Robert Englin

STUDENT INTERVIEW: Robert Englin (Discovery Option A 10 weeks studying + 12 day tour)

Robert Englin, an American product/industrial designer from Los Angeles was recently the first student at Yamasa to complete the new 12-day discovery tour - in Robert's case - after 10 weeks of intensive classes. He is also the first vegan to participate in the tour. After a couple of beers during the tour, Declan finally managed to find a notebook and pencil.

Declan: "You look all rested up, are you nearly ready to go home?"
Robert: "Pretty much. My holiday is nearly over and its time to get back. There's a movie I need to finish working on."

D: "You work on films?"
R: "Special effects, the Viacom logo for HD Format, Trimark Pictures, independent film makers and so on. Some of it direct to video."

D: "Sounds fun. You work mainly as a designer though?!"
R: "I have been self-employed as a product/industrial designer for about 10 years now. Household consumer electronics, furniture and stuff."

D: "Is there a website?"
R: "Yes actually, it is www.zuanka.com"

D: "Did you study any Japanese at all before you arrived?"
R: "No, I figured it might be best to not learn any bad habits. So I started with the A-I-U-E-O. It's a fast program, and I'm a little surprised at how much can be learnt. At one stage I felt I could have been learning faster."

D: "I noticed you were living in the student village throughout the program. Was that your first preference?"
R: "Yes I chose it mainly for the internet access. Clients get a bit worried if you disappear for 3 months, so I needed to at least be able to access the web whenever I needed to."

D: "Now you were based in Okazaki for 10 weeks before your discovery tour, did you do much traveling during the study component?"
R: "Not really. I figured I'd wait until the tour itself. I went to Nagoya and down to Gamagori on Mikawa Bay on my bike."

D: "By bike???"
R: "Yes, with 3 other students. We looked at the island, the beaches and the marina. I didn't think much of the aquarium. It was exhausting though I caught the train home to Okazaki and went back for the bike later."

D: "I don't know Gamagori very well. Did you head over to Laguna while you were down there?"
R: "No I didn't. We were in the area but it was a little too far on the bike. Definitely worth taking the train instead."

D: "Now you are also a vegan. Is that the correct term? No meat, seafood, dairy products, eggs etc? Were there any problems obtaining foods in Okazaki or on the tour?"
R: "I'm a vegan. For the most part it was no trouble. I think I might have eaten a few things that I normally would not have eaten because sometimes I couldn't read the kanji on the labels explaining the ingredients. However I didn't have to worry too much about it since my being a vegan is a decision of personal taste and not a religious choice."

D: "Let's talk about the tour. In your tour it was a mixture of nature, metropolis, mono-zukuri, and of course the inevitable cultural/historical. Just briefly, were there any major surprises for example Japan's natural environment?"
R: "Not so much. I had read the homepage fairly closely prior to the tour so I wasn't too surprised at places like Kamikochi, or the Tsumago Area. To be honest though, I guess I didn't expect to be walking amongst wild monkeys when we were in Kamikochi."

D: "Neither had I, but it was the first time I'd had the pleasure of going there on a weekday. Normally when I visit, it is a weekend or holiday season and the place is so crowded that the monkeys must flee or something. In contrast to the wilderness, what about the cities we visited? Kobe? Osaka?"
R: "I guess for Kobe and Osaka I'd say 'Bigger, but more of the same'."

D: "For the mono-zukuri theme we did Toyota motor, Asahi beer, a master potter in Tokoname and making Uchiwa from washi paper at Obarawashi. How were these destinations? Were there many contrasts between making a rice bowl on the potter's wheel and watching a car being assembled from 30,000 auto components?"
R: "I had a bit of trouble understanding what the potter was saying. The level of formality in his speech was less than what we had in the classes, and his speed was a little faster, but because he was using explaining while using his hands on the clay, it was not too difficult to get the general jist. Toyota and Asahi were quite different of course."

D: "When you are visiting places, are you consciously looking for ideas?"
R: "I don't think you can look for specific ideas, its more just a matter of absorbing and experiencing. You see interesting things here and there like the spherical mirrors in the Toyota plants, but there isn't a conscious decision to see something and then apply it somewhere."

D: "You visited both Himeji-Castle and Matsumoto-Castle. How were those?"
R: "Both castles were very impressive, however even though both are national treasures I guess that of the two Himeji-Castle will remain the most impressive for me since it was the first of the two that I saw. They are different but there are many similarities."

D: "Was there sometimes historical aspects that were confusing?"
R: "Not really. And a lot of the historical and other sites were good though in that seeing and experiencing them helps a lot of what I knew before coming to Japan, into context. Things like the way certain things are and why."

D: "Okay, thank you very much for the interview. And have a safe trip back to California."
R: "Okay thank you."

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