Jackie in Japan

Hello again to all the readers of Asia on E Street!

This is Jackie Lareau, recipient of the Estelle Sigur Grant for Japanese Language Study in Japan. It's been a while since my last update and I've done quite a bit of adventuring now that we've settled into the summer, so I'll give you a peek at all the highlights.

One of the most exciting events of the last few months was the weekend trip to Kyoto and Nara organized by CIEE, the exchange program handling my semester abroad, for all of the exchange students. We spent two days in Kyoto, which was the former imperial capital for over one thousand years before the capital was moved to Tokyo. As a result, the city is extremely rich with historic, traditional, and cultural treasures, especially with its 2,000+ Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.

With a couple friends of mine, we were able to have an action-packed day full of sightseeing around the city to see as much as possible. First we visited the Arashiyama bamboo forest, where we took plenty of pictures perfect for computer desktops.

Then after getting lost for a couple of hours in one of the rural rice paddy towns surrounding the city, we eventually found our way back to the action and visited Kinkaku-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple that is gilded with gold leaf and is one of the most popular attractions in all of Kyoto.

Following that, we visited the equally famous location of Fushimi Inari, a rather lengthy complex of Shinto shrines leading up a mountain. The shrine worships the Shinto god Inari, the god of business and commerce, and thus all of the iconic orange torii gates are each donated by various Japanese businesses and labeled as such. Aside from this, most of the shrines along the way are decorated with fox imagery and statues, which are seen to be the messengers of the gods. 

Pictured below are small wooden plaques called ema, on which worshippers write down their wishes and prayers with hopes that the shinto gods will answer them. As you can see, the ones at this particular shrine are fox-shaped and many people decorate them accordingly.

Finally, after exploring Kyoto, we traveled to the city of Nara which is about an hour away by bus, and also a former imperial capital during the 8th century's appropriately named Nara Period. There we were able to visit Todai-ji, a World Heritage Site and the home of Japan's biggest Daibutsu (bronze Buddha statue), even bigger than the one I previously visited in Kamakura. Not only were the grounds beautiful, but the sheer size of the temple and the masterpieces inside of it made all of us feel absolutely dwarfed and astounded considering they were constructed over one thousand years ago. 

However, the coolest thing about Todai-ji is probably the countless deer that roam the grounds and call it their home, thanks to their sacred status and generous tourists who feed them special "deer crackers" that you can buy from any vendor in the area. You're perfectly free to approach and pet the deer, although with caution because there's a good chance they'll go nosing into your bag and try to take the crackers by themselves. They're friendly enough to pose for photos, though.

The trip wouldn't be complete without a deer selfie.

After returning to Tokyo, my daily life has mostly consisted of going to classes and keeping up with classwork, attending circle and club events, hanging out with both Japanese and international friends, and spending time with my homestay parents. Altogether these activities keep me very busy, I have also had the time to partake in some traditional cultural activities as well. For example, I was able to attend my first sumo wrestling match and it was much more thrilling than I expected! The final match of the tournament featured a mid-ranking wrestler with a record of 5 wins and 5 losses versus a top-ranking wrester with not a single loss. It seemed like the results would be obvious but the underdog actually won, leading all of the audience members sitting in the front to throw their cushions into the ring, a gesture of respect shown when a wrestler beats a rival of a higher rank. I unfortunately wasn't able to catch this on camera, but I did take a picture of the precession of wrestlers lining up at the beginning of the tournament.

I was also able to try my hand at making traditional Japanese sweets, wagashi, which are made of sweet bean paste and molded into various shapes like flowers. The one I made can be seen below, and is supposed to replicate the appearance of a chrysanthemum, the Japanese imperial flower. It's definitely more challenging than it looks, so it's understandable why the craft and its stores are passed down within families for generations.

This ties up most of the cultural events I've been taking part in here in Tokyo, and with only about a month left before I return to the States, I'll be trying to fit in plenty more!

Wish me luck, and until next time, またね！

Maggie in Taiwan

Hello Asia on E Street Blog readers, 

My name is Maggie Wedeman and this summer I am attending the International Chinese Language Program (ICLP) at National Taiwan University on a Sigur Center language fellowship. As a brief introduction, I am a rising junior in the Elliott School and I am double majoring in international affairs (security and Asia concentrations) and Chinese language. During my childhood, my parents’ work often took our family to China and I have lived in China (Taipei, Nanjing, and Kunming) for about three years cumulatively. Having been exposed to China at a young age, I suppose you could say I caught the 'China bug' and I have been making all efforts to study China and the Chinese language since beginning college at GW. Last summer I attended the CET intensive Chinese Language program in Kunming, Yunnan and the quick and vast improvement in my language skill I saw there encouraged me to attend a similar program this summer: ICLP. 

