MIT SEMESTER I JAPAN: EFTERÅR (2)

Det er ved at være tid til endnu et oplæg omkring mit udvekslingsophold i Japan, som jeg påbegyndte i foråret (altså oplægget). I løbet af de seks måneder, jeg var i Japan, var efteråret i forhold til vinter nok den bedste tid at være i Japan – naturen var smuk, det var ikke for koldt, og jeg var endnu ikke begyndt at stresse for meget over eksamener og speciale. Der var tid til at nyde tilværelsen i mit nye hjem med nye venner og med japanske veninder.

First of all, så er den japanske natur vildt smuk om efteråret. Bladene på træerne skifter farve og findes i mange smukke nuancer af rød, grøn, brun og gul, og træerne forblev sådan helt til midten af december, hvor min søster besøgte mig i Japan. Jeg fik de smukke efterårsfarver at se både i Kyoto til Jidai Matsuri (festival for tiderne), på vandretur til vandfaldet Nunobiki i Kōbe, til Rokko Matsuri (årlig festival på universitetet) og i Kōbe Oji Zoo. Derudover var jeg på tur med universitetet til øen Awaji, hvor alle nye udvekslingsstuderene og tutorer så traditionelt japansk dukketeater og grillede.

Til hverdag var jeg meget sammen med nogle piger fra kollegiet og Michelle, og om mandagen havde Michelle og jeg fri og tog tit på shoppingtur i Kōbe, til karaoke, til spillearkaden, til Ōsaka eller i biografen. Vi så bl.a. Kimi no na wa, som gik hen og blev vist i Danmark også. Vi tog til fester på kollegiet, og specielt husker jeg Halloween-weekenden, hvor vi var til fest om lørdagen (den eneste fest, hvor jeg fik slemme, slemme tømmermænd) og så Halloween-film om søndagen på mit værelse mens vi spiste pizza fra Domino’s. Michelle og jeg havde også købt kostumer i Don Quixote (kaldes også Donki Hote i Japan), og jeg var klædt ud om heksen Kiki fra Kiki’s Delivery Service, en Hayao Miyazaki film. Fun fact om Domino’s i Japan: Hvis man bestiller pizza, kan man selv bygge sin pizza, og når de leverer hjem til én, kan man følge GPS’en af ens delivery guy samt se navn, yndlingsmusik og yndlingssportshold.

I Japan har de mange sæson-produkter, og jeg prøvede flere snacks med Halloween-tema såsom chips og sodavand. Der var også snacks med juletema, som kom ud allerede i efteråret, og sjovt nok forbinder de i Japan jul med jordbær (totalt modsat af her i Danmark). Derfor var der mange ting med jordbær-smag, men det skal jeg nok uddybe mere i næste afsnit omkring vinter i Japan. Som du kan se på et af billederne, kunne man allerede lave jule-purikura om efteråret, hvor Line fra vores studie var på besøg hos os.

Efteråret var rigtig hyggeligt i Japan, og jeg har mange videoer fra den tid på min YouTube-kanal. Her har jeg bl.a. en Nitori-tour (“det japanske IKEA”) og en supermarked-tour. Jeg oplevede også mit. andet og trejde jordskælv i mit liv (det første var under mit tredje ophold i Japan i 2015), og det første jordskælv skete mens jeg var på indkøb i 7-Eleven på universitetet, hvor jeg så hylderne ryste. Underligt nok mærkede Michelle ikke noget, mens jeg tydelig kunne mærke det. Damerne ved kasserne spurgte bagefter, om alle var OK, og ja, de har jo nok oplevet en del jordskælv i deres liv. Det andet jordskælv skete mens jeg sad på mit værelse en lørdag formiddag, men dette var heldigvis heller ikke så slemt. Jeg følte mig meget sikker, mens jeg boede i Kōbe, specielt fordi kollegiet og universitetet lå langt oppe. Ud over det var sikkerheden i top.

Ja, det var nok det bedste efterår i mit liv. Jeg havde ikke rigtig hjemve og talte tit med min familie og med Frederik. Jeg nød bare tilværelsen i fulde drag efter at have alt på plads med undervisning. Tak for et fantastisk efterår, Kōbe.

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It’s time for another post about my exchange stay in Japan that I started in the spring (here I mean the posts). During the six months I was in Japan, autumn was probably my favorite compared to winter – the nature was gorgeous, it wasn’t too cold and I didn’t stress too much about exams and thesis at that time. There was time to enjoy my new home and have fun with new friends and Japanese friends that I already had.

First of all, the Japanese nature is astonishing during autumn. The leaves on the trees change color and can be found in beautiful nuances of red, green, brown and yellow, and the trees stayed that was until around the middle of December where my sister visited me in Japan. I got to see the beautiful colors in Kyoto at Jidai Matsuri (festival of the times), on hikes to Nunobiki Falls in Kōbe, at Rokko Matsuri (yearly festival at the university) and at Kōbe Oji Zoo. Besides those trips I went on a university trip to Awaji island where all the new exchange students and tutors watched a traditional Japanese puppet show and had a BBQ afterwards.

On an everyday basis I spent a lot of time with some girls from the dormitory and with Michelle, and on Mondays Michelle and I had no classes and often went shopping in Kōbe, went to karaoke, to the game arcade, to Ōsaka or to the cinema. One time we went to see Kimi no na wa, which actually became quite popular in Denmark afterwards. We went to parties at the dormitory, and I particularly remember the Halloween weekend where we partied Saturday (the only party where I was hungover) and watched Halloween movies Sunday in my room while eating pizza from Domino’s. Michelle and I bought our costume at Don Quixote (is also called Donki Hote in Japan) and I was dress as Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service, a Hayao Miyazaki movie. Fun fact about Domino’s in Japan: If you order a pizza you can build your own, and when they deliver to your place you can follow the GPS of your delivery guy and see name, favorite music and favorite sports team. 

In Japan they have a lot of seasonal products and I tried several Halloween themed snacks like chips and soda. They also had snacks that were Christmas themed and these came out already during autumn. Funnily enough they see strawberries like Christmassy (totally opposite of how it is in Denmark). Therefore there were many strawberry-flavored snacks, but I’ll talk more about it in the next episode about winter in Japan. As you can see in one of the pictures we could already make Christmas purikura during autumn, where Line from our university came to visit us in Kōbe.

Autumn was really lovely in Japan, and I have a lot of videos from my time there on my YouTube channel. There you can find a Nitori tour (“Japan’s IKEA”) and a supermarket tour. During my stay I also experienced my second and third earthquake in my life (the first one was during my third holiday in Japan in 2015), and the first earthquake this time happened while I was shopping in 7-Eleven at the university where I saw the shelves shake back and forth. Weirdly enough Michelle didn’t feel it, but I remember it clearly. The ladies at the register asked us afterwards if we were OK, and well they’ve probably experienced a lot of quakes in their lives. The second quake happened while I was sitting in my room a Saturday, but that one was not so bad. All in all I felt very safe while I lived in Kōbe, especially because the dormitory and the university was up on a mountain. Also the safety was good.

Yes, this was probably the best autumn of my year. I wasn’t homesick much and often talked to my family and to Frederik. I just enjoyed life after finding out what I had to about classes and such. Thank you for an amazing autumn, Kōbe.