STUDENT INTERVIEW: Aaron Litvin (SILAC / AIJP)

Aaron is one of several students who after initially studying in SILAC and getting a feel for Japan and learning the language, re-enrolled for longer studies in the AIJP, gaining credit from his AIJP studies towards graduation from Harvard University.

Aaron Litvin

Declan: Welcome back to Okazaki.
Aaron: Thank you.
D: How was Taiwan?
A: It was great. Really great.
D: Where did you go? Taipei? Kaoshiung?
A: Um, well I went to Taipei, Hualien, and then around to the east for some hiking in Toroko National Park.
D: Ahh! The famous Toroko Gorge?
A: Yep.
D: Lovely.
A: It was.
D: How long were you in Taiwan?
A: Um, about 10 days or so.
D: And did you go with a classmate or alone?
A: One of my Taiwanese classmates invited me to stay over and try lots of Taiwanese food. I like dumplings.
D: Dumplings are good.
A: With Japanese dumplings, the kawa, the shell is too thin.
D: Yes.
A: Taiwan's dumplings are better.
D: You think so?
A: Absolutely.
D: So err, you tried everything?
A: Yeah.
D: But what about stinky tofu?
A: Oh no, I couldn't eat that.
D: What?
A: My friend Ken asked me many times.
D: And you kept inventing excuses?
A: Of course.
D: Well, err, thats not trying everything though is it?
A: But I did! I mean not that, but
D: Ahh!
A: I mean, NO NO NO NO......

(Aaron gets really animated here)

......NO NO! No way, just no way. How can anyone expect me to eat it? I mean that stuff stinks worse than natto.

D: Well you did say everything...
A: NO NO NO NO......
D: Wimp!
A: Don't tell me you ate it?
D: Me?
A: Yes......

(there was a bit of an awkward silence here)

D: Me? well errr no, not exactly.
A: Of course. See!
D: Aye, well it does stink a bit.
A: Its awful!
D: A bit more than a bit come to think of it.
A: It reeks! No way!
D: So anyway, to err... to stop any diced carroting of the landscape, err any casual dry wretches so to speak, you err, had to walk away from the stalls a few times?
A: Of course. Its just awful.
D: Wow. So you mean you really did cross the road a few times to avoid the smell? Wish I'd thought of that.
A: Yeah. I mean, if you go really close, and perhaps eat it then maybe it wouldn't be too bad, but walking past 10 yards away, uurgh.
D: Bad.
A: Very bad.
D: Very bad. What else did you try?
A: Beef noodle soup, that was pretty good.

D: And why Taiwan? I mean, you are already in Japan and there is so much to see, why pop down to Taiwan and not say, up to Hokkaido or somewhere remote from Okazaki? Yunno, like go wandering through Nagano or backpack the Noto Peninsula and along the Sea of Japan coast or something?
A: Well I had already completed studies at Yamasa and so I err, bought the ticket mainly for a vacation. And travel in Japan can be expensive compared to Taiwan, or Thailand. Plus I thought, well, since I'm already over on this side of the world it would be a good chance.
D: So going to Taiwan was partly because you thought "While I'm in Asia", rather than "While I'm in Japan".... ?
A: In a way yes. With the trip to Taiwan I also thought it might help with my experience of Japan, the sense of where I was, the sense I guess of ahh, coming home to Japan. I don't expect to be based in Asia again, or at least not for a long time, so I wanted to make the most of it.
D: I remember hearing that you went to Korea also.
A: I did yeah, last year. A visa run. Before I got the student visa I was using tourist visas. So I needed to obtain a new short-term visa since we Americans can only stay 90 days.
D: And you stayed in Seoul?
A: I stayed in Seoul for 5 days.
D: I like Korea. Did you have a good time?
A: It was great too.
D: Did you travel down to Taegu or Pusan at all, or trips outside Seoul?
A: No no, just Seoul. I was only really there for the visa.
D: Travel can be a bit pricey there too. Did you travel across alone?
A: I did, but while I was there I met up with a Korean student that I'd met at Yamasa.

