Greetings to our Japanese visitors! At Global Immersions we are happy to have placed thousands of Japanese visitors in our homestay programs over the years who are in Boston to study, travel and share culture. We have had visitors from cities such as Chiba, Nagoya and Tokyo, to name a few, and look forward to more visitors from Japan! 

We are excited about participating in the annual Japan Festival in Boston on Sunday, May 19th. Global Immersions Homestay will have a table with more information about our services. The 2013 Festival will focus on the theme of “matsuri,” the time-honored traditional Japanese-style festival and the anniversary of the friendship gift of cherry trees from Kyoto to Washington D.C.   Come, visit our booth and learn more about Japan and the culture!  

Here is a message and translation from our Japanese intern about why you should choose Boston and homestay!

ボストンの魅力

はじめまして。ボストン市内のサフォーク大学に通うAyakaです。今日はボストンの魅力、どうして私がボストンという町を選んで留学しているか、みなさんに紹介したいと思います。

ボストンがアメリカ発祥の地と言われているのはご存知ですか？イギリスから独立するために戦った歴史的独立戦争の場所であり、現在でもヨーロッパを連想されるような町並みが広がっています。また有名大学ハーバード大学やMITをはじめ数多くの大学が存在し、世界中から学生が集まり活気に溢れています。観光ではアメリカの歴史的なスポット、建造物に触れることができ、留学先としても、世界の様々な文化を体験でき、充実した学生生活が送れるボストンを選んでよかったと私は思っています。

そして私が特に好きなところはボストンの人々の愛郷心です。ボストンにはメジャーリーグのレッドソックスをはじめ、アメフト、アイスホッケー、バスケなどいろんなスポーツチームがあります。町を歩いていて気づいた事は、ほとんどの人がキャップやTシャツなどそのグッズを身につけていて、シーズンを迎えると町全体でひとつになるような一体感があります。

アメリカの治安やホームシックついて不安の声をよく聞きますが、私も来る前はそうでした。しかしホストファミリーと生活することによりひとりではない安心感が持てます。また彼らその土地のことをよく知っているのでとても頼りになります。そういった日々の生活の中で学校で習う以外の実用的なコミュニケーションスキルを身につけることが出来るのだと思います。

日本からボストンは約１３時間。昨年よりJALにより直行便が運航されるようになり、日本との繋がりがますます濃くなったように思います。また昨年、ワシントンＤ．Ｃ.の桜植樹１００年を記念してボストンでも春祭りが行われました。「祭り」「縁日」にちなんだ食べ物があったり、ステージパフォーマンスがあったり、日米交流を深める素晴らしいイベントでした。そんなボストン春祭りは今年も５月１９日に開催されます。

魅力いっぱいのボストン、是非一度訪れて、その素晴らしさを体験してください！

Why Visit Boston!

Hello, my name is Ayaka. I am a student of Suffolk University which is located in the center city of Boston. Today I would like to share the reason why I chose a school in Boston.

Did you know that Boston plays a central role in American history? Before U.S. became a nation, it was occupied by England, so we can still see the European landscape in the city today. Also, there are a lot of universities in Boston, including famous schools such as Harvard University and MIT.  Students come from all around the world. For the sightseeing purpose, you can experience the history of the America, and for the studies, you can experience various culture and spend fulfilling life here.

What I like especially about Boston is the fact the people in Boston love their city very much!  There are a lot of sport teams based in Boston like the Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins and Celtics.  I like how many people in the city are wearing sport team T-shirts or caps.

I have heard a lot of people are anxious about the safety of the city and homesickness. Before I came here, I had the same feeling. But after I spend time with my host family, I felt less lonely. Plus, they know about the area well.  I heavily relied on them and they are willing to help me. Through daily life in homestay, it is possible to learn practical communication skills, beside the basic English which is taught in school.

It takes thirteen hours to fly from Japan. Japan Air started a direct flight between Boston and Tokyo last year and it has built a strong connection between the two cities. The Japan Festival in Boston was held last year to celebrate 100th anniversary of the friendship gift of cherry blossom trees from Japan to Washington D.C. There were Japanese style foods for festival and as well as the performances on the stage. This year, it will be held on May, 19 at Boston City Hall Plaza.   Please join the festival.

