Holidays in Japan

On January 18, 2020January 18, 2020 By Vani SureshIn Life as it Happens, Perspectives2 Comments

Hope everyone is having a great start to the new year! It’s been an interesting first couple weeks in 2020 here, and it was super interesting to experience the Japanese holiday season. For one week over spring break, I stayed with a new host family, getting to know Japanese life from a different perspective. And while I missed my family and friends back home a little extra over the holidays, I had so much fun making new memories and learning about the Japanese traditions.

My family back in California is not Christian, but I’ve always had fun getting into the Christmas spirit. I would wear Santa hats and ugly sweaters to school and lead the family in decorating our Christmas tree. In Japan, Christmas is not a religious holiday either, celebrated mostly because the western world celebrates it. Couples go on dates, children expect presents from Santa, and friends have parties together. Christmas traditions in Japan consist of going to Kentucky Fried Chicken and eating a ‘Christmas cake’ after dinner. Don’t ask me why; people were shocked when I told them that people in the US didn’t eat cake or go to KFC on Christmas day.

The more important and familial holiday in Japan is New Years, or お正月(Oshōgatsu). Considered one of the most important holidays of the year, festivities last from the 31st until the 7th, with most hospitals and businesses shutting down until January 4th.

On New Years Eve, or 大晦日(Ōmisoka), the celebrations begin. People eat long soba noodles in the evening as a way to symbolize a long and healthy life. About an hour or two before midnight, Buddhist temples all over Japan begin the tradition of joya no kane: The ringing of the temple bell exactly 108 times. One of the most important Buddhist rituals of the year, each strike of the bell represents the removal of one of the earthly desires in Buddhism. My host family did not visit a temple to watch this process, but I could hear the monotonous toll over the television as we waited for midnight to come.

At midnight, instead of drinking champagne or partying with friends, most people quietly wish their family a happy new year(akemashite omedetou) and head to bed. People get up fairly early on New Years Day to enjoy Osechi Ryori, a set of traditional Japanese foods served in beautiful layered bento boxes. Every item of food in this meal represents a certain wish for the coming year. For example, I ate a lot of kuromame, black soy beans, for good health this year. I also ate a lot of taro, because it tasted good, learning afterwards that it represented the wish for many children. And although I couldn’t eat all of the foods as a vegetarian, the presentation was stunning and everything that I could eat was delicious.

Sometime during the first few days of the year, people visit a shrine or temple to pray for the year ahead. This tradition is called hatsumode. My host family went on January 3rd, and even then, the shrine was incredibly crowded. When we got to the front of the queue, we threw some coins into the box in front, bowed twice, clapped twice, prayed, and then bowed once again before exiting. On your way out, it’s popular to draw a fortune (omukuji) and exchange a good luck charm (hamaya) to ward off evil spirits. I sadly picked out a moderately bad fortune, so per custum, I tied it to a post at the shrine in hopes that it won’t come true.

The wait outside a shrine, with shops lining the whole way

Other New Years traditions include kakizome, the first calligraphy writing of the year on Jan 2nd; nengajo, new years cards usually featuring the animal of the year; otoshidama, giving money envelopes to children; and fukubukuro, bags full of mystery items from a store at a large discount. Coming of age day, or seijin shiki, is held on the second Monday in Jauary, for people who turn 20 during that year. Plus, with my host dad’s birthday in mid-Jan, the whole month has felt celebratory so far.

Kakizome, with some fun paint backgrounds and mouse stamps

Enjoying the holidays here has been one of my favorite things since arriving in Japan, because of both the rich culture I was able to participate in and the memories I made while doing so. Both my host families shared their own takes on the Japanese traditions and I’m grateful to have experienced them. Can’t wait for the other festivals coming up!