I have now been in Taipei for just over two weeks and in this blog post I would like to share my general impressions of Taipei the city and the ICLP program. 

Having last lived in Taipei as an eight year old in 2002, it has been very interesting to return and experience the city as a twenty-year-old full time student. There are some aspects of the city that have not changed, others were just starting to emerge when I lived here, and some parts of the city are completely new.

This is the ally I lived on in 2002 - nothing has changed, it even still smells the same 

One aspect of Taipei, and Taiwan in general, is that is incredibly forested and green; all surrounding hills and mountains are covered in plants and mosses. Just from looking out my window, you can tell you are in a tropical climate because of how vibrant the plant life is. As a California whose state seems to be in perpetual drought, I find this greenery quite refreshing. However, there is no wonder the forestry is so lush as every day is incredibly hot and humid and the afternoons would not be complete with a quick tropical rain. Before classes began, I had the opportunity to go hike up Yangming Mountain (阳明山）and experience the greenery up close. A very friendly old man offered to lead us on a 40 minute hike to an open green field. It was beautiful to see cool, crystal clear streams flow down the mountainside. I hope that later in my stay, and studies permitting I have the chance to go on other hikes in the surrounding mountains.

A stream on Yangming Shan

When I was living here in 2002, Taipei 101 was just being built and was going to be the tallest tower in the world. In fact, one spring day during my stay a strong earthquake on the island caused construction cranes to fall from the top of their building point. Since then, of course the building was completed and other buildings have taken its title as tallest building in the world. However, in Taipei, Taipei 101 still is by the far the tallest building, there are many more modern buildings and highways than before. The city is shinier and seemingly less polluted.

One aspect of Taipei that has really evolved since I last lived here is the expansive public transport system, and more specifically the bikeshare program. Taipei knows how to do public transportation and understands how to incentivize its use for citizens. Taipei’s bike share program is second to none. Unlike Capital Bikeshare where you must buy a week, month, or yearlong membership, U Bike (the Taipei bikeshare company) is accessible and free as long as you have a registered easycard (like a smart trip). The first 30 minutes are free and after that it is 10 NT for every 30 min (about 30 cents US). The ease of public transport here makes exploring the city easy and convenient, which I really have appreciated.

One difference I have found with Mainland China is that here when you attempt to use Chinese to communicate with locals, they are more likely to respond in English. I suppose this is a result of having better English education in grade schools, however, as a language learner, this is somewhat frustrating. When I venture out into the city I want to practice my spoken Chinese with people and perhaps even pick up on colloquialisms that I would not be taught in a formal classroom setting. One reason I love studying Chinese in China is that, in my past experience, locals are often extremely happy that you have come to their country and are making attempts to learn their language. When locals are in awe of my (very broken) Chinese and respond in kind, it feels like I have made some progress and I am encouraged to study more. This has not exactly been the case in Taipei. However, while the larger prevalence of English speakers in Taipei has been a little discouraging, it’s not an insurmountable challenge. 

On the note of learning Chinese, here is some general information on the ICLP language program that I am attending. From what I gather, ICLP is the most rigorous, intensive language program in Taipei. There are many other programs that offer solid training, but ICLP is for students who have come to Taiwan to learn Chinese as their primary goal (as there is little time in the day to do anything but study Chinese). Each student has three classes a day, two large classes (with 4 people) and a one-on-one class for individual instruction. Each class expects you to prepare extensively the night before, and cumulatively can require up to six hours of homework/preparation. In addition, ICLP emphasizes speaking and while on the premises of the program, there is a language pledge to only speak Chinese. Last, once you have completed either year two or three of Chinese, you are able to pick whether to study traditional or simplified characters. To me, this was one of the most appealing aspects of this program. However, despite my fourth year placement one of my textbooks is still in traditional characters (rendering me somewhat illiterate). Regardless, the teachers have been quite accommodating in helping me struggle through the traditional characters.

To be completely honest, so far the ICLP experience has been quite stressful. Even having completed a similar intensive program on the Mainland, I am finding it hard to adjust to the ICLP teaching method. However, the ICLP students are top notch and are for the most part incredibly dedicated (not to mention they come from all walks of life). In my opinion, having classmates and teachers who are just as dedicated to Chinese language study as you are is vital to improvement, as you work together and push each other to advance. In weeks to come I hope to learn how to more effectively/efficiently prepare and retain all the new vocabulary and grammar structures I am learning, so as to ease stress and enjoy the language I love to study. While it is currently hard to see my improvement, I know that by the end of my summer I will have made great strides in my ability to speak, read, and write Chinese. 

