Happy new year.
Wish a fruitful 2012 to all of you.
It's already been nine months since I came to Seattle.
The last year 2011saw a bunch of changes and was one of the most significant years both for Japan and myself.
During this nine months, time really flies so fast that I didn't have enough time to look back on my foot print in Seattle.
I feel like what I saw n felt here is surely accumulating in me,
but I haven't really thought of the significance of it so far.
Therefore, I make it a my short-time resolution to absorb slowly my life here before going back to Japan like a cow with four intestins.
This time, at the beginning of 2012, I suddenly thought of keeping what comes to my mind when I look back on the last year now.
so apologies for a very rough entry:)
1. Departure
2. An encounter with social business
3. Asian Identity
4. New encounters and farewells
(actually this entry is long. If you skip any, skip 2&3 haha )
[1] Departure
It was only one week after the earth quake that I left Japan for Seattle.
The departure that I had looked forward very much got filled with mixed feelings.
Last November, our relatives had a celebration for my grand mam 88 yrs (米寿) and my dad 60 yrs（還暦）. ( we Japanese traditionally celebrate the longevity at the certain ages like 60, 77, 88 and other ages. wanna know more? check out here )
Since I could not be there, I wrote a letter for them and had my bro read it for me.
In the letter, I mentioned about the departure like this...
"It was only 8 days after the disaster that I left Japan. In Tohoku area, a bunch of people still shiver in the fears and coldness, crying over their lost house, hometown, and lost families. Even in Tokyo, people are frightened by the fearful dark cloud of radiation. It was the day like that. At Narita airport with floods of foreigners, I became one of them. i know I should not say this, but it was the departure with something sort of a guilty of a soldier who came back home from the war alone."
"I do not wanna leave Japan by any means..."
been to many places out of Japan
but never felt like that before.
Leaving alone my home when people are about to face the disaster
was, whatever the reason, nothing but a pain.
I could not help blaming of myself.
At the same time, however, that forced me to face the responsibility of "studying abroad" in a good sense.
At that time, I encountered the words that encouraged me a lot.
The massage was on the internet from a president to high school graduates whose school commencement called off because of the earthquake.
It inspired not only the graduates but also many young people in Japan.
Since translating the massage into English may cause any misunderstanding, I do not wanna do that, but at least here is the link (Japanese).
Yes, I came to Seattle with that complicated feelings.
[2] An encounter with Social Business
A big change that occurred inside me first in Seattle was caused by social business.
Many social networkings or internship experience at iLEAP helped me a lot to meet various kind of social business/entrepreneurs
and i got inspired so much by their passions.
something like a glass to magnify a glimmer of hope for the future to the scale at which the light can shine people who used to be in the dark
For instance
A web service which enable clients to make a small giving to each project around the world. This amazing micro loaning service built a bridge between people and local projects at a small village. (Jolkona)
or
A fancy restaurant whose chefs used to be homeless but are trained in 9 month program provided by that restaurant. even though this restaurant still depends on donations, to have realized this business model itself is very amazing. This business model succeeded incorporating people out of economy into the economy in an ideal way.
and
of course many micro finance organizations.
It was my pleasure I could be involved with some of them.
One of my friends I met in Seattle started Kiva sth(?)at Waseda university.
(Kiva is one of the world biggest micro finance organization. actually amazing)
Hope to get involved with it as well after go back to Japan.
But entrepreneurs who inspired me were not only American people.
a meeting with Japanese young entrepreneurs at Japan-US social innovation forum by iLEAP also made a huge impact on me.
The concept of the forum was trying to energize Innovation/entrepreneurship in Japan by inviting Japanese entrepreneurs working esp for re-establishment after the earth quake.
For me who was kinda away from the real situation,
their presentation filled with Japanese spirit touched me in the very bottom of my heart.
and brought a flood of tears into my eyes actually.
Since then?
My passion has seemed to get closer to Japan
like...I came to think that I would like to convey this wonderfulness of our people/culture to the world.
