Of reports and headaches

Last Saturday was our 3rd JJLC ramadan event.

Two of our most promising nihongo students S san and M san, who have been given the chance to visit Japan this year and last year through the Japan foundation 2 week training program at Kansai center and the youth exchange 4 week program respectively, gave us a presentation of their trips to Japan.

I and K sensei really found both presentations very well done and very well presented. Both showed a balanced view of Japan as a country and gave a real sense of going over there to achieve something whether be it to learn more about Japanese language and culture or to learn about one's own culture. Of course they also talked about how awesomely fun it is to visit Japan on such a program! Every body was psyched and even more enthusiastic to study Japanese and eventually visit Japan.

Both the above mentioned programs are basically designed to give a chance to know more about Japan and its culture and people tjrough exchange, but I believe that the main benefit of such programs is to reflect upon one's own culture and one's own self to find a more balanced and objective view of a person's own country and culture by viewing it from the outside. I think it was a great motivator and an eye opener both to S san and M san. I sure felt that way every time I went overseas. Every time I came back. I was full with the desire to better myself and my country while working on the good and removing the bad.

I always found new aspects of life in Jordan that I really liked but took for granted when I went to Japan and i guess everybody who goes there feels the same. Sadly many who visit overseas return with a harsh and sometimes unfair critical view of one's country.

All in all a very successful event. special thanks to M san and S san for a job well done. It was quite difficult to spend 4 hours straight for the presentations, especially in Ramadan!

S san's blog has a beautiful account of his trip to Japan, Please visit "The boy in not amused" at :
http://theboyisnotamused.blogspot.com/


Wrapping up the event, I started feeling a bit sick.
Standing all the time next to the projector with the warm air coming out from the projector fan in a room where the air conditioning was at full blast finally took its toll, and my head started to ache.

I was invited that day to the house of a Japanese language student and a good friend for iftar but had to cancel at the last minute because of the terrible headache and nausea that I had. It was a good thing I went home since my headache worsened and didn't go until I took some medicine and tried to clean out my stomach. It was really one of the worst headaches I ever had.

Sorry Fsan and every body for not being able to fulfill my promise of coming over, I was really looking forward to it.