Tokyo Swan 10: Tokyo Disneyland

What a fun time this was! The story begins with my school having a day off due to a big baseball game against Waseda University, the rival school. Yup, these games are such big deals that classes are cancelled and everyone gets a day off. I decided to spend the day with some friends going to Tokyo Disneyland. It had been many years since I had been to Disneyworld in Florida, so I was quite excited to see how similar and different the Japanese version would be.

The first thing that really struck me was how amazingly crowded it was! Even though it was a weekday the place was packed with families and children. Large crowds are certainly no stranger to life in Tokyo, but when you add large crowds to Disneyland it equals hours of waiting in line. I think we waited about 2 hours or so just to get onto some of the rides!

Still it was a fun time, and I was surprised as to how similar the park was compared to my memories of the one in Florida. There were many of the same rides, and many costumed characters could be seen walking about. I remember the price being decent, perhaps even a little cheaper than the American park.

While it was unfortunate that we didn’t get to ride too many of the rides due to the long lines, it was a fun experience to compare the Japanese Disneyland to the American park. Hopefully when I return to Japan I can visit again and scope out some of the rides I passed on last time due to the crowds!

Besançon, France- My favorites

2/19/08- So I know i've probably mentioned before, but Besançon is beautiful and it will pain me when I have to leave. I am so grateful to be here in general, but especially because the weather is like Spring right now, and back home it's apparently freezing. What can you expect for Michigan weather, though...

Some of My Favorite Things (So far)
1. The steel drum tone in the airports and at the train station.
2. The Citadel lit up at night.
3. My beautiful walk on the way to the Centre de Linguistique Appliquée.
4. Centre Ville's proximity to both my house right now & Arlette's (The second host family I'll be living with starting March 1st).
5. Comté cheese, the ability to buy wine, Nutella, crêpes, fresh bread
6. The French accent :melts:
7. Hearing accordions. It just feels so appropriate.
8. Living right next to the Doubs river.

9. Les Soldes!! :)
10. My cultural knowledge which has significantly increased!
11. Did I mention the beautiful language?
12. Our neighbor and his tendency to bring over loaves of dessert bread with Marzipan in the middle, mmm! (p.s.- He also has two hens that run freely in his front yard).
13. Sending postcards/getting letters!
14. Seeing the stars, uncovered by clouds.
15. Laughing at Tecktonik! (The techno-inspired dance style quite popular amongst the young French adults that involves planted feet and lots of arm movement).
16. Buying souvenirs for people.
17. Spending Euro in general.
18. Making unforgettable friendships

19. Bar de l'U, brasserie 1802 (where I spend most of my time & Euro thanks to free WiFi and Erasmus nights!)

-Madeleine Bien

Besançon, France- 2/18/08

Today my cousin Yvette sent me a lovely homemade card along with three relatively old pictures that I actually have with me (I've been so accumulated to using a digital camera that I don't have prints lying around as much anymore). I've been trying to take more pictures but I keep forgetting to take my camera out when I go out! Actually- it's my mom's camera, so I have to be more careful and watchful of it.



Yvette suggested in her card to write everything down that happens to me here so I can go back later and read about all my experiences. I know i'll want to read everything later on, so i'll definitely follow through with that! I'm beginning to run out of writing space in this journal, but not to worry- I know just where to buy a new one. There's a store in Centre Ville called "Forum" that has a bunch of books, CDs, DVDs, office supplies, and things like that. I bought 2 little notepads from there that I will use for writing down vocabulary words.



I need to remember to carry cash around with me- that, or more of these stores need to start accepting "cartes bancaires" (bank cards). With the help of my friend Katy I was able to open an account at BNP Paribas. I got a carte bleue, which is the card with a little microchip that is used at many locations throughout Besançon, and even Velocité (the bike service that lets you rent bikes to get around downtown). I actually had to wait a while for my money to transfer over to this account- something I wish I had known a little earlier before arriving. I was waiting on my refund check from the University, but all in all it took about 1 month for the funds to transfer over. Next time, I'm going to have the funds ready well before arriving! I still received my carte bleue even though my money hadn't yet been deposited in the account- and had begun to use it without having any funds in the account. luckily, it doesn't work the same way as it does in the States, where if you overdraw your account, you are fined. I just went in the negative after making a few purchases, and when my money was deposited, it all balanced out. Yay France!