This was one of big changes I realized in the US.
After the disaster, a turning point for Japan, many young people started working on variety of business/volunteers/activities to re-establish sound Japan again.
At the moment of the earthquake,
At convenience stores where items were in a clutter, people picked up each item and made lines at casher.
No one tried to stole even in that situation.
At an absolutely chaos plat home, what we saw was a straight line of people waiting in order for a train.
The world was moved by that incredible scene through social media, not only Japan.
After came to Seattle,
American, Canadian, Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, Mexican, German...
every single people talked to me about our reaction to the disaster with a touched voice and praised our nationality, saying that
"No other countries but Japan could make it."
I do not know the current situation inside Japan right now,
some people might be forgetting the fear of that disaster and only the ruins tell the story.
However, many people are surely struggling to overcome the disaster.
It's true that Japan has a pile of problems to solve and concerns for our future,
but still
a pile of people face forward to create brilliant future.
[3] Asian Identity
One more thing I strongly felt in Seattle is
the identity as an Asian.
I have a lot of Asian friends at University of Washington
and we cannot understand our mother tangue each other
just like American and Japanese.
However
I often feel something similar among Asian friends.
Please note that I never mean I feel uncomfortable when I'm with non-Asian friends.
I am in the US, where it's natural to be different from others in terms of nationality, race, and of course personality,
and I never feel something like fears to be different and confort to be the same that are sometimes used to express Japanese nationality.
it's not a question of whether good or bad.
However
I just strongly feel we Asian have huge similarity beyond languages.
Today, Asian countries are emerging rapidly as important sectors of the world economy.
I feel like this finding would be of importance in order to locate myself in this world after viewing the earth from a comprehensive perspective.
[4] New encounters and farewells
Lastly I would like to mention what i thought through my human relationship itself.
SInce I came to Seattle,
I met many people, spent a lot of time together and got into deeper relationships.
and also experienced a lot of farewells following those encounters.
I do not know how many times I was touched by friends' tears for me when we said good bye.
Saudi arabian, Israel, German, French, Australian, UK, Canada, Thailand, Chili...etc..
and of course Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, and American.
No matter how mich I believe in the moment when our paths cross again in the future,
farewells with my friends from all over the world force me to feel a transience of encounters
and at the same time these meetings tell me the importance and the impact of face-to-face communication.
One of my Israel friends told me how excellent Jewish religion is.
Regardless of whether I like it or not,
"Jewish" or ”Palestinian issue” that were nothing but what I learned at school suddenly stared at and came to me seriously.
I would have never felt it without his shiny eyes.
For that matter, in fall quater with German students,
the argument went more into the depth of the problem.
This world is hard to untangle all of its darkness like a entwined neckless even if we try.
However it may not be something we need to "untangle".
even still twined,
with mutual understandings and respects to each other,
even that tangle can be viewed as a fancy pattern.
Feel that kinda things when I see
Individuals from all over the world gather around and talk with heartwarming kindness...
At this point, the essencial/decisive is to talk face-to-face.
This is what I always feel, but I would be a whole picture of Japan for him/her when I
am abroad and therefore I partly need to live a life, carrying Japan on my shoulders.
The other day, I talked with one korean girl about would war two.
I had talked with a German friend about the same topic.
German:
"The Berlin officially announced an apology for what we did during the war.
and all citizens feel a guilty about that. I can hardly understand why Japanese people
still visiting the shrine and why Japanese government have not announced its apology
."
Korean:
"Why still cannot Japanese people concede what they did during the war as its error ? For Korean, it's hardly acceptable that Japanese people still visit the shrine. The names of Korean soldiers who were forced to join Kamikaze pilots are made an imprint in the shrine, you know? In the past, korean bereaved families asked for the elimination of the names but it was not accepted. Why should Korean victimes be buried in the same place as Japanese war criminals? I like Japanese people, but I cannot understand it by any means."
and about the military confort women, I was also told that she cannot forgive the fact that Japanese government denied the issue.
