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.