2019 → 2020; The End of an Era

On December 31, 2019February 16, 2021 By Vani SureshIn Photo Journal2 Comments

It’s New Years Eve!! Happy Holidays from Hiroshima, hope everyone is enjoying this time with family and friends. It’s crazy to think that a whole decade has come to an end! 2019 was a great year, filled with a lot of memories and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on them before starting off 2020 on the right foot! My favorite memories of the year, with some (hopefully) interesting commentary:

January

Celebrating the end of college apps season with a long-overdue get together with some close friends.
Watching my little brother compete in(and almost win!) his first middle school spelling bee.
Last highs school formal! The first of the lasts 😦

February

Passing the motorcycle training course and getting certified!! Although I’ll probably have to do it again after not riding for a year.
Vyākrita, Under the Sacred Tree rehearsals. Late nights with my VSPA family ❤

March

The actual show! Had so much fun the entire time and I can’t wait to dance with everyone again.
One of my best friends and her roommate visiting from college!

April

Family trip (minus Skanda) to Utah over spring break – Absolutely amazing national parks with stunning natural surroundings. Absolutely want to go again and spend more time on all the trails!

May

Accepting UC Berkeley’s offer of admission after a lot of deliberation, and starting my deferral application. Go bears!
VSDA’s Anuual Day! This year was special because I got to watch my own adorable students perform! Felt like a proud mom 🙂
Bidding a tearful goodbye to Pebbles, the Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) puppy my family and I raised for almost two years. The entire graduation ceremony was beautiful and although it was so hard to send her off to advanced training, I know she’s going to help someone and do amazing things! Another proud mom moment.
Senior prom! Felt like a princess and had an amazing night with friends. Also felt like a sucess in terms of planning it with the amazing d.leadership team!
Finished building a resin table with my group for our final Engineering project. It was so fun the whole time, and I really enjoyed stepping outside of my comfort zone in that class and experimenting with all sorts of tools. Shoutout to the group for making it so fun!! Also sorry for making the koi fish with birds in the middle of the table

June

Graduated high school!!! Thankful to d.tech, all my teachers from elementary school, my family, and my friends for supporting me through! It was such a fun four years and while I’m just highlighting a few here, countless memories and friendships were made throughout school that I’m so grateful for.
Senior trip with some of my closest friends down the California coast! SO fun and a great bonding experience. We might not all be going to school together anymore but I really believe that these friendships (and 12094391081 photos) will last a lifetime ❤

July

SF Boba fest! Cemented my love for boba tea with a trip to SF’s boba festival. Hoping to make this a yearly tradition.
Annual Suresh Family trip, this time Shastha’s choice with a cruise from LA to Mexico. As this was treasured family time before heading off to Japan, I actually appreciated the lack of internet connection on the boat and had a relaxing time.
Goodbye party and departure to Japan(technically LA first)! Loved seeing so many friends and family one last time before I headed off for the year, especially reconnecting with people I hadn’t seen in months or even years. After bidding goodbye and packing insane amounts of stuff into two bags, headed to LA to meet my uncle, and finally left for Japan! Adventure!

August

Travelling around Japan as a tourist with my cousin’s family and friend. The country is beautiful, and I’m so glad I got to take this trip with family and see the sights before starting my exchange officially. It was also super nice to meet and stay with my parents’ old friends from their Japan trip 20 years ago!
Arriving in Hiroshima, meeting my host family and host rotary club. Everyone was so kind and welcoming and it felt so good to know that I would have this support system during my exchange. Thank you for making me feel so welcome!
First day of school. I was very excited and also very nervous, I was so scared about making friends and forgetting any of the few japanese phrases I knew. But again, I made it through my speech and everyone was super kind.

September

My host family took me to Hiroshima’s peace park, atomic bomb dome, and peace memorial museum, as well as Hiroshima castle. The experience of walking through the museum and park is something I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

incredibly humbling to walk around the park

October

Day trip to Kure City to visit my host grandmother as well as the Yamato museum. It was an educational trip with an incredible model of the Yamato battleship.
A trip to a traditional Japanese Onsen, and an opportunity to watch the beautiful Kagura dance. It was almost like a play with detailed costumes and an acted out story.
District rotary meeting! It was fun getting closer to the people in my host rotary club on the bus ride over, and also spend time with other exchange students from the district.