(precisely Japanese government did concede the fact but did not express its apology for it. )
Since I had not been told that directly from Korean friends, I was kinda shocked but this talking meant a lot to me.
I am happy to have such a friend like her.
How we young generation take over the history , how face the responsibility.
it's a tough question.
what we learned at school in Japan is absolutely biased.
Vice versa, what the Korean girl learned at school in Korea is possibly biased.
and almost impossible to know what exactly happened in the past.
Therefore only we can do is talking about it, sharing our ideas, and arguing face-to-face.
What we each learned, what we each believe, and what we each hope for the future.
Regardless of the fact, we need the place to bounce feelings, not logics, off each other.
And importantly talking each other often helps us to untangle misunderstandings.
I have a friend from Israel.
I have a friend from Saudi arabia.
The scene where they are laughing each other is beautiful.
but
nothing special. it's just ordinary view.
because they are human beings.
Where in the world is this peace broken out ?
From this perspectives the significance of talking face-to-face with people with different background is huge.
As a one who are given the luxurious opportunity of study abroad,
my role is to share what I heard from the korean girl and this feeling with as many people who don't have the opportunity as possible.
That's one of the reasons why I am blogging this entry and hope to share it with many people.
Although it doesn't have to be a study abroad, hope many people, esp young people in Japan can obtain the opportunity of talking with young people from other countries.
sounds like I would have done my study in Seattle....
but I have one more quarter! and take internship program.
I got two offers:
HubSeattle (main) and Community Capital Development (CCD)
The Hub is kinda hot concept among those who are interested in entrepreneurship/start-up business around the world
for further info, take a look at the most famous one in Silicon Valley: Hub Bay Area.
Since I am interested in the concept of co-working and start-ups/entrepreneurs,
I am glad to have internship there.
Hope I will see how co- working creates synergy and benefits members.
My internship days will be updated.
Then thank you for reading to the end.
and I would apologize if you felt offended by this entry.
but it might be caused by my poor English, so please kindly talk to me.
Wish a fruitful 2012 to all of you.
It's already been nine months since I came to Seattle.
The last year 2011saw a bunch of changes and was one of the most significant years both for Japan and myself.
During this nine months, time really flies so fast that I didn't have enough time to look back on my foot print in Seattle.
I feel like what I saw n felt here is surely accumulating in me,
but I haven't really thought of the significance of it so far.
Therefore, I make it a my short-time resolution to absorb slowly my life here before going back to Japan like a cow with four intestins.
This time, at the beginning of 2012, I suddenly thought of keeping what comes to my mind when I look back on the last year now.
so apologies for a very rough entry:)
1. Departure
2. An encounter with social business
3. Asian Identity
4. New encounters and farewells
(actually this entry is long. If you skip any, skip 2&3 haha )
[1] Departure
It was only one week after the earth quake that I left Japan for Seattle.
The departure that I had looked forward very much got filled with mixed feelings.
Last November, our relatives had a celebration for my grand mam 88 yrs (米寿) and my dad 60 yrs（還暦）. ( we Japanese traditionally celebrate the longevity at the certain ages like 60, 77, 88 and other ages. wanna know more? check out here )
Since I could not be there, I wrote a letter for them and had my bro read it for me.
In the letter, I mentioned about the departure like this...
"It was only 8 days after the disaster that I left Japan. In Tohoku area, a bunch of people still shiver in the fears and coldness, crying over their lost house, hometown, and lost families. Even in Tokyo, people are frightened by the fearful dark cloud of radiation. It was the day like that. At Narita airport with floods of foreigners, I became one of them. i know I should not say this, but it was the departure with something sort of a guilty of a soldier who came back home from the war alone."
"I do not wanna leave Japan by any means..."
been to many places out of Japan
but never felt like that before.
Leaving alone my home when people are about to face the disaster
was, whatever the reason, nothing but a pain.
I could not help blaming of myself.
At the same time, however, that forced me to face the responsibility of "studying abroad" in a good sense.
