Gap Year in Japan, Jasmine Farrugia
Jasmine Farrugia's beautiful YA novela is about a young girl taking her gap year in Japan. Read on for more.
1. Into it alone
ラーメン ramen
カラオケ karaoke
焼き鳥 yakitori
Plastic bento boxes filled with a selection of homemade foods, packaged and glad-wrapped for transportation. Fresh fish sliced by the most talented of sushi chefs, to be prepared for the most refined of palettes. Gardens manicured to the finest details, where no leaf can be out of place. Lacquer poured over wooden bowls, soon to have miso soup poured into them. Yakitori bars grilling chicken skewers, regularly brushing soy-based marinade on them. Pottery crafted by the most talented of hands, to be transferred into a kiln. Drunk businessman missing the last train, stumbling, and turning to find the nearest capsule hotel. Packed trains arriving at the second they are predicted to arrive. Vibrant neon signs with familiar yet foreign characters. The Japanese people that form the ebb and flow of everyday life.
The lights are indistinct as I take my glasses off, attempting to rid them of the grease that is covering them. A strange and newfound feeling makes its way through my body. A giddiness mixed with fear, positivity and crushing anxiety. I had been planning and looking forward to this day for a while now. My move away from home, away from my parents, away from my home country, away from all that is normal to me. When most people move out of home for the first time, their parents act as their lifeline, a wealth of information that can help with the desperate loneliness of living alone. Yet, my lifelines were across land and sea, in a separate country. They would still be there to help me at a whim, but their detachment from me felt so much more intense than I had expected.
2. A bid for a thicker wallet
東京 Tokyo
下北沢 Shimokitazawa
Pristine trains operated by men with tight-fitting white gloves. My only companion now was the maroon suitcase that stood by my side. At least I had a job secured, a quaint little kindergarten on the inner brim of Tokyo. Although not an international kindergarten, the Japanese have a strong belief that English should be taught as a second language. Thankfully, the job I’ve been assigned is that of an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher). As I lack a university degree, I’m not qualified enough to run a class all on my own. As an ALT, I will have much less teaching responsibility compared to my other colleagues. In saying that, I will still have to work hard, monitoring the kids, aiding the other teachers, and preparing lesson plans and activities. I am already so grateful to my boss there, who considered me educated and polite enough to sponsor my working visa. She did more than she was required to do, even helping me find a place to call my own; a well-built and pleasant apartment in Shimokitazawa, a 10-minute walk from the kindergarten. Work starts in two weeks and I’m determined to experience the local area and the bustling city that is Tokyo.
3. In hope of relations
煎茶 Sencha green tea
餅 mochi
英語 English
Neighbours offering hand-made rice cakes and tea as a courteous welcome. Everyone seems polite to me, bowing when I pass them. Yet, I can’t help but feel a little ostracised, because what’s an Australian doing in an all Japanese neighbourhood? Prejudice is present in my apartment complex, I’ve found, from subtle but degrading side glances to a reluctance to converse in Japanese with me.
The only people I’ve had conversations with are the charming old lady next door (who keeps on gifting me her cooking), and the uni student majoring in English studies on the other side of my apartment. Much to my dismay, she keeps insisting we partake in bilingual conversation, switching from Japanese to English and back again after every sentence or two. At least she doesn’t have too much prejudice against me; she sees me as a wonderful resource for her degree and is thankful that I even talk to her. She seems quite likeable and good-natured, and I can’t help but feel that we’ll share many pots of tea together. Minori (里) is her name, it means “truth”.
