JET Program CIR Report
CIR Report from Kanazawa (2)
By Sophie Bocklandt
(Coordinator for International Relations)Hello everybody!! I am happy to tell you that during these past three months a lot of new adventures came along my way!
For the first time in my life I wore a Japanese kimono! At the Kaga Yuzen Museum visitors can try on a kimono and walk around in it to get their picture taken. It was a little dream come true for me, giving me an impression of how I -as a foreign girl- would look like in a traditional Japanese outfit. I must say that I had difficulties breathing though, because the “obi-belt” was bound very tightly. So it is true what they say: to look pretty you have to suffer!
During my continuous search for an interesting dance class, I came across a very nice Thai dance group, consisting out of Japanese women from different ages and taught by Thai exchange students. I participated and was especially surprised by the detailed hand positions in Thai dance, which ask a lot of concentration. Unfortunately I got too busy to continue the class. In fact most of my weekends in November went to singing rehearsal…for a CD! Hori-san, a jazz singer from Kanazawa who has been performing all around the world, wanted to make a CD with some English/Japanese songs. To do so she needed English speaking background vocals and I turned out to be one of them! I found it weird that the music studio was situated in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains, not even allowing cell phone receiving. But singing in a professional music studio like you sometimes see on tv, receiving guidelines from professional musicians and afterwards seeing your name on the back of a CD is an unforgettable experience of course!
Furthermore I went to see a Japanese musical about a fire brigade (funny theme) and together with some colleagues I prepared a gorgeous looking whipped cream/raspberry/goldleaf Japanese Christmas cake and an oignon-based Japanese hamburger in brown oyster sauce at a professional Japanese cooking class. I’m already looking forward to the chocolate cake we will prepare for Valentine’s day! And only last week I went bowling with some male Japanese colleagues, but shame on me, I kinda ended in last position…Luckily the “yakiniku” fest afterwards was comforting, fun and stomachfilling!
Japan is known for its distinctive four seasons, so seeing the beautifully coloured leaves during Japanese fall season was another interesting first time for me. I must say the so-called “momiji” was not that noticable in Kanazawa, but I went to Kyoto with a friend to observe them in the various temple districts overthere. Unfortunately we weren’t the only ones with that idea, so ligning up was a big part of that day, but we forgot all of that just by looking at the gorgeous dark red autumn leaves all, all over!
Besides Kyoto I did some more traveling in Japan, seeing a Belgian friend in Ise and some friends from last year’s Expo in Tokyo. During three days in November I had to follow a JET orientation at the luxurious Keio Plaza Hotel in the center of Tokyo. The purpose was to acquire some useful ideas and insights concerning my job as a CIR, so I learned more about professional translating and interpreting, Japanese language difficulties, presentation manners, stress management, time management etcetera. But the JET organization was kind enough to give us free time starting late afternoon, so we could explore some more of the lively capital of Japan as well. Me and my colleagues even took advantage of the following holiday to stay a bit longer and explore the Christmas spirit at Tokyo Disneyland! Oh, how fun it can be to act like a little child from time to time!!
That’s probably why I had a very big smile on my face when I saw the first snow falling down on Kanazawa during Christmas time! It wasn’t the huge pile of snow they warned me for, but nevertheless it turned the city in a beautiful white landscape. It made me feel proud to receive my very first friend guest in Kanazawa amidst this beautiful scenery. I am still waiting for the snow to repeat itself, but apparently this year we are enjoying a warm winter in Kanazawa. I must say it doesn’t really feel like that in my cold appartment!
Don’t be mistaken, I still have a busy worklife as well! In November I had my very first highschoolvisit. In fact it was my very first visit to any school in Japan, so I was surprised to be asked to take of my shoes and wear slippers and to see how boys and girls naturally split up when asked for a class picture! And entering the principal’s room without having done something wrong was a fun first too! For the schoolvisit I prepared a 30-minute lecture in Japanese and turned to Powerpoint, music and video to give the students an overall idea of Belgium. Last week I already gave my second and third highschool lecture and afterwards I was honestly touched by their impressions, saying that they enjoyed to learn more about Belgium than just our famous chocolate, and that they would like to widen their horizons and experience more about foreign cultures. Even if only one of them is serious about that, then I think that the work I am doing for the JET programme really has a meaning!
Another fun work experience was reading a Dutch picture book to little 5 year-olds at the library in nearby Mattou. I bought a cute children’s book in my own mothertongue about a little mole that thinks he has found a diamond, seeing a piece of ice in the snow for the very first time in its life. It was indeed the perfect winterstory to catch full attention of the little Japanese!
And only last week I was invited at the New Year’s reception of the Japanese Association of University Women. They asked me as a guest speaker for a presentation in Japanese about Belgian painting and architecture. Everybody seemed sincerely interested and some of the women actually had visited Belgium, so the lunch afterwards passed by in a very lively atmosphere. I was even rewarded with a box of Japanese chocolate delights! How sweet life can be!!
But unfortunately work sometimes sucks as well! In 2006 it was the 35th birthday of the sistercityship between Kanazawa and my city of Ghent. Even before coming to Japan I heard that a delegation from Kanazawa would go to Ghent to hand over a reproduction of the famous “koto-lantern” from the Kenrokuen garden. Secretly I was hoping to be part of that delegation. And so it happened! I was assigned to guide the technical delegation that would build up the lantern and we would all meet the mayor at the official ceremony. But the preparations were difficult and three weeks before we would actually leave, I received the news that the delegation would not go through after all…I was very disappointed, but decisive not to leave things like that. The following week I bought my own ticket home and so in the beginning of December I enjoyed my very first holiday since my arrival here, in the presence of my family, in my own country!
The same week I returned back to work in Kanazawa, I was already in charge of a Belgian Christmas cooking event. Together with a group of 16 Japanese participants we prepared a traditional Belgian “Buche-de-Noel” and some chocolate/cinnamon biscuits to use as Christmas decoration, whilst listening to Dutch, French and English Christmas songs. I also brought a pile of pictures to illustrate certain Belgian traditions that don’t exist in Japan, like the numerous Christmas markets and some catholic Christmas decorations. Even the local television, radio and newspaper journalists of Kanazawa came around to pick up a bit of that typical Belgian Christmas atmosphere. Here in Japan Christmas is a regular workday, so I had to take a day off to celebrate it, weird! The streets and shops were decorated (and so was my appartment off course), but that is as far as Christmas goes here. New Year is a much bigger event in Japan and I was happy to celebrate it for the first time with other foreign friends, including my boyfriend who came to visit me during the holidays!
On New Year’s Eve we went to the Teramachi-temple district to hit the gong at a buddhist temple and ask for happiness for the new year. During the following days we visited the famous hot springs of Wakura, enjoying typical Japanese relaxation and traditional food (rice and fish starting from the morning). How marvellous it is to enjoy a beautiful seaside view while you are outside, naked, soaking in very hot natural water! After those two days we gathered enough energy to spend two foolish days in the Universal Studios themepark in Osaka. Being a big movie fan I enjoyed wandering around real movie sets and getting drawn into several 3D attractions, like Spiderman, ET, Jurassic Park etcetera. Anyway, it gave me enough energy to start another busy working period at my Japanese city hall!
That’s all for now folks!! I can hardly wait to see what spring will bring, so I have plenty more to write about in a next report!
With a bit of a delay I want to wish everyone in Belgium a very Happy New Year 2007, filled with wonderful experiences!!
(Photo by Sophie Bocklandt)