At that time, I encountered the words that encouraged me a lot.
The massage was on the internet from a president to high school graduates whose school commencement called off because of the earthquake.
It inspired not only the graduates but also many young people in Japan.
Since translating the massage into English may cause any misunderstanding, I do not wanna do that, but at least here is the link (Japanese).
Yes, I came to Seattle with that complicated feelings.
[2] An encounter with Social Business
A big change that occurred inside me first in Seattle was caused by social business.
Many social networkings or internship experience at iLEAP helped me a lot to meet various kind of social business/entrepreneurs
and i got inspired so much by their passions.
something like a glass to magnify a glimmer of hope for the future to the scale at which the light can shine people who used to be in the dark
For instance
A web service which enable clients to make a small giving to each project around the world. This amazing micro loaning service built a bridge between people and local projects at a small village. (Jolkona)
or
A fancy restaurant whose chefs used to be homeless but are trained in 9 month program provided by that restaurant. even though this restaurant still depends on donations, to have realized this business model itself is very amazing. This business model succeeded incorporating people out of economy into the economy in an ideal way.
and
of course many micro finance organizations.
It was my pleasure I could be involved with some of them.
One of my friends I met in Seattle started Kiva sth(?)at Waseda university.
(Kiva is one of the world biggest micro finance organization. actually amazing)
Hope to get involved with it as well after go back to Japan.
But entrepreneurs who inspired me were not only American people.
a meeting with Japanese young entrepreneurs at Japan-US social innovation forum by iLEAP also made a huge impact on me.
The concept of the forum was trying to energize Innovation/entrepreneurship in Japan by inviting Japanese entrepreneurs working esp for re-establishment after the earth quake.
For me who was kinda away from the real situation,
their presentation filled with Japanese spirit touched me in the very bottom of my heart.
and brought a flood of tears into my eyes actually.
Since then?
My passion has seemed to get closer to Japan
like...I came to think that I would like to convey this wonderfulness of our people/culture to the world.
This was one of big changes I realized in the US.
After the disaster, a turning point for Japan, many young people started working on variety of business/volunteers/activities to re-establish sound Japan again.
At the moment of the earthquake,
At convenience stores where items were in a clutter, people picked up each item and made lines at casher.
No one tried to stole even in that situation.
At an absolutely chaos plat home, what we saw was a straight line of people waiting in order for a train.
The world was moved by that incredible scene through social media, not only Japan.
After came to Seattle,
American, Canadian, Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, Mexican, German...
every single people talked to me about our reaction to the disaster with a touched voice and praised our nationality, saying that
"No other countries but Japan could make it."
I do not know the current situation inside Japan right now,
some people might be forgetting the fear of that disaster and only the ruins tell the story.
However, many people are surely struggling to overcome the disaster.
It's true that Japan has a pile of problems to solve and concerns for our future,
but still
a pile of people face forward to create brilliant future.
[3] Asian Identity
One more thing I strongly felt in Seattle is
the identity as an Asian.
I have a lot of Asian friends at University of Washington
and we cannot understand our mother tangue each other
just like American and Japanese.
However
I often feel something similar among Asian friends.
Please note that I never mean I feel uncomfortable when I'm with non-Asian friends.
I am in the US, where it's natural to be different from others in terms of nationality, race, and of course personality,
and I never feel something like fears to be different and confort to be the same that are sometimes used to express Japanese nationality.
it's not a question of whether good or bad.
However
I just strongly feel we Asian have huge similarity beyond languages.
Today, Asian countries are emerging rapidly as important sectors of the world economy.
I feel like this finding would be of importance in order to locate myself in this world after viewing the earth from a comprehensive perspective.
[4] New encounters and farewells
Lastly I would like to mention what i thought through my human relationship itself.
SInce I came to Seattle,
I met many people, spent a lot of time together and got into deeper relationships.
and also experienced a lot of farewells following those encounters.
I do not know how many times I was touched by friends' tears for me when we said good bye.
