Category: Felipe Lemos

Felipe: My Experience with Japanese Plus

Leave a comment

By Felipe Lemos

Before joining Japanese Plus, I had some interest in Japanese culture but very little interest in the Japanese language. Unlike some of my other classmates, I was first introduced to Japanese culture by visiting there with my family when I was 11 years old. I loved the trip and the country so much that I decided when I got back to start learning Japanese with a private tutor. Unfortunately, that idea fizzled out since my tutor had to move for work just 6 months into my journey. For years after that I never even thought about Japan or the Japanese language, I wasn’t too interested in Japanese history or pop culture, and I would have never joined the program had my mom not gotten an email advertising it. She asked me if I was interested, especially considering it would not be my first rodeo with the language, and for the sake of trying new things (and hearing that learning a new language was really good for your brain), I decided to sign up. When I first walked into class at MLK Library for the first time, I had no idea how much I was going to learn. I mean I had no idea what even “mina-san” meant the first time I had heard it. I hoped to at least be able to speak some level 1 or 2 Japanese by the end of my two years with the program, but I had no idea of the fun memories, cultural experiences, and immense studying and learning that was still to come.

The Hiragana Test:


Learning Hiragana was our first real test of any sort of real Japanese learning. Up to then we had been learning the occasional words and theorizing about the way grammar and sentence structure worked but we had no real thing we could point to that proved our knowledge and what we had learned. Hiragana was like the steppingstone into an entirely new realm of the Japanese language, writing. Just looking at my hiragana writing from the past makes me reminisce about how much I struggled memorizing those darn characters. However, it really gave me the first benchmark of my progress with the language. Something to be proud of that would keep me motivated to keep learning. While I don’t remember doing too well on the test itself, the entire learning process of Hiragana challenged the whole group in a new way and made us realize how much we had learned even though this was just the beginning.

The Haiku Competition:


While it wasn’t a huge event for everybody in the group, this competition holds a special place in my memories of the program because it made me realize that I had a passion for learning the language and could accomplish things using it. I submitted my haiku at the last minute, expecting nothing and received an award and had my poem displayed in an exhibition at the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC). This was a special moment to me as it showed me that there were real-world benefits to this. I was really getting to make connections and even win awards through the program which just motivated me more to keep going.

The First Exchange:


The first exchange group of high school students we met will always be a fond memory for me. Being able to tap in more to the cultural learning part of the program by actually meeting people from Japan who were our age was fascinating. Comparisons were drawn over every part of our everyday lives making me realize that there was so much different between us yet so much the same. This was also our first chance to really try and have sustained conversations with native Japanese speakers which admittedly didn’t go too well but it was a fantastic experience nonetheless. It was humbling seeing how little we really knew but this experience also opened our eyes to realize that there was still so much to learn in the next years and that maybe one day we would be able to converse on equal footing.

The NAFSA Conference:


The NAFSA conference was an opportunity for me to branch out into a new possibility for my future with Japan, study abroad. The conference hosted many colleges from around the world including many from Japan. The COI (Connection, Opportunity, and Initiative) program that we visited with invited us to meet with many of these Japanese college representatives to learn about their campuses and the programs they offer both in English and in Japanese. This event really gave me a view into what Japan could mean to me in the future of my education, maybe not as a full 4-year college experience but as a shorter study abroad opportunity.

The Tidal Basin Walk:


Around the beginning of our second year we went on a walk around the Tidal Basin but with one important rule. We were only allowed to speak Japanese with each other on the whole walk. If we wanted to comment on anything we saw or have any conversations we had to try and make it work using what we had already learned. Throughout the walk, we learned how to play rock paper scissors and many variations of it in Japanese to keep us entertained. We even learned a version where the way to win was to count the total amount of fingers the players had up after picking rock, paper, or scissors. This walk helped me familiarize myself with common Japanese phrases and slang speech as I was talking in a new context that I hadn’t been in before.

