留学終了
The End of Study Abroad

こんにちは。Dogentricks.comです。朝２時ですけど、このブログを終わりたいんだ。間違いいっぱいあったら許してください。

Hey guys. Dogentricks.com here. It’s 2 a.m. but I want to get this blog out. If there are a ton of mistakes, please forgive me.

僕は信じられない一年間日本に住んでいて, ついに帰ってきた。留学生の経験を考えると、四つのことが浮かぶ。

After living in Japan for an unbelievable year I have finally returned to the states. If I think about my time in Japan, 4 things come to mind.

一つ目は日本で出来た友達のことである。留学生として日本人の友達だけではなくて、色々な国の人の友達が出来た。例えば、エクアドルの元気なダビッドさんは僕が日本で出来た一番仲いい友達だと思う。ダビッドさんと何回も横浜に行ったり、大学のカフェでコーヒーを飲んだり、未来の事を考えたりしたことがある。面白いことに、彼は英語を話せずに、僕もスペイン語を話せずに、簡単な日本語だけ使って、お互いに心の感情を自然に伝えられた。九月からダビッドと一緒に日本語も日本の文化も頑張って勉強したのだ。僕たち二人とも前よりも日本のことを大分わかるようになったと思う。

Friends. As an exchange student I made not only Japanese, but friends from all over the world. For example, the enthusiastic David from Ecuador is probably the closest friend I had during my stay in Japan. Countless times we hung out in Yokohama, drank coffee in the college cafe, and spoke about our futures. The funny thing is, he can’t speak English and I can’t speak Spanish, so we always used nothing but basic Japanese and still managed to communicate our true, heart felt feelings. The two of us worked hard for 9 months and learned more Japanese and culture than I thought would be possible.

もちろんダビッドだけではなくて、素晴らしい友達いっぱい出来た。友宏の優しさや上手な料理は決して忘れない。冷静な篤史と、社交的なユウスケと、いつも面白いことばかり言っていたシンヤと四人で煙が多くて息しにくいサイゼリアで食べたいた経験も、一生思い出す。後はイッセイ、ヒトミ、コウスケ、ダイスケ、ナツミ、カノコ、トシ、ヒロヒサ、タイキ、ユイ、モモカ、ルーク、ロジャー、ジョセフ、今すぐ思い出せない友達も、皆の親切を有り難いと思っている。

Of course it wasn’t just David, I made a dozen of wonderful friends. I’ll never forget Tomohiro’s kindness and amazing cooking. Eating with the cool Atsushi, sociable Yusuke, and ever comical Shinya in the barely breathable atmosphere of Saizeria is another experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life. To Issey, Hitomi, Kosuke, Daisuke, Natsumi, Kanoko, Toshi, Hirosami, Taiki, Yui, Momoka, Luke, Roger, Joseph, and every other friend I can’t remember off the top of my head now, thank you.

二つ目はホームステーの家族のことである。国際寮は楽しかった。友達も出来たし、自分で料理を作るようになったし、勉強もいっぱいできた。しかし、寮にすんでいた間、ずっと困っていた。「せっかく日本に来たのに、なんでまた外国人と住んでいるの？」と自分に何回も聞いていた。しかも、寮に住んでいた間、日本語はあまり上手になってないので、引っ越すことにした。斉藤の家族と一緒に住むことにしたのだ。

Family. I had fun in the international dorm. I made great friends, learned to cook by myself, and managed to study a ton. But, I was always a bit troubled in the dorm. “Though I’ve come all the way to Japan, why am I still livi
ng with foreigners?” I asked myself. Moreover, when living in the dorm I never got too good at Japanese. So, I decided to move. I decided to live with the Saitou family.

