By Chamiya Carnathan

Have you ever embarked on the journey of learning a new language only to find yourself drowning in doubts along the way? Were you plagued with questions like, “Am I really getting this right?” or “Will I ever be able to hold a conversation?” For me, learning Japanese has been a rollercoaster of doubt and determination. As I delved deeper into the language, doubts lingered as I was absorbing new material. Could I actually speak Japanese? 

On Saturday, March 30th, Japanese students from the TOMODACHI Amway Japan Foundation Tohoku Future Leader Program came to Washington DC. They were from the Tohoku area and I had the opportunity to immerse myself in their company. I spent the day with them from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

In the beginning, I found myself in an unexpected situation. Due to an odd number of Japanese Plus students, I wasn’t paired with a DC partner. Instead, I was thrust into conversations with two or three Japanese peers at a time without an English-speaking partner of my own. It was nerve wracking at first, however, it was thrilling. I realized that I could indeed hold my own conversation. I used new vocabulary such as “おすすめ” (recommend) and “みなさん” (everyone). It was really fun figuring out the extent to how much I understood from the Japanese students. Our conversations ranged from what type of music we like to listen to, to recommending each other different places to visit in our hometowns. 

For one of the activities, we were tasked with a challenge to design a virtual adventure tour for the American students, showcasing sightseeing spots from Tohoku. This activity was aimed to bridge cultural gaps and give us a taste of rural Japan. I was grouped with 3 Japanese students and my classmate, Kori. They were really eager to tailor their experience to our interests and asked us, “Would you want to hike? Do you want to eat traditional Japanese breakfast in the morning? Do you want to wake up early?” Based on me and Kori’s responses, they crafted the start of a morning. We would wake up at 5 am and journey to the top of Mountain Iwate to watch the sunrise. Afterwards, we would eat a traditional Japanese breakfast that consisted of Miso soup, rice, tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), and fish. During the activity, what struck the most was their choice that consisted of natural beauty and local traditions over the conventional tourist attractions such as museums and restaurants. It gave me a glimpse into the life of Tohoku.

After the activity, there was a panel to discuss the tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011 and how it affected Tohoku. The panel featured three Japanese adults, each sharing their perspectives on the disaster’s impact and the recovery efforts that followed. One of the panel discussions that I found interesting revolved around a disconnected landline phone, known as the “Phone of the Wind”. The phone is situated in a small white phone booth which overlooks the Pacific Ocean. However, it offers those left behind the opportunity to communicate with loved ones lost to the disaster. This discussion was interesting to me because it highlights how different cultures approach healing and remembrance. It not only shed light on Japan’s cultural response to disaster and loss, but also underscored the universal need for emotional outlets and communal healing, 

As the day unfolded, our adventures took us to the White House and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Every step of the way, I seized the opportunity to engage with as many Japanese students as possible, from creating a TikTok video to delving into a myriad of topics.

In those moments, doubts melted away, replaced by a newfound confidence in my abilities. It was a revelation, a tangible proof of progress that fueled my determination to continue this journey of language learning. This experience not only served as a communication revelation, but gave me more insight into Japan’s culture. 

By Chamiya Carnathan

Have you ever experienced a musical in another language? On January 13th, 2024, I had the privilege to watch “The Little Mermaid” in Japanese. 

Last November, the Director of the Okinawa Prefecture Office in DC, Mr. Kazuyuki Nakazato, invited Sally Schwartz and me to attend an Okinawan performance called The Heart of Ryukyuan Dance. Then last week, Mr. Nakazato gave Sally and some Japanese Plus students another opportunity to attend a performance called “Mermaid of the Blue Sea,” located at Lisner Auditorium. Adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, the performance featured Okinawan traditional dance and performance styles. I absolutely loved the performance. 

In The Little Mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen introduces a young mermaid princess who falls in love with a prince she saves from drowning. Seeking a chance to be with him, she makes a pact with a sea witch and trades her voice for human legs. However, Ariel will feel constant pain and will only survive if she wins the love of the prince and marries him. Despite captivating the prince, he marries another, unaware of Ariel’s sacrifice. Heartbroken, Ariel faces an ultimatum from the sea witch: kill the prince to revert to a mermaid or face death and become seafoam. Ariel chooses not to harm the prince, embracing her fate.

