Author: Libby Crecco

My total impression of my language camp in Fukuoka was overwhelmingly positive. I made a bunch of new friends and I lived in Japan not as a tourist, but as a normal student. Taking the train and walking among crowds of people was an experience I didn’t get on my previous trip to this country. I was really nervous on my first day, but I was alright because everyone else seemed to be nervous too. I made friends on the first day, too. It was awkward at first, but it got better from there.

Japanese Food Scene

The food scene in town was interesting too, because there were so many ramen shops. I quickly tired of ramen, and proceeded to avoid it. I liked eating the baked goods that I could find there, which were delicious. My host family also cooked a variety of things, with there always being meat or fish at the center of our meals. The dinners I had with my host family were always nice, with there being a variety of foods at hand to choose from. There were a lot of bento places as well. Even though Japanese food isn’t my favorite, I found foods that suited me.

Learning the Japanese Language

I am and was quite under-confident in my speaking skills of any foreign language (my Japanese is a little better now) and was super afraid of making mistakes, so I didn’t talk much with my hosts for the first few days. Dinner was awkward at first, since all I did was quietly listen. I built a better relationship with my hosts over time, and began growing more confident in talking with them. I think that the key is time.

Even if you are not confident in your ability, that feeling can go away with time and practice. I’m glad I stayed three weeks, and wish I could stay longer to improve more. Sometimes it is a bit lonely being more or less alone, but like I said before, time is key. You will get over those feelings of loneliness and work to understand your surrounding environments. As I’m writing this at home, I kind of wish that I was back in Japan! It is still weird being here, not having to struggle to speak a different language. I kind of miss that, because every moment was a learning experience.

Managing My Money Abroad

I also learned how to better limit how much money I spend during my time there. I had to pay for my public transportation and most of my food costs, which adds up to a lot of money. The minimum amount per day can be at least $15. I only spent 500 yen on a gift for myself, and I blew most of my money on gifts for my family. I learned more than just how to get around in a foreign city during those three weeks.

Weekend Adventures in Japan

On the weekends, I went out with my host family, and for the most part didn’t speak English during that time. One day we went to a friend’s house, and played video games and pretty much just hung out. The good thing about language barriers is that they don’t apply when playing video games. We had dinner and played card games as well. At the school that I attended we were taught formal Japanese, which is generally useful, but kind of stuffy sounding in an informal environment. I learned a lot about informal language when I was with my hosts, and Informal Japanese comes a lot easier to me than formal language.

We went to Dazaifu Tenmangu Jinja when the rain was pouring, which did end up with both me and my host sister having some very wet clothes. I tried mochi, which was the shrine’s specialty. It put most mochi I had tried so far to shame. My hosts treated me so well that I was sorry to leave without giving some sort of goodbye gift.

Language Classes at the School

School was very good. It started at either 9:30 a.m. or 10:30 a.m., and I didn’t get home until 6 p.m. Japanese classes were four hours long, and were generally useful. I began to learn about the enigma that is Japanese grammar, and about formal language as well. Japanese has several levels of formal and informal speech, which sounds a bit daunting, but is easy to understand. I usually hung out with my friends during the 50 minutes we have for lunch, buying either bento, ramen, or sweets to eat. The activity class is a class where we either do something like pottery or ikebana, or we go on a tour of sorts. It takes place either in the morning or the afternoon. It’s usually very fun; I got to spend time with my new friends, I tried new things like taiko, and I got to walk around town a bit.

When I hung out with my friends from school, we usually walked around town and in malls. We were always looking for food. My German friend always wanted ramen, even though she had it practically every day. We were an interesting group of nationalities: Turkish, German, Spanish, Canadian, American, and Taiwanese. My Turkish friend and I liked talking about geopolitical memes, an edgy subject that is full of racist and bigoted humor. There were always things to talk about. I asked my friends about their home countries, we talked about why they came to Japan, and about the state of the world. I will miss them now that I left.

I had such an eventful and fulfilling time in Fukuoka thanks to Greenheart Travel, GenkiJACS, my host family, and most of all my family for giving their support. I’d most definitely recommend this experience for anyone who wants to learn Japanese or travel to Japan.