弟、お母さん、お父さんいた。皆ずっとものすごく優しくくれていた。何回も失礼なことやってしまったのに、怒られたことは一回もなかったのだ。一番楽しかったのは、夜、仕事が終わって、自分はとても疲れて、込んでいる帰り電車に乗って、１０時にやっと家に着いたらソファに座って、お母さんと変な番組を見ながら話すことだ。アメリカと日本の違いとか、友達の必要さとか、家族というものとか、ライブの楽しさとか、彼女の強いやる気とか、何でもについて２時まで話してしまったのは普通なことだった。そして弟と遊ぶと、自分の子供の時を思い出して、何か懐かしかった。最初から本当に自分の家族みたいな感じがしていた。

I had a little brother, a mother, and a father. Everyone treated me with an almost unimaginable degree of kindness. Though I did a countless number of rude things, I was never yelled at or scolded. My favorite memory was always coming home from a long day of school and work, sit down on the couch with my host mom and talk late until the night as we watched ridiculous television. The difference between America and Japan, the necessity of a friend, the meaning of family, concerts, my girlfriends incredible drive; we talked about everything until 2 a.m. on a regular basis. In playing with my host brother I remembered my own childhood and was warmed in nostalgia. From the very beginning, it was as if they were my own family.

三つ目は秋茜のことである。この話題についてもう何回もブログを書いたいたけれども、僕の秋茜に対する情熱はまだまだこれから！だから、もうちょっと書かしてください。
Akiakane. I’ve written about this topic several times before, but my passion for this band can’t stop just yet – let me write a bit more.

僕という存在は「日本」というと、「日本」だけではなくて、「日本とソフトボール」と言ってしまうのだ。何故かというと、初めて日本語を勉強したかった理由はソフトボールが作った「とこしえに」という曲の歌詞を知りたかったからだ。もし「ソフトボール」というバンドはなかったら、僕は日本に行かなかっただろう。もし「ソフトボール」というバンドはなかったら、僕は日本語が出来ないだろう。ですから、もし「ソフトボール」というバンドはなかったら、このサイトもないだろう。もし「ソフトボール」は本当になかったら、僕はどんな人間になったのだろうか。考えるだけで恐い。

As Dogentricks.com, when I say “Japan,” it’s not simply, “Japan.” It’s “Japan and Softball.” If you ask why, it’s because the reason I first studied Japanese was to understand a song called “Tokoshieni,” written by Softball. If the band known as “Softball” had not existed, I probably wouldn’t have gone to Japan. If the band known as “Softball” had not existed, I probably wouldn’t be able to speak Japanese. So, if the band known as “Softball” had not existed, this site probably wouldn’t be here. If “Softball” had really never existed, who would I be? It’s honestly scary for me to think about.

とにかく、ご存じのように、僕にとって、「ソフトボール」というバンドは僕にすごく大きい影響を受けたのだ。そして、2003年ソフトボールは解散して 、ボーカルのモエさんが新しい秋茜というバンドを作ったのだ。しかし、あの時の僕は日本語が出来なくて、ただソフトボールが解散したことしかわからなくて、ソフトボールのライブに行く夢がなく
394;ってしまったのだ。秋茜が生まれたことをずっと知らないで、生きてた。そして去年の九月十日来日して、日本語がちょっと出来るようになって、秋茜の生まれたことをわかるようになって、もう一度前の夢が蘇った。

Anyway, as you well know, for me the band known as “Softball” had an enormous impact on my life. Then in 2003 Softball broke up. Lead vocalist Moe-san formed a new band known as Akiakane, but at the time I could understand little Japanese and knew only the fact that Softball had disbanded. My dreams of going to a Softball concert vanished in this ignorance. I lived for years without knowing anything about Akiakane. And then I can to Japan September 10th, developed my Japanese abilities and eventually learned about the birth of Akiakane. With this, my dream came back to life.

