Japanese Mayonnaise, Intriguing Geography, and Anime

Jules has been busy with classes and activities this past month and we've been busy here with graduations, college orientation and broken ankles. This first update (below) from her was from the last week of May, but after that I'll just string her recent emails  together for you all to enjoy!

My Japanese language class had a fun activity recently. Everyone took turns describing their country (in Japanese, obviously) to a classmate from another country, who then drew the country on a whiteboard. Between people not knowing geography, and the describers having difficulty explaining things in Japanese, the results were quite entertaining. Australia (drawn by a Korean) was an oval blob with kangaroos hopping all over it. Canada (drawn by a New Zealander) was an oddly proportioned rectangle with snow and moose.
You may have seen the news that there was an earthquake recently in Japan, but it was on the other side of the country from me, and I didn't feel a thing.

Since not much has lately happened, I'm going to tell you about Japanese mayonnaise. Why? Because it is delicious. It has an orange tint that American mayo doesn't have, and it comes in flexible plastic bottles that are really fun to squish. Just like stress balls, except with mayo in them. The flavor is different, less creamy and slightly tangy. An American exchange student, who always hated mayo at home, likes the Japanese kind so much she now carries little packets of it with her everywhere.
Love you all, and hopefully I'll have more interesting stuff to talk about next week.






In early June, in my Japanese culture class, we learned about Shinto. The most interesting thing for me was learning that Japan has over 80,000 Shinto shrines. 

The Torii (Shrine Gates) that lead to the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto (dedicated to the God of Rice)

For comparison, a quick internet search estimates the number of Catholic churches in Germany at around 9,000. Granted, shrines tend to be far smaller and less elaborate than churches, but still: 80,000! The professor also showed a few clips from the movie Princess Mononoke, to give the class an idea of contemporary depictions of Shinto.

Watching Princess Mononoke and other Studio Ghibli movies has educational value!
My classmate and fellow exchange student , Amy Lim, had never seen the movie before, and after hearing a few other students praising it after class, she decided to rent it and watch it in our dorm common room Monday night as an informal movie party. That's a party I'll definitely be going to!

Screen grab from Princess Mononoke 

 This complex film is one of Julia’s all time favorites about human greed and abuses of the earth, unfairness & compassion, the loss of spirituality among mankind, and the connection to the animal kingdom that we must maintain to protect our own humanity. The film is beautifully hand drawn and a strong piece of fiction.


The Princess Mononoke Movie Night went well. I shared the lemon drops you sent me with the group. Afterwards, we discussed some other Studio Ghibli movies that people hadn't seen yet, and decided on Grave of the Fireflies. So next Monday's movie night will feature lots of crying. Yay!

I got the prompts for my final projects. For my Japanese culture class, I have to write a short paper, in Japanese, about my thoughts on the topics covered in class. For my intercultural communication class, I also have to write a short paper, but it can be in Japanese or English. There are five prompts to choose from, and I think I'll do the one on the languages used in my home country.

Amy Lim, a fellow dormmate/ exchange student, mentioned that she was going on Saturday to see fireflies at the nearby Shimogamo Shrine, which is famous for them. Arianna and I decided to go with her. The fireflies themselves weren't that exciting; they were very scattered and impossible to photograph. And my camera battery was dying, so I didn't get many decent pictures. But it was fun.


And yay for Camille's graduation! High school is finally over!


In mid June I went to a workshop on finding jobs as an exchange student in Japan. It turned out to be geared towards students who are living in Japan for a year or more, and thus can work long-term, so it wasn't terribly useful for me. But there were recommendations for a few companies to try, including ones that have branches in the United States.

Last week I went to the shopping mall at Kyoto Station. 

The giant Aeon Mall

I was able to buy a can of pickled vegetables, and another of olives, which I haven't been able to find anywhere else. There were also giant cheese wedges, which I was really excited about. In America, they would be normal-size cheese wedges, but because lactose intolerance is a lot more common in Japan, most dairy products come in tiny servings. I decided to save the cheese as a reward for a later time though.

As predicted, the Grave of the Fireflies movie night ended in lots of crying.

The anti-war film, Grave of the Fireflies, tells the story of two orphans immediately post war in Japan. It is tragic.

This week, we're watching our first non-Ghibli movie: Battle Royale.


In my Intercultural Communication class, we had a big discussion instead of the usual lecture. It rambled, since everyone was getting a say, but I liked the rambling. There was a Bulgarian girl with some very strong opinions on cultural differences. The Japanese students were mostly quiet, except when someone asked a specific question relating to Japan.

I had my first forgot-how-to-English experience this week: A Japanese student handing out flyers for some event started talking to me in English about the event. She asked me if I had a phone (the flyer had one of those codes that you scan with a smartphone) and I just stared at her, because I couldn't remember what "phone" meant. Then she asked, "Ketai?" (cell phone) and my brain went, "Aha! I know that one!" So I told her that no, I didn't have a smartphone, and that was the end of that.
There's a big mall near Kyoto Station, but the only time I tried to find it on my own, I got horribly lost. This Friday, I tried again, and managed to find it within ten minutes. I didn't buy anything, just wandered around looking. But now I know how to get there in the future. I also got some nice pictures of Kyoto Tower while I was there.

Love you all!