By Skyy Genies

For many people in America today, President Trump’s foreign endeavors are a very sensitive and for some, infuriating topic to discuss. Of course, I am one of those people, and today when I read an article titled “Trump Tells Japan It Can Protect Itself by Buying U.S. Arms” from the New York Times, I was in utter disbelief. The article discussed President Trump’s recent visit to Japan; his opinions about the imbalance of trade, his attempts to persuade Japan to purchase U.S. arms, and in my opinion, the worst of all, his racist and ignorant remarks about Japanese society. Trump referred to the people of Japan as “samurai warriors” and painted them as weak for not retaliating against North Korea for their missile projects. Reading this article brought to my attention the fact that It is a common trend among many youth in this country to hate our President, even if for many, it is just a matter of riding the wave. Besides learning new facts about U.S. and Japan relations or Trump’s methods in foreign policy,

I learned a very valuable lesson from this experience. If one doesn’t know much about politics (or any topic), like me in some ways, taking the time to actually do a little research and read about the different perspectives of a phenomenon can help you back up your opinions with actual evidence and even help you become a more well-rounded and in a way open-minded person.

This picture perfectly depicts the intimate and fun environment in which we learn new things about Japan from culture to language, and exchange ideas about current events facing our own country and Japan. Japanese language can be hard sometimes, but with the diversity of our skills and knowledge, we help and support each other to get past our obstacles.

Skyy Genies

By Skyy Genies

Today October 18, 2017 was an extremely emotional and eye opening day. I was given the opportunity of witnessing a beautiful artistic performance from Kazunori Kumagai, a world renowned tap dancer from Sendai, Japan at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. My emotional journey started when we first arrived at the Kennedy Center, and we were lucky enough to be able to actually speak with Mr. Kumagai. He told us his story about how he was inspired by Michael Jackson’s Thriller when he was five and then became interested in tap dancing. When he was 18, he moved to New York City to study tap dancing among the best in the business.

The most touching aspects of his story to me were how he took in criticisms from his teachers and peers back in Japan when he said he wanted to be a tap dancer. Kazunori Kumagai was not afraid to follow his heart and disregard social expectations and opinions of him that may have led him down a path that he wasn’t happy with. Despite obstacles such as race that may have arisen in Mr. Kumagai’s path, he was able to receive praise and accolades for his determination to showcase his self expression. Additionally, since I traveled to Tohoku, Japan this summer, I was extremely inspired by Mr. Kumagai’s dedication to his hometown as he often returns to Japan to assist with the reconstruction process after the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami, and raise awareness about the arts.

Then came his tap performance. Honestly speaking, before witnessing his performance, I didn’t think much of tap dancing. But boy, was I wrong. I don’t even know how many times I cried during his performance. His ability to tap in sync with the other instruments present during his performance simply amazed me. When we spoke to Mr. Kumagai earlier, he told us that tap dancing sounded like a conversation between his feet and other instruments. There is truly no better way to put that. The melody, rhythm, and balance of the performance sounded like a story that directly related to my life. I couldn’t help but feel my emotions well up. I was so amazed. After today’s experience, I learned a few new things:

1. Don’t have opinions about something you’ve never experienced for yourself because it’s most likely wrong.
2. Don’t let social expectations deter you from the path your heart is leading you down.
3. And, never forget where you came from or who helped you get to where you are.

By Skyy Genies

So today, my blog is going to be about how everything Japanese has become a part of my daily routine. I have been taking Japanese for around 8 months now, and just from that, I have noticed a drastic change in the way I carry myself and the way I speak. How, you ask? Well, since learning the Japanese language, I haven’t gone one day without speaking Japanese. Yes, we only take the class two days out of the week, but whether it’s intentional or not, some Japanese slips out every day.

Additionally, in the way I carry myself, after reading the chapters about social life and communication in Geek in Japan, I unconsciously changed my behavior. Especially after actually being around Japanese people on multiple occasions through the Japanese Plus Program, I have been more accepting and open-minded of things I am new to. Also, I find myself trying to avoid confrontation and saying things blatantly. Although these things aren’t that far off from how I originally acted, I think more in a way of “How would this look in Japan?” and “Would I do this in Japan”. These thoughts cross my mind constantly and they push me to further indulge myself with what I love, which is Japan! I love how much learning the Japanese language and simply participating in the Japanese Plus Program has influenced my everyday life. One time I even stood up and said “Kiritsu” (stand up) in my History class, everyone looked at me crazy and I realized what I was doing. Just that one school tradition that is practiced in Japan stuck with me and has become a part of my daily routine, cool right?

When I joined the program, I expected to learn things about the Japanese culture, but I never thought that I would start to notice those characteristics within myself after a while.

By Skyy Genies

Something about the fifth chapter of Geek In Japan that interested me was the drastic contrast between the motivations and intentions of someone working in the United States when compared to that of someone working in Japan. According to Geek In Japan, in the United States “most people do things for their own benefit, eventually bringing prosperity to consumers and society. In Japan, on the other hand…the Japanese give their utmost in their work in order to serve consumers and society, in this way they automatically obtain benefits for the society and achieve their individual aims.” Additionally, the Japanese maintain respect for people above you at work regardless of how long you have known them or worked at that company.