少なくとも、秋茜はソフトボールと同じように素晴らしい。それはライブに行ったらすぐ気がついた。そこでも友達も出来たし、毎回は泣きたいほど楽しかったのだ。そして、僕が行けた最後のライブで秋茜はありえないほど凄いギフトをくれたのだ。そう、「とこしえに」をやってくれて、僕は同じステージで秋茜と歌った。

To say the very least, Akiakane is just as breathtaking as Softball. I quickly realized after going to their shows. There too, I made several incredible friends and was brought to tears nearly every time out of pure enjoyment. At the very last concert I could make it to, Akiakane did the most impossibly breathtaking thing I could ever imagine. Yes, they played “”Tokoshieni”" for me during the encore and I ended up singing on stage with Akiakane to the very song that originally inspired me to study Japanese.

Translation:

Moe-san: “Thank you! Thanks. So, there is a guy here, who loved Softball and then began studying Japanese, who came to several of our shows, he’s right over there, ‘Kevin,’ yes, that foreigner. *Laughs* Kevin is going home soon, and this, well for the time being, will become his last concert. Well, he says he is definitely returning to Japan, but we think that he’d love to hear Tokoshieni. *Cheers* We haven’t played this song in a long time and so it might not be the best…haha but we’d like to try playing it.”

Japanese fan says jokingly, “Be sure to listen!”

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

その５分は死ぬまで決して忘れない。

Until the day I die, I will never forget those 5 minutes.

Now click the play button below on the left.

最後に、一番大切なのは彼女のことである。彼女に対する気持ちについて本を書けるかもしれないけれども、頑張りながら短くして、本当の気持ちを表したいと思う。とりあえず、日本にいる間に「love」という言葉をわかるようになったと言いたいのだ。僕の親友のAustin Wangは「love」というのは、相手をいつも自分より大切にすることである。この表現を最初聞いた時、知ろうとしても知れなかった。ところが、今の僕は「love」の定義を知っていると思う。相手はいるからだ。

Lastly and most importantly, my girlfriend. I could probably write a book about how much my Risa means to me, but I’m going to do my best to keep this in concise and truly meaningful. I think what I really want to say is that I now know what, “”love”" means. My best friend Austin Wang once told me, “”Love is always doing the good for the other.”" The first time I heard that, even if I wanted to know what it meant, I wouldn’t have been able to. But, I now do know what “”love”" means, because of her.

吏紗と付き合えば付き合うほど、もっと好きになる。前の関係と違って、時間が経つと他の女の人を見てしまうではなくて、吏紗はどんなに素晴らしい人をもっとわかるようになっているのだ。しかもそれだけじゃなくて、彼女は僕に何回も素晴らしいことやってくれた。感動的な誕生日ギフ|
88;を貰って、また泣いてしまった。

The more I hang out with Risa, the more I like her. Unlike all of my past relationships, instead of becoming more interested in other women as more time past, being with Risa just affirmed my beliefs of how wonderful of a person she really is. Not only that, but she has done more thoughtful, amazing things for me than I could possibly imagine. Her birthday present to me this year was so thoughtful it made me cry.

彼女は僕よりいい人だと信じている。簡単に言える。間違えない、彼女は自慢しないし、頭もいいし、才能もあるし、優しいのだ。素晴らしくて、いつも笑顔をさせたいと思っている。いつまでも大切にしようと思っている。距離があっても、しばらく会えなくても、大事にしようと思っている。

I believe that she is a better person that me. It’s easy for me to say. She’s modest, smart, talented, and caring. That beauty is is why I want to make her smile; why I want to take care of her. Through distance and time, I want to see her happy.

複雑にする訳はない
時間は短い
これは僕たちの運命
僕は貴方のため

There’s not need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate
I’m yours

吏紗、いつもありがとうございます

Risa, thank you for everything

Hello friends.

Dogentricks.com here, sitting in an internet cafe 5 minutes from my house because school is over and I have no internetNICE. Today I’d like to tell you about earth and it’s relative size. It’s actually quite a small world after all.

I went to Tokyo Disney Land last week with my wonderful girlfriend and had an absolute blast. We were there from the minute the gate opened in the morning until they kicked us out at 10:00. Rode more than a dozen rides, was blown away by a handful of incredible shows, and even had the time to relax in The Swiss Family Robinson treehouse.

