先学期に続き、今学期も私は書道を学んでいます。書道というのは墨を付けた筆で字を書くことです。先学期と同じように毎週火曜日の六時から年配の先生のお宅でしています。満足できるまで書かなくていけないので、大抵二時間ぐらいします。いつもは四人の小学生もいて、一緒に書道をしながらちょっと喋ります。先生が書いてくれたお手本のおかげで、これまでの五ヶ月でいろんなことを勉強して上手になってきたと思います。大筆と中筆と小筆という三種の筆を使って、基本的な字から和歌や隷書体という古い漢字の書き方など、難しい書まで学んできました。先生は普段はそういうことを教えていないそうなので、私だけではなく、先生も一生懸命頑張っています。私は、たとえ腹が立つほどひどい日でも、書道を始めると心が落ち着きます。それで、いつも書道をするのが楽しみなので、私にとって書道はとてもいいCIPプロジェクトだと思います。
私のCIPは弓道です。二人のKCJSの学生と一緒に月曜日と木曜日に京都の武道センターに行って弓道の仕方を習います。私はアーチェリーをしたことがないから、弓道は全く新しいことです。でも、新しい経験が好きで、子供の時から弓道に興味があったので、CIPとして弓道をすることに決めました。
最初の日には弓道の形だけを練習しました。3週間ぐらい後で弓と矢を使い初めましたが、まだ矢を放つことはできません。先生は川口先生という先生で、とても厳しいけど、性格はやさしいです。私達が練習する時に道場にいる他の人もはいつも優しくて、喜んで私達を手伝ってくれます。
私は腕の力がないから弓道はちょっと難しいですが、本当に楽しいから、毎週、
月曜日と木曜日を楽しみにしています。
My motivation for learning calligraphy as a CIP came from a Japanese professor I had at Brown University. She was the person who introduced it to me, got me to go out and buy a brush pen, and encouraged me to practice it in my spare time. Up until now, all the calligraphy I had done was all amateur practice because I was just writing with a vague notion of proper form and really just trying to get a feel for handling the brush. Therefore, receiving proper instruction while in Japan was an opportunity I could not pass up.
However, my initial expectations of calligraphy instruction were quite unreasonable. First, I had hoped to receive one-on-one instruction at a location where I could relax and focus easily. Furthermore, I dreamed of being able to work extensively and reach a considerable level of skill in a short amount of time. Then, by copying classical works and adding my own style, I would be experiencing Japanese traditional artistic culture at its finest.
Things didn’t work out that perfectly, and I’m happy that they didn’t. I don’t have the time or money for any kind of extensive one-on-one training, and it’s hard to beat the price I got for four sessions a month. Of course, at that rate there was no way I could get as good as I wanted to, is what I had thought. To the contrary, and thanks to the wonderful teachers I’m lucky to study under, I’ve been able to improve surprisingly quickly. In these past three months I’ve made it from practicing single, basic strokes to writing haiku and semi-complex characters. As far as experiencing traditional culture and art goes, I’m more that happy to settle for experiencing modern culture instead.
At first, I had been incredibly skeptical of being able to observe anything about modern Japanese culture by learning calligraphy. After all, how much can one classroom at 6pm on Tuesdays with two teachers and on average ten-year old students say about the culture at large? Perhaps non-surprisingly, seeing kids learning calligraphy in Japan reminds me of my own experience from that age. Most of the time, it’s the parents that are making their kids go to lessons because that’s what they did when they were kids. The kids who prioritize having fun over artistic discipline spend the time goofing off, while the few that choose to devote themselves are praised for doing so.
Instead of the kids, it was the teachers that I was really interested in. My mom is a public school teacher in America, and through her I’ve become well aware of the American teaching process. While the calligraphy classroom is in no way affiliated with the public Japanese educational system to my knowledge, it’s important to note that in general, at least one private calligraphy teacher exists in any local community. They are as much a part of the primary educational system as the schools are, but their integration with the local community means that the teacher-student and teacher-parent relationships differ from the norm. For example, because the parents live no more than a few blocks away, the teachers not only know the parents well, but also will not hesitate to call the parents in the event that their child is misbehaving. As I still have one more semester to study calligraphy, I hope to develop these observations even further.
私のCIPプロジェクトは書道だ。書道というのは伝統的な字の書き方の技術だ。日本語を初めて学んだ時からきれいな字を書きたかった。一年間前、筆ペンを買ったのはそのためだったが、本当の書道もやりたかった。私の書道の先生はホストファミリーの家の近くに住んでいるから、とても便利だ。先生は優しくて、英語も話せるので、驚いた。最初の日、先生は私に筆をくれて、基本な画の書き方を教えてくれた。例えば、「一」を初め、「大小」や「川上」などを書いた。最後には、俳句を書けるようになりたい。頑張ってだんだん上手になるつもりだ。
Perhaps the best way to understand society is to be a part of it. Certainly, my experiences taking Japanese calligraphy (shodo) classes and participating in the Doshisha Exchange Students Association (DESA) were an integral part of my stay in Kyoto. In particular, taking part in these two different activities gave me different perspectives of the society that I eventually became a part of, albeit for a fleeting moment.
