Category: Thoughts

Shiken: TEST LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT

Published February 26, 2013 by Alisha

(Remember how I said I was going to just write about stuff without so much unnecessary nitpicking? Yeah, my computer crashed and burned a little while after that and I still haven’t got it fixed. I have bad luck with them.)

What if your whole life depended on a test? I’m not talking about a medical test in this case (though I’m willing to bet that quite a few people have had their lives hang in the balance of one of those). Instead I’m talking about an educational test. I can’t quite fathom the amount of stress that must get put on a person when they know that their ability to to pass an examination could be a huge determining factor in the groundwork for the rest of their life.

What were you like when you were a high school student? I think I was a pretty average kid. I did pretty well in school, took some honor classes, and had some friends. I generally did my homework, played some sports, and hung around my house doing normal teenagery things. If you had told teenage me that my entire future could potentially depend on a test I’d be taking my senior year of high school with no real chance for a “re-take”, I’d probably have been a little worried.

Yes, American students do have the SAT test, which is a general aptitude test. Some might argue that the SAT is a future-determiner of a test, but I disagree.

I remember my very first full day in Japan. Jet-lagged though my Grandmother and I were, we hopped on our trusty yellow Hato Bus and took a day tour. That tour included a visit to Meji Jingu, right smack dab in the heart of Tokyo. Part of just about any religion I can think of is prayers (or some variation of that; you might call it a “wish”). Shintoism incorporates prayers/wishes as well. At shrines, visitors can purchase small wooden placards, write their desires on them, and hang them up in the shrine, hoping to get a little extra attention from the powers that be.

Our tour guide asked us what we thought was the most wished-for thing. Of course, we guessed: “Health?” “A happy relationship?” “Money?”

Nope.

The #1 wish is to pass the university entrance exam.

Every year, in winter-spring, universities have tests. Part of the application process for university in Japan means you take this test (and pass) to become a student. There are some tests that can be applied to several universities, but many universities also have their own tests year after year that students must study specifically for.

Yesterday (February 25th), happened to be “shiken” day, or “test” day at the university where I work one day a week. Exam day is taken very seriously. I had to show ID to gate guards just to be let on campus in the morning. Motley crews of what were obviously high school students milled around looking nervous.

It’s easy to forget what it’s like to be a high school student when you are not one yourself, and you don’t really spend much time around one. Could you imagine being that high school student and being asked to take a test that might determine the rest of your life? One of my coworkers explained that there really are no options for “transfer” within universities, or “community college” options for students who cannot pass these tests. Admittedly, some tests are much more rigorous and difficult than others, but could you imagine what life must be like in the lead-ups to these exam days? When I was teaching, I remember learning about how some of my senior-year high school students no longer studied regularly for the last half of their final year. Instead, their curriculum shifted exclusively to studying for these tests. Thankfully, my students all passed their university tests and got into universities they were very happy about.

I suppose when this sort of educational culture is what you grow up in, it’s perhaps a little less terrifying to think about (but maybe only slightly). I’d have been a ball of stress and angst at that age without the fear of such a test looming overhead, but I like to think I could still have done it.

It’s an interesting and different approach to higher education, and it makes me think about what sort of programs and curricula are in place in other countries.

What do you think? If your future, your education, your job, and your livelihood could all potentially ride on a pass/fail on a single test, do you think you could pass? Or would you turn into a shriveled ball of terrified humanity? Would you even try?

The aftermath of the aftermath

Published March 26, 2011 by Alisha

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami now two weeks ago gave Japan a lot to clean up. Most notably, the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Northern Japan. Concern arose following the earthquake and tsunami when power was cut off to the plants, preventing temperature regulation. For about the last week, teams have been working day and night to get the situation under control. While at the time of writing this post, the situation at the reactor seems to be in a somewhat-controlled state, there have been some effects.

Products from Fukushima and surrounding prefectures have been discovered with higher than normal amounts of radioactive material on/in them. Leafy greens and milk were most recently discussed – images of farmers disposing of the contaminated products can be seen all over the web. Many countries stopped accepting shipments of these kinds of products as a precaution to their citizens.

Water was also effected as a result of the situation at Fukushima. On Wednesday, radioactive iodine was detected in water supplying much of Tokyo and some of the surrounding areas. Officials declared the water unsafe for infants to drink, but acceptable for adult consumption. The statement was made under the assumption that the radiation would be present in the water long-term. However, this fortunately does not seem to be the case. Thursday, officials stated the radiation detected in the water had dropped, and had become safe for consumption by all once more.