~Post-trip thoughts~
The notepads I bought at Forum proved to be one of the best things to help me learn the language- that and constantly surrounding myself with French natives. I would keep the notepads in my purse and write down phrases or words I didn't recognize so I could look them up later in my dictionary.
*If you will be living with a host family, and you want to open a bank account, chances are you'll need their address and a recent utilities bill in their name (as well as other usual necessities like your passport, another form of I.D., etc.). My French wasn't as good as Katy's upon arrival, so if you can have someone come with you to avoid any confusion while trying to open your account!

-Madeleine Bien

Tokyo Swan 9: Buddha in Paradise

Now this was a lot of fun! Away from the towering buildings and bustling streets of Tokyo is the close by and beautiful area of Kamakura. One of the main attractions there is the giant statue of Buddha, or the great daibutsu as it is known. It was huge! I went with some friends and many school children on field trips had come to see the giant statue. There are two such giant buddha statues in Japan, but the other one is around Kyoto I believe.

Another really fun area of Kamakura was Enoshima island. I had a blast exploring the island, as it really looked like something out of a movie. Kamakura was such a beautiful place to visit, and it was amazing to think it was so close to Tokyo and all of the hectic energy that is associated with such a large city. Here, I was able to catch a breather and just relax as I looked at the world around me from the top of paradise. I recommend that everyone who finds themself lucky enough to study abroad around the Tokyo area to also check out Kamakura, as it is truly a great place to visit!

Tokyo Swan 8: Yagami Festival

In this episode, I went to the school's fall festival. I guess the best way to think about this, is that it is like the Japanese version of our Bronco Bash. There are many booths set up outside by various student groups, and they encourage other students to join clubs and activities. Unlike Bronco Bash, there are also quite a few booths with incredible food (at decent prices), so even if someone wasn't interested in getting involved on campus (which I would say is a wasteful move), then one would get a load of great food.

There was also a lot of live entertainment in the form of various bands and dancing groups. This was really cool, and a lot of the performers were actually quite good.

The other campuses of Keio also had festivals, but I enjoyed this Yagami one the best as this campus was a bit more spread out then the Mita campus where my classes were usually held. Also, this was just a quick 7 minute walk down the street from where my dorm was, so it was great to just walk a few minutes and then be engulfed in so much fun activity. It was a great time, and all of the delicious food was not to be missed!

Besancon, France-

1/14/2008
I had a pretty good day today. I'm realizing that I like my teacher a lot more than my first impression of her. I was kind of intimidated because she spoke super fast and looked real intense. However, after three days with her as our teacher for the Cours Intensif (The pre-semester "test" throughout the month of January we take to get placed into our respective levels), I have found that she's a super funny, exciting person! Au contraire, my other teacher speaks slower but talks a lot more and leaves less room for us to speak out as a class. My writing class is pretty slow, and lasts 2 hours.



2/15/2008
In the mediatheque
After the Cours Intensif, I was placed in some pretty slow classes (level B1 group 4). I was the only American in a class of about 15 students, most of them Asian. They are mostly from China, Korea, and Japan. I wanted to change up to B2 where I feel I would get more of a challenge, but the director said that changing my level would be impossible, and that I could only change the group I was in. I finally (after three weeks of trying to reach the director) was able to bump up to a higher group and felt a little more comfortable with the work level.