November

Getting hopelessly lost while trying to explore a new way home. This was truly the scariest experience and one day I will tell my grandkids how google maps led me into a forest, I fell down a hill, and found my way back just in time to take pictures of the sunset.
Visited the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum and neighboring Japanese Garden, and celebrated my 18th birthday! It was great seeing my host dad’s uncle’s work displayed in the museum, and the garden was beautiful. I was also really touched by my new friends celebrating my birthday (no pics because of the no phones at school rule), and had a cute cake with my host parents.
Had the annual Bunkasai, or school festival! We had been preparing for this festival in school for weeks and it was really neat to see everything come together for a couple days of performances and fun. Made me wish schools in the US had a big event like this every year 🙂
Speech contest! I entered a speech contest and it was a great experience!! Definitely improved my Japanese a ton preparing, and it was nice to meet new exchange students and participate.
Koyo (Autumn leaves) in Japan was so beautiful!! The leaves were gorgeous all around me but my host mom took me to Miyajima Island where the scenery mixed with the temples and culture was amazing.

December

Rotary Christmas Party! Another fun meeting with my host Rotary club, they’re all super funny people and it was a nice dinner.
Hiroshima’s Illumination and Christmas cake with a Rotary family. I’m staying with a different family for the holidays, and they took me to see Hiroshima’s main street lit up with all sorts of decorations. It was so pretty, and a new take on holiday lights as I’d only ever seen Christmassy decor before. Being vegetarian, I couldn’t partake in the Japanese tradition of going to Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas (everyone was surprised when I told them that Americans don’t do this), but we had a cute Christmas Cake at home.
Went to Okunoshima Island, which is a tourist destination for two reasons: it’s the location of former secret poison gas factories that were in use until the end of WWII, and it’s FULL of wild bunnies!! It was cool learning about the history of the island, and it was absolutely fantastic to pet bunnies all day.

And that was three days ago, just about bringing the year to a close. I definitely have a lot to be grateful for and a lot to look forward to. Thank you to everyone who made 2019 so special, and I can’t wait to make more great memories with all of you next year! Happy New Year!

紅葉 // Autumn Gallery!

On December 2, 2019January 20, 2020 By Vani SureshIn Photo Journal2 Comments

Autumn in Hiroshima was absolutely beautiful! I’ve never seen such colorful trees – everywhere I looked it seemed like the plants were on fire. The *momiji*, or maple trees, were especially stunning!!

School Daze

On November 30, 2019December 3, 2019 By Vani SureshIn PerspectivesLeave a comment

Having been in Hiroshima for a little over three months now, I’ve acclimated to the initially wild cultural differences and have settled into a comfortable routine. However, school in Japan still manages to surprise me with culture shocks every once in a while. There are plenty of differences between high school in Japan and high school in the US, but there are also some key similarities that have helped me adjust. And while I don’t know if I can encompass everything about school in Japan into an article, these are some of the observations I’ve made since joining it.

The structure is split up differently

In Japan, school grades are split up in the same way as the US: 小学校，or primary school; 中学校，or middle school; and 高校，or high school. Primary school is grades 1-6, middle school is 7-9, and high school is an optional (although almost everyone attends) 10-12. In Japan, however, the numbering starts over when you enter a new school. For example, if you were the equivalent of an 11th grader (like me!), you would say you were in high school, year two. Another adjustment for me was students choose one of two paths in high school: 文系, humanities, or 理系, sciences. While everyone still has overlapping classes like PE, math, English, and history, 文系 students take additional literature, culture, and Japanese classes while 理系 students take chemistry, physics, biology, and extra math. All of these subjects mean students are taking about 12-15 classes a semester. And as there are only 7 periods a day, classes are scheduled by week instead.

My schedule this semester! From the top left down, I have extended homeroom, math, calligraphy, PE, Japanese history, English, cooking, Japanese culture, more English, physics, and so on.

