Day 2: Kyoto field trip - Nijojo (Nijo Castle), Kinkaguji (Golden Pavillion), Kyoto JR station, Gion Corner
On the second day we took a train to Kyoto to visit some sights. We had a pretty rough schedule in terms of places we had to visit and time. We had to get a lunch at the Kyoto station. Mee had to get a sweater because she lost her jacket, so instead of going to eat, we went to the mall. Then we had 30 minutes to eat and surprisingly we found a place and made it back on time. After lunch we took a bus and headed to the Kyoto castle. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take any pictures inside the museums because they try to keep the painting on the walls safe from the light (or flash). The next temple was Kinkakuji, which was built in 1393 as a retirement villa for Shogun Yoshimitsu Ashikaga. He intended to cover the exterior with gold, but only managed to coat the ceiling of the third floor with gold leaf before his death. After seeing these beautiful sights, we went back to the train station for dinner. We had an hour before our bus, so we decided to take a walk. Most of us were pretty upset with the place we were staying at (Hikone). It’s a very small town where you can’t really go anywhere and it felt like we were in Michigan… However, it’s good for people who learn the language there because the majority of locals do not speak English. It’s a good opportunity to practice and try to communicate in Japanese. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for us…Anyways, after we took a walk we had to eat… It was absolutely hilarious how we tried to eat at a restaurant in 15 minutes and still being able to make it on the bus. But we did it!
We attended a performance at the theatre in Gion Corner that brings the essence of Japanese traditional arts and entertainment. There was a demonstration of tea ceremony, Japanese Hart, Traditional comic play, court music, Kyoto style dance, and Puppet play. It was all very entertaining. Then we headed back to Hikone where Mee and I had to take a cab, because of my sunburns that made it impossible for me to ride a bike, while everyone else was riding a bike back to JCMU.
I am a junior at the University of Michigan-Flint, going for a Bachelor’s degree in International Business. I was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. I made the choice to come to the U.S., even though I didn’t speak the language and found some of the cultural beliefs unique. I must say, I was overwhelmed at first by my new surroundings. I had to overcome my fears and start my life all over again. My inability to communicate with others due to the language barrier made me shy and self-critical. I had to expand my vocabulary by not only translating the books I had to read, but also memorizing words and comprehending concepts. Saying that it was hard is probably an understatement. Those were the worst days of my life and probably a chapter of my transition I’ll never be able to put into words. Sometimes I’d flip back the pages of my life and regret making the choice to come. However, each one of those pages filled with struggles, achievements, and different life experiences within the cultural paradox made me who I am today.
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