Aden Jibril is 15 years old and lives in Oakland, California. His goal during his language program in Fukuoka, Japan is to “learn to cook at least one Japanese dish, increase my language skill, and to interact well with my host family.” Follow Aden’s adventures in Japan on his weekly blog post updates.

These past few days I have been waking up late enough that I am the only one in the house. Everyone has left for their various occupations. On Saturday, this happened, though I did wake up much later than the rest of my host family, at about 10:00 a.m. My host brother came back a few minutes after I sat down in the kitchen/ dining room, but left soon after. I waited out much of the day before my host mother, host sister and I went to Kurume city to visit the grandparents.

The good thing about more rural areas in Japan is that they are really peaceful, with many rice fields and mountains in the backgrounds. It is a type of rural place that I would like to live in, as compared to the more rural places in America (just my opinion, not something to over-analyze). The clouds were white and puffy, and Thetes rivers sparkled in the evening sunlight.

The grandparents of my host family were very accommodating, and the Grandfather spoke English rather well, as he had traveled to the U.S. on numerous occasions. They took us out for Okonomiyaki, which was delicious. We ate Yakisoba as well.

Did I mention that Japanese people seem to like using a lot of mayo on things? My host father mentioned it one night when we were eating salmon, that Japanese people like mayonnaise. He had put what seemed like WAYY too much mayo on his salmon, practically smothering the fish. Anyways, most of the talking was done among the others in our group, as talking to me would be mostly one sided.

My vocabulary in Japanese was and is very limited. After arriving at their home once again, the Grandfather showed me pictures of him and his wife in the American Southwest, on their most recent trip. That day was good because I was not sad. I was worried that I would not be able to go gift shopping during the trip.

The day after, I went to Fukuoka Tower. It gave a wonderful view of the Sea, the mountains, and the outlying islands. I did not spend much time there, as one can only spend so much time staring at the view. Afterward, my host brother, his friend, and myself went window shopping in Tenjin, a commercial district in downtown Fukuoka. We spent the evening playing video games and eating karaage bento.

Any Japanese shopping center will have at least one or two stores that have products or signs in English that make no grammatical sense. It is quite off-putting, but I said nothing of it. My handwriting is almost as much as an affront to English as those places. I always find it funny when I see Japanese people walking around with nonsense english on hats or shirts, just as much as when I see Americans with nonsense katakana on their clothes.

I did not talk much that day, because I was struggling to understand what people were saying. With my vocabulary, it is a near impossible task.

On Wednesday I took a calligraphy class, which was stressful, but fun. Calligraphy is very meticulous and it is very easy to make an error. My hands kept shaking, but I managed to do well enough. We practiced using the character夢. We also made our own signature stamps, with kanji used to represent our katakana names.

After that, I went to lunch. I went around the corner to get something from the street vendor I call the “Bento Guy” because I don’t know his name. He is very popular with the students at the language school. He sells all of his items for the same price: ¥300. That is pretty cheap considering that the food is good. After lunch comes four hours of Japanese lessons, which can be pretty tedious at times, but I have learned a lot.

After class, I went to buy gifts for my family, and spent about 76 USD and am still not finished yet. They are good gifts though, so I am not worried. I did want to try the cafes and restaurants in the shopping center in which I bought the gifts, but it seems I won’t have time. There were so many other things I want to do here too.

Living in Japan is something that I realize would not be an achievable goal for a gaijin such as myself, nor is it something I particularly want to do. Visiting is great, but sadly, time goes by fast, and is soon becomes time to return home. My hosts have been welcoming and considerate of my language difficulties. I am also sad to be leaving my new friends, who came here from all over the world, and whom I probably will never see again. I am leaving my language camp tomorrow, and two days later I am leaving the country. I hope I can remember the events that happened in these past three weeks in a good light, and I am sure I will.

 

Aden Jibril is 15 years old and lives in Oakland, California. His goal during his language program in Fukuoka, Japan is to “learn to cook at least one Japanese dish, increase my language skill, and to interact well with my host family.” Follow Aden’s adventures in Japan on his weekly blog post updates.