My initial decision to learn shodo was motivated by my desire to learn how to relax, focus, and achieve a semblance of serenity. Given my lack of background in shodo, that was the most I could ask to achieve within the short three months I had in Kyoto. Certainly, I have gained some insight on how to achieve these goals. Far from being a master calligrapher, I can say that this experience has benefitted me greatly in my own personal development.
What most interested me, however, was the social interaction that occurred at the shodo classes. My class, which is structured for adults, followed right after a session conducted for children. On certain occasions, I entered class early and, as a result, was gifted the opportunity to see teacher-student relations between the teacher and students of various age groups. Also, given that the adult class was the last class of the day, I was able to observe group dynamics in action during the packing-up process. Also, the usage of varying language forms, such as keigo and plain form, together with the varying involvement of students in the packing-up process, reflected the steep levels of hierarchy and social position embedded in Japanese society, though in a microcosm of a relaxed calligraphy class setting. For example, at the end of each class, the only other male student, who was an elderly man, would pack his equipment and leave straightaway while the rest of the students (including myself) helped to clean up the room. It was an intriguing insight as it reflected unsaid gender roles: men (especially older men) could be excused for leaving while the women cleaned up the area. Although integrating into Japanese society was a major goal of CIP (which, fortunately, I did to some extent by participating in group activities), it was this outside-in perspective that I have found most intriguing and precious.
DESA, too, was an opportunity to immerse into Japanese culture, though in a largely different manner compared to shodo class. Comprised of Doshisha University students who sought to further cultural exchange opportunities with foreign students, DESA succeeded in its goal and the activities organized by them certainly enriched my stay in Kyoto. Other than the all-too-typical nomikai, DESA-organized events, including a trip to Osaka and other recreational activities, provided ample opportunity for KCJS and other foreign students to bond with the Japanese students. Specifically, the trip to Osaka was exceptionally fun as we watched sumo wrestling and toured Osaka with the students as our guides! Given that we were hanging out with Japanese students, involvement in the community was more proactive through DESA as compared to shodo, for foreign students had to actively engage and respond in conversations with our DESA peers.
More importantly, the interactions with DESA students gave me an opportunity to understand the importance some of them place on learning English whilst providing me with an insight into their worldviews. I remember vividly an exchange I had with a Japanese second year university student who lamented on his less-than-perfect English capacity. He saw fluency in English as a key to the world, opening doors to different cultures and societies. Inadvertently, I ended up promoting study abroad as the best way to learn both the language, as well as the culture, of a particular place. Their perspectives on university, job-hunting, and the corporate world were certainly precious in adding to my understanding of Japanese society. Not to mention the least, the chance to practice Japanese with DESA students certainly was much appreciated, for casual forms of speech were more often used as compared to the shodo classroom and, from time to time, host-family conversations.
The perspectives I have learnt about Japanese society and the opportunity to practice conversational Japanese are among the most cherished takeaways I have from KCJS. Indeed, without the experiences at shodo and DESA, my stay in Kyoto might have been somewhat less enriching.
古い都の京都には、たくさん文化について活動や授業があるから、どんな活動に参加するかは難しい問題だ。心を訓練するために、書道に決めた。ホストお母さんのお陰で、家の近くに書道の授業に参加している。
ホストお母さんのお陰で、家の近くフェリエというショッピングモールで書道の授業に参加している。授業は毎週一回で、毎回２時間の授業は７時から９時までだ。先生の下で初めて書道を習っている。初心者だから、一番簡単な「一、二」から習っている。先週、自分の名前の書き方を習って、今も練習している。名前の漢字（劉毅）はちょっと複雑だけど、自分の名前だからこそ、力を入れて練習しなければならないと思う。先生と他の生徒達はとても親切なので、楽しい。
日本人の子供達は小さい時から書道を習うから、時々「僕は遅いな、、、」と思うが、書道をすることは自国の習慣ではないので、大丈夫だと考える。たぶん、三ヶ月の授業の目標は、自分の名前がきれいに書けるようになることだ。
頑張るぞ！
秋学期の始まりにはCIPに対してどうすればよいのか分からなくて焦りましたが、結局KIXという国際交流サークルやEJKGという英語・日本語の会話グループに入ることが出来ました。この１学期、２つのサークルのおかげで、色々な経験が積めて、日本人の大学生の生活が理解できるようになったとは言わないまでも、少なくとも日本人との連絡やコミュニケーションのやり取りが上達した気がします。いずれにしても、サークルのミーティングやイベントで新しいことに気づいて、日本へ来る前には知らなかった２つのことが分かりました。
