Showing posts with label Language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Language. Show all posts

Tokyo Grand Slam 2015 - On the Other Side
December 24th, 2015

Last year in September, during the All Japan Junior tournament, I had the chance to go see one of my senseis, Akinori Hongo, who had come to Canada to learn English and French. During his time here in Canada, I met him a few times, and even participated in one of the camps he directed. 

Now last year, I had gone to speak to him alone, this being only a week after I had landed in Japan, thus I didn't know much Japanese. Yet I knew his English was very good and so I was not afraid to approach him. At that time, we had spoken simply about my trip, and what were my plans from now on, and the entire conversation took place in English.

This year, at that same tournament, there he was again, and I took the chance again to go see him. Having learned a lot more Japanese by then, I was confident I would be able to handle a conversation in Japanese. After about 5 minutes of talking, he told me he was really surprised with the level of my Japanese, and suddenly asked me if I'd be interested in working a part time job at a major tournament. I told him I would be very interested, although deep down I didn't believe myself able to. He went and checked with a man working there, and came back and told me he would contact me later on if the position was open. We exchanged contact information, and I returned back to my teammates to keep cheering our team on.

About a month later, a message came saying that there would be a job for after all me at the 2015 Tokyo Grand Slam, as an interpreter. My heart sprang out of my chest. I believed this kind of opportunity quite the honour, especially considering that I have only been in Japan for one year. He then asked me if I could come in for an interview, just to get in contact once at least before I started working. We arranged a date to meet, and I then told my parents about the news. They were really proud of me of course. 

Then I started preparing for it, and that's when fear kicked in. What was I thinking? I do NOT have the skill set to translate that fast or well enough to work at such an event! What if they asked me to translate live? I would never be able to handle that. I have reached a very good level of Japanese, but I am far from mastering it. After speaking again with my parents, I decided that I would just see how things are. I verified with my boss what exactly I would be doing and it didn't seem like it was something I couldn't handle. All I knew was that this was not going to be an easy task.

Before I actually started working, I was asked to participate in two different meetings, during which we went over the plan of the tournament and how it was to be run. There were people from TV Tokyo, one of Japan's biggest television companies, people from construction companies, people from electric companies, and people from the All Japan Judo Federation, for which I was working. I didn't understand everything, but I got a general idea of how many things had been planned in order for this tournament to happen.














The week of the tournament, we started the preparations. I went many times back and forth from the AJJF to the Kodokan to the Tokyo Gymnasium (location of the tournament), and started to get familiar with the place. All I did most of the time was simply fill in cards in card holders for all the coaches, athletes, VIPs and etc. I also tried to listen in as much as possible to all the conversations, gathering even more information which would be necessary to perform a good job.

The two days before the tournament, the people from the IJF (International Judo Federation) started arriving at the site. This is when I came in. I was asked to transmit messages here and there, back and forth from Japanese to English and vice-versa, mostly verifying information. I got to meet many people, and surprisingly a lot of them spoke French. 



The day before the tournament, something I was not expecting happened. I was simply talking with one of the IJF staff members, when I was called over in hurry to the main room. I walked in to discover that the tables had all been moved, that the IJF members were all sitting facing the rest of the Japanese organizations. My boss showed me the seat next to him, and I sat down, feeling like I had made everyone wait. My boss, Mr. Takemura then told me that he would need me to translate for him to the IJF, and back to him what the IJF was saying. Without any further information, he then started the meeting.

My heart stopped. For about ten seconds.

What did I get myself into this time...? 

Throughout the meeting, I translated my best what I could from Japanese to English, and then back to English, and I found out that I was the interpreter for the WHOLE meeting, and so I was not only speaking and translating for my department, but for everyone in that room. There were many moments where I didn't understand my own boss' explanations, not just due to my level of Japanese, but more so that I didn't understand the functioning of the tournament in general. But I managed to help them communicate and most of them were kind enough to me with their explanations.









I made it through that meeting and the rest of the tournament. I was told to translate a speech from Japanese to English and another one from English to Japanese (before it was performed of course), as well as ask many questions about presentations, and the running of the tournament. I was also asked to help with the medical department at one point where an athlete suffered a concussion. At that time, I met the doctor that had helped me with my knee injury back in January, Mr. Miyazaki, which made it even more interesting.