Yesterday, I went to an Italian restaurant with Keena, Nikki, Sarah, and Katie. We had a good dinner together on Saint Valentin (Valentine's Day). We each bought ourselves some chocolate to celebrate. I bought myself some red wine, too- only 2 Euro for Merlot! Not bad!
I'm happy to be moving on March 1st. My new host mom, Arlette, is super cool. I struck a good deal living with her. I'm going to help her 13-year old daughter with her English, and as a result I pay cheaper rent. I think it'll be a nice change from a house without kids! Also, with the apartment, I'll be able to cook for myself! Something I much prefer over dorm food. Arlette has two sons (one is 20, the other 18). He introduced me to three of his friends, who are all super fun (not to mention charming!)

Tokyo Swan 7: Yasukuni Shrine

In this episode of Tokyo Swan, I visited the very controversial Yasukuni Shrine in the heart of Tokyo. To this day, the shrine receives a lot of media attention, and that's becuase it honors the dead soldiers from World War II, including war criminals. Pre vious Japanese prime ministers received a lot of criticism from other countries becuase they would come to honor the dead here, and it was seen as disrespectful to other countries to honor convicted criminals.

It was a pretty emotional trip. There's a few rooms in the museum where they have pictures of all the Japanese soldiers who died in the war. They also had exhibits on the kamikaze techniques, or how the Japanese soldiers would crash their planes into US fighters killing both soldiers.

Regardless of a person's views about the treatment of history at Yasukuni Shrine, I think it's an important place to visit just to see how different cultures and groups of people view historical events. While the views presented at Yasukuni do not represent the majority of Japanese people, it is still another view point into one of the world's most historic events.

Besancon, France- January 9th, 12th, & 13th 2008

I got up early this morning. By the end of the day, I'm just exhausted because of all the walking we've done! Francoise's house is far from the bus route, so I have to walk to the Centre de Linguistique Appliquee (where we have our classes) on foot. I have a lot of congestion this morning, no idea why. "Les soldes" or the big sales start downtown today, I'm probably going to buy a new winter coat! I hope I can find one without spending too many Euros. Yesterday, my my check finally came in the mail- I've waited way too long to get it. Now, I'm waiting for my USB key to arrive, as well as the European cell phone she said she'd let me borrow. What a blessing to have family that's lived in Europe before!


January 12th, 7:07 p.m.
It was a long walk to the house after shopping with Chad, Katie, and Andy. Earlier today, the four of us met up at Pont Battant (the bridge leading to Centre Ville over the Doubs river). Katie, Chad, and Andy all bought phones to use here as I still wait for my aunt's to arrive in the mail. My uncle told me he sent his out today, so hopefully it'll arrive soon.



January 13th, 2:47 p.m.
Today was very slow. I got up at 8:45, took a shower, ate breakfast, and checked my e-mail. After, I couldn't do my homework because my attention span forbade me to do it. So, I had a very long walk- almost 4 hours by myself. I don't think the others are together now, they're probably at their respective host families. Something I've learned today: NOTHING at all is open on Sundays! It was so hard to find a map of Besancon because all the stores were closed. Maybe Sunday is just a "stay-home" day.

Tokyo Swan 6: Shibuya Night Life

So in this episode, after a long week of studying I figured it was time to visit the exciting section of Shibuya for some well deserved fun. I was going to school for nearly 20 hours a week in the fall semester, so I was working really hard and needed to make sure I had some fun outside of class just to keep myself from burning out. Shibuya is a great place, and it's a place I've been to many times. There's just so much to see and do there, tons of shopping and places to hang out, have a drink, go clubbing, or just wander around aimlessly.

It was also cool for me, as Shibuya is often seen in a lot of movies that take place in Japan. It was neat to be in the same place as the characters from "lost in translation," or "fast and the furious: tokyo drift." Probably the most well known part of shibuya is the big crossing just outside the station. Here, swarms and swarms of people cross the street to reach the various shops, and it's just amazing to see everything at night when it's all lit up.

Of all the places around Tokyo, Shibuya remains one of my favorites. It's got a lot of energy, and I had many good times there. I hope I'll be able to return there someday!
rodger

Besancon, France: Day 2

Today (day 2) we visited the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and l'eglise St. Sulpice. I stopped at every magazine store possible looking for FUSAC, the French-USA-Connection magazine with classified ads so I can look for possible babysitting jobs. I would love a way to earn extra Euros while here so I can feel better about buying things I don't necessarily need.

