2018 Activity Report
August Activity Report
31 August 2018
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Sofiia Pasivkina
This month HSE has finished admission to different study programs and started preparations for the new semester. Students are still having summer vacation, yet I have decided to interview HSE student Ms. Liza Golovastova, who participated in ‘TUFS Short Stay Summer Program 2018’ and ask about her experience.
The following is the interview with Liza.
Sofia: What is your major at HSE?
Liza: My major is International Relations. I’m a student of the HSE and the University of London dual degree program.
How long have you been studying Japanese?
I’ve been studying Japanese for about a year by now.
How did you become interested in Japanese language and culture?
When I was 5 or 6 years old, I watched “Spirited Away”, one of the masterpieces of the great Hayao Miyazaki. I was very impressed by the movie then.
Also I really love reading since my childhood. One of my first books was a book with the Tales of Different Peoples of the World, and I remember, that I preferred Eastern tales – Japanese among them.
Later, when I became older, I found other Miyazaki’s movies and opened a huge world of Japanese Anime for myself. So, yes, as many teens, I continued to get my knowledge about Japan from anime, but I have never been obsessed with it (except my favorite Hayao Miyazaki’s movies).
Actually I received information from everywhere: from teachers at school, from music, from my family, from the Internet and TV etc. Now I think, I’m not able to say, when exactly I became interested in Japanese language and culture. Probably it happened with my first try of Sushi. But I can say for sure, that I felt something different and very special reading those tales and watching the “Spirited Away” for the first time. I still feel very special about it even today.
Truth to be told, that was my farther, who first talked seriously about learning Japanese. He just said that I should go and try, because I love it and I’m able to learn such language. That’s a true fact, that obsession with Anime is not enough to keep learning this very difficult language. People mostly quit learning it at the elementary level. 5 out of 11 students left my language group during the first semester. But I think it’s already not my story. Japanese language was just a dream for me, and I never believed that I would learn it. But I tried! And I keep trying now! Thanks to my family! Dreams come true! I feel like I found something very important in Tokyo this summer.
How did you get information about the TUFS summer school?
My Japanese professor suggested it to me. She found the announcement on the HSE web site and sent me a link.
What did you do to apply?
I followed the link my professor sent and saw there some basic information about the program – deadlines for application and e-mails to get in contact. And the link of TUFS university, of course. So I just used the e-mail and sent the first mail. As far as it was my first study trip, my friends and professors helped with registration, but mostly, TUFS provided everything to do registration yourself. The site of TUFS gives all the information in a very comprehensive, clear way, and even if you want to know something else or don’t understand anything, you can always ask by e-mail and wait for a short period of time – they will answer for sure.
How long were you in the school? When did you get to Japan?
My trip took 19 days in full. The departure from Moscow was on 23 of July, and the date of arrival back to Moscow was 10 of August.
Where did you stay?
At dorm located on the territory of the University campus. My international dorm №3 was new and very pleasant inside. So I was lucky! And it took only 4-5 minutes on foot to get to the classroom, which was located in the next building.
What was the place like? What was the weather?
The place was very beautiful. The university is located in a very nice green area, a very quiet district. People were very friendly there. There were some shops near there, and Tama station was very close to the campus.
The weather was extremely hot. On our third day the temperature reached +40*(degrees) – historical record! But there still were cloudy days sometimes, and we faced a storm twice and felt an earthquake ones.
Tell about your classes. How were they organized?
In a quite common way. Some new grammar and vocabulary were explained very coherently at first, and then we had some writing, reading, speaking tasks. The classes were conducted in Japanese mostly, but in some relatively law-level groups, teachers could speak English and were ready to help and give answers to the questions in English. They really care about you and your understanding of the material, and they are trying to do everything to explain new things and teach you something!
Did you work alone or in groups?
Both alone and in groups. There were only 4 Russian students there – me and my friends, and 3 of them are my HSE groupmates. So groups were international. There were students from Egypt, America, Canada. But the majority came from the neighboring countries of the region – from Laos, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong. Mostly, we made speaking tasks in groups. And there was at least one Japanese student called “supporter” in the classroom. So, I made a lot of friends there, in such conditions!
How big was your group?
I think there were around 10 students.
What activities did you like the most?
Honestly, I liked everything. The program provides not only Haiku lesson, Japanese classes, Yukata try-on, Study trips to the National Museum and Safety Learning Center, Ikebana lesson and Home Visit, but also it provides very nice Japanese students with their own interesting ideas. They have a lot of places to arrange different events and activities, so we went to Kamakura, to the Japanese holiday and had a lot of fun together.
What was the atmosphere like?
It was very friendly. I even don’t know what to say more. The most friendly atmosphere I’ve ever been in.
What is your overall impression of TUFS summer school?
Very good one. I liked everything there and didn’t want to leave, of course! It was very hard to do.
What did you like and dislike?
It’s true – I liked everything. Even the weather!
Did you get inspired to continue your studies?