Regardless of this, it still resulted in immediate attempts to hoard water, especially among families with very young children. Tokyo distributed 240,000 bottles of 550ml water bottles to families with infants in an effort to assuage fears and provide assistance. Every vending machine I’ve come across recently shows there is no water available.

machinenowater — The red kanji denotes items that are sold out.

Signs posted in convenience stores and supermarkets note a restriction for some goods, including water, milk, and bread. Somehow, my local 7-11 seems to be perpetually stocked with water, despite all this. The water is labeled as “French” mineral water, though. Given France’s reaction to the recent events here, I wouldn’t be surprised if leaving this water on the shelves was a subtle statement by the Japanese. Who knows.

waterration — Shoppers are limited to one or two bottles of water, depending on the size they purchase.

This aside, Tokyo is quickly resuming business as almost-usual. Many stores and businesses have shorter hours and less lighting in an effort to conserve power all across the city. Trains run at slightly different schedules. Mostly, however, people, are continuing about their normal lives as best they can.

The only real issue still present in Tokyo is paranoia. Stress and lack of proper sleep combined with steady streams of news have produced a very weary population. A recent report on the news discussed something many citizens were apparently very concerned with – a “strange” yellow substance on the ground all over the city following the previous day’s rain.

pollen — The offending substance on the ground outside my apartment

“Is it radioactive?! Is that the result of acid rain?! WHAT IF WE STEPPED IN IT?!”

These were some questions asked honestly by the population. The news took the time to interview an expert about this mysterious substance, who calmly stated (probably after heaving a big sigh and rolling his eyes): “It’s pollen. It rained, and stuck to the ground, because it was in the air before.” I’m willing to bet the expert would have liked to add: “Go take a nap, you paranoid idiots.”

It’s become far too easy to be scared about regular aspects of life. People have even forgotten it’s allergy season, despite pollen level broadcasts on the trains and on TV.

Life is returning to normal, though. Rather than spend my time hovering in front of the news and worrying about the well being of Tokyo, it’s clear there are better, more productive things to be doing. Relief efforts in Japan are underway. Contributing to the aid of those affected by the disaster in Northern Japan should really be the current focus of the media and other concerned parties. Heartbreaking stories now litter the news – a father who had to bury his three daughters, an elderly husband and wife unable to leave the evacuation areas because the husband suffers from dementia and is unable to walk. People are unable to find even the simplest of items like clean socks, underwear, or blankets.

At this time, it unfortunately appears as though physical items cannot be sent north at this time – I’m hoping it’s because there’s already a surplus of supplies, but traffic is posing a problem. Regardless of this, I know many are coordinating relief efforts both online and in their communities to help the affected people in Northern Japan in any way possible. I hope the media and public can shift into aid mode to help those who need it.

I’ll continue to write about this and more information where applicable, but I do also want to continue including information about regular life, like previous blog posts. Tokyo needs some normal. Thanks for following along throughout all of this, and thanks for your feedback.

Scenes From Summer

Published October 13, 2010 by Alisha

I’ve gotten pretty backlogged with my photos. Summer is finally winding down (at least, I think it is – some days the weather still seems unsure of what month is is), and we’re transitioning into Autumn, at long last. The weeks of complaining about the heat have been abandoned and will be soon replaced by weeks of complaining about the cold. Most of my summer wasn’t experienced through the lens of a camera. However, a few new pictures made their way onto my hard drive. I’ve chosen the best (read: least crappy) to share.

First (because there’s only one photo worth sharing): this photo is from Koenji Awaodori. A huge, jam-packed parade through the streets near Koenji station. Dancing, music, drunk city folk, food, and fun.

Second: The Asakusa Samba matsuri. Old-timey tourist-friendly Asakusa meets scantily clad, noisy, feathery, busty Brazil. Dancing, music, drunk city folk, and fun (again). With about 3000% more boobs and glitter than Koenji awaodori. Wish I could have counted the zoom lenses and flannel shirts.

Lastly, I visited Honmonji temple to the southish westish of the metro area for another obon matsuri. You may have seen my video on YouTube about the circle dancing festival from Gifu prefecture – many, many of these style festivals took place in the summer – this was the same deal. Also, dancing, drunk city folk, food, and fun (sensing a trend here?).

This temple is beautiful – I arrived just as the sun was going down after hiking around the area for a while trying to determine if I was going the right way. It’s at the top of a hill, and there’s a very ethereal quality about the whole place. The pictures don’t do it justice.

