JET Program CIR Report
CIR Report from Kanazawa (7)
April 2008By Sophie Bocklandt
(Coordinator for International Relations)And my Japanese adventure continues!
In the beginning of February I went to my first Japanese wedding, in fact the wedding of a friend from Expo 2005 Aichi. The official part at city hall had taken place a couple of months before, so now it was time for the wedding party at a dining hall in Nagoya. After a short ceremony in the wedding chapel on the top floor, with a foreign priest speaking in Japanese and the traditional wedding hymn and flower shower, we were invited to take our seats in the dining hall. Seats were indicated by a small bottle of cider, carrying our name and a personal message from the couple, very original. After the obligatory speeches and the toast, there was the first bite of the wedding cake, followed by a birthday cake for the mother of the groom, very thoughtful. O yes, in Japan there is a presenter who talks the whole event through! She even walks around the room to ask participants for personal messages for the couple, rather disturbing to me. As is the custom at a Japanese wedding, the couple will disappear halfway the dinner to get changed from a western wedding outfit into Japanese wedding wear. In the meanwhile we were treated with several haute cuisine dishes and a dessert buffet, while gazing at picture shows and personal video messages. A laughter, a tear, it was all well prepared. What struck me the most, was the gift part. In Japan you are supposed to give money and the amount is regulated (as is most in Japanese life). Giving 20.000 yen is a bad omen that the couple will break up soon. Giving 40.000 yen is a bad omen related to death. So if you are a good friend you give 30.000 yen; if you are very good friends or related you go for 50.000 yen or even more. There is a whole envelop business that goes with it, sizes and decorations differing according to the amount. Before the ceremony starts, you give your envelop at a reception desk and write down your name. A lot of money, but not if you consider what you receive in return. Because even as a guest you receive presents! I received a bottle of rose liquor with accompanying glasses, a chocolate cake, a hazelnut cake, gold leaf chopsticks with a holder I can use as a vase and a beautiful picture album. Or at least I thought it was a picture album, but in fact it was a catalogue from which I could order one more present to my liking! And on top of all this, a part of my transportation costs were paid back! Another very interesting and fun part of Japanese life that I got to experience!
Of course a wedding is a fancy occasion, which asks for the proper preparation. After a long search for a suiting dress at a wedding store, my friend and I decided to go for a Japanese party hairstyle, with our hair put up and decorated with beautiful shiny pins. How you can feel like a princess in Japan!
Since this was in fact the wedding of a colleague from the Belgian pavilion at Expo 2005 Aichi, some of my Belgian friends came over to Japan, so it turned into a nice expo reunion as well. Reunions are often confronting, people that have changed, that you`ve lost touch with, but the Belgian gang was still as laid back as before, a relief after being the only Belgian around town for quite a while!
The weeks after the wedding I was really busy, I worked almost every weekend in February. For one I had to give an interview about the political situation in Belgium, at that point still with a temporary government. Explaining about the linguistic and cultural differences between Flanders and Wallonia, the political difficulties, our policy concerning immigrants, Belgium’s position within the EU. Very interesting, but a true challenge to explain all this in Japanese! Furthermore I gave an interview for a Japanese high-school magazine about the education I received from my parents. It made me think back about my loads of homework and how happy I actually am to be working now, earning money, being able to enjoy nights free of school worries. These passed months I didn’t have regular school visits, but I did a Belgian presentation at the risshi-shiki, a former Japanese coming-of-age ceremony for 14-year olds, that is still kept alive at a few schools.
Event-wise I organized a French tea time chat, mainly gathering Japanese people who want to practice their French while enjoying some tea and Belgian treats like self-made waffles. In fact it was a good practice for my Belgian dessert event, where we tried out coffee/chocolate cake with a coffee/chocolate glaze, apples in the oven with a vanilla sauce and the authentic Brussels waffles. A perfect menu for the chocolate-related sweet holidays of Saint-Valentine (February 14th, girls give chocolates to boyfriends and male colleagues) and White Day (March 14th, boys give chocolates to girlfriends and female colleagues).