As an exchange student, I had a little more flexibility in my courses and am not in either pathway. I take the basic courses with everyone, as well as physics, chemistry, Japanese culture, calligraphy, and about 4 different English classes. I’m not used to the sheer number of subjects I’m taking at the same time, even if some of mine are less intense like cooking or calligraphy. Add in the fact that they’re all taught in Japanese, and I am struggling academically. My average test score is probably around 10-20%. Yikes. It is definitely an exhausting schedule, but all the material is interesting and it’s helping me learn Japanese faster!

Grades in school don’t really matter

Having just gone through the college application grind before my exchange, I was curious about the process in Japan. I was surprised to learn that the grade you get in class or on a final has little impact on your passing the class or getting into college. Instead, the grade is more of a reflection of where you are in the material and what you need to study. The only thing that really matters for admission is a college entrance exam taken in the last year of high school. Students take one universal test, the center shiken, and their score defines which colleges they can apply to. Then, they take a specific exam for the college they want to attend. If they don’t pass, they take the test of their second choice college, and so on. These tests are insanely hard – it’s not uncommon for students who didn’t receive the score they wanted to take one or two “gap years” after high school and spend the whole year studying before trying again.

My locker…typically these are filled with even more textbooks and college exam prep books

Personally, I don’t like the heavy weight placed solely on test taking, although it is fairly equitable. While I also can’t say I enjoyed having to write a million essays for my own college applications, I do believe students are made up of a lot more than a test score, and I appreicate that the US system gives students the chance to express that. On the other hand, I do love the idea of grades in school not counting for much. Everyone in the US stresses over getting the perfect GPA (I got my first grey hairs from seeing my second quarter photography grade). Eliminating grades might help students learn for the sake of learning and improve mental health.

Rules are much stricter, but looser at the same time.

Surprisingly, with the college entrance exam being as important as it is, students in the first two years of high school (and below) are pretty relaxed during school. I had expected Japanese school to be very rigid in its rules, with strict teachers and students studying all day. It is true that Japan has much stricter school policies in terms of uniform and conduct. Things like jewelry and dyed hair are prohibited. Phones are taken by the homeroom teacher in the morning and returned at the end of school. At the beginning and end of every class, students and teachers bow to each other in a sequence led by a classroom leader (close your eyes, open your eyes, attention, bow). Students are responsible for mopping and organizing their homeroom every day after school.

The list could go on, but at the same time, consequences for misbehaving students is usually nothing more than a talking to. Students running into class late(even with 10 minute passing periods! Even I’m not late!), not having done their homework, talking to friends during a lecture, or even taking a nap during lectures is common. These things would normally qualify for a detention or at least a warning in the US, but teachers in Japan simply ignore it, or at most, politely and sternly tell the student to stop. Coming in with ideas and stereotypes about Japanese schooling, I was shocked by the goofing around and carefree behaviors many students exhibited.

It took a while for me to get used to wearing the same clothes every day, and while I didn’t normally wear jewelry or makeup to school in the US, it was weird not being allowed to. The biggest adjustment was turning in my phone each day, which was hard not only because I’m a teenager and addicted to my phone, but also because I had been heavily relying on it for google translate. It also limited my ability to take pictures of the school and friends. I have to admit though, not having my phone forced me to stumble through talking to people and notice all the things I’m writing about!

Kids will be kids

This brings me to my final point, something I really should’ve realized before spending a few months in school and reflecting on it to write this blog post; teenagers are teenagers everywhere in the globe. I was so worried about the different social norms, language barrier, varying interests, and cultural differences, that I didn’t stop to think about how the first question my new girlfriends asked me was, ‘Do you have a BOYFRIEND?!’ before proceeding to usher me around the floor pointing out their crushes/significant others. Focusing so hard on the Japanese language and society has stopped me from giggling about youtube videos and bad hair days with my peers. Making a funny face in a selfie is the same here as it is with my friends in California. And realizing that has bridged a gap in my relationships that my language alone was struggling to bridge. It’s still hard to have in depth conversations, but connecting with people over a laugh or a game is what makes school fun.

My homeroom class, Grade 5 Class 2, at the cultural festival!

Update!! I’m alive!