The Okinawan rendition of The Little Mermaid presented a unique musical experience. Despite the language barrier, the performers’ utilization of items, such as Sensu fans, was flawless. These fans were ingeniously used to represent ocean waves and various sea animals. The musicians were amazing, playing a musical score that effectively conveyed the intended emotions. The music, which was exquisitely melancholic, created a build-up to the touching moment when the little mermaid met her end. The utilization of the bingata costumes to determine if the little mermaid was a mermaid or a human was my favorite aspect of the performance. The little mermaid had a bingata that hung down to her feet, giving the impression that she was nearly gliding across the floor. Upon turning human, she began to show her legs by wearing a bingata that hung down to her knees.

My sole critique was a desire for a longer performance and wishing that I could see more. The production was visually captivating, easily comprehensible, and conceptually exquisite. I loved the performance and I hope to see another one in the future. 

By Chamiya Carnathan

In October, our Japanese teacher dropped some knowledge bombs and initiated us into the arts of the Japanese Rock-Paper-Scissors. Otherwise, known as じゃんけん (Janken)! Although it is called different names in different places, the rules of the game are generally the same in every country. 

グー (Guu) = Rock
チョキ(Choki) = Scissors 
パー (Paa) = Paper

To start the game, players show their fists at the same time. Players will say “じゃんけんぽん” (Jankenpon) which is a phrase to be chanted by the players together. Players are to show their hands at the same time when they say “ぽん”(pon). To make it more chaotic, in class, everyone battled against the teacher. The students were standing tall and ready to defeat the teacher, “せんせい,” in the game, while the teacher was positioned in the front with her hands ready. Victory belonged to the last person standing, the one who outsmarted せんせい. And if no one could beat her, せんせい emerged as the champion.

After the class played a round of じゃんけん against our teacher, せんせい taught the class a different version of じゃんけん. The game starts generally the same where players would show their fists at the same time. “じゃんけんぽん” is chanted at the same time and players would show their hands at “ぽん”. This is where the fun begins to play out. In this version, グー, チョキ, and パー represented different numbers. 

グー (Guu) = 1
チョキ(Choki) = 2
パー (Paa) = 5

Picture this, players unveiled their hands and a thrilling race begins. The challenge? Lightning-fast mental math. Here’s the twist: quickly announce the total in Japanese after adding up the numbers displayed on both hands! For example, player one has グー and player two has パー. The added number is 六 (6). The first person to yell out “六” wins the game. 

I personally love this version of じゃんけん. The more players in the mix, the crazier the number-crunching ride becomes. The pressure to add, convert to Japanese, and blurt it out first is super stressful but also really exciting. It’s also a great practice for learning numbers in Japanese. Whenever I play Rock-Paper-Scissors with my friends or family, I teach them the Japanese version. It’s so fun for both me and them because they learned a different version of じゃんけん and I’m excited to teach them about it.

By Chamiya Carnathan

This picture features General Frank D. Merrill with interpreters Herbert Miyasaki and Akiji Yoshimura. The photo represents a fraction of the 14 Japanese American linguists and infantrymen who were part of “Merrill’s Marauders,” which fought in the Asia theater after Pearl Harbor. This picture specifically intrigues me because the men are smiling at something behind the lens. Regardless of the cause of their smile, it’s heartwarming and comforting to me. These men of different ethnicities have worked with each other. They collaborate with a shared objective in mind. They are enjoying each other’s company. In a strange sense, it gives me comfort to know that anyone can enjoy each other’s company if these men, of different ethnic backgrounds, can. 

By Chamiya Carnathan

On November 18, 2023, Sally Schwartz and I attended the “The Heart of Ryukyuan Dance” performance which was located at Georgetown University’s Davis Performing Arts Center. Five masters of Ryukyuan dance from Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. were featured in the performance. The five Ryukyuan Dance Masters from various academies came together for the first time to share Ryukyuan culture and art. Sally and I were generously invited by the DC Okinawa Prefectural Office to both the performance and the reception afterwards, and I greatly appreciated the event that I attended. 

