Tuesday, May 13, 2008

The Birth of Makkun

Monday, May 12th – First Day of Work
I was beyond nervous when I woke up at 7:00 AM today. I had no idea what to expect at all. All sorts of thoughts were running through my head. What if I screw up? What if I do something to insult somebody? Will I be able to communicate? Just simple nervous thoughts, but they made the first couple hours of the day much more difficult than they had to be. It was all for naught anyway because today went perfectly... almost .

Every morning they have a devotional time that starts at 8:25. I was expected to participate, but not knowing any Japanese makes participating rather difficult. The hymnals were all in Japanese as well, so I couldn’t even sing along. So, my personal task for the week is to learn as much hiragana as possible. This way I can at least try to participate in the devotional time by singing along in the hymnal, because it just feels awkward sitting there and not being able to do anything but look happy.

Apart from the devotional time everything was spectacular! I got the chance to talk to Iwaoka-san after devotionals today. He gave me a vague run through my schedule while I’m here. For the first two weeks I’ll be working and living here at the New Life League main office. I’ll be doing whatever the design department has for me to do. After that I’ll go out to a city north of Tokyo to live with the manga artist for Manga Messiah, Kelly Shinozawa, and her family (Kelly is just her pen name, her real name is Kozumi). Shinozawa-san has one child, a young one, and her husband is a farmer. So, I’ll be living on her farm in a relatively remote location by Japanese standards. My job while I’m there is to help her with her drawing. I’ll be making a children’s activity book using characters from Manga Messiah and other parts of the bible as well. Apparently Shinozawa-san will be drawing the actual characters and I’ll be expected to draw the backgrounds. We’re also going to be making a series of trading cards for various biblical characters. This is where my computer skills should come in handy. So, I’m a bit nervous that I won’t be able to draw that well (because I honestly don’t think I’m that good at drawing), but my dad has encouraged me to think positively, so I’ll try.

After my short meeting with Iwaoka-san I went to the design department where I was thankful to receive a second round of introductions. I was proud of myself because I managed to actually remember two of their names: Ai-san and Hayashi-san. Neither of them can speak English very well. Well, I don’t think that Hayashi-san can. He hasn’t spoken a word to me since I got here. He seems to be the kind of guy that goes to work to get the work done and nothing else. He doesn’t talk to the other designers either except for business reasons. The other designers are quite talkative though. All three of them are women and I wouldn’t place anyone in the entire room as over 35. The women love to try to talk to me. They ask me questions about the U.S. and my perceptions of Japan. They explain their culture to me, and it seems to be a goal of theirs to introduce me to every kind of Japanese snack food imaginable. The most difficult thing for them to do when it comes to communication is pronounce my name. The “th” sound isn’t one that Japanese people can say. It comes out sounding like an “s.” So, they decided to give me a nickname. From now on in Japan I shall be referred to as Makkun (pronounced mahk-koon).

My first task as an intern was working on the Arabic version of their Manga Messiah book. It was menial work, but even menial work is fun when you’re doing it in a foreign culture. My job was to go into the print version of all 280 pages to trim out the crop marks and flip them horizontally so they can be read right to left. Like I said, not a hard job, just boring and repetitive. But, it was a bit of a challenge at first. Ya see, the interface on the computer is in Japanese. And, as stated before, I can neither speak nor read Japanese. It was quite the test of my Photoshop knowledge to be able to figure out how to do everything I wanted to. Surprisingly, I was able to function well. The tools all look the same but the menus are the difficult thing. Mostly I tried to use all the hotkeys I could remember. I remembered quite a few. Some of them I’d never even used before. I honestly don’t know why I knew them. I equate this experience to high school Spanish. Ya learn it and never use it, but when you’re thrown into a situation when it’s actually needed for a change it comes back to you in a remarkable amount. It’s all in there somewhere. ^_^