Food choice at these festivals is pretty standard wherever you go – meat on a stick, okonomiyaki, yakisoba, chocolate bananas, and takoyaki (think doughnut holes, but made with octopus and batter instead).

I had my first taste of okonomiyaki at this festival (pictured rather unappealingly below). It’s like a pancake pizza thing made with cabbage that they cover in a sauce and you dip in mayonnaise. I realize how unappetizing that sounds. I’m still undecided if I like it or not – I got about halfway through my portion before I decided I was uninterested in eating the rest. Maybe it’s better to try it…not…at a festival.

This is the central “dance tower”, where all the obon dances are performed.

The stairs leading up to the temple. I apparently arrived at the bank entrance, via a hill. These stairs in the evening really lent to the otherworldly feel of the place – probably moreso when there’s less people around.

Lastly, this is a photo of what I was looking at while I was eating the previously mentioned okonomiyaki. I was parked on the steps of a temple older than my home country eating a new food, and looking at this view when I had a “wow, this is my life” moment.

Moments like those are just one of many reasons I enjoy living where I do. Sometimes I’m still surprised that I made it here and I’m experiencing things like this. Mostly, I’m just grateful. These are good times.

Apologies for the lack of updates recently – there’s been some changes in my schedule and my free time is now limited (and treasured!). I haven’t forgotten all things internet – I have some ideas for videos, I just haven’t put them into action yet. I’m still somewhat active on Twitter, but my content isn’t strictly Japanese-culture-related. Feel free to check it out. As always, thanks for reading!

Recap: Pink Ball 2009

Published December 3, 2009 by Alisha

I’ve been lazy about finishing the video from Pink Ball, but there’s really no excuse not to put up some stills from the video and explain.

Pink Ball is a big fundraiser gala; different from the run in that it’s a black tie event where people are supposed to come and spend massive amounts of money, eat exciting food, and be entertained. The run and the ball were very different beasts to plan. This year’s ball saw about 210 participants attending. We organized somewhere around 100 prizes, entertainment from Taiko group Gocoo (again, yes, they’re great), bands provided by Janica Sims of J-cast (she’s fabulous), and a “surprise” performance by magician Cyril. Everything ran very smoothly, so most people working (me included) got to enjoy a little of the entertainment. I have pictures of nearly everything, save for Cyril’s performance (My boss instructed me to slay anyone taking pictures during his act, to be honest).

I spent the morning at the office wrapping up a few loose ends and cleaning off my desk because Pink Ball was my last day. Francesca and I had to wait around for our programs to arrive (they had been stuck in customs, as you may have seen on my twitter feed from that day). A few more last minute packages came in, I had a few things to prepare, but then we were off to the hotel. By the time I arrived, most things were setup. My only job was to guard a box we had prepared with hundreds of thousands of yen for caterers, the band, etc. So I sat and filmed/took photos. These photos are almost all stills from what will eventually be in the YouTube video. Richard the Irish designer definitely caught me filming myself. Oops.

These are photos from setup. The registration table:

Silent auction (and the corner of the jaguar on display):

This is the multitude of gift bags we had prepared for the guests to take after the party ended. I think most of the attendees completely forgot to pick them up (thanks for the tasty drinks, Bacardi!).

This Jaguar was part of a live auction package. It was combined with a couple of Tokyo hotel stays. The winner would get to take this Jaguar for the weekend. Sounds fun and all, but where in Tokyo can you drive this car like it’s supposed to be driven?

Rehearsals for MCs, speeches, etc. all took place a few hours before the actual event. My boss spent most of his time in here looking very worried. He’s the one at the right of the stage looking like he’s breaking into a panicked run (he probably was).

The ballroom was completely ready when I arrived at around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. The Westin Tokyo (the hotel where the ball was held) did a really amazing job preparing everything.

The star room (opposite the ballroom) played host to a band and the open bar prior to the ballroom being opened. I didn’t spend much time in here.

Live auction item descriptions were setup for guests to peruse before the live auction itself.

We had a wide variety of silent auction items available; everything from these “luxury products” to services and gift certificates for tons of awesome, awesome places. I found myself questioning the “luxury” aspect of some of the “luxury products”, but as long as people bid on them, I had to keep my mouth shut.

My boss organized one of his makeup artist friends, Teddy Lim, to do hair and makeup for performers and for people getting portraits taken. He snuck Naoko and I into the lineup too (sorry it’s blurry, he was moving fast):

Once we established that everything was prepared (and guests started to arrive), we changed into our attire for the night and got to relax, amazingly. There were very few mishaps (that I knew about, anyway), and they were quickly and efficiently dealt with. I was pleasantly surprised with how much of the evening I got to experience.

