Winning at Life

Russell Matsumura

            This is more of a personal entry for me.  Towards the end of our time in Japan, we came across the area of malls that had a giant Gundam on display.  One of my favorite anime to watch when I was in my early teens was Gundam Wing and its movie Endless Waltz.  I’d spend time building models from the series and dreaming about piloting one of these robots in battle against over-whelming odds to accomplish a noble mission to save whatever I was trying to save.  So, when I found out that we were in the area where they had one on display, my inner child came to live as I swiftly made my way to see the statue.  Even though it wasn’t one of “my” Gundam’s, to see one on display and the amount of people surrounding the attraction is something I will never forget.  To see what was considered during my childhood as stupid nerd stuff become some of the most popular topics of entertainment, such as Star Wars and super hero movies, makes me feel like putting up with all of the bullying was worth it because in the end, I am the victor over my tormentors as they jump on the band wagon to see these films and purchase the merchandise.  Growing up ain’t so bad after all.

HOMESTAY!!!

Rebecca Carbajal

HOMESTAY! My FAVORITE part of this trip. 
After visiting the university, we were all so fortune to be welcomed into the home of a traditional style Japanese family in the town of Asakura. I joined the Umeno Family for one night. I had grandparents, a mom, two brothers, and a dog! Their home was gorgeous!! They were a family of carpenters and built the home 50 years ago. They had many different trees including plum trees that the grandpa takes care of and prunes each year. He is also known for a special kind of mochi that he taught us how to make. Our host mom made us at least 25 traditional Japanese dishes that all came from their garden! It was delicious. They even took us to the Onsen, a natural hot spring from the mountains. The littlest brother taught us origami. They didn’t speak an ounce of English but that was the best part. We were able to connect with them even though we could not communicate through our languages. This was an incredible experience that I will never forget and I am so grateful for my host family and the culture and traditions that they showed me.

Japan Cutlture

Dakota Jackson

Culture. The beautiful Japanese culture and art. One of the biggest and important things I will remember about Japan is the culture. Something so strong and persistent like the culture in Japan will have such a strong impact on me now and the long future. Whether it be the shrines we visited or the temples, every visit made me think indepthly about the person I am today. One of my biggest mottos in life is to enjoy the simple things. And what I feel like really connected me to Japan is how important things are to people, no matter what it is. The meanings people are able to interpret out of any situation is a different level of conceptual thinking. For example, the frog shrine. something that people might think is so silly and immature may be extremely meaningful or powerful to the other person. The way the people are able to make any situation into something so powerful and meaningful has my utmost respect.

Cooking With My Host Family

Lauren Nosworthy

This is a picture of my host mom, Miho, and the delicious Strawberry Daifuku Dolls we made together. Staying with a host family was my favorite experience of the Japan trip. I loved getting the opportunity to stay with a Japanese family for a night and day, to get a small, but true taste of the Japanese culture. My host family consisted of a husband, wife, and their two daughters. They were such a cute and sweet little family, who welcomed me and the three other HPU students, into their home with open arms and yummy food. The morning after we stayed a night in their home, we spent time together cooking breakfast and making this Strawberry Daifuku doll. This experience really meant a lot to me because growing up with a single mom who was always working, to provide for my two younger sisters and I, we didn’t get much “quality’” time with our mom. So being able to sit in the kitchen, talking story, cooking, laughing, and just spending time with our host mom meant the world to me. I always wished I could have had more “fun times” with my mom, especially through my childhood, but I had to come and learn my mom had to provide for us on her own, so work was always a priority. Therefore, I genuinely treasured this time spent with Miho, because I know she didn’t have to spend that time cooking and laughing with us HPU students, but she chose to and I am so grateful she did. In addition to the wonderful quality time, the little snack we made was DELICIOUS, or Oishi! as Miho would say.

Photo Credit : Lauren Nosworthy, 2019