Lunch was a venture. I ordered a bento (lunch box) from the most soft-spoken woman I’ve ever met. Her name is Sayako-san and I’m not sure if her voice can manage anything but the highest pitched whisper a human is capable of. She never stops smiling and does everything in a half-bowed position. She is by all accounts the most Japanese person I’ve ever met. But, alas, I’ve strayed from the point. Lunch was a bento of mostly vegetables prepared in various ways. It comes with a box of steamed rice and a bowl of miso soup. There were two pieces of meat, one was a fish cake and the other was a portion of chicken breast. All of it was quite good. I have to say that I’ve been highly impressed by the food here. It’s all quite good. As far as Asian cuisine goes I think I have to say I like Chinese and Thai better than Japanese, but I still haven’t found any Japanese food that I didn’t like. While I’ve been here I’ve been privileged enough to have tried sushi, udon noodles, gyoza (Japanese dumplings), various tempura, some form of vegetable pudding, miso soup, and ramen with tree mushrooms. The ramen has been my favorite so far. I thought the noodles would be different than the stuff we get in little packages in the U.S., but it wasn’t. It tasted much much better, but the basic noodle wasn’t any different than the Maruchan variety. I need to get a lot more of that stuff before I leave. On a bit of a side note, my ability to handle chopsticks has been praised by no less than six people. They say I use them like an Asian. I highly doubt that I’m quite up to Asian standards, but it was nice to receive a compliment on my first day of work, even if it is for something as small as chopstick usage.

The last bit of Japanese culture that I managed to glean from the day involved their work ethic. They really are quite laid back in a way, but still maintain a tight schedule. Everything starts on time. When they say devotionals start at 8:25 AM, they mean it. The entire schedule of the day is determined by the ringing of a bell. It goes off at 8:25 to signal the beginning of devotionals, goes off again at 8:45 to signal the beginning of the work day, at 12:00 it signals the beginning of lunch and the end of lunch is signaled at 12:45, there is a 15-minute break that is signaled at 3:00 and 3:15, and the bell that ends the day rings at 5:30 by playing a melody that I think is the Japanese national anthem, though I need to ask somebody to find out for sure. Like I said, though, the work ethic is rather laid back. They get things done, but a small escape from the work of the day (such as a short conversation) isn’t frowned upon. The mood is light, but you are expected to work all day. The four designers, I’ve heard, typically stay late. They were here tonight until past 8:30, though I am not expected to stay that late and probably won’t unless there is something that needs to get done. But, I don’t think anything they’re giving me is going to be something of a time sensitive nature.

Tuesday, May 13th
I'm almost over my jet lag. I keep waking up at 5:00 AM for no reason at all, but it's starting to get easier to go back to sleep afterwards. Maybe by the end of the week I'll be able to have a full night of sleep with no interruption.

I finished the task assigned to me faster than expected yesterday, so they checked my work last night and discovered that I had in fact messed up a bit. It took only about 45 minutes to fix my mistake, but it was still embarrassing. What a way to start the day. I’ve decided to be much more careful from this time on. I am triple-checking everything I do in order to prevent screw-ups. My task for the day was to lay out the pages of the manga in InDesign to get ready for print. It was nothing special. Again, it was repetitive and slightly boring, but I love graphic work and didn’t find it the least bit difficult to get through the day.

The design team asked to see my portfolio today. I thought they had all already seen it, but was glad to show it to them. They all seemed quite impressed. As I was afraid would happen, I’ve now been labeled an otaku after they saw my Anime Night poster. They say it’s not a bad thing, but it is still something I was trying to avoid. That word has a lot of connotations both negative and positive, and staying away from it seemed best. But, I guess it was bound to happen. Heck, I made it almost four days. I’d say that’s pretty good.

I got the chance to meet my number one contact in Japan this morning, and man named Roald. He is the man who gave me the job and is the one who has helped to organize my stay. He is an extremely nice man. We had a 15-minute conversation after devotionals. He seems like a fascinating guy and I wish that he was going to be sticking around longer so I could try to get to know him better. Unfortunately, he’s going on an extremely long, multi-continental business trip starting this weekend. He told me that before the end of his trip he will have been on 22 different planes. That’s a hell of a trip. He’s praying he can get upgraded from coach, but says he doesn’t think it’s going to happen. I feel for him. If I was going to be on that many flights I’d be praying for business class as well.

Lunch was more interesting than yesterday. The vegetables tasted better and there were some meatballs today as well. The most interesting thing at lunch was the portion of fish. It was about the most whole I’ve ever eaten a fish. All they did was chop off the head and tail and call it done. I was a bit cautious at first and seriously considered leaving it on my plate. I didn’t though. I tried it, and loved it. It was very tender meat—so tender I was able to filet the thing using only my chopsticks! Getting around the bones was easy, but they were really small and I was afraid I might eat one, but I didn’t… at least not to my knowledge.

