Differences

Ha ha so much for keeping up with the blog, huh?

So yes I have returned from my crazy Japan adventure! Six weeks of studying and three weeks of traveling! Spent 57 days in Japan last year and 67 days this year. Holy cow I've spent 124 days of my life in Japan. Aaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, the point of this post is supposed to be the differences between my two trips to the land of the rising sun. Let's get started, shall we?

Last year I had studied Japanese for around 6 months but when I arrived in Japan I realized I couldn't understand anything and proceeded to get lost in Haneda Airport and train stations for the next 4-5 hours. This knocked down my confidence considerably so the only traveling I did was with my study abroad program and getting back to the airport. By the end of my trip I was able to understand basic stuff and it felt magical.

Now we have this trip. Didn't get lost getting from Narita airport all the way to my university and made friends starting as early as my night bus ride from Tokyo to Akita. Made a ton of friends and was going out every weekend from the first week. Had class 3 hours a day five days a week. My vocabulary about doubled (still only about 500 words, though 😂) and learned enough grammar to communicate my thoughts and reasoning a bit. Learned how to take buses, buy train tickets from a cashier, visited an onsen, played the famous taiko drum arcade game, wore a yukata to a festival, and traveled all over Japan. I took city buses, night buses, trains, subways, shinkansens, and of course flew to Japan. My program had two big field trips to Oga peninsula and Kakunodate and in the three weeks after my study abroad program I traveled to Sendai, Matsushima, Tokyo, Nagaoka, Ojiya, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka.

Okay so yes I went a lot more places this time but the biggest difference I noticed in those last six weeks is that I can actually talk to people now. I started talking to people when I had host students but by the time I finished my study abroad program I realized I can actually somewhat follow some of the conversations around me. At the convenience stores I can actually understand what they say, not just guess from context. When I got to Ojiya I went to a fireworks festival with one of my host students and when I met her at the train station she commented that I actually understand now 😂. Talked to her and her friend as best as I could in Japanese and could understand them if they talked directly to me (simply, of course) and could follow their conversation at times. Went to another festival and lunch with an adult student of mine and could at least function trying to keep up with any questions that were asked. However, I have to say one of my proudest moments was talking to the lady next to me on the train from Nagaoka to Niigata. She just asked me where I was from and how long I had been in Japan and if I was traveling alone and stuff like that, but the fact that I could talk to a complete stranger was amazing.

Not to discount my studies last year, but this year I learned a lot and got to experience Japan more than before. Both experiences are important to getting me to where I am today.