Kyoto Bules

卒業者の初アップ

2010-07-03T01:11:00.003-05:00

ようやく卒業しちまった。Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies - Distinction In All Subjects.

Yet I feel strangely deflated. The successful end of my undergraduate career has only served to underscore the failures I've aroused along the way. And when I think of how to go about undoing my mistakes, to mend those "broken bridges," my heart pangs and I freeze up. How does one even begin to thaw the iciest of frozen veins?

It's a problem I've always had, a disturbing complacency with being alone coupled with a crippling desire to be with others. And I don't mean "others" as in "lovers" or "significant others," but EVERYONE in that spectrum called "society."

What a vague post. But it's helped clear my head so far.

Starting next week I'll be taking lessons in Korean. I wonder, though, if Japanese was just a fluke--maybe I don't have a knack for languages, maybe Korean's only going to slow things down with Japanese and my ever-deteriorating Spanish?

Then again, who knows? Maybe I'll be like Mario in Super Mario RPG, wielding a hammer for the first time yet kicking everything's ass with it. Not that I particularly want Korean to be that metaphorical ass-kicking hammer, but a hammer's a good intermediate weapon, right?

The hammer does not make the plumber, the plumber makes the hammer.

Or something like that, right?

Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies - at Doshisha!

2009-06-16T11:19:00.008-05:00

同志社大学
Doshisha University

A private university whose main campus is located in the Kamigyo Ward of Kyoto, Japan.

It's a beautiful campus located in the quieter, northern end of Kyoto, though still accessible due to its location near the large streets of Imadegawa and Karasuma. Why am I writing a post about Doshisha all of a sudden? Doshisha University will be the new host to the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, and everyone involved with the program is busy preparing for the big move.

I first visited the campus last Thursday with the librarian, Nakanishi-san, and one of the program coordinators, Shore-san. Our goal was simple, to finish measurements of the dimensions of the basement storage room that would become the new library. I got the call in the morning asking for my help, so I hopped on my bike and travelled north up along Karasuma for my first impressions of KCJS's new location.

Founded in 1875 as Doshisha English School by Niijima Joh, it gained university status in 1920. The name Doshisha literally means "association of united will." There are 12 undergraduate departments and 12 post-graduate programs.

So the introduction is out of the way, and now I'd just like to make a few shallow points about why I believe Doshisha KCJS beats out Kyodai KCJS, and perhaps any other study abroad program in Japan.

Location. The most notable aspect of Doshisha's location is probably it's proximity to the Kyoto Imperial Palace grounds. Glimpsing the tops of trees as you ride by one of its long bordering walls is more than enough to remind you that Kyoto is one of the greenest, most beautiful cities in Japan.

Kyoto is the Old Capital of Japan, its history rich and thousand-yeared. Untouched by the firebombings of World War II, many of its temples and shrines (almost 2,000 Buddhist temples exist in Kyoto) remain intact and well-maintained. Kyoto's Shijo Avenue is also a lively commercial hub that attracts tourists and visitors from all over Japan and the globe to sample Kyoto's world-famous cuisine and... I don't think I have to go on.

Centralization. Doshisha has offered KCJS use of many of its rooms in a building that houses the Japanese Culture Studies Center (among other programs, it seems).

It's hard to see in this image, but I believe it's the large building to the right of the chapel (just north of the tiny boxy building near the center). This compares to the location of KCJS at Kyodai - at the Kyoto University Kaikan, a conference center 5 minutes away from the main campus. Though afternoon classes have taken place at the JPod (an amazing work of architecture, by the way) right next to the administration building, the buildings around it block it from view and effectively create a hidden "pocket" that very few university students pass through. At Doshisha, by comparison, all classes and program administration is in the same building, operating alongside other university programs and classes. An obvious improvement.

Immersion. You'll see plenty of students at the Kyodai Kaikan - though they're probably there for a job fair, and they'll probably be confused to see you walking in with a T-shirt and jeans while they're standing inside the door in a tailor-fitted suit until they realize that a study abroad program takes place in the building. Classes take place on every floor of the Doshisha building where KCJS is moving, with a lounge on the 2nd floor that the students use liberally. Students are in and out of the building, and on the ground floor are offices filled with university staff.

Interestingly, there's a middle school on campus grounds. I found it strangely refreshing to see these younger students on their way out of school, after seeing jaded 20-year-old face after jaded 20-year-old face at Kyodai. Seeing younger people is also a change of pace in one of Japan's eldest cities. (See what I did there?)