D: And now that you've finished, what is next?
A: Well I need to go back to the States next week for training, and then I start working in June.
D: Doing...
A: The guidebook. When I was in Taiwan I was waiting to hear the result of my application for the travel guidebook.
D: Oh yeah, this is the application I faxed from the International Office?
A: Yes.
D: What was the book called again?
A: Its called "Let's Go".
D: Thats right. And where will you be going?
A: Ukraine. For the eastern Europe guide.
D: And when will it be published? When can I learn all about the Ukraine?
A: Late October or early November I think.
D: Where could I buy a copy? On amazon.com?
A: In Japan, probably only Amazon. In the States in some good stores.

D: Good good good. Now err, how long were you at Yamasa? When did you start?
A: May last year. May 2003. I did SILAC for 8 weeks, then went to Korea to obtain a new tankitaizai visa, then AIJP for 9 months.
D: What was your level when you arrived for SILAC?
A: I was a beginner. I knew hiragana, katakana only, and maybe 10 kanji.
D: Vocabulary?
A: A little bit, but I didn't know any grammar. With the placement test I left after 2 minutes with blank paper. In the interview the teacher was asking me things like "kore ha enpitsu desu ka" and so on. Then they gave me the homework for reviewing the hiragana and katakana (opens new windows).
D: And the next day you started off at Lesson 1.
A: Yep. Zero. Lesson 1.
D: Now err, May is still the off season, how many people were in the "zero class"
A: Me and another dude.
D: You and another dude?
A: Two of us.

D: Another "dude" ?
A: Yeah
D: Another dude?
A: Oh no.
D: (laughing)
A: Please take that out...
D: No way (laughing) and um, where was the other dude from?
A: There was a middle aged dutch guy married to Japanese woman, and me. Then at the end of that first module, he finished his course and I was at Lesson 8, but none of the new students entering that week were at my level.
D: Private lessons at group prices! Excellent.
A: Yeah, it was just me for 2 weeks. I had 5 different teachers each week for the fortnight, and then in the next module there was only one other student.
D: Another student?
A: Travis. Travis from Texas.
D: And unlike the dutch dude Travis was not a dude?
A: No! Not a dude. Can you please take that out?
D: (laughing)
A: Please edit that out...
D: No chance dude.
A: I just can't believe you won't take that out.
D: Now after SILAC you enrolled in the AIJP from July. What class were you in by then?
A: In AIJP, err, J class I think. Ukai sensei.
D: The usual 4 or 5 teachers per team?
A: Yeah. We covered all of Minna no Nihongo 2 and the rest of the elementary curriculum.
D: And after 3 months, you went into the intermediate curriculum, what class were you in by then?
A: F class. We started the New Approach series. Everything was new, different teaching team as well.
D: What was your class size and the class mix in the AIJP?
A: It was cool. That's one of the things I like about Yamasa. You have people from different countries. In my class there were 10 people, and including myself there were only 2 native English speakers. Me and another American. Everyone else was from a different country. Apart from the US, no country was represented twice.
D: Which countries were the students from in your class?
A: Me, Peter from the US, then one student each from Taiwan, Korea, Germany, Thailand, Belgium, Hong Kong, Switzerland and China.

D: Did you have a favorite teacher?
A: Maybe Oyama sensei.
D: Did you speak to her in Russian at all?
A: Only once, she actually spoke to me in Russian come to think of it. I didn't know she could speak any until recently. But we didn't practise or anything and she is going to Canada, then Europe I think, to live in France...
D: Yeah, the faculty here are a cosmopolitan bunch at times. Now um, where did you learn Russian? At home, school, a studyabroad in Russia?
A: At home actually. I haven't studied Russian. My parents immigrated from Russia, and all my relatives were born in Russia then migrated.
D: So instead of studying Russian it was just something you learnt through family and relatives?
A: Yes. Actually I was first of any of the extended family to be born in the USA. Everyone else migrated.
D: When you go to the Ukraine will you be able re-visit any places or look a few relatives up?
A: No unfortunately. I've never been to Ukraine, or any other former Soviet bloc country and all the relatives have migrated too.
D: What do your parents do now?
A: My mother is a math and compsci teacher at Phillips Academy Andover.
D: That is what, a boarding school, a college?
A: Yes. It's a private high school in Massachusetts.
D: This is where you went to school also?
A: Yes.
D: And your father?
A: My father is a computer programmer and an author & publisher of computer science texts.
D: In Boston?
A: In a place called Andover. Its near Boston. They are used in high schools all over the world.
D: International schools?
A: International schools but mostly US high schools.
D: Can you give the books a plug?
A: It called "Java methods" by Maria and Gary Litvin.