Nice.

First impressions in being in Disney Land for the first time in nearly a decade. “LOL.” Why you ask, why would you laugh!? In Japan, as soon as the gates open at 8:00, a FLOOD of people rushes into the park looking to save a spot on their favorite ride. Now, when I say rush into the park, I mean it. Thousands of people – kids, middle aged salary men, young couples, all literally sprinting into the park at the same time, all anxious to experience the magic. So while I’m expecting to slowly soak up Disney Land, I suddenly find myself in the front seat of Splash mountain – at 8:05 AM. Quite different than the California experience, but very fun nonetheless.

So I’m walking through candy land with my girlfriend when she says, “You know, a lot of people don’t really like Disney Land. They say that it’s too commercialized.” And as I was watching the various shows throughout the day it seemed more and more like Disney was bloating itself. With lyrics such as “Mickey Mouse – the world’s best friend,” and “Miney, Miney, Miney, Miney, Miney…Miney” Granted the shows were all spectacular, I just couldn’t help but think to myself, “I wish there was more of a message – I wish the kid sitting next to me was hearing something rather than just the names of various Disney Characters.” At which point we lined up for “It’s a Small World After All.”

When I was a Child, Small World was always my least favorite ride. Not only was it the slowest ride in Disney Land, but it was also the…slowest…ride…in Disney Land. I stepped onto the boat with Risa and 10 months of experience living in a foreign country, completely unprepared for the beauty I was about to experience.

Ditch the commercialism, forget the boasting, soak up the love. “It’s a small world after all.” Hundreds of children from all over the world, all singing in unison. “It’s a small world after all.” Nothing but smiles, nothing but peace. I nearly started to cry as I finally realized the absolute joy and purity of the attraction that used to bore me to tears. Upon further research, I learned that Walt Disney created Small World at the request of President Eisenhower to promote worldwide peace. It’s my humble opinion, but I think he did a damn good job.

I’ll be leaving Japan in exactly one week. Yes, that’s correct. I have 7 days left in the land of the rising sun. I’ve had more out of this world experiences in 10 months than I ever dreamed possible and still have a couple blogs up my sleeve, but I’d like to write a pre-emptive conclusion to the most powerful year of my life.

A few days before going to Disney Land I went to a concert where a band called 大和 (Yamato) stole my heart. The main singer was a small, soft spoken man, but had the presence of a lion. He looked over the audience and made eye contact with me, letting out a slight smile. He then looked across the stage at Disco Volante, the band from Sweden about to play. He turned to the audience once more and gave a brief monologue that I’ll never forget.

Translated:
There is only one sky above us. Today we have people from all over the world gathered in this small, underground live house, but there is only one sky above us. Today we have Disco Volante, who came all the way from Sweden to play for us. Let us show our gratitude with a smile that can be seen all the way to Europe. There is only one sky above us. Today there are fans from all over the world gathered in this audience. And though we may be separated by distance, and though our faces may be different, our smile is the same, and there is only one clear sky above us.

And then he began to sing this.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

People are nice. No matter where you go, no matter who you meet, you’ll find that everybody has one thing in common – everyone wants to smile, everyone wants to laugh and just enjoy themselves. Over time the way people communicate and the means by which people divide themselves has become acute, but the dream of everyone on this planet remains the same – a smile. It isn’t money, it isn’t fame, it isn’t a new car. It’s a smile. It’s something can do at any time, and when you do it spreads to those around you.

To the readers of this site – today you have homework. Today you’re going to go out and make someone smile. Give someone you don’t know a genuine compliment from your heart. Be it their style, their haircut, or their posture, find something you like and let that person know. I guarantee it’ll make them smile, and I guarantee that you will feel absolutely fantastic knowing that you’ve made someone’s day just a little bit better. Share your results in the forum, I’m anxious to read : )

Train hard.