7:28 p.m.- 1/06/08
I arrived at my host mom's (chez Francoise) an hour ago. She is so nice! Her house is beautiful and comfortable to boot. I was just at the Hotel du Nord with the other students when Francoise came and picked me up. She was the first person to come. We left in a hurry- it seemed like she was in a rush. I met one american student living with Francoise named Marta who comes from Boston, and another named Ashley from Nebraska. In a few minutes, we'll be eating!

(same day)
We just ate a big dinner: homemade soup, salad, bread and cheese with ham, and cake for the fete du roi (a French tradition in which families buy almond cakes or other flavors (ours had marzipan) and whoever gets the piece with the toy inside is the "king!") I just learned that we don't say "je suis pleine" when we don't want to eat anymore. We say instead "J'ai assez mangé". The former means one is with child. Good to know!

Tokyo Swan 5: Lazona -mall of champions-

(episode 5: lazona mall of champions)

So in this episode, I went to the newly constructed mall in Kawasaki called "Lazona." This place was huge! With over 4 floors of shops, it had everything from a grocery store to an arcade. When I was in Japan I went to this mall many times becuase it was very close to where I was living. All I had to do was get on a train and within 5 minutes I would be at the station that was connected to the basement of the mall.

Malls in Japan typically are not this large. In fact, many of them around the Tokyo area are constructed around the major train stations. However, this one is quite the exception and it featured a lot of awesome stores. It also highlights just how crowded it can get around Japan, as literally swarms of people were walking around the place.

The food court in the basement was also nice, as I would always get the same hot dog lunch set. Sometimes it's nice to have some comfort food every once in a while to remind you of home. It was a great mall to visit, and I hope one day I can go back!
Rodger

Tokyo Swan 4: Tokyo Game Show 2007

(Tokyo Swan 4: Tokyo Game Show 2007)

Many young people all over the world are interested in the video game culture that has grown out of Japan. After single handedly salvaging and revitalizing the video game industry with the Nintendo Entertainment System in the mid eighties, Japan has remained at the forefront of creating the latest and greatest games. I had the opportunity to go to the Tokyo Game Show 2007 to scope out all the latest and greatest games, and it was an experience like no other!

Taking place in Chiba, which is actually slightly north of Tokyo, it was a fun experience that was just jam packed with people! I had gotten somewhat used to living in the crowded cosmopolitan city of Tokyo, but nothing could have prepared me for the massive amount of people who showed up for this event. After waiting in line for quite some time, I entered a giant exhibition hall full of booths representing the key companies in the video game world, and I just tried to take in all of the sights and sounds.

It was a really fun time, and I got to play some games that were not yet available for the public (let alone America), so it was nice to indulge myself with all the games. It only cost about $10 to get in as well, so that was a great price. While America does have at least 1 yearly video game convention every year, it is nowhere near on the massive level that the Tokyo Game Show is, so it was quite an honor to go and try out the new games!
rodger

Besancon, France: Arrival in Paris

Madeleine Bien
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
I am safe in France after a long 8-hour flight, and am sitting here with four of my peers who are staying in the Hotel St. Sebastian in Paris with me. I am exhausted and really want to nap but as it is only a quarter to four here, I can't mess up my sleep schedule! So i'm going to probably turn in early tonight. We haven't done any sightseeing yet as we literally were just able to rid ourselves of our heavy burdensome suitcases! In a bit, after we've all sent our e-mails, we're going to explore a bit more of this area and we're planning on meeting a friend at Notre Dame at 7 p.m.
We'll be in this hotel until Friday, when we'll take the TGV to Besancon and meet up our group leader. She's going to buy us dinner and we're going to talk about our first few experiences. I can already say that I was impressed with even the beggars who played the accordion on the RER as opposed to your usual street beggar on the streets of Detroit. I can associate accordions (as many do) with sounds of Paris and it was kind of a cheap welcome into the city.
I am craving a shower and some authentic, cheap French wine and cheeses, so I bid you goodbye for now and I promise I will write as often as the opportunity arises! More later!