The Navy Yard Visit:


The Navy Yard visit was an important event to me because it was a real project and presentation that we did outside of our program. Doing this remembrance project I felt like I was doing something in the community outside of just learning, which is a key part of Japanese Plus and Globalize DC. To remember the events of Pearl Harbor, we decorated wreaths and wrote statements acknowledging the events and paying condolences to those who lost their lives. We then visited the Navy Yard complex and presented our wreaths and our statements out loud. This felt like a significant event we prepared for and involved us in the community outside of the classroom.

The Final Exchange:


The final exchange we did was with a group of children from the TOMODACHI Program, a program created following the 2011 East Japan Earthquake to form friendships between Japanese and American students. The word “tomodachi” means friend in English and the program brings students from the Tohoku region affected by the earthquake to the US. In their visit to us, we had a panel where we talked to a variety of people who have lived in both the US and Japan. We also set up conversations to talk to each other in Japanese to practice and also went to the Smithsonian American History museum as a visit. I think what I liked the most about this program was comparing it to our first ever exchange over 1 and a half years before. I knew how to speak so much more the second time compared to the first time which made me proud of my progress. It also gave me hope just like the first time that the next time I tried speaking in a group setting I’d be able to speak even better.

The Final Presentation:


The final presentation marks the end of my Japanese Plus journey. Throughout all the trials and hardships I had faced up to this point, I had finally made it and I had my final skit performance to show for it. I was able to perform my lines flawlessly, making little to no mistakes in my speaking and having good pronunciation. Unlike in my first skit performance, I knew the meaning of almost every word I was saying and felt comfortable as if I was speaking a language that I knew. This success compared to the subsequent speech I gave and diploma I received rounded off my Japanese Plus experience perfectly.

If pre-program me could see the progress I have made over these two years of learning, I believe he would be impressed by how much I had learned and how much I was able to say. I think he’d also discover how many friends and connections I made throughout the program who have changed my life for the better. I think just him seeing how I was able to perform on the STAMP test would have impressed him, especially with the listening and speaking portions.

If I were to give one piece of advice to somebody looking to start learning Japanese, I’d say first of all to go for it since I think it is a beautiful language that is challenging but rewarding to learn and has thousands of years of history and culture to be discovered. I’d also recommend trying out the basics of it on your own before committing. While Japanese may appear very difficult at first, Hiragana and Katakana can be used to read a lot and is easily learned through self-study. Basic sentence structure is also fairly easy to learn once you get the hang of the grammar. Following that, I’d enroll in any basic class and always study 5-10 minutes a day to brush up on anything you may be struggling with. I’d especially suggest dedicating a chunk of that time specifically to reading because the more you master the basic reading of Hiragana and Katakana, the less you will regret it later on.

As for the future, I am adamant in continuing my Japanese learning journey. I hope to enroll in a higher-level course for my senior year outside of the program and carry that learning on into college. I’m not sure quite yet if I want to commit fully to studying 4 years in Japan but either way, I will definitely do all I can to study abroad for some period of time in the country. I hope to not only remember and continue my learning of Japanese going forward, but always keep a special place in my heart for this program, Japanese Plus, which kickstarted my journey and provided me with invaluable friendships and fun for these fantastic two years.

Thank you to my teachers, Takahashi-sensei, Tsujioka-sensei, and Hamano-sensei, as well as all of my classmates and of course, Sally, for making this program possible and making it what it is today.

TOMODACHI=Friends

Leave a comment


By Felipe Lemos

On March 30th, I as well as the other members of Japanese Plus had the privilege of welcoming 16 Japanese high school students to DC and to our program. The TOMODACHI (which translates to “friend”) Exchange Program was originally created following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake to bring Japanese students from the Tohoku region to the US as a way of maintaining the bond between Japan and the US. These exchanges still happen today and we were lucky to be a part of one.