4. Furniture qualms
イケア IKEA
日本語 Japanese
製作する to make furniture
A Japanese manual lays on a dark-wood table with one upside-down leg. From this, I’ve learnt that constructing IKEA furniture is not one of my many talents. Which, in retrospect, isn’t the best because it’s the only thing my almost empty pockets can afford. “Why is one of your table legs upside-down?” you may ask. Well, in truth I’m asking myself the same thing. The instructions didn’t seem that hard at the start, but with the addition of a few unknown Japanese characters in the explanatory text, I was as good as gone. Although I was born in Japan, my native language is that of Australia’s; English. Due to my Dad’s Japanese descent, I was expected to learn the language. All through primary school and high school, I learnt Japanese, being taught in school and through weekend tutoring lessons. Yet, I was still a long way from reading and writing like a native. I sighed at the thought of my table. Maybe I could live with it having an upside-down leg? I had a lightbulb moment and headed next door to Minori, who I hoped would aid me in my failed attempts of making IKEA furniture. Half an hour later, and the problem was all solved. A level headed and tentative individual like Minori was what I needed to finish my furniture building. I can’t wait for tomorrow, so I can drink my morning cup of tea at the comfort of my new table.
5. Homely sentiments
花 flower
アパート apartment
幼稚園 kindergarten
Freshly picked flowers pressed between atlases, to be used later in an art project. The kindergarten I work at provides me with just the right amount of money. When looking for apartments I didn’t act too frugally. As I was moving away from home for the first time (to a different country nonetheless) I put my comfort as the first priority! I knew it would be hard, living away from my parents, so I wanted to live in a place I liked. Somewhere I could feel comfortable, safe. My boss at the kindergarten helped me with all the rental paperwork. I owe her so much, and for that reason I am determined to work to the best of my ability! Not that I wouldn’t anyway, but I feel an obligation not to disappoint her. She’s taken on the role of my impromptu carer while I’m here, and I’m glad she genuinely cares about me and my future in Japan.
I have a 25m2 apartment that’s a 6 minute walk from the main Shimokitazawa train station (trust me, I timed it one day). It’s in a quiet little side-street, away from the hustle and bustle of the main streets. IKEA furniture, collected anime figurines, and childhood sentiments fill my room. Plants fill up a lot of the space as well, from tiny succulents, to a few pots of herbs, to a thriving peace lily sitting on my coffee table. My mind feels clearer when I live with plants. It’s been scientifically proven that having plants and nature in your home environment improves your mental health. With such drastic changes occurring in my life, I’m glad that my plants can give me a little peace of mind. My “kitchen” is so small that I’m had to restrain myself from cluttering it with utensils and cooking implements. Three forks, two knives, three spoons, and two sets of chopsticks is all that I have, and is all that I need. As far as other cooking equipment goes, one pot, two pans, and my ever-trusty teapot get me by.
6. A cultured palette
市場 market
天ぷら tempura
料理する to cook
An alley filled with delectable sweets flavoured to the local palette; green tea, sesame, strawberry, orange. On the opposing side, beauty packets hang, promising whitened skin, pristine teeth, and “western” coloured eyes. As any traveller will know, supermarkets make the best museums. So much culture and history is ingrained in the foods that people eat. Take tempura, which is battered vegetable and seafood, globally known as being part of Japanese cuisine. But, the method of using flour and eggs as a batter was actually taken from Portuguese missionaries and merchants in the trading town of Nagasaki. This all happened in the 16th century. Now, in the 21st century we all know tempura, but do we know peixinhos da horta, the dish it was based on? Probably not. That’s what interests me about foreign food; so much can be learnt from just one single dish or drink. Supermarkets are where current trends and past history combine, providing food; processed and natural, to the common person. For me, there’s a medium-sized Tesco on my route to-and-from work. Such convenient placement means that I’m able to go almost everyday after work, collecting supplies needed for that night’s meal.
