Reflecting Upon My Week of Happiness and Cultural Exchange
Time moves faster than my mind can process! Yesterday (Thursday) was the final meeting with the Sophia University students for their plan of action and a farewell party. Unfortunately, I had an art class, so I was unable to see the presentations, but I made sure to over-extend my stay at the farewell party. This was in part because talking with the students about their aspirations, travel, cultural differences, music tastes, and common interests is fun and fascinating. Every day, even within the chaos of meetings and classes, I looked forward to meeting up with them: it was refreshing talking about our full days. I was definitely all smiles each afternoon.
The first day, we spent touring our university, LMU. This was my first time meeting them, as I had not traveled to Japan. Secretly, I was nervous as I was unfamiliar, but I took the initiative to introduce myself and asked the students questions about their own studies and interests. We strolled across the bluff and took in the beautiful view, until we reached University Hall where they had their orientation. Fast forward, we went to Japanese Cultural Night at Drollinger where I had the honor of performing with my dance group. Returning back to the Mbongi spot was a fun cultural food exchange! We listened to music, chatted about our favorite foods across cultures and snapped photos of the beautiful scenery. It was here I received a wonderful goodie bag of Japanese snacks and candies, awakening childhood memories of purchasing Japan crates (the veggie flavored snack is really tasty).
Tuesday, the Sophia students presented just a few of the many parts of Japanese culture, specifically Gashapon, bento, and origami. I learned about the representative characters (mascots) for each prefecture, actually having a chance to insert the coin in the Gashapon machine to get a sticker! I got Shimanekko (a yellow nekko), representative of the Chūgoku region, dressed with attributes of the Izumo Taisha shrine (large straw rope weighing 5 tons!!!) Next was bento. I have always been amazed with the nutritious lunch built with so much nurture and love and the contrast to my cold lunch in school. I always appreciated the snacks my Dad threw in and the effort to cook each morning before I had school. My lunch came with written notes, but I am always amazed at the meticulous artistry bento boxes are made with. Seaweed is cut into characters, shapes to make an animal face, and even write messages. It is so delicate! I had the opportunity to cut out Totoro, one of my favorite Ghibli characters, and did pretty well (even though one whisker is missing). Finally we learned about the benefits of origami and the heartwarming story of 1000 cranes. This also brought me back to summer school when I was 7 years old and being taught by a teacher who owned an origami store. Wrapping up the presentations, we broke out into song and dance, and I tried to re-figure out how to fold a frog with the extra paper.
Wednesday was Japan Currents Day! We had a few snacks, mingled, and were introduced to multiple important figures of our campus and beyond. I rushed from class, so I used this time to catch up with the students and share our experiences with language learning, what we plan to do in the future, and our anticipation of the event. During Japan Currents, it was insightful to hear different perspectives on the state of U.S. relations with Japan and the world, as well as what actions need to be taken further to secure a peaceful and productive future. After the event, we had finger foods provided and captured pictures before dispersing.
Thursday was sadly the last day :( Again, I rushed from class to meet for the farewell party. The farewell was less sad and more of a celebration of the community that we had created over the past week. I am so grateful to have been accepted into the group and met with so much compassion even with our short time spent together. We tried new snacks, talked about studying abroad, and danced to throwbacks like “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen.” It was nice to talk about where we want to go and study, such as Singapore, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. It was also comforting to hear they want me to visit Japan! I was having so much fun, I stayed until the very last minute before leaving. Taking the last few pictures and saying the last few goodbyes, I departed back to my regular scheduled programming.
Walking in silence on my way to my next meeting, I reflected upon the experience. The silence was definitely deafening. I was so happy to be hospitable to, encourage, engage with, and exchange cultures with the Sophia University Students from Tokyo. This not only gave me a chance to step out of my reserved nature and open myself to others, but fulfilled my value of cross-cultural mutuality and hearing from the people about their experiences rather than just the textbook. I wish I had more proficiency in Japanese to communicate things that cannot be translated and learn even more, but I am thankful for the conversations I had with the students over the past week. They were extremely meaningful and gave me strength to continue pursuing language, art, and happiness in my life. The unconditional compassion shown lingers in my heart. I genuinely look forward to the day where I can visit Japan and possibly meet the kindhearted students I had such a heartwarming experience with again. Thank you for this influential moment of my college days.
Wishing Health & Happiness Always,
-Clarke Hamilton
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