Okra, Kimonos, and Kanji: My first three weeks in Japan

The first three weeks of my journey in the land of the rising sun have been an incredible

whirlwind of remarkable experiences – meeting people, learning about the Japanese culture and language, and setting the groundwork for the journey ahead.

Arrival in Tokyo! Being picked up by my Rotary Family, Fukui-San and Matsumaru-San

The journey began without any issues. My wonderful parents dropped me off for an early morning flight from North Carolina on August 4th, and after 20-hours of flights and layovers and a 13-hour leap into the future I arrived in 東京 (Tokyo) where I was welcomed by my Rotary family and my sponsor, 福井さん (Fukui-San) at the Haneda, Tokyo Airport.

In Tokyo, the warmth and kindness of my Rotary family have been an awe-inspiring continuation of the support and hospitality I received from the Rotary District of the Piedmont of North Carolina. Upon my arrival, my sponsor affectionately told me that she would be my Japanese grandmother and help to ensure that I had a smoot transition here in Japan. While the stories of the kindness I have been shown in the past three weeks could easily fill several blog posts, a few anecdotes will give a small impression of this kindness. Before arriving, my Japanese ‘Grandma’ asked about my favorite food, I told her about okra’s prevalence in Southern cooking and a favorite growing up, she proceeded to make me a three-course meal with okra in nearly every dish so that I would feel at home.

Dinner before the fireworks show with Fukui-San, her niece and nephew, and Yamazaki-San

My second night were spent with her family and other Rotarians at a traditional Japanese Fireworks Festival, tickets for which were arranged by a Rotarian Peace Center supervisor 山崎さん (Yamazaki-San). The evening, complete with traditional Japanese attire, music, and food, provided an immersive introduction to Japanese tradition. The 宮崎 (Miyazaki) family, my temporary landlords who are also Rotarians, have taken care of us as well. They have lent me a bike, subleased us apartments until we find permanent housing, and taken us to cultural events. Rotarians, staff at the University, and ordinary Japanese on the street have ensured that my transition has been as effortless as possible as I have gotten my feet on the ground. Their openness and friendliness over the last three weeks have defied any preconceptions. I have been blessed beyond belief and will work hard over the next two years to make a worthwhile contribution as a student and to work with my cohort to be best prepared for our careers following graduation.

Of course, I am not alone though in this journey at the Rotary Peace Center, but rather a member of a diverse team of nine Peace Fellows united by a shared passion for conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Two of the other fellows who make up the cohort also share a very similar interest and passion for displaced people, also in part attracted by the expertise of this center, and all of us share a passion for making a positive impact in the field of conflict resolution and the cause of peace. We have already had brainstorming sessions about our research, community projects that we will participate in and could lead, and our Applied Field Experience (AFE) that we will conduct next summer. In the upcoming posts, I will certainly write more about each fellow and their individual research and interests. You can get an overview of both our cohort and the classes ahead of us at the following link. Our cohort gets along very well with each other and the fellows a year ahead of us, and I think that we have a harmony with each other that will enable us to build each other up over the next two years.

Our cohort all together at last for a traditional Tea Ceremony, well... almost, sadly one of the fellows Nichole was under the weather

Back to School!

I am writing you now from the Rotary Peace Room at the International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo. A study room and library dedicated to our studies. This is a good epitome of the support that the University has given to the Peace Center and to us Fellows. The center coordinator,松村さん (Matsumura-San), has ensured that we are prepared to navigate each academic and administrative hurdle with ease. We met the center director, 新垣先生 (Arakaki-Sensei), whose expertise and authority are clear as a former legal officer with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, refugee Adjudication Counsellor for the Japanese Minister of Justice, and a professor at ICU since 2013. Nonetheless, he is kind and has demonstrated an interest in each one of us.

Our cohort with the program director, Arakaki-Sensei, program coordinator Matsumura-San, and our Japanese language and culture training team

Our initial weeks at the University have been devoted to a survival course in 日本語 (The Japanese Language) and Japanese culture. The language is difficult, and I still struggle to form much more than memorized phrases, but having learned how to talk a bit about myself, the present and past tenses, as well as two of the three writing systems (Hirigana and Katakana), and now embarking on learning the symbols known as Kanji, I think I have a good foundation to continue to learn on my own a little each day or 少しずつ/Skoshizitsu (little by little). The language training as well as immersive experiences such as a Japanese Tea Ceremony experience and disaster preparation training have enriched our understanding of Japanese culture and prepared us to navigate the path ahead.

I am excited to share that I have been assigned my thesis advisor, Dr. Vosse, an expert on European Security and German and Japanese relations, I believe he will help to provide valuable input as I understand the concern of migration as it relates to the concerns of the European Union a topic closely related to my planned thesis. Of course, I am also looking forward to keeping an academic connection to both Germany and the European Union after five years living and working there. We will have the opportunity to pick our classes next week, and classes will begin on September 6th. I plan to take classes spanning subjects like humanitarian action, refugee law, research methodology, and conflict studies. In my September post, I will provide an update on the beginning of my academic journey.

Reminders of Why I am Here

The passage of August holds profound significance marking the anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, and one week from the anniversary of the end of World War II. The bombings have always disturbed me both for their indiscrimination destruction, devastating power, and implications for our world today. Yet being in Japan broadly and specifically Tokyo, a city targeted by firebombing has made this sentiment and horror all the more real and human. On the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, I read a powerful article written by a journalist in Tokyo who interviewed survivors of the blasts in 1945. A strong reminder of why we are each here-to prevent more people from experiencing these horrors and to help those affected by conflict – a commitment shared by my cohort, the ICU Peace Center faculty, and my Rotary family.