As you're learning the English language, don't be intimidated if you are easily lost - even to native speakers it can be confusing! Below is an excerpt from the funny and informative "Crazy English" by Richard Lederer. In it, Lederer explains some of the most confusing aspects of the English language, including the claim that as much as 80% of English words are not spelled phonetically (even the word, phonetic). He also offers helpful tips, vocabulary and metaphors to have will have you speaking like a local (eventually).

"Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

The Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival

Boston is well known as a city with lots to do – all easily accessible by the MBTA. It could be the variety of our neighborhoods, the many institutions of higher learning, or the fact that Boston is one of the oldest cities in the U.S. Whatever the reason, there’s always a good event to inspire you to get out and explore. The best part - they’re often free! At Global Immersions we are always looking for ways for our visitors to learn more about Boston, and for our hosts to share the experience. We search high and low for events all over the city, and are always finding fun, cultural, educational and low cost activities. Here’s a quick guide:

Boston.com is the go-to site for “things to do in Boston”. You have the option of picking events, music, restaurants, or just plain free! You can also target a specific neighborhood or day, so you can find exactly what you want, when you want it. Their calendar also offers a user friendly way of searching upcoming Boston area activities.

For people who are more interested in Boston’s sub-culture than the everyday tourist, the newspaper The Phoenix offers an online calendar that focuses on local’s events. It's also easy to navigate - you can pick what type of event you’re looking for, the place and the neighborhood. They don't offer a specifically free section, but we enjoy the ideas for food "on the cheap"

Feast Days in the North End

The site “21 Free Things to do in Boston” is a great hub for free activities. Our favorite comes from all of Boston’s history and diversity, which means most months there are parades and festivals catering to any interest.  Here’s a quick (and very incomplete) list:

• Lion Dance Parade – mid-February- Chinatown
• St. Patrick's Day Parade - mid-March - South Boston
• Boston Marathon - April (third Monday) - Copley Square
• Patriots Day Parade- April (third Monday) - City Hall Plaza
• May Fair - May - Harvard Square, Cambridge
• Hidden Gardens of Beacon Hill - May (third Thursday) - Beacon Hill
• Street Performers Festival - Late May - Faneuil Hall
• Performing Arts Series at Hatch Shell - June - Esplanade
• Scooper Bowl (Ice Cream Festival) - early June - City Hall Plaza
• Dragon Boat Festival - June (second Sunday) - Charles River
• Cambridge River Festival - mid-June - Banks of the Charles River
• Boston Harborfest - July 4th week - Boston Harbor
• Italian Feast days - July - North End
• Boston Pops 4th of July Concert and Fireworks - July 4th - Esplanade
• Copley Square Concerts - July
• Boston Caribbean Carnival - August (third weekend) - Franklin Park
• Italian Feast Days - August - North End
• Copley Square Concerts - August
• Boston Arts Festival - September (second weekend) - various venues
• Boston Blues Festival - late September - Banks of the Charles
• Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival - late September - South End
  
• Columbus Day Parade - early October - East Boston - Downtown
• Head of the Charles Regatta - late October - Cambridge

Jordan Hall at NEC

Besides all of these events, you can tour the State House, visit a museum, see a concert at the New England Conservatory, or take a tour of Harvard  – all for free. And this is just the beginning! Like our Facebook and follow our Go Global blog for many more ideas to get out and explore Boston! 