Caesar1280's Anime Ticker

.hack//Legend of the Twilight, Air, Air: The Movie, Akira, The Animatrix, Appleseed, Aquatic Language, Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror, Beck, Black Lagoon, Blame!, Blood the Last Vampire, Bokurano, Burst Angel, Castle in the Sky, Cowboy Bebop, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express, Egao, FLCL, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala, Gankutsuou, Gatekeepers, Genshiken, Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence, Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society, Gin-iro no Kami no Agito, Grave of the Fireflies, Grenadier, Haibane Renmei, Hellsing, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, Hikaru no Go, Howl?s Moving Castle, Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Jyu Oh Sei, Karas: The Prophecy, Last Exile, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Midori?s Days, Milennium Actress, Mushi-shi, My Neighbor Totoro, Naruto, Naruto: The Movie, Nausicaa, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth, Ninja Scroll: The Movie, Other Worlds, Paprika, Perfect Blue, Pet Shop of Horrors, The Place Promised In Our Early Days, Prétear, Princess Mononoke, Read Or Die, Read Or Die: The TV, Samurai Champloo, Samurai Seven, Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal, She and Her Cat, Spirited Away, Steamboy, Tide-Line Blue, Tokyo Babylon, Tokyo Godfathers, Trigun, Voices of a Distant Star, Witch Hunter Robin, Wonderful Days, Wrath of the Ninja, X

Anime I've Seen - .hack//Legend of the Twilight - .hack//Sign - 5 Centimeters per Second - Air - Air: The Movie - Akira - The Animatrix - Appleseed - Aquatic Language - Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror - Baby Blue - Beck - Black Lagoon - Blame! - Blood the Last Vampire - Bokurano - Burst Angel - Castle in the Sky - Cowboy Bebop - Cowboy Bebop: The Movie - Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express - Doorbell - Egao - FLCL - Fullmetal Alchemist - Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala - Gankutsuou - Gatekeepers - Genius Party - Genshiken - Genshiken OAV - Ghost in the Shell - Ghost in the Shell: Innocence - Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society - Gin-iro no Kami no Agito - The Gokusen - Grave of the Fireflies - Grenadier - Haibane Renmei - Happy Machine - Hellsing - Highlander: The Search for Vengeance - Hikaru no Go - Howl's Moving Castle - Innocent Venus - Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade - Jyu Oh Sei - Karas: The Prophecy - Karas: The Revelation - Last Exile - Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi - Midori?s Days - Milennium Actress - Mushi-shi - My Neighbor Totoro - Naruto - Naruto: The Movie - Nausicaa - Neon Genesis Evangelion - Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death And Rebirth - Ninja Scroll: The Movie - Other Worlds - Ouran High School Host Club - Paprika - Perfect Blue - Pet Shop of Horrors - The Place Promised In Our Early Days - Prétear - Princess Mononoke - Read Or Die - Read Or Die: The TV - Samurai Champloo - Samurai Seven - Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal - Serial Experiments Lain - Shanghai Dragon - She and Her Cat - Spirited Away - Steamboy - Tekkonkinkreet - Tide-Line Blue - Tokyo Babylon - Tokyo Godfathers - Trigun - Trinity Blood - Vampire Hunter D - Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust - Voices of a Distant Star - Witch Hunter Robin - Wolf's Rain - Wonderful Days - Wrath of the Ninja - X Total: 93