On November 11, 2019November 15, 2019 By Vani SureshIn Life as it Happens7 Comments

Hello! Sorry it’s been so long since my first post, I’ve had a serious case of writer’s block along with being so busy. The past couple months have really been a roller coaster of settling in to my new home and navigating lots of different emotions. To help me get over my writer’s block, here’s a rundown of everything that’s happened!

My amazing host family has taken me to see almost all of Hiroshima’s main attractions. I visited the Atomic Bomb Dome, the Peace Memorial Museum, and the Peace Park. These places obviously hold a lot of significance and sadness, and it was an incredibly reflective and eye-opening experience for me as an American, and also just as a human being. I visited Hiroshima Castle, which was built like a mini-museum on the inside and explored the history of Hiroshima from before the bombing, and both the architecture and the view from the top were beautiful.

I went to a Hiroshima Toyo Carp Baseball game, and was absolutely blown away. Baseball is a HUGE deal in Japan; I was shocked at how invested everyone was in each game and how much energy was at the game. I had been to SF Giants games before and had always found baseball kind of boring to watch, but the excitement and energy at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium was enough to make me a loyal Carp fan. My favorite part was the song and balloon release before the “lucky” seventh inning! Go Carp!

My host family have also taken me on a few different outings outside of Hiroshima, including to Kure, Kagura Monzen, and Mount Sanbe. In Kure, we visited my host mother’s childhood home and I met her mother there. We also visted the Yamato museum and I learned more about Kure’s history as a port city and naval base. Watching a Kagura performance at Kagura Monzen was incredible; the traditional dancing and special effects made it very engaging to watch. I also got to try on some costumes afterward – everything was so intricate and beautiful, but also so heavy! Mount Sanbe was a fun excursion although the weather didn’t permit for too much outdoor activity. We went with another Nagisa Student who had just come back from an exchange year in New Zealand, so it was nice to have the company.

As evidenced by all the fun things they’ve done with me so far in Japan, my host family is amazing! Everyone is busy during the week, but I have dinner together with my host parents daily. The conversations we have over dinner range from simply what happened that day, to peculiar culture differences in Japan, to me trying to explain the US government system. I love that time because it really connects me to my host parents, while simultaneously improving my Japanese and teaching me about bits of Japanese culture. My host dad is smart, funny, and kind – he reminds me a lot of my uncle in LA. My host mom is a lot like my own mother, caring, concerned, and easy to talk to(but she’s like my father in that she loves documenting and taking pictures!). My host sister Karin is fun and energetic, although she’s super busy and rarely home! My other host sister Fuka has been away in Kyoto for college, but looking forward to seeing her again soon. All in all, life at home is really great, and I’m grateful to be a part of such a wonderful family.

In school, I am still struggling to understand the rapid-fire Japanese of my teachers. One unforseen challenge was handwriting – even if I know the words the teachers are writing on the board, I’m unable to distinguish the characters because they are written differently (and less neatly) than I’ve seen them typed up. However, thanks to some very helpful classmates, I’m slowly improving my Japanese and comprehending the material. I also joined the Tennis club! Although I haven’t played consistently since middle school, the girls on the team are super sweet and doing something active with my time is nice. Getting those endorphins released!

While I’ve been experiencing many things and keeping busy with school, my emotions have been all over the place. I’ve been loving all the cool things I’ve gotten to experience, and get super excited whenever I have an opportunity to try something new. However, as I’ve approaching the three months mark of my time in Japan, homesickness has started settling in. Staying busy and interacting with friends and family often is a good distractor from missing people, so I’ve been trying to engage in as much as possible. Hopefully, as my Japanese improves, making good friends will become easier and I’ll experience a lot more!

This is basically what has been happening over the past couple months – it’s hard to think I’ve been in Japan for so long already, the time has flown. Can’t wait to share again soon and revive this blog :). Thank you for following along!

A whole lot of firsts!

On August 25, 2019August 26, 2019 By Vani SureshIn Life as it Happens3 Comments

After travelling in Japan with my uncle and cousins, and spending time with my father’s friends near Tokyo, I arrived in Hiroshima exactly one week ago! The Shinkansen train ride from Yokohama to Hiroshima was simultaneously nervewracking and exciting as I wondered what my host family would be like, how I would connect and communicate with them, and how I would get by with my incredibly limited Japanese.