Saudi arabian, Israel, German, French, Australian, UK, Canada, Thailand, Chili...etc..
and of course Korean, Taiwanese, Chinese, and American.
No matter how mich I believe in the moment when our paths cross again in the future,
farewells with my friends from all over the world force me to feel a transience of encounters
and at the same time these meetings tell me the importance and the impact of face-to-face communication.
One of my Israel friends told me how excellent Jewish religion is.
Regardless of whether I like it or not,
"Jewish" or ”Palestinian issue” that were nothing but what I learned at school suddenly stared at and came to me seriously.
I would have never felt it without his shiny eyes.
For that matter, in fall quater with German students,
the argument went more into the depth of the problem.
This world is hard to untangle all of its darkness like a entwined neckless even if we try.
However it may not be something we need to "untangle".
even still twined,
with mutual understandings and respects to each other,
even that tangle can be viewed as a fancy pattern.
Feel that kinda things when I see
Individuals from all over the world gather around and talk with heartwarming kindness...
At this point, the essencial/decisive is to talk face-to-face.
This is what I always feel, but I would be a whole picture of Japan for him/her when I
am abroad and therefore I partly need to live a life, carrying Japan on my shoulders.
The other day, I talked with one korean girl about would war two.
I had talked with a German friend about the same topic.
German:
"The Berlin officially announced an apology for what we did during the war.
and all citizens feel a guilty about that. I can hardly understand why Japanese people
still visiting the shrine and why Japanese government have not announced its apology
."
Korean:
"Why still cannot Japanese people concede what they did during the war as its error ? For Korean, it's hardly acceptable that Japanese people still visit the shrine. The names of Korean soldiers who were forced to join Kamikaze pilots are made an imprint in the shrine, you know? In the past, korean bereaved families asked for the elimination of the names but it was not accepted. Why should Korean victimes be buried in the same place as Japanese war criminals? I like Japanese people, but I cannot understand it by any means."
and about the military confort women, I was also told that she cannot forgive the fact that Japanese government denied the issue.
(precisely Japanese government did concede the fact but did not express its apology for it. )
Since I had not been told that directly from Korean friends, I was kinda shocked but this talking meant a lot to me.
I am happy to have such a friend like her.
How we young generation take over the history , how face the responsibility.
it's a tough question.
what we learned at school in Japan is absolutely biased.
Vice versa, what the Korean girl learned at school in Korea is possibly biased.
and almost impossible to know what exactly happened in the past.
Therefore only we can do is talking about it, sharing our ideas, and arguing face-to-face.
What we each learned, what we each believe, and what we each hope for the future.
Regardless of the fact, we need the place to bounce feelings, not logics, off each other.
And importantly talking each other often helps us to untangle misunderstandings.
I have a friend from Israel.
I have a friend from Saudi arabia.
The scene where they are laughing each other is beautiful.
but
nothing special. it's just ordinary view.
because they are human beings.
Where in the world is this peace broken out ?
From this perspectives the significance of talking face-to-face with people with different background is huge.
As a one who are given the luxurious opportunity of study abroad,
my role is to share what I heard from the korean girl and this feeling with as many people who don't have the opportunity as possible.
That's one of the reasons why I am blogging this entry and hope to share it with many people.
Although it doesn't have to be a study abroad, hope many people, esp young people in Japan can obtain the opportunity of talking with young people from other countries.
sounds like I would have done my study in Seattle....
but I have one more quarter! and take internship program.
I got two offers:
HubSeattle (main) and Community Capital Development (CCD)
The Hub is kinda hot concept among those who are interested in entrepreneurship/start-up business around the world
for further info, take a look at the most famous one in Silicon Valley: Hub Bay Area.
Since I am interested in the concept of co-working and start-ups/entrepreneurs,
I am glad to have internship there.
Hope I will see how co- working creates synergy and benefits members.
My internship days will be updated.
Then thank you for reading to the end.
and I would apologize if you felt offended by this entry.
but it might be caused by my poor English, so please kindly talk to me.
