Hello! こんにちは！
So there's this whole thing we need to do for this blog: the self introduction. I don't really like to always follow a template (well, that's a bit of a lie; I kinda do) but for intros, they're all sorta the same aren't they? So I wanna deviate from that just a bit.
My paternal great-grandfather came to Canada from Kumamoto, Japan before WWII, working on the CPR and on the farmland he bought - strawberries, apples, pears and the like - and cultivated in efforts to bring my great-grandmother over with him. They had 4 children, one of which is my grandpa. They went through the internment camps during WWII, during which they lost their land and possessions to the government, but now have a large farm out in Taber that grows primarily corn and potatoes. Funnily though, by cultural blood and background, I'm three-quarters Chinese; my grandma (paternal) and both of my mom's parents are Chinese. It has not, however, lessened my interest at all in Japan and its culture and history, and everything else about it. There's still plenty of Japanese traditions that my grandparents and parents have taught my brother and I that we continue every year.
The process of making mochi every New Year's for luck for the family and for the coming year is an activity that has been unofficially passed on to my parents and my brother and I. Normally every year, my grandparents prepare everything, and then we go to their house and make batches for the Sakura Tea ladies, and for some of the extended family as well. Now though, the pounding machine has been passed on to us, and every January we go through the process of soaking the sticky rice for three days, and then pounding and rolling them out into the little cakes for eating with the Japanese-style New Year's dinner we have afterwards. Simple sushi-making has also been taught through the generations, and although we don't have the training the same way the sushi chefs do (7 years! learning to make the sushi rice, never mind the actual sushi) we occasionally make it for supper, or for family dinners. Cooking and food recipes are a way where traditions are handed down, and I feel it always creates a really good setting for appreciating family.
My cousin took the JET programme (Japan Exchange and Teaching) when she was in university; that's basically been my only handhold to a vague direction I want to go with in the future. So with that in mind, I chose the East Asian Language Studies as my major, concentrating focus on Japanese and minor focus on Chinese. Kind of unfortunate, having to take the two at the same time, since Japanese borrowed a bunch of characters for their kanji - the similarities and differences makes things difficult. That doesn't make is experience any less exciting, though. There's gonna be so much to see, and so much to do.
A lot of my interests in Japan lie in the fact that I remember being brought up on Disney and Studio Ghibli movies. To this day, Ghibli has maintained a strong hold on my life, allowing my introversion to turn to quiet contemplation - of mono no aware, "the transience of life and beauty". Anime has become a larger influence in my life as well; it has provided a greater bonding experience with my friends over broken and sad feels. But it's not just the contemporary cultural aspects that interest me, but all of its history and the richness and diversity that has somehow managed to be encompassed in a few small islands.
Ah, sorry that I kinda ramble on about things; it's one of the occupational hazards of being a writer. And I don't like using cliches too much either, but this trip is going to be fantastic. Hopefully not once-in-a-lifetime deal of going to Japan, but also an opportunity and something of an adventure nonetheless. I look forward to having you experience our Japan trip with us!
よろしくお願いします！
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROFILE
Name: 中村サラ
Age: just under the legal drinking age in Japan (T - T)
Occupation: Second-year student, currently attending at the University of Calgary
二年生です。 今、カルガリー大学の学生。
Major: East Asian Language Studies （東アジア言及額）
Concentration focus: Japanese, with minor focus: Chinese.
Fancy for: "I'm studying Japanese language and culture".
Blood: nah, just kidding. But technically, Canadian.
Cultural background 1/4 Japanese, 3/4 Chinese.
About: Introvert. Bookworm. Writer. Hobbyist photographer. Music lover; kpop fan. Studio Ghibli-obsessed. Just a little weird.
So there's this whole thing we need to do for this blog: the self introduction. I don't really like to always follow a template (well, that's a bit of a lie; I kinda do) but for intros, they're all sorta the same aren't they? So I wanna deviate from that just a bit.
My paternal great-grandfather came to Canada from Kumamoto, Japan before WWII, working on the CPR and on the farmland he bought - strawberries, apples, pears and the like - and cultivated in efforts to bring my great-grandmother over with him. They had 4 children, one of which is my grandpa. They went through the internment camps during WWII, during which they lost their land and possessions to the government, but now have a large farm out in Taber that grows primarily corn and potatoes. Funnily though, by cultural blood and background, I'm three-quarters Chinese; my grandma (paternal) and both of my mom's parents are Chinese. It has not, however, lessened my interest at all in Japan and its culture and history, and everything else about it. There's still plenty of Japanese traditions that my grandparents and parents have taught my brother and I that we continue every year.
The process of making mochi every New Year's for luck for the family and for the coming year is an activity that has been unofficially passed on to my parents and my brother and I. Normally every year, my grandparents prepare everything, and then we go to their house and make batches for the Sakura Tea ladies, and for some of the extended family as well. Now though, the pounding machine has been passed on to us, and every January we go through the process of soaking the sticky rice for three days, and then pounding and rolling them out into the little cakes for eating with the Japanese-style New Year's dinner we have afterwards. Simple sushi-making has also been taught through the generations, and although we don't have the training the same way the sushi chefs do (7 years! learning to make the sushi rice, never mind the actual sushi) we occasionally make it for supper, or for family dinners. Cooking and food recipes are a way where traditions are handed down, and I feel it always creates a really good setting for appreciating family.
My cousin took the JET programme (Japan Exchange and Teaching) when she was in university; that's basically been my only handhold to a vague direction I want to go with in the future. So with that in mind, I chose the East Asian Language Studies as my major, concentrating focus on Japanese and minor focus on Chinese. Kind of unfortunate, having to take the two at the same time, since Japanese borrowed a bunch of characters for their kanji - the similarities and differences makes things difficult. That doesn't make is experience any less exciting, though. There's gonna be so much to see, and so much to do.
A lot of my interests in Japan lie in the fact that I remember being brought up on Disney and Studio Ghibli movies. To this day, Ghibli has maintained a strong hold on my life, allowing my introversion to turn to quiet contemplation - of mono no aware, "the transience of life and beauty". Anime has become a larger influence in my life as well; it has provided a greater bonding experience with my friends over broken and sad feels. But it's not just the contemporary cultural aspects that interest me, but all of its history and the richness and diversity that has somehow managed to be encompassed in a few small islands.
Ah, sorry that I kinda ramble on about things; it's one of the occupational hazards of being a writer. And I don't like using cliches too much either, but this trip is going to be fantastic. Hopefully not once-in-a-lifetime deal of going to Japan, but also an opportunity and something of an adventure nonetheless. I look forward to having you experience our Japan trip with us!
よろしくお願いします！
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROFILE
Name: 中村サラ
Age: just under the legal drinking age in Japan (T - T)
Occupation: Second-year student, currently attending at the University of Calgary
二年生です。 今、カルガリー大学の学生。
Major: East Asian Language Studies （東アジア言及額）
Concentration focus: Japanese, with minor focus: Chinese.
Fancy for: "I'm studying Japanese language and culture".
Blood: nah, just kidding. But technically, Canadian.
Cultural background 1/4 Japanese, 3/4 Chinese.
About: Introvert. Bookworm. Writer. Hobbyist photographer. Music lover; kpop fan. Studio Ghibli-obsessed. Just a little weird.
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