My experiences here at the language camp since last Friday were much more interesting. I feel as if I have settled in a little more. I have had no train mishaps (luckily). The one thing I hate most about this country is it is so HOT. The humidity on top of that is killing me as well. I am still not used to the dry heat of California, where I prefer to stay inside where it is safe from the sun. Here the heat is painful. This past Saturday was interesting, however.

This Saturday my host mother and sister and I went to the Dazaifu Tenmangu Jinja, a Shinto shrine located in Dazaifu. Dazaifu was the seat of government for all of Kyushu during the Nara and Heian periods of Japanese history. It was surrounded by large trees and dense greenery.

I was glad that it was raining while we were there. That gladness quickly turned to a slight sense of concern. I did not want to be sick for the rest of the trip, did I? Anyway, after we made our prayers, we got ice cream. It was pouring buckets outside at this point, so we ate inside a restaurant. There we bought mochi, which was the Temple specialty. It was filled with red bean paste, which was delicious. I have noticed that in America, red bean paste tastes nasty, which I do not understand.

Both my host sister and I were soaked. Me less so than her. Dinner was a bizarre combination of pasta, tempura, baguettes, and meat patties seasoned Japanese style. California needs the amount of rain that fell that day.

The next day was torturously hot. I could feel my life slipping away as I went for a bike ride with my host sister. She seemed used to that kind of heat. About an hour later, before I could clean up, we went to visit my host brother’s friend. He was cool, he likes to curse just like me, though Japanese has a much smaller amount of vulgarity than English.

After playing video games, we played UNO, which I sucked at. My host siblings, the friend, his brother, and I then proceeded to play the game of LIFE, which was a mistake, as it lasted THREE HOURS. Our dinner was Bulgogi, pizza, and rice balls.

On the way home, my host mom asked me if I had a big car and a big house. I get the sense that it’s a stereotype that Americans have many possessions, particularly large possessions. My response was that no, I don’t have a Jeep, no my house is not big. I was a bit embarrassed that I didn’t shower when I returned from the bike ride, but the past is the past.

The Wednesday afterward was also very, very hot. I went to Kushida jinja with a group of fellow students. The shrine was nice, but I liked the Dazaifu Tenmangu Jinja better because it was not in the middle of the city. There was a funny little statue of a person peeing out water, so that it served as a fountain as well. Fukuoka seems to have more of those than necessary (I saw a pair of those fountains last week).

Later that day, after the group returned to the school, I attended a “Casual Conversation Class,” where I had a mini bout of sadness. I could not understand much of anything of what the person I was talking to was saying, so he had to repeat himself a lot. I myself did not talk much at all. I felt like I failed my family and the others who supported me for my trip because I hadn’t improved. The class was useless for me, another thing to be added onto the list of things I am inept at.

The JR train is something I find a bit depressing. The crowds of people in the train always look so sad or tired, Like all they do is work and then go home and start all over again. It is a depressing way of life that I am certain I would not last in. I like traveling and eating new foods, but being stuck in one place and just soullessly working your life away is sad.

 

Aden Jibril is 15 years old and lives in Oakland, California. His goal during his language program in Fukuoka, Japan is to “learn to cook at least one Japanese dish, increase my language skill, and to interact well with my host family.” Follow Aden’s adventures in Japan on his weekly blog post updates.

 

My first few days in Japan have been a bit overwhelming. My hosts are a very welcoming and nice family, though we have had some troubles communicating due to mutual language difficulties. I have been mostly taking the train and walking to the language school, which has resulted in me getting lost and basically almost not getting home.

I took the rapid transit train, which skipped my stop and went into the outskirts of Fukuoka Prefecture. I had to wait 40 minutes before another train came, and it took another 30 to get back to my host family’s home. On the bright side, the station I was stuck at was surrounded by fog covered mountains. On the not-so-bright side, it was barely bright enough to see at that point.

Later, I went out for sushi with my hosts. It was one of those places where they have those conveyor belts that deliver the food, which was pretty cool. The sushi was also good.

As for school, I like that it starts later, at 10:00 a.m., rather than 8:00 a.m. normally. The station where I get off, that is near the school, is a major station. It seems to me to be like a combination of a mall, and a train station. There are ten floors of shops and restaurants, most of which I have not seen yet. I found that many parts of the station have gift shops with clay kitchenware, fans, chopsticks, etcetera, (I did not know that it was a touristy part of town).

