Studying Abroad in Japan: Wednesday, 9/17/2014

Woke up in the middle of the night, was hot

Went back to sleep and woke up again at 6:30am. Got up a little before 7am. Got ready and prepped stuff, then went down to breakfast. Ate with a couple of the Fulbright Fellows. Then we all gathered, applied bug spray, and walked to the Fulbright office. Along the way we passed construction workers in blue jumpsuits. I also some amazing sunflowers with huge heads a foot across.

During orientation, I was fighting off jetlag as I listened to interesting presentations about the history of the Fulbright program (and its continuing fight to persuade Congress that quality is as important as quantity; in other words, depth vs. numbers), and the Japanese education system’s structure, debates, and recent changes. Then we all went to a nearby soba restaurant to eat lunch. I sat with 3 of the Fulbright lecturers and an important Fulbright staff member (director of the Japan office?) Although I was the youngest person at the table, for the most part I felt comfortable. There was once moment when one of the professors was talking about how to prioritize her time. She enjoys research, but because she mostly focuses on teaching, she was wondering if it was worth the extensive effort it takes to publish research. I told her that her research would increase the amount of information available to others. She laughed, patted me on the arm, and replied that I was still young and optimistic. Being a professor sounds tough.

Ten-don with cold soba.

The inside of the restaurant where we didn't sit, after it emptied out.

The outside of the restaurant. We sat to the left of the signs. The chalkboard says something about Lady's Day on Wednesday, where women can get any item on the drink menu for 278 yen.

The topics of quantity vs. quality, the value of information and its production, and the US focus on numbers as proof of results were floating in my mind as a result of the presentations and conversations. In the United States, there has been a push to use numerical test results and various other statistics and countings to prove how effective and valuable programs and schools are. The Fulbright Program is no doubt a valuable program because it takes motivated, talented people and provides them with the opportunity to excel and make international connections. This creates an ever-growing pool of talent capital, with endless possibilities that can’t be measured by the number of Fulbright alumni alone. Yet because the number is limited, people question whether it would be better to spend more effort sending people on shorter programs that would unquestionably end up giving those people less chance to immerse in and connect with their environments.

The Fulbright Program, in addition to its focus on cultural immersion and interaction, also focuses on research and teaching. For research, in particular, a large amount of time is typically required. In order to produce results that are meaningful, the research study must have a methodology that accurately represents what is being studied and converts that information into something useful. People often imagine academics conducting their research in ivory towers, but this information is relevant and finds its way into the normal media. Any news site and plenty of media cites frequently cite studies, but people rarely think of the effort that goes into preparing and conducting these studies. Because of the vast amount of information (reliable or not) now available in this data age, people forget that information is not always easy to produce. It takes time and money and energy.

Investing in programs or research that create talent capital and information that may be valuable is a better use of money that providing more people with less deep, short-term experiences.

After lunch, we returned to the Fulbright office for a briefing on money matters, and then we went to the bank to cash our first checks. Since I already had a Japanese bank account, I was able to simply deposit my money in there. The only problem is that my passbook has a stamp that ties it to Kobe University. This stamp might complicate things when Fulbright wires me money throughout the year. The Fulbright staff suggested having it removed when I get to Sendai.

After we finished at the bank, we split up. I walked back to the Hotel Asia Center of Japan with 3 other Fulbright Fellows. We had difficulty figuring out the way we came from, so we ended up taking a somewhat circuitous, slightly back-alley-feeling route following GPS back to the hotel.

The sign on the top right says "Ladies' Sauna: Beauty Akasaka"

A store sign with credit card signs all around it.

A vertical garden

3 Fulbrighters going up a steep street. We're exhausted from absorbing information during orientation and jetlag.

"Sandwich Mt."

The commonly-seen juxtaposition of temple and blocky modern apartment building.

Parking?

"Somebody's WATCHING YOU
-Akasaka Police"
(accompanied by a kabuki-style face)

Part of the Cambodian Embassy, although I didn't realize it at the time.

Mysterious small (or large for a toy) plane parts left on a driveway.

Bottle of deodorizing spray hanging in the closet area.

In the evening, from 6-8pm, there was a Fulbright Welcome Reception at the Dai-ichi Hotel Tokyo. Me and the other Fellows were some of the first people there. As we entered, we were given our nametags (with red dots to indicate that we’re the 2014-15 grantees) and a drink (barley tea, orange juice, red wine, white wine, or beer). At first we stayed in an awkward huddle, but throughout the night we loosened up and began to mingle more. There were some speeches, a toast, and then we ate food. There was a variety of food available: raw fish, fried vegetables, pickled eggplant, pork slices, fruit, cakes, rice, seafood curry, lemon herb fish, sandwiches, lo mein, breaded fried vegetables and fish, etc.

The tag I was supposed to wear for the reception but forgot to wear (and keep forgetting that I have it since then).

Electronic sign at Hotel Dai-ichi

The reception room with one of the wait staff

The reception guests consisted of Fulbright grantees, alumni, staff, and donors. One of the graduate grantees said to me that the reason we received this award is because we hardworking, passionate introverts; having us mingle at a reception where we don’t know anybody was oppositional to our natures.

Halfway through the party, some of the grad student Americans began telling us about some drinking party happening after the reception. It was a party for the foreigners studying in Tokyo. We went. The party was held in a basement place called Beer Horn, where beers were served either in horn-shaped glasses (size M) or horns (size L). There was a lot of us, both from Fulbright and the people who were in charge of the party (who seemed somewhat startled at the number of us who came. However, since we were tired, a couple of the other Fellows who stayed in my hotel soon left with me. We walked toward the station, bought some takoyaki (octopus balls), and sat down on a random ledge to eat the hot food. Since we were so close to the station, lots of taxis were pulling up on the street right in front of us. We hailed one, but ran into difficulty because we didn’t have the address of the hotel and the driver’s eyesight was too poor to read my map. My friend looked up the address on his smartphone (he had an unlocked iPhone for which he had bought a SIM card with a data plan). Once the driver had the address, we got in and made it to the hotel with no problem (although I worried about the driver’s eyesight). It was a short ride; it cost 730 yen, which we split between us. We didn’t need to tip the driver.