１つ目は日本人も遅刻することです。私は日本へ来る前に、「日本は電車が４時半ぐらいじゃなくて、４時３３分に到着するというような、ものすごく細かい時刻表があって、最先端技術の国の典型だから、日本人が遅刻するわけがないだろう」という既成概念がありましたが、日本人との付き合いなどで、「やっぱり世界中のどこでも人間は遅刻する。同じ人間なんだ」と考えるようになってきました。実は、私は遅れがちなので、遅れたりしたら日本人をイライラさせてしまうかもしれないと焦ったのに、京都の公共交通に慣れてからだいたい問題なくいけます。逆に、遅刻する方は日本人でした。３０分も連絡なしに遅刻した相手を根気良く待ったこともありましたが、「すごい忍耐力だな」と思いました。
２つ目は、日本人がアメリカ人に比べれると割とシャイだということです。やっぱり、性格というものは人によって異なりますが、全体的に比べると、日本人の方は割と恥ずかしいと感じやすいと思います。交流サークルで紅葉を見に行ったとき、日本人も外国人もいましたが、両方はあまり交流せず、仲間同士で固まった状態でした。違和感まではなかったけれど、自分の選択で国際交流サークルに入っているのに外国人と話さないというのは、恥ずかしがり屋でも変だと思いました。とはいえ、これはただ人見知りなだけかもしれません。会話サークルで話が盛り上がったら、私は日本人の相手が恥ずかしく感じると思わないのです。結局、留学生の私たちは外国人なので、交流するにはさまざまな超えにくいバリアーがあるのではないかと思っています。
最後に、CIPに参加することで、そうしないと理解できないことを一杯身につけてきました。あいにく国際的なサークルばかりに入っていて、もし普通のスポーツやアクティビティーに関するサークルに入っていたら、もっと学べたのにと少し後悔する一方、国際的なサークルで、１つの趣味だけではなくていろいろな趣味のある日本人、そして日本人だけではなくて世界中のあらゆるところからやってきた留学生、多種多様な人々と出会えて、大変嬉しく思っています。これからも、自分の知識や能力を伸ばすために、頑張っていきたいと思います。
秋学期のはじめに、アニメサークルや京都アニメーションなど、たくさんのところへ「見学させて頂けませんか」というメールを送ってみましたが、返事が来なく、結局国際交流に関するCIPをやることにしました。今CIPとしてやっているのは、KIXSという京都大学の国際サークルを参加することとEJKGという英語・日本語の会話グループを運営するのを手伝うことです。
KIXSでは毎週の水曜日に京大で食堂会が行われるのですが、週一回放課後に通っています。たくさん日本人と知り合って、飲み会やパーティにさそわれるので、なかなか良い交流ができそうな感じです。会話サークルは、毎週の木曜日に行います。日本人とも外国人とも会うことができて、運営がアメリカでやっていたサークルでの任務と似ているので、楽しんでしています。これからこの二つの活動で日本人の友達を増やして、日本語を練習していきたいと思います。
For my CIP, I had the chance to work in the Funahashi research lab at Kyoto University. To be honest, I was doubtful that the opportunity would come together at all. Three months is a fairly short period of time to contribute, and I certainly know nothing about animal research. Nonetheless, Dr. Funahashi exceeded my expectations immediately, not only by replying to my email but even inviting me to observe an experiment the very next week. Particularly because I also work as an RA in a lab back at home, I was excited about getting the chance to see what a lab in Japan would be like. Since I also didn’t have much experience with monkey research, I was also particularly excited about seeing these methods in use.
My main concern was that I would not have many opportunities to actually interact with my professor and the researchers in the lab, as everyone was fairly busy with their work. Moreover, without too much time or significant training, the number of things that I could actually help with were fairly limited. In the beginning, this is exactly what happened. After my initial tour of the lab, my main task was printing graphs. A lot of graphs. On top of that, I occasionally missed the memo when my professor went to conferences, and got locked out from the lab once. It wasn’t exactly the ideal opportunity to participate in society.
However, as time went on and my routine began to settle, I started to find excuses to talk with the other people in the lab. It would generally start with someone asking me if I wasn’t bored, printing graphs all day, and then the discussion would continue from there. I was finally able to have conversations! I got to hear about all sorts of topics, ranging from the added difficulty of having to publish scientific papers in English, to comments on Kyoto and Japan in general. When I brought back omiyage from Ise (which in and of itself made me feel a little bit more like a part of the gro up), we had a conversation about how many schools will go there as a class trip. As time went on, I also began to be able to contribute in more ways. I was able to help beyond printing graphs, and even got to help with the monkeys once. These sorts of experiences were not only exciting in their own right, but they also helped to create more opportunities to ask questions and speak with the other members of the lab.
This development took a fair amount of time, and it’s unfortunate that just as I begin to really start to make progress, I’m going to have to leave. I think a particularly large obstacle was having only a fairly small group of graduate students and my professor to interact with; apparently undergraduates don’t work as research assistants particularly often. I would have liked to meet more students, but given that Kyodai was on spring break, there also haven’t been any seminars or courses I could sit in on. (As a result, I’m glad that I also got to participate in KIX occasionally as well.) Overall, however, I think that my experience in the lab was a positive one. I got to maintain some sort of connection with neuroscience even while in Japan, and I got to get to know a group of interesting, friendly people.