MEXT Scholarship Series: The Warmth of the Cold North – Rachel Khan
2022/4/12
MEXT Scholarship Series: The Warmth of the Cold North – Rachel Khan
I had always received the same response whenever I, a Trinbagonian who at that point only had only known sun and sand, said I was heading to the coldest part of Japan: “Why?”
There were a few “Are you serious?” and “You’ll freeze!” comments thrown in as well, as it seemed to befuddle everyone why I would choose to live in the northern prefectures instead of the warmer, more populated or urbanised areas of Japan. However the choice felt absolutely right, and years later, it was the best decision I could’ve made.
And so, I headed to Sapporo, Hokkaido, where I was a graduate research student at Hokkaido University.
Later, I would move to another northern prefecture, Akita, to pursue a Master in Global Communication Practice at Akita International University. With the MEXT scholarship, I could focus on my studies, for which I am forever thankful. When not in class, I was able to join organisations with my fellow academics, volunteer for and engage in numerous intercultural and language teaching-learning events (interacting with people ranging from children all the way up to retirees), explore the vast offerings of nature (such as visiting national parks), engage with my video game hobby (Japan is the home of Nintendo and Sony, after all!), and fall in love with the enduring vitality of the people, culture and places of Japan.
I will never forget the first time a stranger spoke to me: an elderly woman on a jog through campus, with a thick Hokkaido-ben (accent) jovially striking up a conversation with me. With my fledgling Japanese, we spoke for a bit, and she left me with an encouraging “Ganbatte” (a catch-all phrase to mean “Do your best, good luck, keep trying, you can do it”). In that moment, I felt at peace for the first time since arriving a week earlier, the uncertainty and nervousness in living in a foreign country starting to chip away. She set the tone for all my later encounters with northerners—interesting, warm, and as hardy as they are friendly.
Sapporo is world-famous for its beer, but also for its annual Snow Festival and winter sports. (I would like to also add it should also be for its vegetables, fish and milk, which are some of the freshest and most delicious I’ve ever tasted.) Attending the Sapporo Snow Festival to see the amazing ice and snow sculptures and witness daring snowboarding feats in Odori Park was something I looked forward to every year.
My second home, Akita, was just as cold, but the life and pace was entirely different from Sapporo. Here, the university was nestled away near a small town, where the closest shopping mall was a bus ride past fields and fields of rice paddies. Driving around, one can see the giant white wind turbines powering the quiet city. There were architectural sites, and even some homes there calling back several centuries. Life seems languid here as opposed to the endless bustle of a big city, and as a result, human connections mean more, and community with nature and traditions matter more. Somehow, Akita reminded me of home, especially around the Central area of Trinidad.
The local story traditions are rich and vibrant, and they have folkloric jumbies as we do in the Namahage (demonlike beings who give warnings to children to behave themselves and not be naughty). There is even a “festival of lights”: Before the chill of the winter, the students of the kantou club would practice tirelessly for the Akita Kantou Matsuri (Akita Lantern Festival) in August. They would (as a group and sometimes singularly), to the chants of encouragement from their peers and the beating of ceremonial drums, carry giant bamboo poles adorned with dozens of paper lanterns, exhibiting extraordinary athleticism and artistry. The festival calls for a good harvest—part of Akita’s strong agricultural background.
My studies at Akita International University pushed me to be the most dynamic and diligent student I had been in years. The professors had a wealth of impressive professional and academic experiences, and my peers (both from Japan and quite literally, from all over the world) were encouraging. The university itself houses a beauty of a library, and I spent snowy days cosy in corner, reading for leisure or working on my papers. Ever so often, the famed Akita dogs would be on their walks with their owners through the campus.
Every approaching winter my mother would call and tell me in earnest worry, “You have to be careful, winter is coming”, and I would secretly laugh to myself as she unknowingly said one of the most renowned catchphrases from the then-popular television series, Game of Thrones. But I weathered those northern winters with lots of warm food: various kinds of nabe (hot pot) and my favourite, Jingisukan miso ramen (grilled mutton miso ramen).
To say it was a dream come true to go to Japan, live and study there, is a cliché but there is no other way to put it. I couldn’t imagine that the place known to me through my television set—as I would watch My Neighbour Totoro and Japan Video Topics as a child—would be a place that I would set my feet firmly upon someday.
Because of the pandemic, my Master’s degree package took a global journey to get to me in Trinidad (from Akita, to France, to Colombia, and then finally Trinidad and Tobago). Opening the package, my heart filled with a pride in myself I’d never felt before. Equally, it was filled with gratitude—to God, my family, my friends, my professors, and to Japan.
My experience with MEXT has undoubtedly changed my life, and it is why I applied to go back to Japan through the JET Programme as an Assistant Language Teacher, where I can hopefully continue to build connections between Japan and Trinidad and Tobago. I know not where I will go this time, but it will certainly be a homecoming.