When the students first arrived, we welcomed them by explaining our program and what we do and initiated the social activities with a rotation of speaking partners. We formed groups of 2-3 people and went around talking to the students about our respective lives and similarities between them. I found similarities with the students especially in videogames, sports, like tennis and soccer, and music tastes. I met two guys that I had a lot in common with and they supported me during the group presentations we had to do shortly after, by cheering me on and giving me tips. Our presentations were about different places in DC that may not be as famous but are worth knowing about to understand DC, like Anacostia, the Tidal Basin, and Georgetown. I even mentioned some fun facts like how Georgetown had the best movie theater seats.

Following the presentation we walked to the American History Museum. In smaller groups, we then toured the museum. The museum had very nice exhibits that I feel overall represented American culture well. One of my favorites was an exhibit that showed American pop culture throughout the decades, including sports achievements/jerseys, movie props, and famous outfits. I also enjoyed the exhibit that showed how the average American house changed throughout history from the 1700s to today. It was an experience I enjoyed a lot and I’d love to participate in exchanges in the future.

A Visit to “Recapturing Happiness” at the JICC

Leave a comment


Jennifer Pineda

On March 11th, some Japanese Plus colleagues and I visited the “Recapturing Happiness: The Enduring Spirit of Ishinomaki” exhibit at the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC). The JICC holds events free to the public to learn more about Japan, Japanese culture, and Japan relations. I was informed that the exhibit was about 3/11, the earthquake that caused a tsunami in Tohoku, Japan in 2011.

When entering the exhibit I was shocked to see a lot of happy photos. Before coming to the exhibit I expected to see sad photos about the damages that were done and a small section of how they’ve rebuilt. But to my surprise that was not the case. A lot of the exhibit was different stories about how people overcame the tragedy and how they are continuing to have hope and resilience despite the damages that were done, and how they cope.

A story that stood out to me was about a couple that lost their three children. They built a playground and commemorated them in different seasons and the photos captured the bright colors to remember them in different seasons and weather conditions. They related rainbows to the spirits of the children and every time they saw a rainbow it reminded them of their children. After speaking with Ms. Shanti (Shoji) she explained further that the couple is tired of news teams interviewing them and sadly talking about their kids. They rather people realize of course they miss their kids, and see how they are doing well and see the positive side of things and that is exactly what the photographer captures in the photos. The bright colors help us see the brighter side of the story and see the happiness and progress.


I enjoyed the exhibit and seeing the happy memories within the stories, but also commemorating loved ones. The exhibition was meant to show the happiness and recovery from the tragedy and not dwell on the past.

Zion Daodu

On 11 March 2011, at 14:46 JST, an undersea earthquake occurred 72 km east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region in Japan. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami. In Japan, this is referred to as the “Great East Japan Earthquake.” The impact was catastrophic, resulting in widespread destruction of infrastructure, homes, and communities, and claiming the lives of over 18,000 people. Many families were torn apart while also faced with unimaginable loss and displacement, as entire towns were swept away by the tsunami’s powerful waves.

The JICC organized an exhibit titled: Recapturing Happiness: The Enduring Spirit of Ishinomaki, featuring photographs by Mr. Keisuke Hirai. It is an exhibition that conveys the resilience of the human spirit, the joy of community, and the moments of happiness that persisted in Ishinomaki following the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Photographer Keisuke Hirai (center) with staff from exhibit sponsors Japan Information and Culture Center and Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

Of the many people featured in the exhibit, the Amano family, and woodworkers Shinichi and Ryoko Endo, among others, stuck out to me, because of their incredible journey and how they overcame it. Following the tragedy, survivors faced a lengthy and difficult healing process as they attempted to come to terms with their loss, their trauma, and the major undertaking of starting over. After the tragedy, families that had been split apart have been gradually reestablishing their ties and seeking comfort and support in one another’s company. But these brittle reunions were cut short when the COVID epidemic struck, leaving many families to face a fresh round of uncertainty and loneliness. As the eldest son of the Amano family wrote, they were not always close but after the earthquake and their mother‘s death in 2020 they began to cherish the memories they were creating with each other.