More later! 

Maggie Wedeman 

ADB NARO Student Associate Program

The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) North American Representative Office (NARO) in Washington, D.C. is seeking applicants who are nationals of the United States or Canada to participate in a student associate program at ADB’s office in Washington, D.C.

ADB seeks to engage a student interested in international development, on a voluntary part-time or full-time basis. The associate will gain close insight into the work of a major international development organization, work collaboratively with experienced professionals, gain a deeper understanding of development finance; and contribute to ADB's work through research and support of public relations activities.

ADB welcomes motivated, open-minded and self-directed students to apply. The student associate program is a research-oriented learning opportunity for graduate students to research thematic and development issues and to network with representatives from other international organizations in the Washington, D.C. area.

Eligibility

•  Must be enrolled in a Master's- or PhD-level program at a school in the United States or Canada, both prior to and after the internship assignment;
• Must be engaged in academic study in a field directly related to ADB's work;
• Must be a United States or Canadian national. ADB is unfortunately unable to sponsor this work;
• Must be familiar with using social media tools;
• Must possess an excellent command of English, both orally and written; and
• Should have relevant professional experience.

Preference will be given to students in graduate school MBA, MS Finance, MS Economics, or majoring in international relations, development studies, development economics, political science, or other related fields. Students should demonstrate research and writing skills, and knowledge of Microsoft office applications.

To Apply
Please apply by submitting a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples to Michael Reyes at mreyes@adb.org by June 30, 2014. Indicate in your cover letter the university and program you are enrolled in including expected graduation date, and what days and times you would be available to work. More information about ADB's work can be found at: www.adb.org/naro.

Internships at CECC

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (www.cecc.gov) is offering paid internships to qualified undergraduates, graduate students, or recent graduates this coming fall in Washington, D.C. Interns must be U.S. citizens. The application deadline is July 1, 2014 for the Fall 2014 internship that runs from September 1 to December 15, 2014. Fall internships are part-time; interns are expected to work from 15 to 20 hours per week. See application instructions below.

CECC internships provide significant educational and professional experience for undergraduates, graduate students, or recent graduates with a background in Chinese politics, law, and society, and strong Chinese language skills. Interns work closely with the Commission and its staff on the full array of issues concerning human rights, the rule of law, and governance in China (including criminal justice, democratic governance institutions, environmental problems, religious freedom, freedom of expression, ethnic minority rights, women's rights, etc.). Interns perform important research support tasks (often in Chinese), attend seminars, meet Members of Congress and experts from the United States and abroad, and draft Commission analyses. Click here for CECC analysis of recent developments in the rule of law and human rights in China. Interns may also be trained to work with the Commission's Political Prisoner Database, which has been accessible by the public since its launch in November 2004 (click here to begin a search).

Fall 2014 interns will be paid $10/hour. Those unable to apply for Fall 2014 internships may apply for the Spring (February-May) or Summer (June-August). Further details are available on the Commission's Web site at http://www.cecc.gov/pages/general/employ.php.

Qualifications:

• Interns must be U.S. citizens.
• Interns should have completed at least some China-related coursework. It is also desirable that they have some background in one or more of the specific human rights and rule of law issues in the CECC legislative mandate.
• Interns should be able to read Chinese well enough to assist with research in newspapers, journals, and on Web sites. More advanced Chinese language capability would be a plus. The successful candidate for an internship often will have lived or studied in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan.
• Although our interns are generally undergraduates, graduate students, or recent graduates, others are also welcome to apply.

Application Instructions for Fall 2014:
Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and the names and contact information for two references, to the CECC via e-mail to Judy Wright, Director of Administration at judy.wright@mail.house.gov by July 1, 2014. Applications must be received by our office no later than 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on July 1. Please discuss in your cover letter how your professional goals, interests, and background relate to the Commission's legislative mandate regarding human rights and the rule of law in China. No phone calls please.

Taiwan Fellowship Accepting Applications through June 30, 2014

Similar to the Fulbright Scholarship, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of China created the Taiwan Fellowship to promote scholarship in the social sciences and humanities on topics related to Taiwan, cross-Strait relations, mainland China, the Asian-Pacific, and Sinology.

