Kyoto, Japan

To sum up ones experience during a three month traineeship seems almost impossible to me. Especially when the country is Japan and the person - in this case me - has never ever been in Japan or Asia, before. It is hard to express in words what I have experienced and what it meant / means to me. All in all, my AIESEC exchange had a great impact on me and I am very thankful that such a chance was given to me.

Before I went to Japan, I had never been to Asia. Still I somehow was not afraid to go - well, at first. Of course I was concerned about the culture and I was afraid about not fitting in. Although I am not blonde I was scared that everybody would stare at me - especially because I am extremely tall and there was no way of hiding. ;-)

For my own preparation I read a book about the land, the people and the customs, after which I became afraid of the richness of Japanese culture. I was sure I would be an enfante terrible.

But everything was different than expected....

I had a great arrival with Japanese students awaiting me. They brought me home to my host family and explained everything. The support was so great - unbelievable. But I have to say that this strong support is necessary for people who have never been to Japan before. The Japanese are so different from Westerners - not only in looks but also in speaking, eating, moving, thinking - everything it seems. During the orientation, it is important to have good friends by your side (which I had). Everything was organized for me, they accompanied me on the first day to my new job and included me in their circle of friends completely. I always had people to turn to.

My first impression was huge amazement, which last almost until I left the country. I guess I was the one staring at them and not the other way around. I was so impressed. Wow! What a beautiful country, what an interesting mentality and what a rich and deep culture. I was totally amazed - and I still am! It was like I was on another planet; everyday life seems so different - the houses, the clothing, the eating (yummy!!!), the habits, the signs and the greetings. All was new, although I knew what it was and what is was meant to be. From the beginning I was sure that it was a great gift for me to experience this. In the AIESEC seminar I was told about culture shock and how to deal with it. In fact, I had culture shock - that means that I was fed up with the exotic newness and just wanted to go home - but luckily it happened to me very late, when I had only three weeks left. Culture shock can become a huge problem and I am very thankful that I had the preparation with AIESEC before. As mentioned, I met people who were so unlucky in Japan. That is - again - because it is so hard to get inside the culture. Japanese are very introverted to foreigners and it is hard to be accepted as a member of their group. Well, hard but not impossible as I have learned.

Another problem in Japan in the language. To tell the truth, I was shocked at how few people speak English. They may understand but will not speak because they do not want to make mistakes. I expected that Japan, as a modern nation would be more international. For everybody who goes to Japan, and I guess only few speak enough Japanese to survive, this is a fact one needs to know. It makes everyday life kind of hard - sometimes impossible. If you have no help, then everything gets just so frustrating. I met other trainees who just hated Japan because they had nobody to help him or her. Luckily the situation with AIESEC is just the opposite: the people care for you!

I have tried to learn some simple expressions in Japanese to be able to speak at least few words with my host family (they spoke no English - but I knew before and accepted this as an additional challenge). As much as I tried, the language is just too hard for me. I gave up, bought a good dictionary and carried it around with me. To tell the truth, it did not help as much as I would have hoped.

Still, I managed my everyday life in Japan: shopping, traveling, buying food, going to the photo labs, buying tickets etc. Most Japanese are so friendly and open-minded that they try to help you even when they do not understand you J. I still love to remember how an elderly lady helped me to find a shampoo - she did a pantomimic performance for me. Pantomime, although it sounds like a joke, was a great help in my everyday life and with my family. It is hard to imagine how it is when you cannot read ANYTHING. Not the street signs, not the names of the bus stations, not the newspapers, not any information on any strange looking product and there is NOBODY you can ask because they do not understand. Tough. That was my biggest challenge. I was very proud that I traveled alone by bus. It was like a memory game, I have checked the signs for the station before and waited until I saw them appearing somewhere. It was hard but I improved quickly. Japanese everyday life was a great adventure for me!!!

As mentioned before, Japan is a beautiful country and I have tried to see as much as possible. It offers many tourist attractions and many places / cities to visit. Luckily I was living in Kyoto, the old imperial city and still the cultural center of Japan. I have visited many temples, shrines and palaces. I was deeply impressed by the beauties of the (Zen) gardens. One of the highlights was climbing up mount Fuji at night (how many stars!!) to see the sun rise. Or Hiroshima - that was very sad but I guess everybody has to go there to see what happened. I was very disappointed in Tokyo, which was loud, stinky and crowded. Still I am very glad I have seen it. Nara and Myajima, are extremely beautiful. Everyone who goes to Japan needs to visit there!

But besides all traveling, what was most important to me were the people. My host family was so great. They gave a party to introduce me to the neighborhood. The family I lived with lived in the country (my family still has their own rice fields!) and most of the neighbors have never seen a non-Japanese before. The family was very helpful and open-minded. The mother even started to learn English when I was there to be able to communicate better with me. They really gave me the feeling of belonging and made me feel like a part of their family. Just imagine! That is an experience that really touches me still very deeply. I really miss them! I had the chance to live like the Japanese live, eat what they eat (rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner - but you get used to it and miss it when you are home again), live my life according to the Japanese rhythm and deal with their everyday problems as though they with mine.