The inability to be together during the pandemic brought an additional layer of grief and frustration for those who had already lost loved ones or were still looking for missing relatives from the 2011 disaster, adding to the emotional toll of both tragedies. Family members found it difficult, if not impossible, to continue their efforts to physically gather due to travel limitations, lockdowns, and health issues, but woodworkers Shinichi and Ryoko Endo made the 480-km drive from Tokyo to take their long-awaited photo with their daughter and her husband in front of the Ishinomori Manga Museum.


A source of strength, families were reminded of their ties and the value of helping one another through hardship by their common experiences of resiliency and survival following the Tōhoku tragedy. Even though there were clearly challenges brought about by the pandemic, it also brought to light the families’ steadfast endurance and inspired a fresh appreciation for the times they were able to spend together, whether in person or virtually.

Zitlaly Hernandez

When I first entered the exhibit I was kind of nervous because there were important people around and I’m not good at socializing. As I walked around I noticed before and after photos, photos from the past or the present or both depending on the story.

One story that really got to me was one about an older sister and how she had missed the times when she would spend with her sister. It also got to me because her story touched on how she was grateful for her family and how she was thankful for all the things they’ve done for her. This resonated with me because I’m really close with my family and although it’s small, we love big. This is something that Kokoro, the author of the story I’m talking about, illustrated in her story.


Felipe Lemos

What I enjoyed most about the exhibit at the JICC was the fact that it focused more on the stories of the people and how they recovered over time rather than the tragedy itself. Some of the exhibits had pictures from the time of the disaster that were taken in the same spot 10 years later. Some of the exhibits told stories of the changes and improvements in people’s lives, all of which occurred after the disaster. But the shared message that I took away is that the world didn’t end after the earthquake. People’s lives went on and they were able to create stories and memories that were passed on through the exhibit.

One of my favorites was the story of a family who took a photo of themselves in 2012 shortly after the earthquake, and then went back to the same place to take a family picture again. Seeing the people who aged, the children who were now adults, the new members of the family, the background behind them changing to be a clean, new building, it all adds to this sentiment that pushing through adversity and having a positive mindset can lead to happiness long term.

Special thanks to the staff of the JICC for offering extended viewing hours so our students could visit this moving exhibit after school. It’s wonderful to be so warmly greeted.

Dinner afterwards at Donburi in the neighborhood. It was great to be joined by Takahashi-sensei and Nishant Annu (who both lived and worked in Tohoku) and local TOMODACHI alumni Jeffrey Jenkins and Tenaj Gueory.

Remembering 3-11

Leave a comment
Photo from our 2018 TOMODACHI US-Japan Youth Exchange Program in Tohoku.

NOTE FROM THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR: On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck the Tohoku region of Japan, causing tremendous loss of life and widespread destruction of homes and communities. For six years Globalize DC was privileged to participate in the TOMODACHI US-Japan Youth Exchange Program, which allowed DC high school students to visit towns and cities directly affected by the earthquake, and to meet and engage with their Japanese peers in the region. These experiences have been deeply affecting and informative to all of us. So each year we take a few moments to recall the events of 3-11, to learn, and to reflect. This year our Japanese Plus students watched the emotionally riveting film, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, which vividly documents the events of that day and the aftermath. These are some of our students’ reflections after viewing the film.


Chamiya

It was hard to watch the film about the tsunami that hit Tohoku on 3-11. Watching people lose their lives and witnessing survivors lose hope after experiencing a devastating tragedy was devastating to me. One guy said that he doesn’t want clothes or home, or anything material. He wanted his friend back, and that is something that I relate to. I admire these people for finding hope in the cherry blossoms. Finding something to look forward to, as something as small as watching the cherry blossoms bloom is admirable.