Furthermore a delegation from the French city of Nantes came to visit Kanazawa. A group of directors of art schools in Nantes wanted to explore the artistic side of Kanazawa, including the 21st Century Museum and the Citizen’s Art Center. A whole day going around town, ending up in a privileged bar in the geisha district! In fact I was invited at a dinner party with real geisha serving and entertaining us during the Foodpia, the local food festival in Kanazawa. Since my friend and I were the only foreigners at this event, we were asked to play the taiko drum together with the geisha. A truly traditional Japanese experience!
What is also true and traditional in Kanazawa is the cold winter with regular snow showers! During one month it snowed almost every day, putting my cold nerves to the edge! Honestly, snow landscapes are gorgeous to gaze upon, but after a couple of weeks of freezing your ass off and not being able to go out a lot, it gets really frustrating! This being said, spring has finally kicked in again with fast rising temperatures and blooming sceneries, so ideal walking, jogging and picnicking time!
The last week of March is probably the week I dislike the most in Japan. It’s the last week of the Japanese fiscal year (the new one starts on April 1st), so it is rather slow work-wise, but most of all it is the moment that the staff transfers are announced. Same as last year there was a nervous atmosphere, followed by a sudden relief when the names were made public and then sadness or happiness about the eventual change. For me last year’s scenario repeated itself: my direct boss in charge of Ghent and Nancy was being replaced. After only 1 year it came as a shock and I couldn’t help feeling a bit sad. My JET supervisor also had to leave, and so did my Korean CIR colleague. But the silver lining: some new colleagues joined our section and for the first time the women are in the majority!
So a lot of work the passed months, a lot more work to come, but a lot of fun as well! I had my first friend sleepovers, an Argentinian friend from Expo Aichi who came to explore Kanazawa in the snow and a Japanese friend who wanted to join me to a high school costume party. When for breakfast I pulled out all sweet stuff like bread with jam, cornflakes and chocolate, she seemed to be in desperate need of salt, being used herself to rice and fish when she wakes up. Eventually we settled for eggs lol Furthermore a couple of Japanese people I met half a year ago in the mountains of Toyama, re-took contact with me, so we could meet up for tea in the geisha district of Kanazawa. How unexpected encounters can lead to warm friendships! I paid a visit myself to a friend in Nara with whom I worked at a restaurant near Nara in the summer of 2003. To see her married and pregnant made me realize how fast time flies! I am already over halfway my JET adventure and there is still so much I want to do!! One thing done on my list, I enjoyed a laid back day in Wajima, a small town up in the north of the Ishikawa prefecture, by the Japan Sea. A lively morning market, a free hot footbath, beautiful rice fields by the sea and a whole day of sunshine, I felt perfectly happy!
Lots of people find their happiness in food and I admit I am often guilty of that same feeling. So lots of joy when my American colleague treated us on some delicious Mexican food and we organized another brunch with the French Club. Culture-wise I went to see my first opera in Japan, “Carmen”. I was surprised they performed it in French, with Japanese subtitles. The next opera will be “La Boheme”, something to look forward to. For the Doll Festival this year I was invited at a female friend’s house to gaze at her beautifully put up doll decorations and to enjoy some traditional food like clam soup and sushi. Again as a guest I was treated with gifts to take home with me!
Talking about home, after almost a year and a half I decided it was time to spend some quality time with my family and friends in Belgium again. Very refreshing after living on my own in Japan for quite some time already. Especially the Belgian cuisine tasted better like never before! I made sure to send myself a good supply of chocolate and cookies for the coming months lol But most of all it felt nice to be home again with my family, who I want to thank for always being there, even if I drive them crazy sometimes with my hectic lifestyle! To enforce my words, even though I just got back from Belgium, my next trip is coming up very soon. Korea, here I come!
Have a nice spring everyone and you’ll hear from me again in summer!
(Photos by Sophie Bocklandt)