この日本のなつのために、ありがとう / Thank you for this Japanese summer

(pronounced kono nihon/nippon no natsu no tame ni, arigatou)

Hello everyone,

I've been home for a few days now. This is my last "journal," though I do plan to post/send a few more updates based on the assignments my professor and I have discussed.

In short, Japan was amazing. Before visiting, I had only traveled in Europe (plus Costa Rica and Australia); it was great to broaden my horizons, and I hope I can further explore the cultures of countries and continents that are less familiar to me in the future.

In addition to visiting Denmark again, I definitely want to return to Japan someday. I saw and experienced SO MUCH while I was there; I loved trying new foods, improving my (minimal) language skills, talking with my co-workers each day, enjoying various media (music, art, movies, TV shows, and manga), visiting beautiful cultural landmarks, and learning through 2HJ about a side of Japan that many foreigners probably don't even realize exists. That said, it feels as if I've only scratched the surface.

In one of my sociology classes, we discussed the concept of Orientalism, which is a worldview that sculpts and reifies a sort of binary of "Eastern" and "Western" cultures. For example, American society tends to lump various Asian cultures into a monolith, exotifying the jumbled "whole" that results (as opposed to recognizing the diverse and complex histories/cultures that occupy the continent). We see this in the fetishization of Japanese women, in the conflation of China with the continent as a whole, in the shallow mix-and-match of cultural aesthetics we import for entertainment purposes, and in the characterization of Asian-Americans as perpetually "foreign."

The examples above are some of the more obvious examples of an Orientalist worldview, but the "otherization" of a country like Japan is something that runs deep. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking things there are so different from some arbitrary "norm" that exotification overrides appreciation. Being a first-time visitor to an Asian country and a student of sociology, I find it essential to remind myself and others that my impressions of Japan should not be attributed to the continent of Asia as a whole -- nor can they fully do justice to the country itself. I spent six weeks in and around Tokyo, and there are millions of people living outside the metropolis who occupy very different social, economic, cultural, and geographic spaces from those I had the chance to observe. Japan has its own complicated governmental policies, rural/urban disputes, religious/spiritual norms, generational divides, subcultures, gender/sexuality politics, et cetera, which cannot possibly be boiled down into a twenty-year-old American college student's short brush with Japanese society.

So while I've learned a lot about Japan over the past month and a half, I can't and shouldn't pretend to be an expert. I gained an abundance of insight from my host family and from fellow 2HJ volunteers, for which I am especially thankful. I think the best way to learn about an unfamiliar place is to engage with and listen to the people who occupy a more permanent position within it; so many awesome individuals were willing to connect with me, and because of that, I would be remiss to end this post without a number of thank-yous:

To Nishioka-san, Miho-san, and Yuki-san (my supervisors), who were incredibly understanding when it came to my limited grasp of Japanese, and who made me feel welcome in a new environment.

To Maki-chan (fellow intern), for all the lunches together, and for being willing to help translate things for me, even though that wasn't in your job description :) Good luck during the next semester!

To Charles (2HJ CEO), for taking time out of his busy schedule to share information with me about 2HJ's work and impact in Tokyo and beyond. I think it's also important to share that he drove a truck all the way to Hiroshima a few weeks ago to deliver as much food as possible to those displaced by the flooding that has occurred there throughout the summer. His dedication to his work is literally saving lives, as are the donations people and companies make to Second Harvest throughout the year.

To Kyoko-san (Kids' Cafe volunteer/manager), for her hospitality, friendship, humor, sightseeing/cultural/dining suggestions, and for taking me with her to the beautiful morning glory festival. Say hello to everybody at Kids' Cafe for me! <3

To Okada-san (fellow volunteer at the Saitama warehouse), for being eager to talk politics :)

To the Asia Freeman grant program for so generously funding my time in Japan, and to Professor Teddy Amoloza at IWU for working tirelessly to make these amazing experiences possible for students every summer.

And a big thank-you, most of all, to Asae-san and her family. Asae-san, I feel so lucky to have met you; thank you for sharing your home, as well as your passions for nature and sandal-making, with me! I hope our families can meet in the future.

To all of you for reading :)

Thank you for following me on my journey to Japan, and on my previous journey to Denmark. Here is the link to my pictures/videos from my final week in Tokyo!