Though many other study abroad programs boast absolute immersion, KCJS still provides the best Japanese-American interaction for students without enough language skill to take a course in Japanese for full credit. Afternoon courses have at least 4 Japanese auditors, and higher-level students are given the option to audit Japanese classes, too.

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I may add more shallow points to this, but this post has already satisfied my boredom and insomnia for the time being. Next post: Japanese TV is annoying.

Okayama! - Part 1

2008-09-28T07:46:00.015-05:00

I'll slowly upload some of the photos I've taken over my first 4 weeks here in Japan, but today I'll limit myself to some from my weekend in...

岡山県

Okayama! Where the wind comes sweeping down the rice paddies... maybe. Okayama Prefecture is west of Kyoto Prefecture in the western-most region of Japan's largest island of Honshuu. Pictured above is the Great Seto Bridge in Okayama, which links the islands of Honshuu and Shikoku (the smallest of Japan's 4 main islands). Here are some more of the Great Seto Bridge.

It's hard to tell in the photo above, but there's a train line that runs through the bridge just underneath the highway. It's the Japan Railway line's Shinkansen. I'll let the link speak for itself, as I have yet to ride the extravagance that is the Shinkansen. Suffice it to say, the Shinkansen is what most people imagine when they think of "Japan" and "trains."

神野さんたちと僕
The Kanno Family and I

What a great family! The Kanno family live in Kasaoka City in Okayama Prefecture. The Okayama trip was a KCJS trip that paired every student, about 45 in all, with a host family in Okayama Prefecture. Hopefully everyone else was as lucky as me to get such a warm, accomodating family as the Kannos. I'm not sure why I was squinting so much in this picture; this might have been the only downside to the fantastic weather that graced us on Saturday, when this picture was taken.

Tomorrow I will give a little more detailed of an update about my stay with the Kanno family, including their names and a few of the things I learned. But right now I have a lot of homework that isn't going to start itself. Good night!

My Long-Lost Family.

2008-08-29T16:39:00.007-05:00

No one at Cornell knows what my family looks like. Few Kansans do. Thanks to the pictures my 23 year-old brother Javier took when my family went to Puerto Rico last March, that problem will be corrected with the following 3 charming photos.

Mom, Yaya (grandmother), Javier, Dad

I'll provide the context as best I can, but keep in mind that I was not present for any of these photos. My mother, 57, and my father, 48, are both Puerto Rican. Looks aside, my brother is not from Jersey. He and I were also born in Puerto Rico, in the city of Mayagüez, where this picture may have been taken. I'm not sure what Yaya's doing in this picture. Yaya is famous in my memory for introducing me to Bimbo cookies, and for owning the home that provided the setting for my series of childhood "bear attack" nightmares.

This is some of my dad's side of the family. The two young ones in the back are the cousins I know the best, Gabriel and Karmary (Kay). In the front are my dad's parents. Then there are my dad's sister-in-law (far left), sister (middle), and brother (right). Last, but not least, is a little girl I have never seen before.

Javier, Kay

What a picture this would be without my brother's miniature sunglasses. Martinez genes made the beauty you see here! Kay's probable future: become an elementary school teacher; marry wealthy; have more dashing Martinez kids. I remember that Kay used to play the NES Mario Bros. 3 with spirited jerks of the controller to the left or right, depending on direction of her panicked Mario leaps. Clearly she was ahead of the curve, it's only too bad she wasn't born the daughter of Nintendo engineers.

First post.

2008-08-29T00:18:00.005-05:00

My blog's looking a little bare at the moment. I had a fun time pretending that I could alter the HTML in the blog's layout, and somehow I managed to remove the navbar and change a few things. But for now this is how things will stay.

Obama looking classy.

I feel like I would be wasting this post if I didn't mention the man whose speech tonight made me lament the fact that I would be abroad for what might be the greatest presidential campaign of my lifetime.

So. Right now you're reading a "Joel in Kansas" informal photo/commentary blog. It will become a "Joel in Kyoto" blog on the 2nd of September, as I'll be attending the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, Japan (thanks in part to the study abroad office at Cornell University). This will be my 3rd year in college.

Feel free to comment anonymously, but if you're someone I know personally, I'd love for you to let me know. Next post o tanoshimi ni.