Zitlaly

It was hard to hear of the tragedies and how everyone had to accept the fact that the tsunami changed everything. Despite the fact that many lost what they would consider their lives/reason for living, they still continued to stay positive, to have some type of hope. I admire Japan for persevering and finding something or someone to hold onto during this hard and excruciating experience for so many. Also, I admire that many looked at the blooming of the cherry blossoms as a form of a new beginning, a remembrance, “rebirth,” hope, and a push to keep on going. Despite that, some felt envy for the blooming.

PS. May those who have not been found find serenity.

Felipe

One thing that stood out to me in the film was the man who lost his best friend. At the beginning he was distraught and at one point said that he had lost the meaning of his life and everything that was a part of it. However, once reflecting on the cherry blossoms and what they represented, he realized everybody was trying to bounce back because they were still alive and they shouldn’t give up. Another thing I found inspiring was what the woman at the end of the film was saying. She said she would photograph how the town was rebuilding but she also mentioned how the yearly blossoming of the cherry trees was giving her hope for the future. She said that the next time the trees blossomed, the town would be more rebuilt and the year after that even more. This made me reflect on how time is continuous and things will improve over time if you keep looking forward.

Mai

  • For many people in Tohoku they couldn’t believe that a tsunami was actually happening right before their eyes.
  • How easy it was for the tsunami to destroy and swallow their homes and loved ones. They could only watch, not being able to help.
  • “Nature is filled with beauty and terror but sometimes we forget about the terrors.”
  • The cherry blossoms have different meanings depending on how we feel and what memories we associate with them. They are goodbyes and new beginnings.
  • There was a tree that has lived for more than 80 years. When the Tohoku people saw the cherry blossoms, they felt healed, allowing them to have hope and motivation to rebuild their homes.
  • Cherry blossom trees have steps of growth: ichibu-zaki (which is the first step of the cherry blossoms growing) and maichiru (when the cherry blossom flowers begin to fall).
  • Sakura are yuuga (beautiful but not too showy). The Japanese people have a kanji for the concept of yuuga: 優雅

Jennifer

Although the cherry blossom trees also suffered the tsunami, they managed to strive to be alive. It became a hope to most and a reflection to those who survived. The tsunami hit them hard. Some grew from it, some resented it. The cherry blossoms give a sort of reflection on how they feel about the tsunami and what they feel about the future.

Elias

I noticed the destruction which caused the deaths of many friends and families who mourned for them after the disaster. Going through something as traumatizing as a tsunami taking your home and friends and families led people to lose everything, giving them a sense of emptiness from their tragic losses.

D’Amonie Armstrong

I believe that going through something like this is absolutely devastating and will have long-lasting impact on the people of Tohoku. To see visual evidence of such disaster and watching as people tried to get to a safe haven was very disheartening. The people showed extreme bravery for abandoning or deciding to try to salvage their belongings. Many people suffered badly. However, during this time, the cherry blossoms were also almost in bloom, and that was used to bring hope for a better future. Every year that they bloom around that time, it is seen as a reason to keep going and how with each passing year, the rebuilding gets better and better.

Zion

It was heartbreaking to see the people holding out hope that their families were still alive. Children having to watch their parents get swept away. The people that just watched knowing they could not do anything to save them. The people that were just coming out of their homes, the ones that could have died if they had waited just one second longer and the many other stories of the people who had relatives that died or were missing. I could not imagine going through what they went through and I hope that the people featured in the documentary are still alive.

Margarita

It was interesting to see how much cherry blossoms are integrated into Japanese culture and life. Many people in the film mentioned how they grew up alongside the cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms were viewed as hope when they start blooming, not long after the disaster of March 11. The film showed how the family of one of the victims had planted their own cherry tree before the tsunami, which had started to bloom afterwards. The difference between showing solidarity compared to America is also very interesting. Unlike in Japan when natural disasters happen or any kind of devastation, in the United States the news and solidarity usually remains local. Across all of Japan people were grieving, which shows just how devastating the event was. I can’t imagine how traumatizing it must have been for everyone affected.