D: Good. Now ahh, where did you live during your studies here?
A: I was in the student village for 6 months, then a 1 month homestay, then back to the village for a month, then another homestay for two months with a different family, then back to the village for a month, then back to a homestay in the 2nd family for the last month.
D: Thats a fair bit of jumping around!
A: Yeah. It was good though, and I really liked how I could keep the student village room when I did the homestays. Really convenient.
D: Yamasa's homestays are all with Japanese families, did you try a homestay with a Brazilian family at all?
A: No they were all Japanese families. I arranged the homestays through the Housing Office.
D: In the student village were you in a single or a shared room?
A: umm, a single.
D: How was it?
A: Pretty good. Comfortable. Internet access included. I recommend a single room, even though its more expensive than the shared rate. It allows for better studying, more privacy, and if you are doing short homestays you can keep the room if the homestay is for less than a month. As I said it was really good that I was still able to use the room during my homestays.
D: Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Things we could do to improve life in the student village?
A: Um, some screening of Japanese movies in the village please.
D: Oh. Are you a movie buff?
A: Not really. And I'd prefer the contemporary movies to the jidai-geki.
D: A general interest.
A: Yeah. Some mini festivals of recent movies, not samurai stuff I guess.
D: Might be something for Zig Zag to pick up then, otherwise people not living in the village would miss out. Oh um, any advice for students in the student village?
A: Ah, yeah, try to avoid the poker games (laughing).

D: OK next question. Um when did you find that you were interested in learning Japanese?
A: I became interested in it when I was in Argentina.
D: But what was the spark?
A: I met some nikkei, and became interested in Japanese food, the culture and customs. I learnt some kana at a little language school in Argentina.
D: This was before or after you enrolled at Harvard?
A: After. Yes, I was doing a semester abroad at UBA.
D: What is the UBA?
A: The University of Buenos Aires.
D: How long ago was this?
A: It was the Fall semester, err 2002.

D: You had experience of studyabroad a few times before that though right?
A: Yes. Actually the first time was back in the 3rd grade.
D: Elementary school?
A: Yes, I went to France.
D: For a summer?
A: No, it was a school year. And in the 11th grade...
D: What is the 11th grade?
A: In America, its err in high school.
D: How old would someone in 11th grade be?
A: 16 years.
D: OK, now I understand.
A: I did a "school year abroad" program in Spain.
D: Had you learnt any Spanish prior to that?
A: I started Spanish in middle school so it wasn't total confusion. It was 1 year, studying literature, history, art history, and the language.

D: So did you do a gap year before Harvard, or whatever the equivalent term in the US for a gap year is, if there is such a term?
A: We don't have a term like gap year for it, but deferring college is not usual. So I went straight into Harvard.
D: What did you major in?
A: My major is called Romance Languages and Literatures, and err the field name is Latin American Studies.
D: You hadn't been to Latin America till college?
A: No. But before I went to Argentina, I did the "Let's Go" guidebook job in Portugal. That's when I became interested in Portuguese and decided that I wanted to go to Brazil.
D: How long was the stint in Portugal?
A: For 3 months. Same as Ukraine will be. It was the summer after my freshman year. Then I went to Argentina for a semester abroad.
D: It was while you were in Argentina that you went to Brazil right?
A: Yes. From Buenos Aires I went backpacking around Brazil for a few months.
D: I haven't had the chance to get there yet. What would be some good places to see when I do?
A: Oh um, Rio of course, Sao Paulo, the carnaval in Salvador, Fernando de Noronha.
D: What's that last one?
A: Its an island off the coast. I think it has some of the prettiest beaches in Brazil.

