Foreigner's impression for me

When I came to this class firstly, I was surprised there were many different people. Until I made friends with them, I thought foreigners have long nose, blue eyes and very tall and very cheerful. Maybe, I think Japanese people have these images. But, I was really wrong! Foreigners came to Japan from different countries and they speak different language. There are many people who are tall or small, black, green, blue eyes and very cheerful and gentile, like Japanese people. I came to this class, Visual Anthropology of Japan, and took the lesson; I realized they have many different idea and thoughts. I was very glad that I had the lesson because I listened to these ideas near them.

I will try to talk with foreigners even if I came back to the Hotani campus because I want to make friends with them. Kansai Gaidai University gives me many chances to contact with them and to go abroad. So, I have to catch them, and have a good time in the university without regret! I will go to study in the USA for a year, but I must not be satisfied with my present situation. Next year, I will have an interview of the roommate program in order to live with them. My friend who lives with foreigners said to me, “If you are interested in it, you should get the chance because it is very exciting!” So, I’ll live there while I have a part-time job.

I was really happy that I took this lesson and contact with many wonderful people. When I will meet them, I would like to be very good at English. So, I will study harder and harder!

reference: http://image.search.biglobe.ne.jp/search?q=%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA

Come To the Hotani Campus!

I'll introduce the Hotani campus because you may not know what it is like. Kansai Gaidai University has 2 campuses, the Nakamiya campus and the Hotani campus.

There are a lot of place to see like Nakamiya. You can see many mountains and beautiful scenery such as the cosmos field and the blue sky, and you can see read leaves now.

There is a library. It smaller than Nakamiya library, but it’s very comfortable to spend there because of very silence. You can watch a lot of movies here. This sculpture is from the library, but it came out near the corridor. It glows with lights when the night, so I’m sometimes afraid of it.

There are 2 long escalators, and you can see the bamboos and many different trees and flowers when you ride on. If there is the trouble or many people ride, we have to use the long steps. We spend healthy life every day!

Sometimes you can meet many insects… they are very bigger than ones in the town, so it’s very terrible. But, many people don’t care of them. They are very strong.

There are 2 restaurants and I often order the soba because it costs 150 yen! (To regret, deep-fried bean curd is the half) It’s very delicious and there are many kind women, sometimes a man.

There are 2 convenience stores and there is the Koushi Gakuin (the Chinese room) near the store. Sometimes I don’t buy the bread or onigiri because of a sellout. I want to have Nakamiya’s convenience store because I can buy the donuts and many things.

I love the Hotani campus and I want to make friends with many people there!

Hotani Festival!

 There was the Hotani festival for 2 days, November 3, 4. There seemed more shops this year because Chinese students came here.

I was the head of the tea ceremony and flower arrangement club, so I had the shop near the Mandai Lake and we gave many people the green tea and the sweet, which was made in Iwate. Iwate was suffered from the flood and earthquake, so I wanted to sell that sweets and I hoped that money which I had used to buy them saved it even if it was small charge.

 A few people and I learned the flower arrangement, so we decorated a room with beautiful flowers. My senior students arranged flowers well, so I would try to follow their example.

 Many people came to our shop. My French teacher also came with his child, so I was very glad. When we were free, we talked about the love, teachers and club.

 In the ground, there were many delicious foods, for example Age-Ice (which is a fried ice cream), Moffle (like a waffle made from a rice cake), Chinese soup and so on. There were also many people and cos players, who were Miko (a maiden in the service of a shine), muscular man, Eiga-Dorobo (a character in the theater)… I went around with my junior student to buy something to eat. We talked about the shops and festival. We sometimes went to talk with our friends and buy their foods.

 I was very sad because I couldn’t be until last time, but I went to the Nakamiya with the shuttle bus to attend the class.

 I enjoyed myself at the Hotani festival, so I would like to attend the Nakamiya festival someday!

reference: http://www.kansaigaidai.ac.jp/contents/info/facility/hotani.html

Keihan Densha Line Stations

 I explored the Kadoma station and near area and found new things!

 The station is among Sakae, Shozi, Shinbashi, matsuba cities, and semi-exp. and local trains stop there. There is also the monorail station and bus station near it, but the bus seldom comes as you can look at the following photo. The monorail fare is a little expensive because it costs 200 yen even if you get it off at the next station… but it is comfortable and has a fine view.

There are many shops when you go out the station. Maybe, you can’t miss the big building that be called “pachinko” in front of you. You can find the Tsutaya, Izumiya, Mister Doughnut, Daikoku Drug and the shopping district, Panasonic, and Kadoma plaza. Kadoma plaza has many interesting shops, but I was really surprised that there was a shop that had a hair cut per 1000 yen. It was very reasonable for people! Moreover, there are a library, police office, parking lot for bicycles, a massage shop and a lot of food shops near the Kadoma station.

 I talked with two people who live in Kadoma city. One was a cute woman. She thought that Tsutaya was the landmark near the station, and she sometimes used the Keihan train to go to Neyagawa city. The other person was a woman who works at the monorail station. She liked the station very much and she said that people liked the station because it was very clean, at home and they could relax while they waited the monorail.