When I get to school, I find a recreation room with several groups of young people, some playing Super Smash Bros. on the Wii U, some talking, and some doing homework from the previous night. I usually play video games until class starts, which usually begins around 90 minutes after I arrive (I make sure to leave early, just in case I get lost again).

Some of the morning classes we have done include a Japanese gift wrapping class, an udon making class, and a Taiko drumming class. I ended up frustrated after the wrapping class due to my apparent incompetence, and I did enjoy the Taiko class. After which we go get lunch.

There are many food places within the area of the school, and I have eaten things like Kara age, Ramen, and just Eki-Bento.

The afternoon class is Japanese language class, which goes on until 6pm. It’s boring to sit in a class for four hours, but necessary. Almost all of the people in my class are adults, and most of them do not have the same amount of language immersion that I would have, being young and living with a host family, so they have a little more trouble than I do.

I have gotten better at understanding Japanese, though my speaking skill leaves a lot to be desired. I have met people from many different countries, such as Germany, Sweden, Turkey, or Spain, which was nice, even though I am a little introverted. I still get nervous when boarding the train for fear of losing my way once again.

It has been an experience I will not forget, and this is only the first week! I felt a bit like a baby on my first day with my host family, stuck in a new world with barely a wisp of an idea of what was occurring. I was and still am very nervous because I am afraid of being impolite or making some kind of mistake that I myself am not aware of.

Until next week!

 

 

 

Aden Jibril is 15 years old and lives in Oakland, California. His goal during his language program in Fukuoka, Japan is to “learn to cook at least one Japanese dish, increase my language skill, and to interact well with my host family.” Follow Aden’s adventures in Japan on his weekly blog post updates.

Greenheart Travel is excited to send a group of amazing high school students to language camps overseas as part of our 2016 Travel Correspondent Scholarship awards. To help introduce our inspiring writers, we are doing a series of spotlight interviews to help you get to know a little more about who they are, where they will be headed and what inspired them to learn a new language abroad.

Read on to meet 15-year-old, Aden Jibril, our Greenheart Travel Correspondent from Oakland, California who’ll be traveling to Fukuoka for his summer language camp in Japan!

 

Favorite thing to do in your free time?

I like to read fantasy novels, make pastries, and watch TV (mostly Game of Thrones, historical dramas, and anime). I also enjoy Kpop and watching Korean variety shows.

A sample of freshly baked pastries.

Have you traveled abroad before?

I’ve traveled to Ethiopia, Kenya, Japan, and Mexico when I was very young. Of all the countries I went to, I liked Japan the most.

What got you interested in learning Japanese and traveling to Japan?

I’m embarrassed to say this, but manga was the first thing that got my attention at an early age. Now that I’m older, I have come to be fond of the beautiful language that is Japanese, and have seen the magnificent temples. This makes me want to go back and learn more.

What are you most excited about experiencing or seeing during your language camp?

I’m excited to spend time with my host family and go on trips. I also am looking forward to learning about Japanese calligraphy.

Why do you feel it’s important to travel to a new place and learn a new language?

Going to a new place can change how you look at the world, and I think that learning how other people do things can make you see yourself in a more critical light. It can generally make you a better person, if your mind is open to the opportunity.

What are you nervous about as you prepare for your language program?

I’m nervous that my Japanese won’t be good enough and that I will have missed some class activities (my class starts a week earlier). I’m very nervous because Japanese is a very hard language grammatically, and the written language is also super difficult to learn.

How well do you speak Japanese at this point?

I honestly did horribly on the placement test, but I think that my colloquial Japanese might be a tiny bit better.

How do you think you will change the most during your time abroad?

I think I’ll become more polite, and be less lazy. I think I’ll pick up bits of Japanese culture unintentionally and bring them back to America.

 

 

Aden Jibril is 15 years old and lives in Oakland, California. His goal during his language program in Fukuoka, Japan is to “learn to cook at least one Japanese dish, increase my language skill, and to interact well with my host family.” Follow Aden’s adventures in Japan on his weekly blog post updates.