D: And that trip to Brazil where the Japan interest really came from?
A: Yes, I mean the largest community of Japanese and Japanese descendants outside Japan are in Brazil. Mostly in and around Sao Paulo.
D: And likewise with the reverse flow.
A: Here in Japan of course there are about 270,000 Brazilians, so its an interesting example of double migration as well.
D: I remember we were talking at lunch in Kyoto last year about the Brazilian community here in Japan.
A: Yeah I'm very interested in immigration and I got a grant to study that community.
D: With your research what were some of the aspects you were investigating?
A: Adaptation to Japan.
D: So things such as stress, feelings of acceptance/rejection, push/pull factors and everything?
A: Yes. Culture shock, the problems with jobseeking, networking, Brazil/Japan/Brazil double migration, remittances, the difficulties with getting recognition of qualifications and experience, the whole issue of adaptation. The question of identity, of self-identity.
D: And this is with a sociological focus not an economic one? Have you read any of say Prof. Julian Simon's papers since lunch last year?
A: I haven't but my focus is more sociological.
D: There are nearly 5000 Brazilians in Okazaki and they form more than a third of the total number of registered foreigners in this city, what sort of activities did you do? Did you have the chance to visit many workplaces?
A: Not so much workplaces, but I visited schools, both Brazilian schools and Japanese schools with Brazilians. There were Brazilian schools in Anjo and Handa. And there are a few Japanese schools in Okazaki such as Jonan that has a good program. And places such as the Brazilian restaurants, supermarkets, bars, the Brazilian churches
D: The Catholic church?
A: Evangelicals. But with workplaces, there was my homestay family. The father is a shachou (company president) and he has some Brazilian employees.
D: What kind of company is it? Automotive parts?
A: Yeah they make these little metal things.
D: Little metal things?
A: I'm not sure what they are called, umm for car assembly plants. He is a parts maker for Mitsubishi Motors.
D: I remember when I was still working in manufacturing about 10 years ago that I visited many of the small vendors, parts makers and second suppliers as part of the training at the company I was with, and err back then there was a bit of a labour shortage, especially for blue collar work. In the larger firms you rarely saw any foreign employees, and now of course places like Sony here in Okazaki employ many hundreds. Did you have a chance to talk much with any of his employees?
A: Yeah. He has some who have worked for him for a long time and who he trusts. I mean he sometimes says bad things about Brazil & Brazilians.
D: Has he been there?
A: No, but because of the people he has hired and met he err, thinks he has an idea of the place.
D: Compared to when I first arrived the Brazilian community is a lot larger, well, so is the general foreign community, but not as conspicuously. A few of my Brazilian friends are now self-employed, is this part of the transition that you have been researching, the establishment of secure roots and so on?
A: Yes the general development of the community. A lot of people are starting their own businesses and the kids are starting school younger, doing better, matriculating to universities. There are even Brazilian eikaiwa.
D: Really?
A: Yeah, places like "FISK" and "Wizard", Brazilian managed schools teaching English to native speakers of Portuguese.

D: Thats fascinating. And I would imagine that you have you met a fair number of doctors, engineers and scientists driving forklifts, stuffing boxes or putting together sub-assemblies?
A: Yes, its hard to know who is what. I think it requires a lot of determination and modesty to do what they do.
D: Some do well, some really struggle. What are some of the things they have grievances about in terms of living in Japan?
A: As you'd expect, the major one is the discrimination both in and out of the workplace, and of the difficulty with the language which is the major problem.
D: One of the key investments Yamasa has made with the Online Center is the provision of Portuguese language support. I remember when talking with a Brazilian businessman based in Toyohashi, a man supporting the OCJS, and he mentioned that quite frequently, the children usually have the best Japanese language skills in the household. What sort of issues does this raise? Is there a generational divide similar to the separation of children in Japanese speaking/Portuguese speaking divides?
A: The kids don't really identify with Brazil. They are conscious of their heritage and enjoy visiting there but Japan is "home". In some cases they don't really speak any Portuguese at all.