I needn’t have worried. As the train pulled up to the Hiroshima station and I gathered my luggage to stand by the door, I saw a big group of people gathered on the platform with posters and signs: “Welcome to Hiroshima Vani!” A very warm reception followed, with lots of introductions and “Hajimemashite”s. I met my host family as well as the President, counselor, and a few other members of my host Rotary club, Hiroshima-Nishi. The rest of the first day was getting situated in my new room, getting to know my host family more, and unpacking all of my things.

A couple days after I arrived, I introduced myself at a Hiroshima Nishi Rotary meeting. I will be attending these meetings once a month during my exchange year. I was shocked at how formally the meeting was run, a sharp contrast from the lighthearted and semi-casual Burlingame Rotary meeting I attended before leaving. The food was served in fancy platters, everyone stood up when the Rotary District Governor entered and left the room, sang a Rotary International song, and bowed to the flags and the audience whenever speaking or being addressed. It was so official, I didn’t take my phone out of my bag for the entire meeting, so sadly I do not have any pictures!

That night, a Rotary welcome party was held for me at a local Indian restaurant, ‘Ganesh’. The same members from the meeting were there, except here they were laughing and chatting merrily. While many of them did not speak english, I felt very welcome and enjoyed communicating to everyone in limited Japanese, English, and Google Translate.

Yesterday, I had my first day of school! It was a Saturday, and I am still trying to understand how it is normal to have to have six day school-weeks here! School in Hiroshima is incredibly different than the eccentric Design Tech High School I attended in California. Classes are much more structured, there is a lot of bowing between teachers and students, and of course, there are school uniforms! While the first day was mainly an introduction to my homeroom class and a school wide assembly, I enjoyed it very much. My schedule includes Japanese cultural classes like calligraphy and tea ceremony, which I am very excited about. I was very nervous about making friends, so it was a big relief when students were kind and I made some connections! The only downside is that I can barely understand anything the teachers are saying during class in rapid Japanese, but I hope in a couple months that I will actually be able to absorb the information.

*Giving a short introduction speech in Japanese at the school assembly*

*In my school uniform before setting out*

Later that night, my host family took me to 花火大会(Hanabi Taikai), a fireworks festival that happens once a year. What makes this festival so special is that the fireworks are launched from boats in the water, and spectators watch from Miyajima Island. It was spectacular! The way the fireworks reflected against the water was beautiful. It was also beautifully orchestrated and happened over seven parts, each part explaining part of Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine’s history. While the whole island was insanely packed (getting back off the island was a nightmare) my host father’s friend helped set up the festival and gave us great seats!

My first week in Hiroshima has been a blur of all these new experiences. I’ve been busy getting used to a different home and family habits, studying Japanese as hard as I can, and trying many types of Japanese noodles(and impressing everyone with my chopstick abilities!). And while I know my entire year may not be as exciting and full as this first week, I’m writing this energized and excited for the memories I know I will be making this year. I couldn’t have had a better start to my exchange, and I can’t wait for the rest!

Hello! こんにちは!

On July 15, 2019July 16, 2019 By Vani SureshIn Life as it Happens1 Comment

Welcome to my blog! My name is Vani Suresh and I am 17 years old. I just graduated from Design Tech High School and I am going on a year-long Rotary Youth Exchange to Hiroshima, Japan before heading to college.

During my exchange I will be immersed in Japanese culture, living with host families, and attending Japanese school everyday. As such, I hope and expect that my exchange will be much more than an extended vacation in a beautiful country. It will be an internal journey as I find myself growing into adulthood away from my community and comfort zone; an exploration into the intricacies of a simultaneously modern and traditional culture; a mission to forge new and intimate connections with Japanese family, friends, and other exchange students from around the world.

Please join me here on my adventure! I look forward to sharing my journey with all of you, and please leave any thoughts or questions in the comments section!

Sincerely,
Vani