Qualifying applicants are professors, associated/assistant professors, post-doctoral researchers, doctoral candidates, doctoral program students at related departments of overseas universities, or research fellows at an equivalent level in academic institutions abroad. Alternatively, candidates may be recommended by a Taiwan overseas mission with a field of study on Taiwan’s foreign relations or cross-Strait relations. Ineligible individuals are those who are currently conducting research, teaching, or studying in Taiwan.

Selected fellowship recipients will receive direct, round-trip airfare subsidy and a monthly stipend (three months to a year depending on duration of research) to pursue advanced studies at Taiwan’s universities, colleges, or research institutes.

For more details on the Taiwan Fellowship, including the online application process, please visit the National Central Library’s Taiwan Fellowship page at http://taiwanfellowship.ncl.edu.tw/eng/index.aspx.

If interested, apply quickly, because the application period ends on June 30.

Tips for Field Research in Asia

1. Start before going. This is a list of things you should get together before leaving: letter from advisor(s); letter from university; letter from local affiliated institution (if you have one); business card; and short summary of your project. You will probably need this to access local libraries such as the Jawarhalal Nehru University's (below). Make a rough draft of your research schedule detailing the aims of your trip and how you intend to achieve them. Save up time upon arrival by making a list with addresses of places you want to go (e.g., libraries, archives, government offices, universities) and take some time to become acquainted with their location. The same goes for people who you might want to meet: make a list of contacts and email them in advance (but don't rely on this, see below). I'm assuming you have visited your research area previously, but if not, you need to think about items such as local phone, Internet and transport.

Jawarhalal Nehru University, New Delhi

2. Don't rely on e-mails. Few things will hamper down your research as waiting for people to reply to your emails. The truth is that most people will never prioritize (or even read) an email from an unknown student posing strange questions about a remote topic. In the hierarchy of research communication, emails should come last, followed shortly by the telephone. Of course, getting hold of someone's mobile number is always better than having his or her office number. But even phone conversations can lead to dead ends. As many researchers discover, scheduled meetings often get cancelled at the last minute. If this happens, the fallback option is simply to show up at the person's workplace - sometimes you do need to be a bit pushy. Naturally, you must be careful not to come across as rude (i.e., apologize, explain that you won't take much time) but, in general, it's worth taking the risk. My experience is that once people see you they'll grant you a couple of minutes or so, mainly because it will get you out off their backs.

3. Sort out your office space. Unless you to intend to spend your day at home (and then you should be asking yourself why going?), you need to take some time to consider where you will be working. Researchers conducting archival research will have a slight easier life on this point. Nonetheless, they still need to think about library opening hours, where to have lunch/water and, most importantly, Internet access (none of the libraries/archives that I visited in India provides wireless access). Alternatives are, in my experience, limited to two options: (1) Internet cafes and (2) co-working spaces. In regards to the former, you should prepare beforehand a list of Internet cafes that are convenient for you and that will enable you to work for extended periods of time (i.e., a bar or a sports bar will probably not be a very good choice). Moreover, in India, I have found that many of the places offering Internet access online, do not once you are there (e.g., most Coffee Days and Costa Cafes do not). Ideally, you should check with someone and/or ask recommendations from locals. Online resources (such as blogs) often provide lists of Internets cafes in your research area (in the case of Mumbai, I found a very helpful map at the Mumbai Boss). The other option is co-working spaces. In Delhi, I was lucky enough to find a social networking cafe in Hauz Khaz village called Book Your Dream, which offers Wi-Fi, coffee with cookies and a beautiful lake view. All this in exchange for a contribution (left to your discretion) to an NGO promoting education in local slums.

My office at Book Your Dream in Haus Khaz Village, Delhi

4. Organize a photo library. Turns out your phone camera and tablet are an excellent field research tool. If you are like me, then you'll have filled their memory after a couple of days with pictures of libraries, interview subjects, street scenes, posters, slums, pages of books, documents and videos of political rallies. My advise on this unfolds in five parts. First, create a folder in your computer for all the photos that you will take during your field trip. Do not mix these with the non-research related photos that you might have taken during this trip. Second, you should to copy your phone/tablet photos to your laptop as often as possible so that you always have sufficient space for new pictures/videos. It is always frustrating to delete potentially important material from your phone in order to make up space for more. Third, once you have copied them, reduce the size of the files so that they do not take an inordinate amount of space. Fourth, after doing this, you should copy them again to a backup device (e.g., external drive, dropbox, self-email, etc). The thing to remember here is to have the photos saved in more than one source. Finally, when possible (this can be done once you're back from field research), organize the photo files in your computer into categories. This will facilitate searching through them.