I received a backhanded compliment from the guy from the diamonds company (“you look beautiful! I’m surprised!”), but Naoko assured me he meant well, though she could see how in English it does sound a little mean. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. A band played in the star room at the beginning of the night. We ushered everyone into the ballroom after about an hour, where Gocoo played, and their amazingly passionate leader, Kaoly, gave a speech. Gocoo and Tawoo worked with us on a number of events. A couple of their members are breast cancer survivors, so they really identified with the work RFTC was doing, and they were happy to help. Fantastic group. I can’t say enough good things about them.

Our MCs for the night, Jason and Janica, did a fabulous job. Both were bilingual, and Jason was so inadvertently hilarious I couldn’t help but like him. I heard him in the volunteer staff area saying “I’m worried my hair is too pointy!” When he’s not doing MC gigs, he is a cheerleader coach at a high school. Mmmhhmmmm. By the end of the night he was trying to give out dance lessons to drunk guests. Sheer magic, I tell you.

Mark Ferris (our auctioneer for the event) did a fantaaaastic job. I saw the video of the guy who did the auction last year, and it was over in about 10 minutes (there were about 10 items). This year’s guy was energetic, funny, and wasn’t afraid to harass guests into bidding. We had some really interesting prizes; trips to Beijing to stay at a summer palace, a stable tour from a sumo legend, and that Jaguar/hotel stay package I mentioned earlier. We also had a last minute donation of a helicopter ride to and from Narita airport. Crazy!

All in all, a fun, interesting event to attend. I didn’t really do much on the actual night. I was finally able to busy myself once everyone went home – taking everything down was a pretty quick and painless process. Taro, Naoko and I were due up at the top floor bar for the afterparty, but unfortunately when we finished at around 2 AM, the bar was closing down. Too bad. But it was yet another unforgettable experience.

I did try to sum up my feelings about the whole internship when I was alone in the volunteer room, but the sound is really, really horrible for some reason so I doubt I’ll put this bit in the video. But it was nice to have a bit of reflection about the experience. Quite the whirlwind.

I had some actual photos and some more video from the event, but I’m having a hard time finding them on my camera. I’m not sure what happened, but the only images I can find are from a couple of the ladies at the event and one of the jaguar. I’ll keep looking and see if I can find them and get some better quality photos up. Bummer.

As I mentioned, this was my last day of work. It was surreal and I still can’t believe the whole thing is done and over with. As some readers may know, I’m back in the states at the moment. I won’t lie; I didn’t want to come home. The last few months were like nothing I’ve ever done before, and the time I had was far too short. A lot of things changed in that small period of time, but I think ultimately they were changes for the better. Coming home has been a bit of a shock for me; so much about life here just doesn’t mesh with my personality anymore. Maybe that’s good, maybe that’s bad. I’m still not sure. But either way, I’ve made plans to return to Tokyo at the beginning of 2010 for a much longer-term stay.

I guess that about finishes up the posts about the internship. Wow, there it goes! It’s done and over with! It all feels like a blur right now, and I think in some ways it was a blur when I was working, too. I remember reading complaints from people about working occasional overtime in the states, and then I’d laugh to myself and look at a clock in the office that read 2:00 AM. Strangely enough, I really, really miss it. It was so easy to complain about not having enough sleep or not having enough time to do the things I want to do, but I found that I thrive on that sense of purpose. I need that pressure all the time to get up in the morning and motivate me to do things. Since I’ve been back I haven’t been the same. I’ve done nothing but apply to any and all jobs (including plenty of crappy seasonal ones around here) just so I’ll have something to do. It’s driving me crazy! Sure, watching TV shows and sleeping in is great to a certain extent, but I have to have something to do.

I’m working on securing employment in Tokyo for next year, and until then just hanging around at home with my family. Things could always be worse! For those who are interested, the blog will still be updated. My parents came to Japan for about a week and a half after my internship concluded, and I have tons of photos to ramble about. I’m also going to put up some “home for the holidays”-ish stuff. I have to find things to do! So keeping the blog updated is one way to go about it, I guess. I’ve tried to confine my snark and short non-blog-worthy musings to my Twitter feed, and may do an occasional blogtv show here and there (trying to convince my brother to join me). So I’m still around! YouTube will be updated with the same stuff that gets posted here, I think.

Thanks for reading about this experience. It was a life changer in many ways for me, and I can’t wait to get back.