Aaron Burnett

STUDENT INTERVIEW: Aaron Burnett (Summer 2006: Sapporo/Okazaki)

Aaron Burnett was the first student to complete the combined Sapporo/Okazaki summer program. This was the first "airport interview" for the newsletter and we ran short of time.

Declan: Hi Aaron. Thank you for the interview.
Aaron: No problem.
D: You have just finished your program, what did you do and where?
A: I did 4 weeks at the Hokkaido Japanese language school from July and then transferred to the school here in Okazaki for 6 weeks.
D: Which accommodation were you in?
A: In Sapporo I stayed in Souen Gakusei Heights and in Okazaki in the Student Village. Single rooms.
D: Why did you decide you wanted to study in Japan?
A: Personal interest. I'd like to work here in the future as well.
D: Where are you from?
A: I live in Michigan.
D: What do you do there?
A: I'm working at ATT, the telephone company. They gave me 3 months holiday so I go back to work next week.

D: How do the two different accommodations compare?
A: I think the room in Sapporo was better in terms of its lay out. The desk was at the end of the room near the window and so it was wider. There was more room to spread out books and things. And having a fridge close to hand was excellent too.
D: Adding a fridge would be a good idea for the Student Village?
A: Absolutely.
D: Is there a power outlet next to the wardrobe?
A: Yeah, and a TV plug.
D: So we should add a TV option as well?
A: Well I was able to get TV.
D: You bought a TV?
A: No I got a card for my PC, and then a cable. Bought them in Eden. Got about 12 channels.
D: Cable channels or free to air?
A: Not cable, free to air...
D: And the picture quality was...?
A: Um, a bit fuzzy for 3 channels, but picture perfect for the others.
D: I'll have to do some homework on this. What did you watch?
A: I used to watch early morning anime, dramas and game shows in the afternoon or evening. The game shows here are crazy. One I liked had a guy on a treadmill over a pool, and the treadmill would speed up everytime he got an answer wrong until the contestants would just fly off the wheel.
D: There is a certain level of masochism in game shows here. Cream tarts with large chunks of wasabi hidden inside them...
A: Brilliant.
D: Did you have an internet connection in Sapporo?
A: Yes.
D: How much was that?
A: I think it was 3000 yen or so.
D: And the speed was?
A: It was fine. Actually I'll really miss the internet connection speeds here.
D: Why is that?
A: They are so fast.
D: What do you have in Michigan?
A: A DSL connection, I get a discount because of ATT. Here the speeds are much faster, the Student Village has a T1 line?
D: Not sure, but its a new fiber-optic link. I think I'd better check.

D: When I visited you in Sapporo it was pretty warm, how warm was it and how different to Okazaki?
A: It was really hot for about 2 weeks up there. In celsius low 30's.
D: There isn't much air conditioning in Sapporo, was it dry heat?
A: It wasn't dry, but certainly not as humid as here. If you opened the window fully, and put something down to wedge the door open you could get a bit of a breeze. I bought a small fan as well. But when I came to Okazaki in the second half of August, without the airconditioning I would have died! The heat up there was only for about 2 weeks. I lost a lot of weight walking around town, to school and things.
D: All the classrooms were airconditioned?
A: Yes. Though towards the end of the Sapporo component the aircon in my classroom was a little weak. Something wrong with the unit. Still a lot more comfortable than outside the classroom of course. In Okazaki the aircon was fine, but much more necessary. It is so much warmer down here.

D: What about studying? You did a bit of work with OCJS and you made use of Supermemo, how was that as preparation?
A: Supermemo is fantastic. Great software. I stopped using it a bit so I'll have to start again, but I learned about 170 kanji fairly quickly and easily.
D: Have you used any other software?
A: Knuckles in chinaland?
D: What is that?
A: Its an RPG. The graphics are a little simple but its good for studying.

D: When you weren't studying, what sort of things did you do, where did you go?
A: Up in Hokkaido I didn't travel much, I guess because there were a lot of things to do in Sapporo City itself. I went to the Dream Beach near Otaru which was a lot of fun, but was mostly in the city. The beer gardens were wonderful! And the food. I ate genghis khan twice and a lot of ramen. There was even a ramen matsuri at Sapporo station.
D: Any interesting flavors you'll remember?
A: We did a trip to Furano which was interesting. The lavender flavored ice cream was fantastic, but the trip itself was about 3 hours each way in a bus to look at flowers, and is probably not something I would want to do again. The ice cream was excellent though.
D: Did you go out with the other students much?
A: Absolutely, we went to karaoke, the beer gardens, and just generally had a good look around.

D: You did one of the Yamasa tours from Okazaki, the trip to the Ise Shrines, how was that?
A: Excellent. The food was great. Matsusaka Beef is very good. The pearl island interesting too.
D: Did you do any other travel? Get out there and practise the language.
A: Yes I went to a few places, its more expensive to take the trains than doing the tours. But while it costs a little more to go elsewhere its worth it. The Yamasa trips are good for places best visited by road, and for explanations, but I liked travelling. Actually I went to Gifu last weekend with two other students. Jesse and Roman.
D: Where did you go?
A: We went to Gero Onsen and up into the mountains.
D: How was that?
A: I didn't like Gero Onsen so much. We went to 4 onsens while we were there, but I think the Wakamatsu onsen here in Okazaki is better than any of them. And so cheap.
D: What do you mean?
A: Well in the USA I'd have to go to an expensive spa to have the equivalent experience, and here it is about 4 bucks.
D: Did you visit any other onsens in the mountains?
A: Yeah we went to another place further into the mountains, great place, umm Hira...
D: Hirayu Onsen?
A: Hirayu Onsen. Yeah. Fantastic outdoor baths with all the mountain scenery. We stayed in this ryokan which had a fantastic rotemburo. Cost about 10,000 yen but was worth it.
D: Good food?
A: Excellent. Jesse struggled a bit, said he didn't eat meat so much, but then he didn't eat the rest either. Meanwhile Roman and I were shoving fish heads in our mouths and everything... The trip was great.
D: Did you eat raw horse in Gifu?
A: No, but I had whale in Okazaki.
D: You like your food???
A: Love it. Once I went to Nagoya to the Hard Rock Cafe, I needed to get a souvenir for my boss since he collects their glasses and he let me have this extended leave. I gotta a fantastic hamburger but it was so expensive. But some of the best nights were simple. The Izakaya just up the street from the Student Village...?
D: Sen-sen...
A: That was great. Good beer and yakitori, had a lot of fun there.
D: I think we running out of time and you need to catch that plane. So let me wish you a safe trip and hope you can visit some time.
A: Would be great.
D: Please don't forget your Japanese.
A: I'll try.
D: Thank you again.
A: You're welcome.

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