SEARCH

Contact Us

Site Map

2015 JET-MIP ESSAY: TULIKA SRIVASTAVAMARCH, 2016: BREEZE ISSUE #101
A FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS OF JAPAN & TEACHERS OF
JAPANESETULIKA SRIVASTAVA
Deerfield Beach High School
Pompeno Beach, FL
It has been nearly a month since I have gottenback from Japan, from riding a bike at night,
and eating horrible institute food. From thetime I have gotten back, I have done nothing
but write boring essays, read almostinteresting books for school, conduct project
meetings that were probably unnecessary.
Basicly I have spent the last month slipping
into my old schedule. But even so, sometime when I close my eyes I can feel the rocky
unsteady footing of the beach near the Kansai Institute, where we stayed at for the majority ofthe trip. Other times when I have a hard time falling asleep I can see the phantom of theamazing view I had from my dorm window reflected in my balcony. I can remember the strong
winds and drenching rain on my skin from when a few friends and I decided to go to a bookstore during a typhoon for who knows what reason each time it rains here in Florida. I can evenremember the taste of roasted tea ice cream that my host sister Sena shared with me. And
being haunted by the ghost of Hotel Boyo with a few friends was exciting. I have so many
memories from those two short weeks I spent in Japan with JET-MIP, memories I know I willtreasure my entire life.
When I first applied to JET-MIP it was not because I wanted to become a JET member. I was
genuinely intrigued by the post 3/11 tsunami and earthquake situation and felt remorse over thedeaths of the two JETs ,Tayler Anderson and Montgomery Dickson. The reason I applied for thisprogram was because I wanted to better myself, in my Japanese studies and gain a bit of self
confidence. Honestly right now I can't say that I gained so much self confidence that it isdazzling to even think about. But I can say that the JET Memorial Invitation Program has given
Privacy - Terms

me the opportunity to see a side of Japan that I would have never known about if I kept mynose stuck in a musty old text book, or even going to tour Kyoto. During our trips to the Tohoku
region, I was able to meet people such as business owners, and even high school students,
who were hit by the tsunami and earthquake. Some kind enough to tell their story of what
happened to them during this disaster, stories that would leave a person depressed for years.
But what surprised me was that most did not want to talk about the events of the disaster; notbecause they still grieve over the events. But because they were ready to move on and looktowards the future. Rather than speak about the house or job they lost, they would speak about
the company their father recently made, or what they have planned for their future. This is theside of Japan I would have never seen through a textbook, or by going to tourist destinations
had I not experienced JET-MIP. Also, had I not experienced JET-MIP, I would have never had
the opportunity to make the wonderful friends I have in Japan now. With such experiences, Iknow now that I don't simply just want to continue my Japanese studies as I enter a University
next year. I want to constantly use my Japanese skills beyond the reaches of my classes.
Perhaps one day be payed for knowing Japanese. Although that is still a unformed dream,
because right now I struggle to read my host sisters text messages. To many unknown kanji!
Although, I highly doubt that stopped anyone. Where as I struggle with reading my host sister's
messages, I never had a problem understanding them. I remember my host family took me
shopping at one of Osaka’s malls, and they were constantly asking me if there was anything I
wanted to see, or was interested in. Unfortunately, I was barely able to take the sights inbecause I have never really been to a city before. But, I wanted to find a birthday present for afriend of mine, and my host family was kind enough to assist me. While I was looking at several
stores at the mall, which spawned at least seven streets, I was shocked by how expensive
cloths were in Japan in comparison to the malls near my house in Florida. My host sister Sena
told me it was because people do not buy the clothing but the brand. I was shocked, I did notthink clothing’s brand was more important than the clothing itself. To illustrate why I was soshocked, I asked my host sister how much they thought my pants coast. A simple black pair ofslacks, my host mother though it cost 80 dollars. Imagine the shock when I told her probably
cost no more than 25 dollars. I suppose this blaber about a small clothing experience may
mean nothing to you, but for me and my host family we learned something about each other’scultures in an unexpected way. I learned to bring a lot of money if I plan to shop for cloths inJapan, and my host family learned that Victoria Secret and Persices are the most expensive
artifact to clothing in America.
Unfortunately it seems that I must conclude, I would like to let Tayler Anderson andMontgomery Dickson to know that JET-MIP, a program founded in their honor has allowed us
have this wonderful experience that I would otherwise probably have never had the opportunity
experience. Because of JET-MIP I was able to make wonderful friends, most of them Japanese,
one of them from Denmark. I was able to see a side to Japan I normally would not have. And
because of this program I was able to take chances in speaking Japanese that I would havenever dreamt of doing in class, in fear of failure. So I would simply like to thank Tayler
Privacy - Terms

Anderson and Montgomery Dickson and the JET-MIP coordinators for allowing me to participate
in this program. I hope that this program will continue on in the future, not necessary in thesame form, and allow other students to have this experience as well.

NIPPON THROUGH MY EYES PHOTOSUBMISSION“Osaka from the tower garden”
When people think of Japan they think ofanime, and samurais. I chose this picture
because it shows that Japan's cities are filledwith more than idol animations and Oda
Nobunaga; to show that the Japanese city is as
much a mystery an any old anime.

Breeze #110

Breeze #109Breeze #108

Breeze #107

Breeze #106

Breeze #105

Breeze #104

Breeze #103

Privacy - Terms

Breeze #102

Breeze #101

Japanese Langauge Education Update 282015 JET-MIP Essay: Rachel Resnick

2015 JET-MIP Essay: Tulika Srivastava

2015 JET-MIP Essay: Jacqueline Tayra

2015 JET-MIP Essay: Amy Waldron

Breeze #100

Breeze #99

Headquarters

New York Office

ボランティア募集

Center for Global PartnershipJapan Related Links

Volunteer

Job Openings (Updated)

5700 Wilshire blvd, Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90036
P. 323.761.7510

Annual Report© 2019 The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
Web Design.

Privacy - Terms