These work practices in themselves perfectly exhibit the way society works in both of these countries. In the US, most people worry about making themselves successful and living good, whereas in Japan, most people worry about how they can improve their community and society. The work ethic is also very different. Here in the US work is usually only done for money, if someone is working overtime they are sure to receive overtime payment. Their motivation for doing that work is bettering their financial status. However in Japan, the motivation of their hard work is simply bettering those around them; they don’t expect to be paid if they work overtime.

In terms of the interactions between the different levels of the company, I think there is also a big difference between Japan and the United States. Here in the US, it may be seen as normal for a long-time employee to casually speak to the head of their department or even the president. That is different from Japan where regardless of how long you’ve been there, you are expected to uphold a high level of respect. I think these differences are really cool, I really want to experience what society is like when everyone is working to better each other rather than only worrying about themselves.

By Skyy Genies

On April 1, 2017, I had the amazing opportunity to go to a Ramen Restaurant in Adams Morgan, Washington,DC. First off, I just want to say it was SO AMAZING!

According to Cookinglight, ramen is “a Japanese noodle soup dish, with Chinese-style wheat or egg noodles served in a very rich broth along with cooked sliced pork, fresh scallions, and a maybe slightly-more-than-soft-boiled egg.” It is a very popular dish in Japan. How did this unbelievable event arise you ask? It was just another day in the Japanese Plus Program. During this meeting, our class was extremely busy preparing for our booth at the Sakura Matsuri (Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival). Out of nowhere, Ms. Schwartz announced that as a reward for our hard work and dedication to our booth, she would treat us to Ramen. I was so excited!!! I had never had traditional ramen that was actually prepared in a restaurant. I could not wait.

At the end of the class, we waited enthusiastically to leave. It was a long walk, but once we arrived and ate, it was definitely worth it! Since I wasn’t able to eat meat during the time of our visit to the restaurant, I chose a vegetarian ramen bowl that contained corn, seaweed, carrots, mushrooms, and a few other vegetables. Some of my classmates chose the Korean inspired ramen dishes with kimchi, eggs, and beef bulgogi. The aromatic scent of juicy steak made me have a negative expectation of what my ramen would taste like. But boy was I wrong. It was amazing! After having ramen on that day, I will forever look forward to my next bowl of ramen. I am so thankful to Ms. Schwartz and the other coordinators that made this amazing trip possible.

By Skyy Genies

During our Wednesday, March 22, 2017 meeting, our class had the opportunity to receive presentations from a panel of people who work in relations with Japan or work to expand the knowledge of Japan nationwide. One of the panelists was Satoshi Fujimura. During their presentations the panelists were asked to speak about their job and the steps they took to get to where they are. Satoshi Fujimura’s presentation resonated with me the most because he started his academic and career journey with an interest in Chemistry like me.

The most intriguing part of his presentation was his role change. He spoke about how he worked at Sony in many different positions. Then he “changed his role again” to Mistletoe Inc. I found his presentation very inspirational because it showed me that life isn’t a guaranteed thing. You may or may not have an exact plan of where you think your life is going to go; but his presentation showed me that it’s not certain. He also showed me that I should not be afraid to change my path if that’s where my heart leads me, because after his whole journey, he ended up in a place that he is comfortable and content with. Always follow your heart.

By Skyy Genies

In Geek in Japan in the Religion and Philosophy chapter, I read about how “most Japanese don’t believe in one specific religion but combine aspects of several religions in their daily lives, often unaware which one they’re following.” I find this as a huge contrast to American perspectives on religion. In Japanese society, religious flexibility and freedom is normal, where here in the United States our religious institutions and practices are more rigid. For an example, in our cultural conversation, one of my classmates, Talia, spoke about how uncomfortable an Islamic person may feel if they walked into a Christian institution and vice versa. I think this may be due to the religions sprouting from similar ideas/locations in Japan rather than here in the United States where the religions practiced are very strict and came from many different places. Which is expected given the homogeneity of the Japanese society and the diversity of American society.

Additionally, the values in America and Japan differ, which influences the prominence of religion in everyday life. As Eshita Sensei said, she didn’t know how much her daily activities were rooted in religion until she learned about religion in college. Everything (almost) has a religious aspect in Japan. This may seem true at first glance in America; however, we separate our religion and social, business relationships. Religion can’t be discussed/taught in school. This idea is also tied to the changes in America today, where many Americans are non-religious and questioning what they once believed. This is very different from Japan where respect and avoiding confrontation is an automatic standard. It’s just so interesting to me!

By Skyy Genies

The idea of Amae, which is “the way we act when we wish to be loved or seek attention or when we want to depend on someone else with a sense of submissiveness,” is very interesting to me. I find it intriguing that unlike in the United States, acting cute/spoiled to get attention is a quality that is expected in especially girls. The idea of collectivism that motivates Amae is something that the US opposed where our individual rights and uniqueness are expressed. This word makes me think of Aegyo in Korea, where the same cutesy concept persists. As the article states, Amae is sometimes perceived by Americans as spoiled or brat-like. The existence as a word for this behavior accentuates the huge contrast in the way we perceive submissiveness. In the article the author also speaks about how men like girls with girlish voices, faces, and Amae. However in the US men like women to be somewhat independent/powerful. The US also values its individualistic culture where people, including women, can have power in all realms and express dominance rather than submissiveness. This is so cool!