Back home in Australia, I cooked Japanese food regularly, whether it be chicken katsu curry, simmered beef udon, okonomiyaki, or fried soba. I was taught by my Dad, since he used to work as a chef in a Japanese izakaya (restaurant) in Tokyo. But now that I’m in Japan I don’t cook much of its cuisine anymore. Maybe it’s because here, the food is so abundant and high in quality, I feel discouraged from making it? Or maybe I just miss home so much, that I’m cooking other things to remind me of my parents? I don’t know, but I do feel kind of bad that I’m not making use of all the ingredients available here that you can’t get at home. I rarely eat dinner out, except for if a group of work friends or my neighbour Minori drags me out with her clique. But, even after having settled into my apartment and the area, I still view supermarkets as a wonderland full of sugar, spice and all things nice. However joyous though, I can never leave without buying at least one unnecessary item; strawberry hard lollies, green tea chocolate coated biscuits, cherry blossom mochis, green tea latte mix, white chocolate pocky, miso pickled radish…
7. Over hot tea
勉強する to study
教科書 textbook
会話 conversation
Textbooks lay open on a coffee table. Page markers are entwined with the book, and important sentences and key-words are highlighted. Minori and I have started studying together on weekends over a cup of hot green tea. I assist her with the technicalities of English; supporting her in completing her degree. In return, she helps me with my conversational Japanese, making it easier to converse with locals (more specifically, parents) in my everyday life. No matter how many textbooks you complete, you will never truly understand a language through just studying books. More is always needed. Whether it be through TV shows, conversational groups, cultural understanding, or friends, every individual learns their own way. For me, a complete immersion into the language was what I needed to catapult my Japanese language proficiency into fluency. Although obviously not equal to a natives, my Japanese is not too shabby if I do say so myself. I’m able to fully hold conversations, and completely understand anime and television shows without subtitles. Whenever I Skype with my parents back home, I always converse to my Dad in Japanese. He looks forward to see how much my language skills have improved, and will keep talking to me for hours, recommending places to eat, supermarket foods to buy, and anime shows to watch.
8. One in thirty-eight million
秋葉原 Akihabara
渋谷 Shibuya
新宿 Shinjuku
Shuffling shoes, hitting the concrete footpaths at regular and consistent intervals. The cramped trains make me feel claustrophobic, and the breath hitting my neck adds to my discomfort. My days have been all the same the past months. Wake up, walk to work, enjoy work, stop at the supermarket on the way home, prepare dinner, drop into Minori’s for dessert, study with her, sleep. I miss Australia, my parents and my friends. I miss speaking English with native English speakers.
Luckily, a new English teacher has started work at the kindergarten, a petite British girl in her early 20’s. She’s older than me, but somehow acts in a more childish manner. She has quite an eccentric style, and all of the kids enjoy partaking in the activities she organises. Her Japanese language abilities aren’t too bad, basic, but not enough to understand a conversation. She’s depended on me a lot recently, as she’s struggling to live in Japan. Her lack of language skills and only basic understanding of the culture are contributing to her struggle. We’ve become quite close, discovering the suburbs of Tokyo together. Last week we went to Akihabara, the area of anime, maid cafés, and electronics. A few days prior we explored Shibuya, the area of high-rise commercial buildings, electronic billboards, and shopping. Today though, we’re in Shinjuku, the area that houses the busiest train station in the world. We’re at the government towers, overlooking all that is now our home. Our home? Is this my home? From this view, I can see thousands of homes, each housing people; providing them with a place in which they call “home”. Thirty-eight million is the population of Tokyo. Thirty-eight million individuals depend on the city for their livelihood. Thirty-eight million people… and me.
9. Livelihood
Anime artists slaving away to finish an episode, to air in three weeks time. Sleepy employees waiting to leave, but only after their boss does so first. Tick tock, tick tock. High school students walking home, all wearing the same clothes, customised in the same way, sporting the same hairstyle, with the same accessories. An exhausted man slumped on a bench at the train station, overworked. But his work hours are normal, expected. A train is delayed due to another “human accident”. It happens so often that everyone’s stopped counting. A schoolgirl is groped on her commute to school, but shhh, nothing is said and no one is told. The Japanese people that form the ebb and flow of everyday life. Life is all the same, day in, day out. This is Japan; the perfect country run by miserable people.