Arigatou Gozaimasu!

Arigatou Gozaimasu means thank you in Japanese. 

Words cannot express how thankful I am for all these great people whom I traveled with. I am so grateful that I was able to participate in this study abroad program. I would like to thank everyone on the trip including Dr. Katz, all the sensei's, Japanese students,  and all of our fellow classmates.  You all have made it extremely special and unforgettable. Without everyone, Japan would not have been the same experience. 

The culture is so different from America, and within those 10 days, I have learned so much. The Japanese are so polite and have great mannerisms like using two hands when handing things to others, bowing, and saying 'Arigatou Gozaimasu' all the time.  Even though I have been back in the states for a couple day, I still catch myself bowing and using two hands. Japan is such a positive influence! But really, I just love how polite they are and I hope to adopt those habits even when I'm in the US. 

I was extremely lucky this year to have my birthday land on a day that we were traveling to Japan. It was already a blessing to have spent that day in Japan, but everyone on this trip made sure it was extra eventful. 

The day of my birthday was fabulous and perfect! We experienced a typhoon and survived, ate Kobe beef - I am a new person because of this meal, went to a shrine, and ended with an 8 course meal dinner followed by karaoke. I felt like a king that day! 

I thought my celebrations would end there, but the Japanese students surprised me at the farewell party! Everyone was so sweet and amazing. So, thank you everyone who celebrated with me and making everything special! 

Travelling Japanese style! 

 

Pro-tip when travelling to Japan, carry a fan and a little towel in your bag. Since it was summer and the typhoon just passed by, Japan was SUPER humid. These two items saved my life. 

This picture is here because we learned about Kampo pharmacy (herbal medicines) which is extremely interesting, but most importantly I want to point out that Dr. Katz is a champ when it comes to Japan weather. He wore that suit the whole day without complaining, and never took it off. We all think that he had a portable AC in the suit. But really, Japan is very hot and humid in the summer. I learned from the students that Japan is most beautiful in March and April when the cherry blossoms bloom. Hopefully, I will be able to return during one of those months! 

Temples

I don't think that you can go onto the streets of Japan without running into a temple or shrine. They are everywhere, and they are beautiful. Most of the people in Japan are Buddhist and are very spiritual. I enjoyed seeing this part of Japan because it's a tradition and we were able to participate in it. 

After doing your prayer and lighting your in-scents, some people also have the chose of reading their fortunes. The picture below shows fortunes that were tied to a little stand next to the temple. When one does not get a desired fortune, they tie it off onto the stand to let it be forgotten, like it never happened. 

Food

We cannot travel to a foreign country without experiencing all the food it has to offer. Carol, Ron and I were the foodies of the group, and we had a great time trying all the foods. We had a strategy every time we were out. We made sure we sampled a little bit of every thing so we didn't get full off one thing.  Our friend Carol has summarized our eating adventures in her post, Japanese Food Feast. 

Trying different foods is definitely my favorite part about travelling. Even though we could not communicate fluently with the Japanese, we were able to bond over a meal. Food connects us. It brings everyone together and makes everyone happy. 

We had the pleasure to cook with the Japanese students and learned how to make a traditional street food, Takoyaki. It is a ball of cooked batter with octopus and vegetable pieces inside. This was delicious and very fun to make. This meal inspired me to buy one of the machines back to America so we can make during dinner parties!  

This is Namba; we passed all the delicious restaurants (sushi, crab, fugu, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, buns, ramen- basically everything you can dream about)  on the way to the Beer Garden. The foodies of the group were very upset about not being able to try the different foods. So if there are any food enthusiasts out there, come visit this street, all your dreams will come true. 

Travelling

The Japanese have the best public transportation ever. The JR train was very fast, and it travelled all around Japan. We used this train to get to far places like Tokyo. But there were also regular trains, subways, street cars, buses, and taxis. You really do not need to drive in Japan because of this efficient system. Plus, it is very expensive to drive in Japan, can be as high as $4.50/usd per gallon, yikes! 

Besides having trains everywhere, another thing I noticed was that the Japanese walk a lot. Also, some girls walk in heels all day, props to them! But this is probably why they are the healthiest individuals in the world!

Pharmacy

It was great learning about the Japanese pharmacies, and how different their healthcare system is from the US.  Pharmacists only do 40 scripts a day, and they have a point system that keeps track of the pharmacy's revenue. The universal healthcare system seems to be working for the Japanese and it continues to keep people healthy. We also learned that we use different drug names than the Japanese. 

We had a tour of one of the hospitals in Kobe, and it was fascinating to see how they operated. The hospital was very clean and had advanced technology. Everyone who works in the pharmacies were pharmacists, because in Japan there are no such things as technicians and interns. This eliminates human error, and in conjunction with that great technology, Japanese pharmacies are run pretty efficiently. 

~We all look so professional~

Saying Goodbye 

This was the hardest part of the trip. When I say that the Japanese are the kindest, politest, sweetest people ever, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. These were the Japanese students sending us off near the ferry; they waved their arms off sending us away. I cried a little bit because I did not want to leave this beautiful country and sweet people. 

 


This was definitely an experience of a lifetime, so thank you everyone who made it special!

Arigatou Gozaimasu! *bows*

Until next time, Japan!

- Jingxin