A Walk to Learn

Leave a comment


By Felipe Lemos

On October 28, I had the pleasure of walking along the Tidal Basin along with my Japanese Plus classmates as well as some visiting teachers from Japan. This was a great opportunity to practice my Japanese along with my classmates and learn new words and phrases from the teachers. The rules were clear, we were only allowed to conversate in Japanese throughout the entire walk. This meant we would practice both long phrases to describe various things we saw on the walk, and short filler words from daily conversation. We learned how to play “I Spy” in Japanese as well. We learned how to say the different colors in Japanese and used that to play I Spy with various different monuments that we could see around us. This was helpful for learning not only the colors but also the names of common objects, like trash cans or trees.


We were also able to appreciate Japan’s cultural influence in DC as we walked by the out-of-bloom but still beautiful cherry blossom trees that would turn beautiful shades of pink come spring. The walk was an overall success as I felt that it was a great chance for me to practice my Japanese in a more casual setting outside of the classroom. We were also able to catch some tidbits of Japanese influence along the way, such as a lantern that came from Japan and references to World War II in the FDR Memorial.

We’re Back Together Again!

Leave a comment


Saturday, September 30 was a happy day for us! The second year of our citywide afterschool program, Japanese Plus, launched at Columbia Heights Education Campus, with 14 returning students and a new Japanese teacher, Chihiro Takahashi. These super-dedicated DC public high school students will be meeting twice a week from now through the end of May – studying Japanese; exploring Japanese culture, history, and potential college/career pathways; and engaging in cultural exchange with peers and others in the US-Japan space. In other words, soaking up all things Japanese. Excitement is the operative word.

So what were they thinking on this first day back?

D’Amonie

In this present moment, I am very excited to be back. I have looked forward to this time again. I still love learning languages and I’ve been very proud of my Japanese learning journey thus far. Being able to go places and read the hiragana and katakana on Japanese products is so exciting for me, but there’s more to learn, which is why I am back. I am confident that I will get to my goal of natural conversational Japanese this year. I can’t wait to go to the next level. I can’t wait for more exchanges and interactions. And I can’t wait to go out and explore firsthand.

Zitlaly

As I was going through the metal detector here at CHEC, it hadn’t hit me that I’d soon be sitting in my Japanese class. I guess you can say it felt surreal. I’ve always been hesitant to push myself beyond limits, especially  with languages. Though due to my past year experience, I feel as I can finally reach my language goals in Japanese. So I’m not as nervous nor scared to admit when I need help. I wish myself the best of luck this year especially because I’m a senior and REALLY BUSY!!  

Elias

It’s the start of Japanese learning level 2 and honestly I feel good. I’m not particularly nervous. It’s more of a joyful, can’t wait type of feeling. But now that I’m also thinking about my senior year, that sorta does slow me down a little bit but I can manage. Learning through all the challenges and going to places relating to Japanese and Japanese culture keeps me motivated. And because of that, I’ll continue to push through in order to learn Japanese and experience the culture and more.

Aaron

I’m very excited for this year of Japanese Plus. I’ve gotten to see some friends from the class that I’ve missed. I hope to find a way to incorporate my knowledge and learning of the Japanese language into my college courses next year. My dream is to be able to tour my music in Japan or the UK one day.


Kori

I am looking forward to learn more about Japanese culture as well as being able to extend my language. I feel confident that I’ll learn more than I did before, and meet new people, like how I met a Congressman, and traveled to the Embassy of Japan during the summer, which helped me learn more on the history of the persons and embassy. I want to be able to experience more than what I’ve done like the tea ceremony, and being able to try on a traditional outfit.