D: From memory, the last time we were talking you were thinking of studying in Sao Paulo...
A: Yes, I was planning to go to the University of Sao Paulo from the fall. The reason I didn't go was because I felt my Japanese didn't have enough depth yet.
D: This would have been gradschool in Sao Paulo?
A: No it was going to be a semester abroad. But I didn't feel that I had covered enough research and that my Japanese was at high enough level for studying a Japanese community in Brazil.
D: OK. You mentioned grants earlier. Was there much available in terms of grants to help you study at Yamasa and with the research?
A: I got a grant from some Harvard research centers, Doctor Clas...
D: Doctor Clas? You've lost me.
A: Um its the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American studies - "DRCLAS"
D: Oh OK. Anything else?
A: The Harvard Asia Center - actually they gave me a grant for the language studies at Yamasa. But the grant really covered only the summer.

D: Now once you had obtained the grants, why did you choose to study at Yamasa? What were some of the reasons?
A: I chose Yamasa because of a number of factors. Unlike some of the programs offered in Japan it is much more international. The students are not all Americans, nor all from some other single country either. A lot of the studyabroad programs in Japan are just offshore American programs, where you study with other Americans. Its not really Japan. Plus in my case it was also important that I could start as a beginner.
D: Its still kind of surprising to me how there are very few programs that also cater to beginners.
A: Yeah. Most of the programs offered elsewhere required some previous studies, or they restricted beginners to a limited number of start dates at certain times of the year. So I really liked how even though most of the students at Yamasa aren't beginners, I could start practically any time. Yamasa has everything from beginners to the Advanced Program and I liked that. Um and I also liked how I could focus exclusively of the language acquisition, instead of having to take culture classes taught in english etc like other programs.

A: With regards to the credits, umm did you need to take any formal post approval examinations for credit or was it a paperwork job?
A: For the Fall semester the credits were approved by the paperwork we submitted.
D: How many credits were eventually issued? Is Harvard's system credit point based?
A: No credit points, they just recognized the semester at Yamasa as being a semester of credits.
D: Thats good.
A: Yeah. And that allowed me to complete my graduation requirements.
D: Well, congratulations again.
A: Thank you.
D: How stressful was the uncertainty prior to Harvard confirming credit for Yamasa?
A: It was pretty stressful. I mean I didn't know at times whether I was studying for college or for myself. It was fine that I was doing what I wanted to do, but in the back of my mind I wanted to graduate from college too.
D: When is graduation?
A: In June. It could have been earlier but for an earlier graduation date I didn't have the information until too late to apply, so it will be June.

D: This is something maybe you can answer, just as a point of interest, why have there been so many Harvard students coming through Yamasa?
A: How many are there now?
D: Six in the past 12 months, three here now. Two more on the way I think.
A: Well there's Julia over there (points to Julia who is sitting "over there"), and I remember Joe from last summer, in the Discovery program.
D: You don't know the others?
A: Are they all undergrads?
D: I'm not sure. Not off the top of my head anyways. More grad students perhaps. I'd have to look through the applications. But you don't know each other before you arrive? Is it just a random thing?
A: Seems to be random. I guess its just because Yamasa's website shows up on a lot of search engines. I didn't know Julia. I didn't even know that she was so involved in the "Lets Go" guides until after I got here either, even though I've done the Lets Go thing before. So that was a surprise too.
D: Ok now lets see...

(looks at checklist again)

D: Travelling... Speaking of travelling, where have you been in Japan?
A: Well, I went to Kyoto with you, to Byoudoin and so on. And to Kyoto, Nara and Takayama with my father when he came over to visit, but I haven't seen all that much.
D: Why?
A: Partly because of the expense. Even Yamasa's tours are sometimes a bit expensive for me.
D: Cheaper than the cheapest return train ticket though?
A: Yeah, but not as cheap as hitch-hiking.
D: Did you hitch much?
A: Only once.
D: Where?
A: In Asuke actually. It was the peak of the tourist rush for the red leaves so there was too much traffic and the bus from Okazaki was crawling along. So I got off the bus and went to another road and then hitched up to Kourankei. Went to see the red leaves. Actually I regret not hitch-hiking more. I didn't see as much as I probably could have.
D: What did you do on the weekends and in the term breaks. The research?
A: I went to Nagoya. I had a few friends at Meidai.
D: Japanese friends?
A: Foreign friends. And well, part of the whole thing was the cost factor, but also, I didn't really come here to travel and the local area provided everything that I wanted. The opportunity to learn the language, and to study the Brazilian community of okazaki. So most of my spare time was busy with personal interviews and visits to schools and so on.
D: Did you meet the CIR for Okazaki working at the City Hall?
A: No, who is that?
D: A guy named Ramon works there, and does a lot of the language support for the various community and outreach programs. I think the CIR position is currently part of the JET program.
A: No I haven't met him yet. Maybe I should go to the shiyakusho during the week. Its the sort of job I might enjoy.