Besides my family, my friends were the most important people in my life at that time. Unlike what I have read about Japanese mentality, Japanese are very friendly and open to other cultures. There is a great interest in new things on their part, too. I have met so many people who cared for me even though they knew nothing about me. They took me to festivals, movies, concerts, they invited me to stay at their houses or their parents houses, they came with me on my trips, they helped me to manage my everyday life and they let me become a part of their lives. I am very thankful for this experience and value it very highly. Through all the cultural differences and stereotypes we found out what is the essence of it all, what is universal to all (young) people worldwide -fears, hopes, and happiness. That again is an experience which is not easy to express in words but which touches me very deeply. I am still in contact with my friends in Japan and it means a lot to me. This summer one of them will visit Europe and I am waiting for her in Germany to give her back at least a little of all that she did for me.

One very important moment during my stay in Japan was my birthday. It was my 25th birthday and it had a special meaning for my. I was sad that I could not celebrate with my family and friends in Germany, I was very afraid to get sentimental on this day. Now I have to say that this was one of my best birthdays ever. Although I did not tell anybody in Japan, I guess they knew how important it was to me. And since I knew that Japanese do not really celebrate their birthdays and do not exchange presents, the surprise was even bigger. They baked a cake and decorated it with 25 candles, they bought wonderful presents and we went out to celebrate. I even got presents form people whom I had not met before. They were all very excited to make this a special birthday for me. At work, one person taught the others to sing 'Happy Birthday' for me even though most of my coworkers did not speak English at all. What a great birthday, totally terrific.

Talking about the job I have to say that I had the opportunity to join a great team at HORIBA and learn so much. Here it was the same, there was a great interest on both sides and we learned from each other about Japanese and German cultures and business life. I am studying science of communication and was working in corporate communications, which is just what I would like to do after finishing university, so I got a great chance to see how it is all done. I enjoyed the feeling of being one member of this group. My coworkers showed me a lot of Japanese habits in their leisure time, for example kyudo or tea ceremony. I was very glad to be able to experience it not as a tourist but as one of them. I guess I can call myself very lucky to have received such a chance.

Well, maybe this should be enough as an overview on some of my experiences. I hope in mentioning my work, my family, traveling and major problems I have given an overview what one can expect in Japan. To be given the chance to go to another country is a huge challenge and one has to deal with it seriously. As mentioned before, I have met people in Japan who hated it. That made me think about why it was so great for me. I do not think that I just had luck, although this might come into it, too. I guess what is important is what one expects from it and how much one is ready to give of oneself to it. Before I went to Japan I made rules for myself: since I was really honestly interested to get to know this culture I decided to live just like they live. Whenever one has the chance to stay with a family, do so! It is the best thing that can happen to you (of course, if the family is awful... but it is always worth the risk). I could have lived in an apartment, bought my European food and meet European people. But then I would have been just a tourist and would not have experienced the spirit of the country. Many other trainees and visitors made a kind of a non-Japanese ghetto where they lived. I lived a Japanese life, I got up very early, ate my rice for breakfast, had a very long way to work, worked with them, ate with them at work and then - quite late - went back home to my Japanese family where I ate some rice with my family and explained them in pantomime how my day was and what I would do during the weekend. The week was hard and I realized how the job could become one's family. (But this is something that one has to consider, too. It is real work and not just hanging around in a foreign country.) The weekend was for my exploring the country. In the whole time I met only few non-Japanese and most of them I avoided because of the ghetto they lived in. In the end I thought of myself as a Japanese... a very funny feeling. My Japanese family, coworkers and friends saw that I wanted to understand them and they saw that my life in Japan was just like theirs, I guess that is one of the most important aspects of why they have accepted me as one of them (as much as this is possible for a foreigner). This enables me to look behind the mask of the Japan that tourists get to know. I know I was in real Japan. I got to experience things that are meant for Japanese only and I developed a deep respect for this country and its people. If you understand why something is like it is and why people behave the way they do, you can feel at home even if it is on the opposite side of the globe.

Let me just end with some thoughts that I think are very important for everyone who leaves for a foreign country. You have to be open and tolerant and give the other culture a chance. Do not try to build a bubble where you will stay during the time you have there because you will never get to know the fascinating things about the different cultures. Inform yourself about the most important Dos and Don'ts, for Japan it is also important to know about the climate (summers are very hard because of the extremely high humidity), ask people who have already been there or read their reports ;-). I saw it all as a game of chance, a wonderful challenge and an exciting adventure - and so it was.

Good luck and have a great time to all who still have this to come!

Martina Zalach

Germany

PS: I have not written about practical things because this general thought of dealing with other cultures seemed more important to me. Of course, if you want more practical information, I can send you some. Do not hesitate to send me an email if you have any questions.

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