Over all, I must say it was a great experience. I went through many tough times, but it allowed me to see a whole other side of the Japanese. It has also placed me in a much better position when it comes to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, during which I wish to work, and also to most of my friends and teachers of the Judo club who saw me working.


Another big thank you to Mr. Hongo and Mr. Takemura for the opportunity.


(Kotaro and I from the other side.)









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Studies
September 14th, 2015

Today, the new students took their Japanese placement test. Yet I did not. This semester, I'm not taking Japanese language classes. I had aimed to study for one year, and then take some time to focus on judo, since while having Japanese classes, going to practice all the time is virtually impossible (if you're studying seriously, of course.)

But that doesn't mean my studies stop there. I continued my studies throughout the summer, and will pick up the pace again from now on. I purchased a fair amount of textbooks to help me along the way, as well as when I make it back home. The choice I have here compared to back home is ridiculous. My Japanese isn't perfect, of course. Therefore, I might as well study as much as I can while in Japan, right?

(The pile of textbooks I accumulated...) 

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Disney Sea: Japan Style
August 12th, 2015

Last Sunday, I did what I believed I would never do: I went to Disney Sea.

Arisa and I arrived at around 10:30 in the morning. The station in front of the park was already filled with the Disney spirit. From there, we had to take a separate bus to get to the "Sea" part of the theme park, and this bus was of course filled with Mickey shaped windows, handles, etc...

(Right when we got off the train at the station for Disney Land.)

(Mickey train windows.)

(Mickey train handles.)

(My first view in the park.)

Once in the park, we headed straight to the first attraction: The Tower of Terror. This consisted of us entering an old mansion, and due to an villain spirit, our elevator crashes and goes up and down. Now just to start off, let me say that I don't even enjoy getting on normal elevators. So let's just say my heart beat a couple times more than normal.

(The Tower of Terror. Great way to start the day...)

(Getting our first "fast pass". You scan the QR code on the back of your ticket. Fancy ;-)

At the same time we grabbed a "Fast Pass" for the tower once again. The fast pass is a system they had in place which allows you to reserve a spot in the faster lane within a certain period of time. Arisa really liked this attraction so she had grabbed a fast pass for it. Now you can't just go and grab a fast past for everything. We had to wait another hour and a half to get the next one. Also, the moment you take your fast pass determines when you get to ride the attraction. Quite an interesting system I thought. Saves us from waiting hours and hours in the endless lines. Japan + Disney Land = Long Lines + Long Lines = Very long waiting lines.

(A boat.)

After that, we walked around the park and found a place to eat. We ended up eating these kinds of tacos which were fairly good. But in the middle of our meal, some singers and dancers came to entertain the crowd in the food hall! We were handed fruit shaped shakers, asked to get up and sing along with them. They were quite energetic and I must say I was impressed by the trumpet player.

(Arisa trying on an Olaf hat. I wonder who would buy this.)

(We tried eating our shakers but they didn't taste soo good.)

Then we managed to grab another fast pass for around 9pm, which we decided would probably be our last ride. Having quite some time before us, we walked around the different parts of the park. We went from Arielle the Mermaid's kingdom, to the centre of the earth, to a pirate's boat and medieval castle all the way to Aladdin's desert country. It really struck me how wonderful Disney is as a company. It manages to be in everyone's heart and mind in many ways, and it's only once there that I realized it's power. For a few hours, I let myself be enchanted by these wonders they created. The robots, the buildings, the music, the atmosphere, the decorations and the energy. I really felt like I entered a different world.

(One of Aladdin's castles.)

(Arielle the Mermaid's castle...)

(... and the inside of that castle.)

(Stich lemon energy drink.)

(We got to ride a boat at one point, and this was the view behind us as we left.)

(A knight's kingdom, seriously realistic.)

(The pirate ship overlooking the park.)

(This ain't London Arisa!)

(Never got to see this attraction but the picture had to be taken!)

We ate supper in an italian restaurant, finishing our meal with none other than a tiramisu. Once we left, it was getting slowly darker and darker, and by night time, the view was fantastic. After that, we decided we had time to wait in one of the long lines for a ride. When I say long, I mean we waited... one hour and a half? But while we waited, Arisa showed me many Japanese songs from her phone and I played some music off of mine and danced and sang (I can't sing really because of my throat so when I say sing, I mean whisper the lyrics in a really creepy way.) It finished much faster than the amount of time we had waited for, but I guess I can say it was worth it. After that,  we rode two more rides finishing with the Indiana Jones' car ride.

