"A Day in the Life" at AKP
8:30 am – wake up, turn on my heater, eat breakfast (usually seasonal fruits and toast prepared by my okaasan (host mother)), Bob the dog barks as I leave
9:30 am – walk to the station to catch the Hankyu train, listen to music or prepare for class (non-express trains are good for this, because they’re less crowded and you can usually get a seat)
9:45 am – transfer to the subway, pass by a long line outside of the Krispy Kreme that opened last month (the wait was 2.5 hours when it first opened!!)
10:15 am – arrive at Doshisha, grab a cup of coffee from the vending machine
10:45 am – Japanese class, discuss the reading from last night: an article about mass media and its sometimes unrealistic representations of the news
12:15 pm – lunch in the dining hall:“chikara” udon, sautéed Japanese pumpkin
1:15 pm – run some errands, write in my journal, research new places to visit, say hi to the AKP office staff, get some green tea ice cream from the convenience store
3:00 pm – Joint Seminar class (half Japanese students, half AKP students), compare and contrast English and Japanese versions of a scene in Aladdin, discuss the difficulties in translating humor and cultural references
4:30 pm – take the train to traditional Japanese dance (nihonbuyo) lessons with a few other AKP-ers, stop at a little dango (dumpling) shop and get a snack
5:30 pm – Nihonbuyo lesson, change into a yukata (summer kimono), practice walking, bowing, learn a new section of the dance, try to be graceful and get the angle of my fan right
8:30 pm – arrive home and have dinner (pork-stuffed cabbage rolls, rice, assorted vegetable-based side dishes, miso soup), chat with my okaasan
9:00 pm – watch a drama on TV with host sister and okaasan, ask them to explain things I didn’t catch during commercial breaks
10:00 pm – homework time (prepare a five minute speech/discussion questions about an issue related to mass media for Japanese class, read an article on how the national diet has changed over the course of Japanese history for Anthropology of Modernity class), research travel options for Fall Break
11:30 pm – shower/soak in the ofuro (bath), say goodnight to host family
12:00 am – finish up homework, sleep under my cozy winter futon
8:30 am – wake up, turn on my heater, eat breakfast (usually seasonal fruits and toast prepared by my okaasan (host mother)), Bob the dog barks as I leave
9:30 am – walk to the station to catch the Hankyu train, listen to music or prepare for class (non-express trains are good for this, because they’re less crowded and you can usually get a seat)
9:45 am – transfer to the subway, pass by a long line outside of the Krispy Kreme that opened last month (the wait was 2.5 hours when it first opened!!)
10:15 am – arrive at Doshisha, grab a cup of coffee from the vending machine
10:45 am – Japanese class, discuss the reading from last night: an article about mass media and its sometimes unrealistic representations of the news
12:15 pm – lunch in the dining hall:“chikara” udon, sautéed Japanese pumpkin
1:15 pm – run some errands, write in my journal, research new places to visit, say hi to the AKP office staff, get some green tea ice cream from the convenience store
3:00 pm – Joint Seminar class (half Japanese students, half AKP students), compare and contrast English and Japanese versions of a scene in Aladdin, discuss the difficulties in translating humor and cultural references
4:30 pm – take the train to traditional Japanese dance (nihonbuyo) lessons with a few other AKP-ers, stop at a little dango (dumpling) shop and get a snack
5:30 pm – Nihonbuyo lesson, change into a yukata (summer kimono), practice walking, bowing, learn a new section of the dance, try to be graceful and get the angle of my fan right
8:30 pm – arrive home and have dinner (pork-stuffed cabbage rolls, rice, assorted vegetable-based side dishes, miso soup), chat with my okaasan
9:00 pm – watch a drama on TV with host sister and okaasan, ask them to explain things I didn’t catch during commercial breaks
10:00 pm – homework time (prepare a five minute speech/discussion questions about an issue related to mass media for Japanese class, read an article on how the national diet has changed over the course of Japanese history for Anthropology of Modernity class), research travel options for Fall Break
11:30 pm – shower/soak in the ofuro (bath), say goodnight to host family
12:00 am – finish up homework, sleep under my cozy winter futon
Christina Tamaru, Whitman College, AKP 2010-2011
