To Do in Japan...

Seems like a logical thing to post before I leave, and I like lists. So here is the first of many to come...

• Dance my ass off at some amazing concerts. (I miss good shows. )
• Spend an entire day not saying anything in English. (I have no idea how likely this is, but it sounds like a good challenge.)
• Plant a tree. (I just saw the movie The Fountain and it made me like trees even more.)
• Get my haircut. (I'll have to wait a few months for this one.)
• Get a tattoo? (Does this make me a tool? What if it's my middle name in Japanese? Would that be worse? I've also thought about just getting a circle, which would be a different representation of my middle name. Maybe, I really don't know about this one.)

and if anyone has a suggestion for a hotel I should stay at the first night before registration I'd greatly appreciate it! o_O

What’s in a name?

Everything. Language has power. To deny that means you are forgetting what it’s like to be a kid. My parents decided that they wanted my brother and me to have Japanese middle names. The names were meant to maintain some connection with our roots, to serve as a direct link to my Nisei grandmother and my family wrongfully detained in WWII concentration camps. As I grew up it functioned as a tool to empower myself, a simple word I could use to prove my Japanese-ness, despite misleading hair and eyes. After giving my spiel on how my Japanese-American grandmother named me, invariably the next question I get asked is what Mariko means. For the past twenty years, I responded “bouncing balls” which changed to “a bouncing ball” or “ball of energy” to avoid snickering from sexual connotations.

So that’s where this blog’s name comes from. I haven’t quite decided if I am going to go by my English/Spanish first name or Japanese middle name in Japan. My first doesn’t translate poorly and it might be a little easier to explain. On the other hand, I have had plenty of practice over the years detailing my family tree and I might realize some deeper connection with what I hope becomes my second home. (Alternate meanings I have found for Mariko so far include “true reason child” and “circle”, but I’m not sure those make much more sense to me than “bouncing balls”.)

I'll use this blog to share my stories of studying abroad in Japan. I’m not quite sure what to expect, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough… On another note, here's a quote that I've been thinking of, and it kinda relates to this post: “Look little you in the eye. Each time you encounter a child.” – Kimya Dawson