The United States

Learning a new language can be a lengthy and complex process, and becoming truly fluent is a real challenge. Even if you think you are fluent, you still may pronounce words incorrectly. If this is your first time in Boston, you will probably pronounce the town of “Worcester” like it’s spelled, but to a Boston native it’s “Wooster”. Do you know anybody who lives in the state of Oregon? You might pronounce the “on” like in “gone,” but they say the “on” like the “un” in “begun”. These are call shibboleths – words that people who unfamiliar with their pronunciation may say incorrectly. If you find words like this interesting, look at a full list of shibboleths, in a number of languages. To further demonstrate the many nuances of language we compiled list of foreign words with no English equivalents, you can read a past blog entry here. There are many words with no direct translation into English, and here are a few more examples:

Seigneur-terraces (French)

Schlimazel (Yiddish)

Someone prone to bad luck. Yiddish distinguishes between the schlemiel and schlimazel, whose fates would probably be grouped under those of the klutz in other languages. The schlemiel is the traditional maladroit, who spills his coffee; the schlimazel is the one on whom it's spilled.

L’esprit de l’escalier (French)

Bilita Mpash (Bantu)

Source: mental floss

Now that it’s January, many international students are coming to study in Boston!  Whether they are returning after the winter holidays or arriving for the first time, it is not uncommon for seasonal blues, homesickness and culture shock to set in.  Why is this?  More importantly, what can be done to overcome it?

English fluency appears to strongly affect homesickness.  As the stress of learning English is an ever-present challenge for many international students, these students often find themselves longing for the ease of speaking and learning in their native tongue.  This pressure in social and academic situations to speak English can be the reason alone why a visitor seems a bit down.

Academic performance is another stressor that affects culture shock in international students.  The role of classroom participation in American culture may be new to international students, many of whom are used to just passively listening to the lessons.  Differences in essay-writing styles, exams and coursework level of difficulty are other factors relating to this.  Students who are struggling in certain courses, or those overwhelmed by the start of a new semester, may experience bouts of culture shock this time of year.

If a student has returned to his or her native country over the winter holidays and is now back in Boston, another wave of culture shock may roll in.  At this point, the differences between the two cultures will be more pronounced and fresh in the student’s mind.  After returning to that sense of familiarity and comfort back in the home country, the student may not be ready or excited to be back in the United States. 

International students may be a bit down this time of year simply because it is winter.  Days are short and dark, it’s cold outside, and it is a common time of year to get sick.  For visitors from countries near the Equator, they may find the cold winters in the Northeastern United States to be a bit of a shock.  Likewise, visitors whose native countries are in the Southern Hemisphere may be sad to be missing summer weather and time off from school back home.

Much of culture shock and seasonal depression stems from the visitor’s individual personality.  If your visitor is naturally quiet and spends most time studying or in a private bedroom, take each opportunity to make the visitor feel included in your family’s events.  This could be as simple as helping to prepare dinner or watching a movie/television together. 

While culture shock may not be the most fun experience for the visitor, this time period is a crucial opportunity to bond and develop strong relationships with the host family.  One of the best benefits of living with a host family is the knowledge that family can provide.  For instance, international visitors expect locals to have information on how to get places, recommended sites to visit, and other quirks of the culture.  The student also sees the family as a great resource to help them practice their English and help with their studies.  The more you can interact with your visitor in these ways, the better.

Here are suggestions for a homestay visitor to deal with culture shock.   Keep a journal.  Not only is writing a release of emotions, but having a personal record of reactions to an intercultural experience will soon become invaluable to the visitor once the experience is over.  Teach the host family about their home culture.  This can be done through dinnertime conversations or showing them a personal item, sharing images, holiday celebrations or a favorite food dish from home.  That way, the visitor can stay connected to the home country while the host family learns something new.  A win-win as we say!

Culture shock during a visitor’s stay is cyclical.  The initial reaction to a new culture is always the biggest shock, but it is not uncommon for culture shock to reappear in smaller doses throughout the visit.  Unless the visitor has just arrived, chances are that the shiny newness of attending school in the United State has worn off by now and that the visitor is realizing American life for what it really is.  You do not need to be an international visitor to know that winter here can often bring on seasonal blues and sadness.  Therefore, since we’re all stuck inside on these cold days, take the opportunity to speak with your visitor about culture shock.  Contact us if you have other suggestions or ways to overcome culture shock or how you as a homestay visitor have managed culture shock!

Sources: Compelling Counseling, The Psychology of Culture Shock, The International Student Blog