First of
all, no I did not die. I am still very much alive. For some reason I did not
feel like writing all this time. Maybe because I had so much fun having my
experiences, that I didn’t feel that I had to write about them. What did I do? I
saw cherry blossom (sakura in Japanese), met awesome new people (shout out to
Sinja, Vilde and Ashlee), wrote haikus, did a lot of purikura, went to
Hiroshima, dropped my phone in the toilet, and we had an International day. I
could tell you about how awesome all of this was (except dropping my phone in
the toilet. R.I.P phone), but I might as well tell you when I get home next
week. Yep, that’s right, I’m going home next week. A part of me is very sad
that I have to leave Japan behind and a part of me is very happy to finally see
my loved ones again. Since this will probably be my last post, I thought I
might as well end this with what my year abroad meant, and what I have learnt.
I think it’s
extremely beautiful to see that, no matter your differences, you can make
friends for life in such a short period of time. I learnt so much about
different cultures (not only the Japanese and American one) and I will never
look at the world the same. Do I feel changed? Yes, I do. I feel that now I’m
able to deal with almost every situation and I feel confident. I speak five
languages and have friends all over the world, so come at me and hit me with your
best shot. I wish I could offer everyone the same opportunity to just take a
leap and do what you really love. I made so many friends here and I might even
miss being called Tanyobi no purezento (or just tanyobi). The teachers were
amazing and I wish I could take all of them home. (But maybe that’s just
because they call me Lisa-chan and tell me I’m cute ;p). We should take a look
at the Japanese and try to be nicer and politer. Once on the train I had an
awkward moment with a woman, because there was an empty seat and neither one of
us wanted to sit down, because we thought that would be rude. I will most definitely
miss the weird commercials (yes, wondercore commercial, you) and the pure
beauty of the Japanese language (irashaimaseeeeeeeee! Okujakusama dozoooooooooooo!).
I am ready for university now (yeah, laundry!), whereas before I was doubtful. Will I come back to
Japan? I hope so. If I have the resources, I certainly will. And to everyone
that thinks Japan is weird, and you shouldn’t come here, you are so f-ing
wrong. I loved it here more than I did NY. Why? Because this, this is a real
experience. So please, join me next time and we’ll do karaoke and purikura
together. Plus we won’t look like ultimate tourists, because I am a Tokyoite
now.
Aaaaaaaaand
on a more comedic note, here is a list of stereotypes that I have found to be
true:
-Germans:
They are
blond, tall and have blue eyes. Their accents are usually quite noticeable and
they are serious about their studies. If you want to know how to get somewhere
or what museums are currently open, ask a German. They think Bavaria is not a
part of Germany (unless they are Bavarian) and they really love a drink.
However, they are also very sweet and if you find the right group, they’ll let
you join them. Half of the time they’ll tell you that Holland is basically
Germany anyways.
-South-Americans:
You
wanna party? Invite South-Americans! They are passionate, funny, talk very fast
and love good food. They either love something, or hate it. There is no such
thing as middle ground. I mean, I have seen a horde of Mexicans run outside at
three in the morning, because it was snowing. They might be loud sometimes,
they are by far the best friends you’ll ever find. Why? Because if they don’t
like you, they’ll straight up tell you.
-Frenchies
From
what I’ve seen so far, French people just don’t give a damn. It’s hard to faze
them and yes, they really like their cigarettes. Even though their jokes are
vulgar sometimes, you can’t help but laugh and think: ‘oh well, they’re French’.
They like to mess around, but they can also be extremely sincere. They are
those people that have hilarious drunk stories and always know to find a place
that’s still open at five in the morning.
-Dutchies:
There’s
a reason that Dutch is the only language that has a word such as “droogkloot”,
because that’s what we are. We love to be cynical and complain about
everything, and don’t even get me started on our English. We have a tendency to
sniff out other Dutchies and stick together. However, if you’re ever in trouble
the Dutch will stay cool and get you out of it. Why? Because we don’t like to
be dramatic. Just act normal, you’re already being weird enough, as we would
say. And even though, Dutch people abroad might not always be my favorite, they
are home.
-The
Japanese
The
Japanese are absolutely the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. They are so
amazed every time they see something foreign. They are super polite, and even
when they don’t speak English they’ll try to help you as best as they can. They
are also very patient and they might sometimes seem timid. That’s because they’re
shy at first, but get to know them and you’ll have the time of your life and
discover that they can be ultimate trolls, in that subtle way that you don’t
notice at first. Also, they eat like crazy. We took our teachers to an
all-you-can-eat restaurant and they went nuts! That’s also where we discovered that
Ayaka-sensei secretly is a total bad-ass.
-North-Americans:
They are
completely different from South-Americans (zen-zen chigau as the Japanese would
say). They are usually very opinionated, and for some reason not as worldly as
the other people I’ve met. Maybe, because they only speak one language
(usually). However, they are usually very keen on learning new things and they
are great talkers. Seriously, if you ever need a lawyer, take an American.
Because most of them have a European lineage, they are very interested in
European culture and our languages. “seriously, how can you have so many?!”
-Scandinavians:
Scandinavians
are great. Their English is either very good or really bad, again no middle
ground. The always wear T-shirts and Viking helmets (okay, no helmets) and die
of the heat when it’s 17 degrees outside. I have yet to find a tan
Scandinavian, they all have light skin and eyes (their hair is usually blond as
well). They are very good at learning new languages, because they know a lot of
different sounds. Oh, and the like licorice. A lot. Some Scandinavians are
bad-shit crazy and that’s what’s fun about them. Others just tell you how they
once went somewhere where you could shoot cows with a bazooka. If I ever got
stuck on a deserted island, I would want to take a Scandinavian with me.
You have
my dad to thank for this post, because he really wanted me to write something
again. Love you, papa and everyone else. I’ll be home in a week.
One last
time: Sayonara,
Lisa
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