Aitana

I’m looking forward to the new possibilities year two has to offer to our Japanese class this semester. After my time in Japan these last four months, I am excited to share all about my experiences with my classmates and hopefully inspire them to want to study abroad too. Overall, my goals this year are to maintain my Japanese skills, stay connected with the Japanese community in DC, and seek out new exciting opportunities.

Zion

Coming back to Japanese Plus is like remembering the first time I walked through the doors of our room for Japanese 1. I was late for my first class on Japanese, remembering my first teacher, our first exchange program with Japanese students where we all got to practice our Japanese with native Japanese speakers. It is sort of like going from middle school to high school, with all that I have learned from Japanese 1. I plan to take that knowledge with me to Japanese 2 to further expand my knowledge.

Mai

I am feeling really excited and happy coming into my 2nd year at Japanese Plus, to improve my Japanese skills that obtained last year. This year I am looking forward to learning and understanding daily life Japanese conversations, such as being able to talk about our day and things we like. I also look forward to building complex sentences using kanji. Outside the language aspect of the program, I hope to engage with the Japanese culture such as learning to play taiko drums, Japanese festival, and host again a Japanese high school exchange program.


Felipe

I’m now a level 2 Japanese student which makes me happy but nervous at the same time. I feel like I came out of last year with a good understanding of the language but I think level 2 will ramp up the pace a lot quicker and I’m gonna have to keep up. Luckily I went to Japan over the summer for 3 weeks which definitely helped with keeping my Japanese memorized. I was able to get some speaking and reading practice in as well as just being surrounded by language. This year I’m looking forward to hopefully get to a basic conversational level of Japanese and start learning some kanji.

Chamiya

My main goal for the year is to converse and meet Japanese students. While I was in Japan over the summer, I had the opportunity to practice and learn more Japanese. However, I wasn’t able to talk to students who were my age except for my host sister. Talking in a different language to converse with someone from a different culture was super fun and exciting to me. I learned so many different aspects of their culture and I was able to teach my own culture. There were similarities too and I wish to do it again. That is my goal for this year – to converse with a Japanese student and learn about their culture.

Margarita

Glad to be back!!! Seeing my friends and using Japanese again is making me feel so excited. Although I need to review some things, I am glad I get to do it with a new teacher. Hopefully this year we all grow closer as a class now that we will spend more time in person, and expand our knowledge of Japanese language and culture. I am excited to see how much Kanji we can learn this year and hopefully be able to use it with more Japanese people.

Jennifer

Coming into my second year of Japanese Plus I feel a bit nervous and excited. I feel nervous because I think my Japanese skills aren’t good enough but then I reflect on where I started. I knew nothing but here I am having small conversations and I know how to introduce myself. I am excited to continue learning. I aspire to be fluent so that it may better prepare me for college. I hope to study abroad and this program helped me seek opportunities in which I can. I also hope to get a better understanding of Japanese culture, the language, making connections, and growing with my peers.

Penelope

Although it’s been a while since our last Japanese class, I’m looking forward to picking up where we left off and advancing our language skills even further. I hope that this year we can go to more events around DC to experience Japanese culture, because I enjoyed so many of the ones we attended last year, like Sakura Matsuri and the exhibit at the JICC. I’m also looking forward to learning more kanji, and, of course, working with our new teacher!

Tristan

When I first came back to the program I was surprised by how my peers had changed over the past five months. Along with this I felt a bit awkward initially re-entering the program. I hadn’t many opportunities to practice Japanese over the break, so I felt a bit rusty almost as if I were lagging behind. With that said it would be a lie to say that I didn’t miss the program.

Discovering the possibilities of studying abroad

Leave a comment


By Felipe Lemos

On June 1st, I along with 7 other Japanese Plus students were invited to the NAFSA 2023 Conference here in DC. The conference is an Expo for universities and organizations from across the world to come together and encourage studying abroad. We were invited through the Japan SIG COI (Community Outreach Initiative) program which brings together Japanese learners from different schools in the DMV area to attend the conference as a group. The students from the other schools — Walt Whitman HS and South County HS — were also very kind, but a lot of them were at a much higher level of Japanese as they studied for years through their school while our program just finished the first year of its cycle. 