Anime I Haven't Completed - .hack//Roots - Ah! My Goddess - Angelic Layer - Avenger - Baccano! - Bamboo Blade - Basilisk - Binchou-tan - Black Cat - Bleach - Blood+ - Boogiepop Phantom - Case Closed - Le Chevalier d'Eon - Chobits - Chrono Crusade - Code Geass - Coyote Ragtime Show - D.Gray-Man - D.N.Angel - DearS - Death Note - Dennou Coil - Desert Punk - Digimon - Dragon Ball Z - Ergo Proxy - Eureka Seven - Excel Saga - Fighting Beauty Wulong - Final Fantasy Unlimited - Flag - Freedom - Full Moon - Gantz - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Gintama - Glass Fleet - Great Teacher Onizuka - Gundam Seed - Gundam Wing - Hayate the Combat Butler - Hellsing OVA - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - Ikki Tousen - InuYasha - Jigoku Shojo - Kage Kara Mamoru - Karin - Kino's Journey - Love Hina - Loveless - Lovely Complex - Lucky Star - Makai Senki Disgaea - Marchen Awakens Romance - Meine Liebe - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Mononoke - Monster - Moon Phase - Mr Stain on Junk Alley - Naruto Shippuuden - Negima?! - Negima! - Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion - Nerima Daikon Brothers - NHK ni Youkoso - Night Walker - Ninja Nonsense - Noir - Peacemaker Kurogane - Pokemon - Prince of Tennis - R.G. Veda - Ragnarok - Rec - Red Garden - Robotech - Romeo x Juliet - Rosen Maiden - Rurouni Kenshin - Saikano - Sailor Moon - Samurai Deeper Kyo - Sci-fi Harry - School Rumble - Scrapped Princess - Shin-chan - Shingu - Shion no Oh - Shuffle! - Shrine of the Morning Mist - So Long, Mr. Despair - Solty Rei - Sousei no Aquarion - Speed Grapher - Spice and Wolf - Super Milk Chan - Tales of Phantasia - Tenchi Muyo - Tenjhou Tenge - Texnolyze - The Third - Tsubasa Chronicles - Urusei Yatsura - Venus Versus Virus - Welcome to the N.H.K. - Winter Cicada - X-1999 - Xenosaga - XxxHolic - Yu Yu Hakushou - Yume Tsukai - Zero no Tsukaima - Zipang Total: 116

Manga I've Completed - Cowboy Bebop - FLCL - Manga Messiah - Manga Metamorphosis - Q*Ko-chan - Saiyuki - Shirahime-Syo Total: 7 Manga I Haven't Completed - .hack//Legend of the Twilight - Black Cat - Blame! - Chobits - D.Gray-man - Darkside Blues - Death Note - The Demon Ororon - Desert Coral - Disgaea - Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl - Fruits Basket - Getbackers - Hayate the Combat Butler - Kamunagara - Legal Drug - Love Hina - Loveless - Megatokyo - Naruto - Negima - Read Or Die - Rurouni Kenshin - Tactics - Trigun Maximum - XXXHolic Total: 26

Anime I'm Currently Watching
Samurai 7, InuYasha, Samurai Deeper Kyo,
Boogiepop Phantom, and Shrine of the Morning Mist

Manga I'm Currently Reading
Read Or Die, Hayate the Combat Butler, and Megatokyo.hack//Roots, .hack//Sign, 5 cm per Second, Ah! My Goddess, Angelic Layer, Avenger, Basilisk, Binchou-tan, Black Cat, Bleach, Blood+, Boogiepop Phantom, Case Closed, Le Chevalier d'Eon, Chobits, Chrono Crusade, Coyote Ragtime Show, D.Gray-Man, D.N.Angel, DearS, Death Note, Dennou Coil, Desert Punk, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Ergo Proxy, Eureka 7, Excel Saga, Fighting Beauty Wulong, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Flag, Full Moon, Gantz, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Gintama, Great Teacher Onizuka, Gundam Seed, Gundam Wing, Hayate the Combat Butler, Hellsing Ultimate, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Innocent Venus, InuYasha, Jigoku Shojo, Kage Kara Mamoru, Karin, Kino?s Journey, Love Hina, Loveless, Lovely Complex, Lucky Star, Makai Senki Disgaea, Marchen Awakens Romance, Meine Liebe, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Mononoke, Monster, Naruto Shippuuden, Negima?!, Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion, Nerima Daikon Brothers, NHK ni Youkoso, Night Walker, Ninja Nonsense, Noir, Ouran High School Host Club, Peacemaker Kurogane, Pokemon, Prince of Tennis, R.G. Veda, Ragnarok, Rec, Red Garden, Robotech, Romeo x Juliet, Rosen Maiden, Rurouni Kenshin, Saikano, Sailor Moon, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Sci-fi Harry, School Rumble, Scrapped Princess, Serial Experiments Lain, Shingu, Shuffle!, Shrine of the Morning Mist, So Long Mr. Despair, Solty Rei, Sousei no Aquarion, Speed Grapher, Super Milk Chan, Tales of Phantasia, Tenchi Muyo, Tenjhou Tenge, Texnolyze, The Third. Trinity Blood, Tsubasa Chronicles, Urusei Yatsura, Welcome to the N.H.K., Winter Cicada, X-1999, Xenosaga, XxxHolic, Yu Yu Hakushou, Yume Tsukai, Zero no Tsukaima, Zipang

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