To provide some context about the significance of the Ryukyuan dance, Ryukyu is the ancient (and original) name for the Okinawa region of Japan. From its founding in the 15th century until its incorporation into Japan in the 19th century, Okinawa fostered its history and culture as the autonomous “Kingdom of Ryukyu” for 450 years.

I didn’t know what to expect when I attended the event but it was way better than I expected. In all, ten dances told stories that included cultural tapestries, love stories, and much more. Every dance was distinct in its own right, whether it was a lively, upbeat dance or a slow dance. I loved watching the dances and connecting the dance moves to the story itself. The dance that sticks in my memory the most is called “Kanayo Tenkawa River,” and it tells the story of two lovers who chose to exchange vows by the Tenkawa River. The fact that the dance included props made it something I truly adored. The dancers used a piece of cloth to show that they were interconnected through their love. 

The dancers’ demonstration of a move used in Okinawan dances to the audience was my favorite part of the performance. They then invited the audience to join in on the dance, which I thought was a great way to involve the audience. We were able to learn a cultural dance move and take it with us home. My other favorite event was the decision to combine GoGo music — Washington DC’s official music — to Ryukuyan dancing. I would never have imagined that the two cultures could coexist, so it was really fascinating to watch. Although the dance and music are very different from one another, they nevertheless blended incredibly well. 

I greatly appreciate the dancers and everyone involved for creating a wonderful experience. I loved every ounce of it and I would love to attend another event like this again. 

On June 1st, 2023, I was invited to attend NAFSA’s Annual Conference and Expo and connected with international educators from a variety of countries. I mainly went to the conference to connect with Japan’s universities and after talking to several universities, I was able to discover 5 that I am most interested in going to. I am studying to become a veterinarian, which means that I need to major in biological or veterinary sciences. Most of the universities that I interacted with were liberal arts schools and did not offer degree programs in English for biological sciences. However, there are 5 universities — Hokkaido University, International Christian University, Sophia University, Tohoku University, and Tokyo Metropolitan University — that offer biological sciences degree programs in English. I was so excited to add these colleges to my list, especially since I want to study in Japan!

By Chamiya Carnathan

One of the fondest memories that I have of Japanese Plus is the Cha Cha Slide. For the KAKEHASHI visits that occurred in March (March 18th and March 25th), the visits were broken up into 4 different parts. Conversational exchanges between Japanese and American students, the Japanese students teaching their culture to American students through presentations, American students showing their culture through a performance, and lunch time. Besides conversing with the Japanese students, my favorite part of the visit was teaching the Japanese students the Cha Cha Slide. 

The Cha Cha Slide is a very popular dance that relatively every American knows how to dance to. The history of the Cha Cha Slide is very interesting as it didn’t actually begin as a song or dance, but rather an aerobic workout. DJ Casper, the creator of the Cha Cha Slide, put music to the workout and began selling copies of the song. The rest is history, as the song became popular, and people are still dancing to it 20 years later.

Since the Cha Cha Slide is a popular dance and Japanese Plus wants to show the Japanese students a piece of American culture, the Cha Cha slide was the perfect choice. D’Amonie Armstrong and I chose to explain the significance of the dance and how to dance to it. First, we began explaining that the Cha Cha Slide is a pivotal dance that almost every American knows. You can practically dance it for every occasion, a wedding, a birthday party, prom, etc. Next, we showed the different moves that the Japanese students needed to know. Of course, we taught the basic Cha Cha move where you swish your hips while you move back and forth. We also taught that the dance is basically a huge instruction manual since the dance literally tells you when to go right, left, back, jump, stomp, etc. Lastly, we taught OUR version of the Charlie Brown move. We know that many people have different versions of the Charlie Brown move. Some may kick their feet up or spin around in a circle. But we decided that we would show the most iconic move (in my opinion), the running man move. It’s basically when the dancer does a hopping move with alternating feet and with arm motion. After D’Amonie and I finished explaining the instructions, we began dancing to the song. 

After we finished dancing to the Cha Cha Slide, I looked around and saw that everyone had smiles on their faces. The Cha Cha Slide helped everyone open up a bit as the Japanese students talked with the American students afterwards. I asked a few Japanese students whether they liked the dance and they said that they really liked it. I was very proud after I showed the dance to both KAKEHASHI groups. We showed a glimpse of what American culture is like.