D: I asked for a few suggestions regarding improvements to the Student Village, do you have any suggestions for improving Yamasa's campus or the programs?
A: One thing I would have like would have been a closer link between Yamasa's radio station and the programs....
D: Its happening gradually. Its basically a question of resources. As always. A new second studio has just been completed next to the audio-visual control unit.
A: Yeah. I'd have liked to have made a program, but I guess I underestimated the time it would take me to learn this language. Have any students made programs?
D: Joseph Huang hosted a show last year and he seemed to enjoy it. A few of the students have also made guest slots.
A: Cool. Would I have been paid?
D: Nope. Sorry.

D: Did you sit for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in December?
A: I didn't no. I guess I didn't want to get sucked in the culture of people studying for the test just for the sake of it, because umm it wasn't my original goal. I need to pass my own tests. I need to read to books, magazines, and journals etc that are more important to my objectives.
D: And you are making progress.
A: Yes and no. I've studied full time for 11 months, but I still can't read to the level of requirements, yunno.
D: You should be able to read with the aid of a dictionary though right?
A: Yeah, I mean I can read a magazine article, but it can take hours with a kanji dictionary. I can fight through it, but not read it. Its still more a case of deciphering than reading.

A: I've got really mixed feelings about leaving here. In many ways the next academic quarter would have been, I guess what could be called pay off months. My Japanese is just getting to the point where from April to June, I'd be increasingly able to read what I want, maybe do a radio show or earn a bit of money.

D: A bit of stress?
A: Yeah, I mean studying at Yamasa was in some ways more difficult and stressful than any study I've ever done. The 24 classes a week in the AIJP, that kind of single subject intensity is rare. I think especially in the Autumn academic quarter, because of the intense atmosphere and serious attitude of the students. The strong focus on passing exams, of getting jobs in japan, there's a lot of homework and so on. Plus there has been more classtime than any course of studies I've taken since high school perhaps.
D: Thats what the "I" in the AIJP stands for though...
A: Of course. Intensive here really is intensivee. The frustrations I have are the irrational part of me. I mean of course it takes more than a year to learn Japanese! And the satisfaction I feel is the rational part I guess. The satisfaction with what I've achieved here, as a solid B student at Yamasa!
D: The faculty have said to me that you did well.
A: Yeah and they're good. Very good and experienced teachers. And I liked having a team of teachers instead of just one. The variety of styles, personalities and so on. Sometimes the teaching team felt a bit like a tag team, yunno, like having a bunch of trainers taking it in turns to beat us into linguistic shape. But I learnt a lot very quickly. It was a great experience.

D: Good to hear. And finally, what kind of things do you think we could do to improve the overall Yamasa experience so to speak.
A: Perhaps encouraging a few more clubs. The only one I was in was the "Yamasa gyouza society"
D: The Yamasa gyouza society?
A: Yes.
D: Is there such an animal?
A: Its unofficial. It existed only when I was in the Village. (laughing)
D: There is the tennis club, though its been a bit quiet lately.
A: Why?
A: Well I'd kind of prefer the students to join in local community groups where possible. Make a few friends off campus.
A: I didn't join anything. Actually I went to the Okazaki City gym a fair few times.
D: What? Lifting weights and stuff?
A: Yeah its only 200 yen per day. No membership fees or anything.
D: Very cheap.
A: And I was friends with a Japanese family. They invited me to various places events such as the summer festivals in Toyokawa and Toyota etcetera. And um, we went to soba making, strawberry picking, did the hanami thing, even watched the Okazaki hanabi from their rooftop. I'll have a lot of memories.
D: OK I think thats about it. Thank you very much for the interview and good luck with everything, and keep in touch.
A: Thank you, I will.
D: Cheers.

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