Okonomiyaki Essays

‘Awkward…’ Has this ever happened to you while communicating with people from different cultures and countries? This ‘awkward moment’ can be described in a theory called the stumbling blocks, designed by a lady named Barna. Her theory describes the relationship between intercultural people. There are mainly six points she focuses on: Assumption of similarities, Language difference, Nonverbal Misinterpretations, Tendency to evaluate, Stress, and Culture shock. I would be explaining about these stumbling

Cultural Informant Interview: Yuu Iwashita The purpose of this paper is to converse with a person from a culture that is significantly different from mine, in order to learn about the differences and similarities between our cultures through intercultural exchange. For this paper, I’ve chosen my roommate, Yuu Iwashita, as my cultural informant. Yuu is a native of Japan, more specifically, Tokyo. At 20 years old, this is his second time studying abroad, however, his first time at Lindsey Wilson

On August 6, 1945, the Japanese city of Hiroshima was the first city in history to be targeted by the world’s first deployed atomic bomb during World War II (1939-45). The explosion wiped out nearly everything within a two kilometer radius. After World War II, it was said that the city would be uninhabitable but most of Hiroshima was rebuilt later on, though one area was left as is as a reminder of the devastation of the atomic bomb. Today the city of Hiroshima has been revived and has become a symbol

Taiyaki What is Taiyaki? The first Japanese sweet I had ever tried was during winter in Setagaya, a suburb in south-western Tokyo. A local confectioner was making these little fish-shaped pieces of waffle, grilling them to shape on a specially designed mold. They weren’t expensive at all, maybe around 100 yen or roughly one dollar apiece, so looking for a quick treat to warm my belly I joined the queue of people in line to order and waited my turn. I asked for one, paid my money and walked off