さようなら

Sarah’s Blog Post 32: June 24, 2016

 

In August, I will be returning to the United States after being at Fujimura for just one short year. I have had such a good time in Japan, but more importantly, I have loved being at Fujimura. I will never forget all of the wonderful students I have taught English to and talked with. I will never forget all of the teachers I have worked with. Over the past year, I have taught many students, but I have also learned things from everyone I have met. Even though my Japanese is still not great, I have learned much more than I could have ever learned in the United States. When I leave, I will never forget the Fujimura spirit and I will always remember, アオイクマ. Every day I come to school and I am greeted by smiling faces and kind words. I will miss them when I return to the United States.

 

Good luck to the graduating class of 2017. I am excited for you, and it won’t be much longer until you leave Fujimura too. To all of my students, I hope you enjoyed my classes, and I know you will continue to have fun with your new teachers when I leave. If we meet again, don’t hesitate to say hello. Thank you so much for one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Please come and say hi to me before I leave!

 

いつも大変お世話になって、ありがとうございます！

Last Week of Classes

My time at Fujimura has gone by so quickly! It feels like I just arrived in Tokyo, but almost a year has passed. It took a while for me to figure out how to work with the students because each class, year, and school has a different personality. But I feel confident in the teaching style here and genuinely enjoy working with the students at Fujimura. A part of me wishes that I could see these kids continue throughout the years, but I know that this would take more time than I have. Nonetheless, I am grateful for my experience with these students and I will miss them. I feel very lucky to have been placed at a school where the teachers are very nice and helpful and the students are easy to talk to. I hope I’ll get to say hi to students a few more times before I leave and until then, I’ll try to make the most of my time here.

 

- Yaya Campbell

Real Hawaiian Food

A few weeks ago, I went to a Hawaiian food restaurant and it actually had real Hawaiian food! Most people think Hawaiian food is just burgers and pancakes, but that’s actually more American food and not Hawaiian. I was a little unsure about how it would match up to my food standards, but I was happily surprised. There is so much more to Hawaiian food than the world realizes and I’m glad this tiny restaurant was able to do it justice.

As an appetizer I ordered poke, which is pieces of raw fish mixed with sauces and other flavoring spices. For my main dish, I ordered a kalua pig and rice plate, which also came with some side dishes. Kalua pig is shredded pork that is usually slow cooked and flavored using salt. The side dishes were lomi salmon and mac salad. Lomi salmon is diced tomatoes, onions, and salmon, flavored with salt and green onions. Mac salad is a macaroni pasta salad with mayonnaise, salt, and black pepper. This mac salad was a little different because it had potatoes, so I didn’t care for it too much. Other than that, the food was great. They also had hurricane popcorn, which is a Hawaii-style flavored popcorn. It’s usually just melted butter and furikake, and it’s really delicious. Even though the food was a little expensive, I was really happy with the flavor of the food and the service. It was a great dinner.

 

- Yaya Campbell

夏

Sarah’s Blog Post 31: June 17, 2016

 

Summer is here! Summer in Japan is very different from summer in California. Most days, the weather will be more than 30 degrees Celsius (85 degrees Fahrenheit). Many days will be around 37 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), but it doesn’t feel as hot as it does in Japan because the weather in California is very dry. It doesn’t rain much at all during the summer in California. In fact, we are worried because there has been a drought for many years. Our lakes and rivers are losing so much water. Surprisingly, in desert places like Arizona, they have monsoon season. So for a month or so, there are very heavy rains on and off for many days.

 

Last weekend, I went to Nakano Broadway to an ice cream shop that I found online while searching for soft-serve ice cream. It was so good! I got an ice cream cone with eight different flavors, and it was about a foot tall! The only problem is that I had to eat it fast so it didn’t melt. The flavors were strawberry, vanilla, green apple, cassis, café au lait, chocolate, ramune, and matcha. My favorite flavor was the strawberry, but I also really liked the matcha and cassis.

Speaking English in Japan

This past week, I got to spend time with some family members who happened to be vacationing in Japan. I always enjoy being the translator for visiting family and friends, but of course, I can’t be with them the entire time so they have to rely on the help of Japanese people. While talking to my aunt and uncle about where they’ve travelled in Japan so far, from Osaka to Sapporo, it was interesting to hear their stories of who they’ve met and how they’ve communicated despite the language barrier. As expected, it is easier for them to get around and communicate with others in Tokyo and other big cities compared to the countryside. It was nice to see my cousins and show them a little of what I’ve learned about Tokyo so far.98

 

- Yaya Campbell

焼肉

Sarah’s Blog Post 30: June 9, 2016

 

I had yakiniku for the first time when I came to Japan ten years ago. I went to Gyu-kaku with my host family. Everything was very delicious, but I didn’t like the beef tongue. It was too chewy for me and felt like I was chewing my own tongue. In the United States, it is very hard to find yakiniku restaurants. You can only find them in big cities where many Asians live. There are some Gyu-kaku restaurants in the United States and I have gone to two different locations in Los Angeles and one in Torrance. However, Los Angeles also has a large Koreatown and Korean barbecue is very similar to yakiniku. There are a couple of differences between Korean barbecue and yakiniku in the United States.

 

Different meats are prepared different ways at yakiniku and Korean barbecue restaurants. I prefer beef from yakiniku restaurants and pork belly from Korean barbecue restaurants. Yakiniku restaurants in the United States almost never have an all-you-can-eat option. On the other hand, Korean barbecue restaurants often have all-you-can-eat menus. I really like eating meat, so I enjoy going to both yakiniku and Korean barbecue restaurants.