8月23日
Osaka, Day 7:
I woke up (***flawless), packed my bag with a banana (provided free by my host—good lookin’ out, Toshi) and some water, then started my trek to Katano, where my friend teaches English. He kindly provided me directions on how to get from Namba (where I was staying) to Katano. It was about a 1.4 mile walk to the Japan Railroad Namba station, where I could get on a direct express bus to Katano that would take close to 50 minutes. The bus leaves every hour, and we agreed that I should take the 11:25 bus to get to Katano by 12:11. I left the hostel at around 10:30 to allot time for inevitably getting lost.
And I did. I didn’t look at the map closely enough when I had wi-fi and once I was on the streets (with no wi-fi) it was a little difficult to navigate. Also, it was pretty hot. My bottle of water provided some relief as I tried to walk through buildings and in their shade to get to JR Namba. I got a little confused as many subway exits had signs for “Namba Station” but not “JR Namba Station,” so I kept trekking in what I thought was the general direction of the station. Thankfully, I found the station at around 11:10, which gave me some time to cool down.
When I boarded the bus, I gestured with minimal Japanese about if the bus was going to stop at Kawachi Iwafune, and how much the ride would cost. I didn’t know that you paid when you left the bus, as when I started trying to pay the bus driver, he stopped me and directed me to the seats. (Cultural difference I guess, I’ve noticed it’s the same in Taipei as well—last time I used a bus in the States, we just paid before getting on)
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I chilled in the air conditioned bus and listened to some jpop on my way to Katano like a weeb—something I have not done since maybe grade 9. #butiamnotavictim #igrowfromitandilearn
Well, I got off at Kawachi Iwafune and waited a bit for my friend to show up, where he then walked me to the school he teaches at.
The university I go to in the States is affiliated with a sect of Japanese Buddhism that has built other schools at all levels, and he teaches at a junior high and high school. There is also an elementary school for the region, just down the street.
Our first stop was lunch, so we went to the cafeteria and he showed me the ins and outs of getting a school lunch, Japan style.
The food was so bomb, like.
Osaka, Day 7:
I woke up (***flawless), packed my bag with a banana (provided free by my host—good lookin’ out, Toshi) and some water, then started my trek to Katano, where my friend teaches English. He kindly provided me directions on how to get from Namba (where I was staying) to Katano. It was about a 1.4 mile walk to the Japan Railroad Namba station, where I could get on a direct express bus to Katano that would take close to 50 minutes. The bus leaves every hour, and we agreed that I should take the 11:25 bus to get to Katano by 12:11. I left the hostel at around 10:30 to allot time for inevitably getting lost.
And I did. I didn’t look at the map closely enough when I had wi-fi and once I was on the streets (with no wi-fi) it was a little difficult to navigate. Also, it was pretty hot. My bottle of water provided some relief as I tried to walk through buildings and in their shade to get to JR Namba. I got a little confused as many subway exits had signs for “Namba Station” but not “JR Namba Station,” so I kept trekking in what I thought was the general direction of the station. Thankfully, I found the station at around 11:10, which gave me some time to cool down.
When I boarded the bus, I gestured with minimal Japanese about if the bus was going to stop at Kawachi Iwafune, and how much the ride would cost. I didn’t know that you paid when you left the bus, as when I started trying to pay the bus driver, he stopped me and directed me to the seats. (Cultural difference I guess, I’ve noticed it’s the same in Taipei as well—last time I used a bus in the States, we just paid before getting on)
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I chilled in the air conditioned bus and listened to some jpop on my way to Katano like a weeb—something I have not done since maybe grade 9. #butiamnotavictim #igrowfromitandilearn
Well, I got off at Kawachi Iwafune and waited a bit for my friend to show up, where he then walked me to the school he teaches at.
The university I go to in the States is affiliated with a sect of Japanese Buddhism that has built other schools at all levels, and he teaches at a junior high and high school. There is also an elementary school for the region, just down the street.
Our first stop was lunch, so we went to the cafeteria and he showed me the ins and outs of getting a school lunch, Japan style.
