Chapter 6. Friendship

“For the Japanese adult, teen relationships are not as threatening, for they are seen to provide training in the realities of adult relationships---the constraints of adult hierarchies must be learned young.” White said. I think this is still very true in now. Since I am now living in a very traditional boys’ dorm,　I could clearly see how the development going by observing the life of my dorm.
Take the relationship of “sempai-kohai” for example; the junior students in my dorm have to speak “keigo” very carefully. Especially when the first year students were just entering my dorm, they have to do “部屋周り“which means they have to go every senior student’s room and introducing themselves by extremely loud voice. If the sempai think their voices are not loud enough, they could ask them to repeat it over and over until the sempai is satisfied. Moreover, if you were the fist year student, you have to serve beer to every sempai and clean up the place after every party. After the first year students turn to be second year, they ask the first year students to do the same thing. But of course the sempai also have sempai’s duties, for example paying money for kohai even they are really poor.
In the beginning, I felt so strange to see this. But after I living there for one year, I start to understand the meanings of being like this. This sempai-kohai system they are keeping gives the way for them to make friends and learning how this Japanese society works. It’s kind of strange, but I also started to enjoy the sempai-kohai relationships and make friends by obeying the rules now.

School in the Life of the Teen

After reading this chapter, I felt envious about the middle school life in America,epecially when seeing the table of 'Study and Other Activity'. It looks so sad that the teens in Japan(maybe also in other Asian countries) have to spend so much time in studying. I think the middle school ages are very important times for teens to develop their friendships, physical bodies and healthy minds instead of just sitting in the classroom. But unfortunately,take me for example, I also spent almost all my youth in studying for exams which I don't think will take me to anywhere. I wish I could have spent more time in playing..... I didn't stretch my body well enough that time, but went to cram school instead.
Moreover, the situation was that almost everyone in Japan and also in my country,Taiwan, believe that only by studying hard will get you to a better job and a better life. However, everyone knows that it is not 100% true. But parents and children just can't stop believing in it. Why? Because the media and the society keep giving us lots of mixed messages. Therefore, I didn't even think that it was anything wrong with studying that hard in my youth times which I have regrets for now.

アメリカのみんなさんへ～

アメリカのみんなさん

"硬派と軟派" と言う日本語の言葉を　ご存知していますか？

もしご存知していますなら、みんなさんどっちが好きですか？

あと、英語も"硬派と軟派"の意味の言葉がありますか？あったら、教えてください～

ありがとうございました

こんにちは！自己紹介させていただきます！

Hi everyone, I'm Vincent !

Nice to meet you here. I'm from Taiwan and now study in SILS of Waseda University.

Please come to my blog and make friends with me !

By the way~俺は硬派だ！