The SJMC Japan program was not my first choice, mainly because I had the impression that a journalism-focused program would not benefit me, as it was not a major or a minor that I was pursuing.
Upon having my introductory interview with SJMC Japan Academic Program Director Gilbert D. Martinez, I learned that although the program is mass communication-based, the activities being done in the trip would still broaden my knowledge of an East Asian country.
Throughout my time here at Texas State, I have taken several classes that focus on exploring religion, languages, literature, politics and the way of life in East Asian countries. I am currently pursuing a degree in international studies with an East Asian concentration, and all these classes have allowed me to further understand the reasoning behind certain customs and rules that Asian countries have in place. The SJMC Japan program helped me tap into Japanese culture by including activities that showcase Japan’s language and religion.
For a while now, I have watched anime and read Japanese manga, but I had never placed my sole focus on other areas of Japan. After solidifying my plans on participating in SJMC Japan, I began to do research on the shrines and temples that we would be visiting. I was surprised that I was able to recognize a couple of the religious locations, as they had been covered in a past Asian religion course.
Seeing the extent that this summer program would expose me to brought me excitement. The realization that I would not be completely lost in the teachings or schoolwork brought some relief, but the pending writing and social media assignments still loomed over me like a dark cloud.
The social media assignments proved to be easier than what I expected even though I am not as tech savvy as some of my classmates. Learning how to edit on different platforms, such as Capcut or Instagram, proved to be a small task at the beginning of the trip. Thankfully with the help of my roommate, I was able to get myself familiarized with the different platforms.
Completing my social media assignments became a breeze and enjoyable as I was able to share my experiences with others in a manner that was simple and easy to follow. Whether it was through videos or picture galleries, I believe I did a good job in sharing my experiences with others through social media. Before this mobile storytelling course, I never understood the importance of good quality pictures, and by the end I was surprised by how much I learned.
When it comes to the feature writing course, I felt more confident as I have more experience in writing essays or papers. It wasn’t until after I completed my daily blog post assignment that I realized just how different feature writing is to what I had been used to.
In feature writing, the formatting, the language, the headline and the length of a piece all hold significant importance. I have never taken a journalism class, and I felt that that placed me at a slight disadvantage when it came to completing my assignments, specifically the first writing assignment I had, which was the daily blog post.
Throughout that day that I was in charge of the daily blog post, I spent my free moments on the subway and on the bullet train writing my post. By the time that I met up with Lisette Calderon, a graduate student in mass communication, for our review session, I was surprised by the amount of edits she had in mind.
The main problem that my blog post had was that it was not in feature writing format. As Lisette went and adjusted my blog post, I was amazed at just how much editing had to be made. I remember telling Lisette at the end of our review session, “Wow, I didn’t realize just how bad my article was.”
She assured me that it wasn’t my blog post that was bad, but that the formatting edits she made gave the impression that a lot of revisions were made, which, I agreed, as I was writing in a standard paragraph format, while in feature writing the paragraphs are shorter and diction is more straightforward.
The second review session of that night, with SJMC Japan Academic Program Director Gilbert d. Martinez and Lisette, is when I realized the extent that one must go in feature writing. That means going through the blog post line by line and rephrasing sentences in a descriptive yet easy to follow manner. I’ve never had to go through such an extensive writing review session until that day. It proved to be an eye-opening experience as I have since learned to respect the art of feature writing, due to the time consuming revisions one must go through.
This trip to Japan was really a trip for the books! Apart from learning about feature writing as well as photo and video editing, I gained many memorable experiences.
One of my favorite memories was when my peers and I went to a random café in the Shinjuku district. We were excited to see the different clothing styles of this famous fashion district, but we were also on a mission to find some food. During our walk, we stumbled upon a building with an arcade on the bottom floor and with different restaurants on the upper floors.
My classmates and I, being incredibly hungry, decided to step inside and check out the restaurants on the second floor. What we saw once we walked upstairs was definitely not what we expected. Upon entering the second floor we were met with a cafeteria style room. There were four restaurant stands on one side of the room and opposite from them was a stage where a group was performing.
Our tour guide had previously let us know that the Shinjuku district was also known for having up and coming J-pop groups performing on the streets or inside some shops. My peers and I didn’t expect to find any groups out in the streets or inside of a café, so this was a welcomed experience.
Seeing a new J-pop group perform in front of an audience truly gave me a once in a lifetime experience, mainly because this activity is not as common in Austin. We see people outside on the streets sometimes singing or playing their instrument, but it’s never a group that sings and dances at the same time. That is usually only happening in a concert rather than in a random café.
After the group’s performance, my peers and I went to grab a bite to eat from the fried chicken pop up restaurant. When we sat down to enjoy our meal, a J-pop group was going around handing out flyers for their upcoming performance. When they saw our group they came over and they expressed how they were excited for us to see them perform in a few minutes. This brief and simple interaction was especially memorable for me as they spent time talking to us, a group of foreigners, rather than completely skipping us.
Regardless of the language barrier between the J-pop group and ours, we had a nice small conversation. It meant a lot to me that they went out of their way to make us feel included. With the entire audience being Japanese except for our group, it was considerate of them to try and to communicate with us in our language.
Several other favorite moments of mine in Japan were occasions where I was able to speak with Japanese citizens. Apart from my encounter with a J-pop group, I loved speaking with one of the Rikkyo University students. Talking with Nina, a fellow college student, just made the experience much more fun. Rather than receiving a tour of the campus by a tour guide, Nina was the one to show a fellow classmate and me around the campus.
As a student who is there most of the week, I truly believe she was the perfect person to take us on a tour. She made sure to show us the main buildings of the campus while at the same time taking us through the most scenic route on campus, which I think is inevitable since the university’s campus is beautiful all around.
Throughout the tour, my classmate and I continued to ask Nina questions regarding her everyday school schedule, her commuter experience, her favorite professor, her favorite building and her favorite dining hall to get lunch. Upon hearing her responses I realized how similar school life was in Japan as in America. I will admit that for some reason I had thought school life would be completely different and was prepared for a culture shock.
Having a sort of one-on-one time with a college student was a great decision on the teacher’s part. Not only did I learn about the campus and about Nina, but I also managed to learn about the good restaurants close to campus. All I know is that if I ever attend Rikkyo University, I will not have to worry about finding good places to eat.
Overall, the SJMC Japan 2024 program was a great trip. Not only did I have an amazing time but I was also able to learn valuable skills. I might not be pursuing a degree in marketing or journalism, but I can still use the skills I learned in my everyday life, from being able to post better quality content on my personal social media accounts and to also being able to use it in professional settings, like at my job. When it comes to the knowledge I have acquired through feature writing, I will definitely be using it at my job as well as in school.
Though most of my writing-intensive classes prefer the standard essay/research paper format, I can still use the line-by-line revision technique to help me get my point across in a precise and simple fashion, although I’m not too sure if I have truly mastered the techniques that I found impressive.