The food was so bomb, like.
Dang.
Cold Udon noodles with or without meat, with a side of eggplant and your choice of pickles (I chose radish and ginger). Cold tea as you wish. You could also opt for Curry, and a few other options as well (I think there was a fish option and a "good health" option for those watching their diets).
After that, he showed me around the school for a little bit, but not without stopping to say hi to his students.
It was honestly really fun getting to meet his students. He teaches a couple classes in junior high and high school levels, and it was fun getting to interact with them. They would be surprised every time my friend would introduce me, since he would say that I’m from the American branch of schools that this sect of Japanese Buddhism has created. A lot of students in Japan who go to these schools for elementary/junior high/high school work really hard to apply for these schools, and many of them dream of going to the American branch (the one I attend) so it was cool getting asked questions like what the school is like, how do I enjoy the classes/extracurricular activities.
You can tell the students have a lot of passion and dedication to their studies to get the chance to study at the American branch of these Buddhist-affiliated schools. I feel like many of the American students don’t even have a clue of how hard these kids work.
Like, let me put it in perspective.
It was a Saturday afternoon. In the summer. And students were at school, studying and practicing their English.
You will NEVER find that kind of dedication in American school students (I talked to my friend about this who grew up going to American schools as well and we both agreed that it was a failure of the education system itself and not individual failures of students). But their persistence is astounding. They study together as a class and try to see how many hours they can log. The classes compete with each other and the amount of hours they study is ridiculous. I only hope one day that I can achieve that kind of will power with my studies.
I spent the majority of my afternoon chilling with some third-year high school students (equivalent to grade 12 in the States) and I asked them how many of them planned to apply to the university I attend, and most of them raised their hands. If they succeed and get high enough marks on their SAT, they could become part of the class of 2019 (where I would get the pleasure of meeting them again during my senior year). I really hope I get to see some of them again—I can tell each and every one of them had a bright future ahead of them and the way their eyes lit up when I’d tell stories of the American university I go to, I sincerely wish that I could share an academic environment with them. Their passions lie outside of studying, too, as one student’s ears perked up when I mentioned that we had a Jazz Band, and another student got excited when I mentioned the many dance clubs we have on campus (an apparent dance aficionado, as he apparently competes in many dance competitions and wins—but he’s too humble to talk about it, of course).
Of course we had lots of fun and I'd love to post pictures of my time with the students, but as a privacy concern raised by the school, I am not allowed to post pictures of the students online. However, here are some poorly drawn renditions of what it sort of looked like.
Cold Udon noodles with or without meat, with a side of eggplant and your choice of pickles (I chose radish and ginger). Cold tea as you wish. You could also opt for Curry, and a few other options as well (I think there was a fish option and a "good health" option for those watching their diets).
After that, he showed me around the school for a little bit, but not without stopping to say hi to his students.
It was honestly really fun getting to meet his students. He teaches a couple classes in junior high and high school levels, and it was fun getting to interact with them. They would be surprised every time my friend would introduce me, since he would say that I’m from the American branch of schools that this sect of Japanese Buddhism has created. A lot of students in Japan who go to these schools for elementary/junior high/high school work really hard to apply for these schools, and many of them dream of going to the American branch (the one I attend) so it was cool getting asked questions like what the school is like, how do I enjoy the classes/extracurricular activities.
You can tell the students have a lot of passion and dedication to their studies to get the chance to study at the American branch of these Buddhist-affiliated schools. I feel like many of the American students don’t even have a clue of how hard these kids work.
Like, let me put it in perspective.
It was a Saturday afternoon. In the summer. And students were at school, studying and practicing their English.
You will NEVER find that kind of dedication in American school students (I talked to my friend about this who grew up going to American schools as well and we both agreed that it was a failure of the education system itself and not individual failures of students). But their persistence is astounding. They study together as a class and try to see how many hours they can log. The classes compete with each other and the amount of hours they study is ridiculous. I only hope one day that I can achieve that kind of will power with my studies.
