We went to Waseda University in BFE, Japan to visit another group of students that we were going to give surveys and talk to for a couple of hours. We ended up meeting with 2 different classes, one that was very good at English, and one that was not so good at English. The group that was good was very fun to talk to but the group that didn’t have good English speaking skills were hard to communicate with in any way. It was a very different cultural experience because we knew the language barrier was so large. It is tough to talk to people that you know you want to communicate with, but can’t. It is frustrating to say the least.
After we had a fun time meeting with these groups of students we had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted. Jon and I filmed some more footage of people eating, and tried to figure out what we needed to do for the film. After figuring out film stuff, we headed to Akihabara again to play some more arcade games. The Japanese players once again owned all of us and we realized that we were not as pro as we thought we were.
It was a pretty cool day and all but it was nearing the trip and we realized that we were starting to get tired and missed home. By this time I knew I loved Japan but I knew the trip was only 17 days long so it wasn’t like I was going to be there forever.
This blog will hopefully be something to look back on and re-experience everything all over again.
Yeah, that talk with the students at Waseda University was slightly frustrating. You say something, then they give you that blank stare because they don’t understand a word or two. Then you try to rephrase it. It really sucks when you don’t know too much Japanese for conversation. It’s not that great.
Yea, I wouldn’t say the communication breakdown was frustrating as much as it was awkward. There was this expectation in the air that we were obligated to talk and share laughs with the students. But when I found it quite difficult to express my thoughts in almost any way, it made me feel a little awkward. Awkward in a ‘well if I cant talk with them about how old we all are and what we do for fun, how can we fill this silent void?’ kinda way.