MEXT Scholarship Series: Warmth of the Cold North (Japanese Embassy Facebook)
MEXT Scholarship Series Archives
There were a few “Are you serious?” and “You’ll freeze!” comments thrown in as well, as it seemed to befuddle everyone why I would choose to live in the northern prefectures instead of the warmer, more populated or urbanised areas of Japan. However the choice felt absolutely right, and years later, it was the best decision I could’ve made.
And so, I headed to Sapporo, Hokkaido, where I was a graduate research student at Hokkaido University.
Later, I would move to another northern prefecture, Akita, to pursue a Master in Global Communication Practice at Akita International University. With the MEXT scholarship, I could focus on my studies, for which I am forever thankful. When not in class, I was able to join organisations with my fellow academics, volunteer for and engage in numerous intercultural and language teaching-learning events (interacting with people ranging from children all the way up to retirees), explore the vast offerings of nature (such as visiting national parks), engage with my video game hobby (Japan is the home of Nintendo and Sony, after all!), and fall in love with the enduring vitality of the people, culture and places of Japan.
I will never forget the first time a stranger spoke to me: an elderly woman on a jog through campus, with a thick Hokkaido-ben (accent) jovially striking up a conversation with me. With my fledgling Japanese, we spoke for a bit, and she left me with an encouraging “Ganbatte” (a catch-all phrase to mean “Do your best, good luck, keep trying, you can do it”). In that moment, I felt at peace for the first time since arriving a week earlier, the uncertainty and nervousness in living in a foreign country starting to chip away. She set the tone for all my later encounters with northerners—interesting, warm, and as hardy as they are friendly.
Sapporo is world-famous for its beer, but also for its annual Snow Festival and winter sports. (I would like to also add it should also be for its vegetables, fish and milk, which are some of the freshest and most delicious I’ve ever tasted.) Attending the Sapporo Snow Festival to see the amazing ice and snow sculptures and witness daring snowboarding feats in Odori Park was something I looked forward to every year.
My second home, Akita, was just as cold, but the life and pace was entirely different from Sapporo. Here, the university was nestled away near a small town, where the closest shopping mall was a bus ride past fields and fields of rice paddies. Driving around, one can see the giant white wind turbines powering the quiet city. There were architectural sites, and even some homes there calling back several centuries. Life seems languid here as opposed to the endless bustle of a big city, and as a result, human connections mean more, and community with nature and traditions matter more. Somehow, Akita reminded me of home, especially around the Central area of Trinidad.
The local story traditions are rich and vibrant, and they have folkloric jumbies as we do in the Namahage (demonlike beings who give warnings to children to behave themselves and not be naughty). There is even a “festival of lights”: Before the chill of the winter, the students of the kantou club would practice tirelessly for the Akita Kantou Matsuri (Akita Lantern Festival) in August. They would (as a group and sometimes singularly), to the chants of encouragement from their peers and the beating of ceremonial drums, carry giant bamboo poles adorned with dozens of paper lanterns, exhibiting extraordinary athleticism and artistry. The festival calls for a good harvest—part of Akita’s strong agricultural background.
My studies at Akita International University pushed me to be the most dynamic and diligent student I had been in years. The professors had a wealth of impressive professional and academic experiences, and my peers (both from Japan and quite literally, from all over the world) were encouraging. The university itself houses a beauty of a library, and I spent snowy days cosy in corner, reading for leisure or working on my papers. Ever so often, the famed Akita dogs would be on their walks with their owners through the campus.
Every approaching winter my mother would call and tell me in earnest worry, “You have to be careful, winter is coming”, and I would secretly laugh to myself as she unknowingly said one of the most renowned catchphrases from the then-popular television series, Game of Thrones. But I weathered those northern winters with lots of warm food: various kinds of nabe (hot pot) and my favourite, Jingisukan miso ramen (grilled mutton miso ramen).
To say it was a dream come true to go to Japan, live and study there, is a cliché but there is no other way to put it. I couldn’t imagine that the place known to me through my television set—as I would watch My Neighbour Totoro and Japan Video Topics as a child—would be a place that I would set my feet firmly upon someday.
Because of the pandemic, my Master’s degree package took a global journey to get to me in Trinidad (from Akita, to France, to Colombia, and then finally Trinidad and Tobago). Opening the package, my heart filled with a pride in myself I’d never felt before. Equally, it was filled with gratitude—to God, my family, my friends, my professors, and to Japan.
My experience with MEXT has undoubtedly changed my life, and it is why I applied to go back to Japan through the JET Programme as an Assistant Language Teacher, where I can hopefully continue to build connections between Japan and Trinidad and Tobago. I know not where I will go this time, but it will certainly be a homecoming.
MEXT Scholarship Series: Warmth of the Cold North (Japanese Embassy Facebook)
MEXT Scholarship Series Archives