I spent the majority of my afternoon chilling with some third-year high school students (equivalent to grade 12 in the States) and I asked them how many of them planned to apply to the university I attend, and most of them raised their hands. If they succeed and get high enough marks on their SAT, they could become part of the class of 2019 (where I would get the pleasure of meeting them again during my senior year). I really hope I get to see some of them again—I can tell each and every one of them had a bright future ahead of them and the way their eyes lit up when I’d tell stories of the American university I go to, I sincerely wish that I could share an academic environment with them. Their passions lie outside of studying, too, as one student’s ears perked up when I mentioned that we had a Jazz Band, and another student got excited when I mentioned the many dance clubs we have on campus (an apparent dance aficionado, as he apparently competes in many dance competitions and wins—but he’s too humble to talk about it, of course).
Of course we had lots of fun and I'd love to post pictures of my time with the students, but as a privacy concern raised by the school, I am not allowed to post pictures of the students online. However, here are some poorly drawn renditions of what it sort of looked like.
#i'magoodartistiswear
Anyways, towards the end of my day, my friend had some of his junior high students give us a small tour of the campus in their best English. He said it’s more difficult for the junior high students to practice their English as they do not get many chances outside of class to use it (whereas high school students have more opportunities) so he wanted to gauge how well they were doing. Despite some miscommunications, they were doing astoundingly well for 14 year old Japanese students. If you asked me to give a tour in the language I was studying at that age (merely a semester or so of Spanish), I would probably laugh sarcastically and then not do it. But here they were, describing landscapes and certain activities they do throughout the year.
Anyways, towards the end of my day, my friend had some of his junior high students give us a small tour of the campus in their best English. He said it’s more difficult for the junior high students to practice their English as they do not get many chances outside of class to use it (whereas high school students have more opportunities) so he wanted to gauge how well they were doing. Despite some miscommunications, they were doing astoundingly well for 14 year old Japanese students. If you asked me to give a tour in the language I was studying at that age (merely a semester or so of Spanish), I would probably laugh sarcastically and then not do it. But here they were, describing landscapes and certain activities they do throughout the year.
My friend, unfortunately, had a meeting at 4:30 and so we stopped close to 4:00 to get back to the bus station. Unfortunately, we were waiting on a couple of his junior high students to come with (since they were apparently supposed to leave hours earlier but wanted to stick around? Dedication. Choosing to spend more time at school on a Saturday during summer vacation) and with a 25-minute walk ahead of us, we were cutting it a little short.
We actually ran a good two blocks toward the end in order for me to catch my bus.
As I boarded the bus, my friend gave me a small care package from the school, and we parted ways.
I took the bus back to Namba, and although I originally thought I wanted to do something a lil’ fun for my last night in Osaka, I was a little tired and emotionally fulfilled from just visiting my friend’s school, that I decided to stay home, cook a simple dinner, and pack up my clothes to be ready to leave Osaka.
I definitely did not accomplish everything that I wanted to (like go to a host club, or actually just a club in general) but I think I began to notice a trend where I visit a country for a week, have a couple of days of boring nothingness, have a lot of fun towards the end of my trip, and ultimately not want to leave.
I’ve learned so much already about people and about myself just from these short trips to Seoul and Osaka, that I can only imagine the kinds of things I’ll learn when I officially start my semester in Taipei.
As I boarded the bus, my friend gave me a small care package from the school, and we parted ways.
I took the bus back to Namba, and although I originally thought I wanted to do something a lil’ fun for my last night in Osaka, I was a little tired and emotionally fulfilled from just visiting my friend’s school, that I decided to stay home, cook a simple dinner, and pack up my clothes to be ready to leave Osaka.
I definitely did not accomplish everything that I wanted to (like go to a host club, or actually just a club in general) but I think I began to notice a trend where I visit a country for a week, have a couple of days of boring nothingness, have a lot of fun towards the end of my trip, and ultimately not want to leave.
I’ve learned so much already about people and about myself just from these short trips to Seoul and Osaka, that I can only imagine the kinds of things I’ll learn when I officially start my semester in Taipei.