 I think this photo represent the station because I haven’t seen a dry landscape garden near any station. People may be comfortable while seeing it and it struck them as a little incongruous because it doesn’t be in harmony with near modern views, but it is good point for they can’t see such a strange view anywhere else. So, I think it is the best photo to represent the station.

reference: http://www.osaka-monorail.co.jp/station/r24_kadomasi.html

Portrait of a Foreigner

 I hadn't have any foreign friends until I came to Nakamiya campus to take this class, Visual Anthropology of Japan. So I introduce my French teacher, Alexis D'Hautcort, to you.

He is a French teacher and he can speak French, English and Japanese. We, my classmates and I, are taught French by him. The impression about foreigners was that they were very kind who have colored eyes and hair. I thought Foreigners were very tall, slender, kind, gentle and had a humor. In fact, he was that. He was very gentle and kind, and have colored eyes and have a humor, So, I was right about foreigner's portrait!

When I asked my friends what you thought about him, some people said he was very kind and I like very much, and others said he was very pretty... I'm agree at the former because he is always gentle to teach us French and he helps me when I can't understand. But I am afraid I couldn't say the latter word for him...

There is the only surprising happening for us. He was angry about a man at our class. When he taught us French, a man suddenly went out the class with the cell phone had in his hand. So, he was a little...very? angry at the man and locked our class door. When the man came back to the class, he said politely "You should say something to me when you went out this class". I was surprised he was angry because I didn't think he was angry. But, I also thought he was right that he did so. We felt he was very kind, but on the other hand he was terrible if he was very angry.

I don't change the portrait for Mr. D'Hautcort because he is our good teacher.

So,our classmates and I like him very much, and I'll study harder French for him!

Where I now live

I live at Ikeda in Osaka, which is famous for takoyaki, okonomiyaki and so on. Then, I introduce the museum and Mr. Satsuki in my town to you.

Ikeda is famous for the place where the instant ramen(Chinese noodles) were made because it is the first instant ramen. When you go to the Chicken Ramen Museum, you can make noodles from wheat, and you can also make your original chicken ramen if you choose some soup and many ingredients. In addition to that, you can learn the history about the instant ramen. When I was a elementary school student, I went there, but I couldn't make the original chicken ramen. So, I would like to go there someday.

Next, I'm sure you can look beautiful of scenery from Mr.Satsuki, which is the big mountain in Ikeda. We can see a lot of its expression trough four seasons. A lot of people go to the park and zoo in Mr.Satsuki with their children and have a good time While seeing flowers and leaves. Some people climb it, and others go for a drive. Mr. Satsuki is a part of my life, of course native people. When fireworks are displayed in Ikeda, or other place in Osaka, many people come to Mr. Satsuki to see those. At the park in Mr. Satsuki, which is called the Satsukiyama zoo, there are five wombats from Launceston in Australia. there are also rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens and some animals. Children can enjoy touching and feeding them.

I can't say about my town because there are too good points, so come to my town!
If you like Japanese liquor, I think you will like Goshun, which is made in Ikeda. If you like rakugo, you can go to the Rakugo Museum.

Ikeda is so friendly with children and adults, so I like my town very much!

reference: http://www.ikedashi-kanko.jp/
                http://www.nissin-noodles.com/
                http://www.ikedashi-kanko.jp/sub_page/meisyo_deta/meisho_zoo.html
                http://www.ikedashi-kanko.jp/sub_page/meisyo_deta/meisho_rakugo.html

Recommendations about Japanese culture for foreigners

 I'll recommend the tea ceremony and flower arrangement, Japanese culture, to foreigners.

 The tea ceremony and flower arrangement are definitely Japanese culture and you can easily feel "Japan".

The tea ceremony goes back to the Kamakura period(1185~1333) and now many people tell their pupils how to treat the guests. You can learn not only how to treat them but also seeing the flowers, tools, and pictures. In addition to that, You can eat delicious sweets! Wagashi is mild sweets and except dry Japanese sweets, it often contains white or black an(anko), which is called "bean jam". Wagashi is many kinds of shapes, such as flowers, leaves, or fruits. You can learn the tea ceremony while eating Wagashi and drinking green tea. If you will get used to the tea ceremony and to drinking green tea, you will be able to wear the beautiful Yukata or Kimono and go to the tea ceremony party with ease.

The flower arrangement is also the one of the traditional cultures in Japan. It goes back to the Heian period(794~1185). There are a lot of schools of  the flower arrangement now, and many people arrange flowers in a vase or a container.You can feel the four seasons and sense the person have through arranged flowers because flowers are changed in all seasons. Japanese flower arrangement demands "nature", So when you arrange them, you know it is difficult that you let others see they are blooming naturally. But I think it's very good experience for you.



We went to Ikuta temple and made maccha for our guests.



the tea ceremony and flower arrangement school is expensive, so you should go to there club at the Kansai Gaidai. You can learn a lot of things about Japanese culture there!


reference:http://www.sadounomichi.com/