of the unique qualities we came up with was perfectionism in Japan. One of the Meiji students thought this perfectionism was due to the fear most Japanese people have of failing. We thought the discussion not only helped extend our understanding of Japan, but also helped the Japanese students understand more about their own culture.

Following the presentations, we were given a couple of hours of free time. At first, we wanted to visit the lake and take a tour around it in the swan boats. However, we were disappointed to find that the weather was turning quite gloomy, and moreover, the cost of the tour was higher than we had anticipated. Instead, we all talked while gathered around the basketball courts and continued to bond and play sports. Some of the Meiji students were more than happy to engage some of us in casual games of basketball and tennis.  When dinnertime arrived, we continued our conversations inside, and our table was surprised to find out that the food we ate that evening was similar to what most of the Meiji students typically eat at home. After eating, we divided into groups and either took lessons in Japanese calligraphy (shodou) or played a few memory games. In the calligraphy room, a couple of us were also asked to teach a small group of students a few odd or difficult words in English. It was participating in activities like this that allowed us to form the strongest bonds with the Meiji students, because we were able to connect with them on a closer, more personal, level. Any apprehension we had felt prior to this day had melted away.

Our concluding discussions were different from our beginning ones in that no one from either the Meiji or USC student groups could be anything but candid in their remarks. We all felt close enough to share our personal thoughts regarding the existence of cultural and language barriers. In the end, most groups felt that the way to overcome these barriers was to find common interests and share opinions concerning school, society and recreational activities.