This will be my first blog post!
On the second week of the food seminar, our class held a picnic at the Yoyogi Park. The park is about a 15 minute walk away from our university. I was nervous at first to have a picnic with new classmates and since it was my first time to have a class together with sophomores. But I was glad that all of my classmates were friendly and it was a little funny to find out that everyone was just as nervous as I was! Each of us brought a dish to the picnic to share. I tried everything and everything was so delicious! We also got to learn different kinds of prayers people say around the world before they start their meals. There were various kinds, from short ones to long ones, ones that rhyme and ones that were a little difficult to understand. But I think the best one is the simple "itadakimasu". Our teacher performed some juggling toward the class and he even taught us how to juggle. I was only watching my friends trying, but it seemed quiet difficult. Although we got a few showers, the picnic was lots of fun and I think it was a great start off for our seminar.
It's always interesting to me that students get nervous when they have to interact with their "upperclassmen"--especially when there is only one year different. American university students don't care at all about differences in grade levels among their classmates, but it's made much of in Japan. Even with students who have lived abroad for a few years or more the "kohai"/ "sempai" differential seems important. I'm glad you found that everyone was friendly--regardless of whether they were freshmen or sophomores.
返信削除My favorite before-meal prayer is also "itadakimasu." It's simple but deep at the same time. It can be interpreted according to the tastes of the person saying it.
I thought the picnic was also a good way to start our seminar. The showers didn't dampen the mood.
Cheers,
Joseph D.