Yes, of course! I was very much inspired by this trip! I have a very strong desire to come back to Japan next summer, probably even for a longer period of time. It seems to me now, that I really want to develop in this Japanese direction.
Do you have any suggestions to organizers and advice to future participants?
It would be great if one day the organizers opened a program for a month, two months, or even more. Also that could be even better than now, if they could invite more Japanese students to participate in classes. As for the future participants, I would recommend just to have a good time and to make new friends. And don’t forget to do your homework!
July Activity Report
31 July 2018
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Sofiia Pasivkina
July is the first month of summer break at HSE. It is the time to participate in different summer schools, special seminars, lectures, camps, etc. Every summer students majoring in Japanese studies and International relations go to Japan. This year for the first time five students from HSE attended the “TUFS Japan-Russia Business Summer School” held by TUFS in conjunction with the Inter-University Exchange Project undertaken by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. One of the participants, first year student Mr. Andrey Okhrimenko, shared his experience and impression both in English and Japanese languages.
“Hello! My name is Andrew and I am an international relations student of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. I will tell you about my first experience of being an international student in Japan.
I have been keen on Japan from long ago. During my childhood I often played computer games and read literature about Japan which inspired me to choose Japanese language in the university. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the academic year I was not at all expecting to get to Japan as an international student.
After Christmas holidays my Japanese language professor informed me that I could compete for JASSO scholarship and win a 12 day trip to summer business school in Tokyo. Of course I decided not to miss the opportunity. Fortunately, my application was approved, and after getting a visa I headed for Tokyo University of Foreign Studies to explore the wonders of Japan.
The summer school took place between 16 and 28 of July. On arrival we were met by university staff and transferred to a small hotel, and after a few days we moved to students’ dormitory. Both hotel and dormitory were equipped with all the necessary facilities and impressed me by their tidiness and comfort. Generally speaking, this is what the whole Japan is about – unbelievably clean streets and flawless roads both in the city center and the suburbs. The communication between the area where TUFS is located and Tokyo is done by the network of suburban trains and subway lines which are notorious for their sophistication of usage. However, a couple of days of practice and Google Maps app easily compensate for this inconvenience.
The weather in Tokyo happened to be, so to say, extraordinary. During my stay a historical temperature record of 40 degrees was set up in the city of Tokyo. On the other hand this meant the complete absence of rain (though a typhoon started right after my departure back to Moscow) which allowed to walk around the beautiful city of Tokyo with easy soul after lunchtime, when the heat used to retreat.
The actual learning process was divided into two parts – the first week was devoted to tandem work and the second to lectures on culture, politics and economics of the Land of the Rising Sun. Moreover, two days were reserved for excursions and 1 day – for visiting Japanese firms, while Sunday remained free of any activity. The tandem work appeared to be the most challenging but also the most productive part of the course. During the studies the students were divided into “Russian-Japanese” pairs and discussed various topics in both Russian and Japanese languages. As I study Japanese for only one year, my command of the language was often limited, but the Japanese students were very helpful and always ready to clarify any details in Russian or English when necessary. After several days of studies my confidence increased dramatically and, what I think is even more important, I was able to make good acquaintances with my tandem partners.
The excursions were also a part of the tandem work. This means that sightseeing was organized in such a way that the Japanese could become the guides while the Russians could share their impressions from the new experiences. This brought such an important element of diversity into a usually monotonous process of sightseeing. The sights themselves, however, were also incredible. The pagodas of Sensou-ji temple, Edo-Tokyo museum and other major tourist attractions in Tokyo do not need additional advertisements.
When it comes to lectures, they covered the very basics of almost everything. This gave me an opportunity not to get stuck into the quagmire of theory, but, at the same time, learn a lot about those aspects of Japanese life which were not previously my point of interest. For instance, I really enjoyed a lecture on traditional Japanese music.
On free time after studies I used to go shopping and try the specialties of Japanese cuisine with my new friends. Tokyo allows for all kinds of shopping imaginable. Just think of anime and techno heaven Akihabara, or the Mecca of fashion-lovers Harajuku, or Shinjuku, which tries to suit each taste. This is especially relevant also because many famous clothes and electronics brands are much cheaper in Tokyo than, say, in Moscow.
On the only free Sunday I got on a super fast Shinkansen and went to Kyoto, a city of shrines and the former imperial residence. It takes only 2h. 17m. to get to Kyoto by Shinkansen, which is rather impressive when taking the distance into account. After a brief shopping on a station I made my way through ancient streets straight to Fushimi Inari Shrine, where I spent the rest of my day. After 15 minutes of climbing the Inariyama maintain the crowds of tourists and visual-key concerts on the entrance were replaced by harmony and sounds of nature while the chain of red gates to the world of spirits, torī, seemed to have no end and led to the peak itself, which was to be reached by only the most persistent. Luckily, resting points with souvenirs and water were placed along the whole length of the path, which made the task a bit easier. Being constrained by time, I was not able to reach the top, but, nevertheless, the visit to this magnificent shrine and the city of Kyoto will always remain as one of my best memories about Japan.
The typhoon was slowly ap