Note to self: do not ride the Delhi metro at rush hour

5. Don't scare people with your CV. Extensive experience with grant application might give researchers the impression that listing their achievements is a natural way to introduce oneself. Yet, when it comes to field research, the opposite may well be true. Unless your CV increases the chances of interviewing someone or being entrusted with data, you should seek to reduce the information about you to the bare minimum: you name, your university and your field of study. In my experience researching in India, I have found that interview subject are sometimes scared off by too much information about my academic curriculum (or my personal trajectory). Instead, a much better strategy is to compliment the person who you are talking to and thanking her for the time granted. Naturally, this involves doing some background work about the person (i.e., if you want to talk to an academic, you should read some of her or his articles in advance) before meeting her.

Diogo Lemos

PhD candidate 

Department of Political Science 

GWU

Jackie in Japan: Spring in Tokyo

Hello there, everyone! This is my first time posting on the Asia on E Street blog, and I'll be doing so regularly for the rest of the summer while I study abroad at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.

My name is Jackie LaReau and I'm a recipient of the Estelle Sigur Grant for Japanese Language Study in Japan. I'm a current GW junior majoring in Asian Studies at the Elliott School, and I've been studying abroad in Japan since last August. I spent the fall and winter semesters studying at Akita International University (AIU) in the northern rural prefecture of Akita, and now I have transferred to the very different Sophia University in Tokyo under the CIEE exchange program. 

初めまして！どうぞよろしくお願いします！(Rough translation: Nice to meet you!)

Now although GW has just finished its spring semester and everyone is heading home for the summer, in Japan, the spring semester has only just started. On the Japanese school calendar, the spring semester goes from April all the way through the summer to August, and then they get about a 1 month summer vacation before starting school again in September. Thus, I'll continue to be here until about mid-August. Good-bye summer vacation, you will be missed... But getting the opportunity to complete my stay in Japan for a full year is definitely worth it!

Where do I start? Well, this semester I'm living with a homestay family for the first time, and it's absolutely so much fun! The family is actually sort of unorthodox, in that I only have a homestay mother and father, and they're both in their 70's. But don't be fooled! They're very active and love life, meaning that they always take me out on day trips and spoil me like their own daughter while teaching me all about the Japanese culture and language. I'm very glad I chose this housing option, because it's really given me an opportunity to interact with Japan more than I would have simply living in a dorm!

As for school, we're about a month into the semester and classes are going great. The Japanese language program at Sophia University is definitely challenging, which I'm very happy about, since it gives you the structure and tools you need to learn the language while you practice your speaking skills with Japanese friends and students outside of class. 

However, by far the coolest thing about the beginning of the spring semester is that it aligns with the peak of cherry blossom season. Here's a few shots that I took all around the Tokyo area while doing hanami (flower viewing).

And here's one of me, dressed appropriately pink for the season.

This next one is my personal favorite. CIEE's staff organized for all of the exchange students in the program to go on a day trip to Kamakura, a city about an hour away from Tokyo which was Japan's imperial capital from the years 1185-1333. It is rich with history, temples, and shrines, and is now

a beautiful tourist spot that many Tokyo locals like to visit when they're itching to escape the big city.

As you can see, one of the biggest attractions is the Daibutsu (big Buddha), which is made of bronze, considered a national treasure, and is one of the biggest Buddha statues in all of Japan. You can even go inside of it for a mere 20 yen (the equivalent of 20 cents)!

Kamakura also has some stunning hiking trails, zen gardens, and a bamboo forest, which I made sure to visit before going home.

I also went on a weekend trip to Nagoya during Golden Week, which is a city about 200 miles from Tokyo. By bullet train it would only take a couple of hours to get there, but my friends and I decided to be adventurous and take the regular trains there and back instead. After about 6 hours of trains and transfers, we arrived!

Spending a couple days in another city was great fun, and we managed to visit all the major attractions. We visited Osu-Kannon temple, Nagoya Castle, and various local shopping districts.

We also made sure to try out all the local delicacies, such as this dish called hitsumabushi, which is grilled eel served over rice with tea you pour over it. It was absolutely delicious! I definitely understand why Nagoya is so famous for it now.

Aside from traveling, I have very much settled into my life in Tokyo. I've joined a couple of intercultural exchange clubs, which like to give Japanese students and international exchange students opportunities to hang out with each other, become friends, exchange cultures, and practice each other's languages. If you're looking to get better at Japanese and hang out with some of the nicest people around, joining clubs are the best way to do it!

I think I've hit all of the most exciting points of the semester so far, but I'll make sure to update again soon with new stories, pictures, and cultural tidbits.

For now, see you next time!

じゃあまたね！♪