Japan Update #4
Reminiscing Over Golden Week
Hey, I’ve been waiting to update this blog again after this week. Currently it’s Golden Week, which is similar to spring break but applies to stores and businesses as well. There are some things that stay open over the break, such as convince marts and a few restaurants. I’m glad that we are currently in break, otherwise I’d spend this time studying. In my last post I mentioned that they are more relaxed in general, however I’ve been trying to get ahead in learning the material. The more that I learn from the culture classes and the language, the more I understand that it could take a long time before I can fully understand the complexities behind everything. The experiences that I had at ATU and my home state are very different educationally and culturally than what I was prepared for. Now that I understand how little I know I want study as much as I can before my time hear comes to a close. However, since it is golden week I’ve spent a lot of this time hanging out with my friends at the local sushi shop and in the malls. Since I’ve gotten here, I noticed that all the Japanese students are so fashionable. I try to go on little excursions with others as often as I can. Nisshin is a big city and it interconnected with the others very seamlessly. This makes it easy to walk in any direction and find something new, such as the many shines that you can find. These range anywhere from large and heavy decorated to little boxes with a small gate. At each shrine there are different kami’s presiding over them, which are like gods in Shinto. I love to visit as many as I can, and I’ve even tried pulling my fortune to see what they say. So far, I’ve only received good fortunes, which are a relief. While the exploring itself is fun the enjoyment truly comes from the company kept. I just wanted to take the opportunity to appreciate some of the people that I’ve met here at NUFS. I hope to make more memories and share them with all of you soon on the next update.
– Luis