~post-trip thoughts~
Had I a second chance to go back and pack my suitcases, I would have packed SO much lighter than I did! Hauling my suitcases up and down those metro station stairs was tiring- and I know i'm not the only one who thought so. Our arms were aching after all that running around. But hey- good way to burn some calories, n'est-ce pas?
I ended up going to bed that night at around 7 or 8- the others were too excited to sleep and ended up visiting le Sacre Coeur: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/paris-sacre-coeur.htm
Next time I go somewhere across the world, I won't spend as much time at my computer as I did. It was nice once and a while being able to talk to friends and family, but Facebook and such can really wait. In the big picture, you're only there for a short time- might as well explore what you can and make the most out of your trip!
-MB

Tokyo Swan 3: Ramen Museum

Wow, so here is probably one of my most memorable and interesting episodes from Japan. Before classes had started at Keio University, my fellow dorm mates and I had a few weeks to just take in all of the various sites around Tokyo. One of the most fun and peculiar places we went to was the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum. I had no idea that such a place existed, but sure enough there was a building with multiple floors established to honor the glory of ramen noodles.

The first floor of the museum was nothing more than a glorified gift shop for the most part, with various ramen related goods for reasonable prices. But there were also displays and ramen artifacts in glass cases that one could inspect.

It was the basement that was the most interesting part of the museum! It was like a tiny ramen Disneyland, with a sort of mini ramen town! It truly has to be seen to be believed! They also had various ramen booths in the basements where you could enjoy different types of ramen, and the ramen I had there was pretty good. Not the best I’ve had, but not the worst. The price was also fairly reasonable for a museum, so that was good.

It was a great time at the museum, and something that I will never forget!
Rodger

Tokyo Swan 2: School, Nippon Budokan, and Elton John

So here we are with another episode of Tokyo Swan, a series about my life as a study abroad student at Keio University in Tokyo. With this being my second episode, I found myself really fascinated with my new surrondings. Of note in this episode, I was really interested in how Tokyo was a city where you would have very modern buildings and structures next door to temples and shrines. This was very true for the area of the imperial palace in the heart of Tokyo. I also was getting used to all of the walking around one does in Tokyo as compared to Kalamazoo. In this early episode, I don't think my feet were still quite used to all of the distance I was covering.

This episode also marked my quest to get tickets to see Elton John perform live at the Nippon Budokan, which is a very famous martial arts hall in Japan. Would I be succesful in getting a ticket? You'll have to watch further episodes to find out!
Rodger

Tokyo Swan 1: Arrival, Eating and Akihabara

Hey everybody, I’m Rodger Swan a senior here at WMU. Last year, I had the great pleasure of studying abroad at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. It was the most fantastic experience of my life, I have so many good memories of this past year and I met many wonderful people. While I was living in Japan, I had a weekly video show called “Tokyo Swan.” It reached a surprising level of success and popularity, getting thousands of views each week. For this blog, I shall be posting the videos and reflecting on the content of them now that I have returned back home.

In this first episode, I describe my initial reactions to some of the differences between Japan and America. The move from Kalamazoo, Michigan to the big city of Tokyo was amazing. I was getting used to all the massive crowds of people, all of the things to do, the new food to try, and just so many new things to experience.

I’m surprised at how easy it was for me to adjust to living in such a different culture and city. Maybe it wasn’t hard because it was always something that I wanted to do, but I found the transition of starting my new life in Japan to be relatively painless. Oddly enough, it’s been the adjusting back to my life in America that has been trickier to deal with.

I hope that everyone enjoys this video series, it was a great way for me to capture all the memories of the past year and be able to share them with the world. On a side note, I can’t believe how young I look in these first episodes… I look like such a little kid! Enjoy the video, and see you next time!

Rodger