(Mmmmhh.... Tiramisu...)

(The view at night. A dream really.)

(A picture taken of us on our last ride. I was pretending to be a real driver for this automated car.)
(But look at that face though... haha)

After all it wasn't so bad.

Now why did I say I never thought I would come here? Well let's just say that from what I could see in the Japanese culture, they seem to take this place a little too seriously. Many girls will buy the Mickey Mouse ears to place on their head thinking it's the most adorable thing in the world. It just seems like they attempt to stay kids as long as possible, which is something that I don't agree too much with. But that being said, not every girl is like that. And no, I did not buy the ears if you were wondering.

(I was thankful for Arisa showing me around the park. I had a good time.)
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One year completed
August 2nd, 2015

Almost one year has passed since I first set foot in Japan. Now on Friday, we had our closing ceremony for the Japanese Bekka Program. I didn't receive a certificate, which is weird, but I might get something later I guess. I think it's due to me not being an "exchange student", but we'll see. During this past week, I have had an exam every day, finishing on Thursday. I ended up with a good enough score as my final note, and according to the Japanese Language Proficiency Test we took in class, I have improved quite a lot since the beginning of this semester. Now if we compare where I am now to how I was when I first came to Japan, I have indeed come quite the way. Not only with my Japanese, but in many ways, I feel like this experience has taught me much more. After one year of hard studies, training, all while living in a completely different country, it is now time to look back on my journey.

Since September last year, the beginning of my stay in Japan, I would be a fool to say that I haven't changed. In fact, one might even say I'm a completely different person. My Japanese has evolved from being able to say a few memorized sentences to having complex conversations with friends, teachers, strangers as well as my family. With that being said, I realize that I have much more to learn, but I can say that I have given my best, and the best has paid back.

I have also being able to experience the Japanese culture. I had the chance to visit many world renowned places, participate in many Japanese activities, and of course, fill myself with succulent Japanese cuisine. I was able to see different aspects of the country and from different perspectives, from Tokyo's busy life to the quiet villages; a student's life and more, of one being part of a sports club. Now due to my progress in Japanese, I was also able to hear the opinion of many of my friends, and understand their perspective on life. That is probably the most incredible thing I was able to receive from this whole trip.

I also had the incredible chance to make friends from all around the world. Those I was studying with, whether they were from Thailand or Spain, showed me that life is such a wonderful thing. I realized that no matter where you are from, everyone has the same needs. We simply express those needs in different ways. I was able to see this with my own eyes. I was able to interact with them, see them smile and laugh, get mad or frustrated. I was able to share my ideas with them and listen to theirs. If I thought, before coming here, that I was the only one fighting a battle, these new friends of mine taught me differently.

My stay in Japan is not over just yet, but now that my studies are completed, I feel as if I have reached another chapter in my life. This next chapter will be full of changes, full of hard decisions. But thanks to my family, I was able to acquire this experience which has prepared me for this next step. And for that, I am beyond words as to how much I am thankful to them.

Almost one year has passed since I first set foot in Japan. Yet I feel like it was just yesterday.

(My professors and I at the ending ceremony: Miyage sensei, Yamamori sensei and Nishiyama sensei.)

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Yoroshiku
July 19th, 2015

So there's this word that Japanese use VERY often, and that's "yoroshiku". It has no perfect way of explaining it, but if one were to try to translate it in English, it would be something like... "Do with your best efforts." So basically, it's asking someone a favour and for them to do it well.

But what most foreigners don't immediately realize is that this only speaks to the final result. When looking at that task, one doesn't always realize everything that is needed to accomplish that task. Yeah we can simply say: "Don't be late for the meeting." But in order for that to truly happen, this can sometimes include such things as to how you plan your meal, how you plan your day, how you're going to travel, and what you're going to bring where. In other words, when someone ask a task out of you, even though it might seem like a small thing, I believe it takes quite some "effort" to perform it correctly. Key word: Correctly.

Recently, having more and more responsibilities upon me, I have come to realize the importance of this "yoroshiku". It comes even with a certain amount of respect, because the person asking you the favour believes you can accomplish it for her.

Just a little flavour to my thoughts these days.

(Me going to school with a mask on.)
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