When we first arrived at the Convention Center downtown, we were taken to a room where we met the students from the other schools and were given custom T-Shirts to show that we were with the COI program. Once all the students arrived and were comfortable, our Japanese was immediately tested as we were told we needed to pair up with a student from a different school than us and introduce our partner to everybody. Luckily I got paired with a level 4 speaking student who was able to guide me through how to introduce her and everything went well. We then heard speeches from some of the people who helped get us there, such as the director of the COI program, Brian Masshardt, two representatives of EducationUSA, representatives of the Embassy of Japan, and others who helped get us to the conference. After that, we were offered a ton of different Japanese candies and sweets as well as gifts like pens, folders, and even sunglasses from various Japanese universities.

After all the initial welcomes and introductions we finally made our way down into the Expo Hall for the main event. We were directed to the Japan area which was one of the largest in the whole conference. There were over 25 different Japanese universities present, many of them with representatives willing to talk to us. They then gave us this super useful guide to the different universities where they had a chart of a bunch of different college majors, which universities offered each as a major, and whether those classes were taught in only English, only Japanese, or both. This was extremely useful as I was able to pinpoint 6 or 7 universities that offered majors I liked in English.


Being able to take classes abroad in English is very useful as it allows you to study and get a degree fully in Japan, while also learning the language and being immersed in the language and culture, which makes it way easier to get a job in the country vs learning the language in the US and trying to apply from abroad. I was able to talk to representatives for some of these universities, which gave a good impression on a lot of them, and I was even able to exchange business cards with some of them, using the process we learned about in our class.

I am extremely grateful to have been invited to this conference. For me, it took the possibility of studying abroad in Japan from a far-out goal, to a very real possibility. The conference allowed us to make a ton of important connections and pick up a ton of information about the process of studying abroad. If I hadn’t been able to attend the conference, I feel like the process of researching different universities, their locations, and what classes they offer would have been way more tedious and may have discouraged me from even considering it as an option. I hope that the information I got from this conference will help me in my future study of Japanese or any other languages.

A new experience through new students

Leave a comment


By Felipe Lemos

On March 25th, I was able to join my peers in the Japanese Plus Program in an exchange with a group of Japanese students from Okinawa, visiting DC through a KAKEHASHI Exchange program called TOFU (Think of Okinawa’s Future in the United States). This was the third group of KAKEHASHI students I met with as a part of Japanese Plus, so I was already a bit used to these exchanges and felt ready. At first, we all went into a room and sat down at 4-person tables with 2 Japanese and 2 American students. We introduced ourselves and I was the youngest one at the table being 15. We asked each other some questions we had to pick out of a cup which gave me an opportunity for some Japanese practice. As I started talking it got easier to communicate and the nervousness I had vanished. However, we almost always communicated in English because like in the other exchanges, their English is miles better than my Japanese. But in the end, I enjoyed the exchange more than I thought I would going in.

We also learned more about Okinawan history and culture through the presentations the students showed us. I thought there would be some repeated information from the last group of students from Okinawa but I was surprised to see very little that I had already learned. The most interesting thing to me was the American influence and presence on the island. They told us that 80% of their town was a US military base which is unreal. They also showcased the dialect of Japanese that was from there that had some influence from English, like adding -er to the end of words to make it someone who is that word. They even use American brands as the words for some objects like using Pampers as a word for diapers.

I liked the experience overall and while there were some embarrassing parts for me, like having to teach another group of students the Cha-Cha Slide, I hope that we can do more exchanges in the future of this program, because getting to know these students and talking to them helps us improve our Japanese and our knowledge of the culture of Japan.