We arrived in Hikone, Shiga, Japan prior to having breakfast. For those of you who don’t know about Shiga prefecture, Michigan and Shiga are sister states of each other. Government officials from Shiga regularly meet with Michigan government officials to discuss economic and cultural cooperation initiatives between the two states. Michigan even gave Shiga a Michigan ferry for use on Lake Biwa, Japan’s biggest lake and the on lake which the city of Hikone was founded. Another way in which Shiga and Michigan make ties is through the exchange of students. Our destination that day, and the reason we traveled to Hikone via the Shinkansen, was the Japan Center for Michigan Universities 25th Anniversary Gala.
Upon arriving at JCMU that morning, the members of my group could attend a Japanese tea ceremony, a calligraphy session, or a flower setting session. I decided to go all out and try the Japanese tea ceremony. We sat on our knees, with Japanese hostesses in Kimonos boiling tea in the corner. We were first presented with a desert made of some kind of sweet Japanese bean, which is designed to balance out the bitterness of the tea. Upon being presented the tea, we had to sit on our knees and bow, all the while carefully scanning the outside of the bowl the tea was served in. Tea ceremonies are sacred in Japan for many reasons. Samurai used to hold tea ceremonies to prove their civility, as proper conduct at these ceremonies was considered high class. It was also somewhat spiritual and reflective for them as well. I don’t know the extent to which you could call it spiritual, but the tea brewing process was designed to help a samurai see who they are on the inside; and the way I am holding the serving ladle in the picture is how a samurai would look into "the mirror" and see himself...
Scarily, half-way during the day one of our comrades reported that he felt feverish, which meant that not only was a trip to the hospital necessary for him, but mask wearing was required of the rest of us in case he had the swine flu. When people in Japan get sick, they wear a mask so they don’t cough their germs on everyone else. It people want to avoid everyone else’s breath and germs, they wear a mask. Everyone wears them. Young women, older men, children, the whole society collectively wears masks in hopes of preventing the spread of germs. Luckily, our fellow comrade did not have the swine flu, and returned to us later on that night.
The JCMU gala that night was designed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of JCMU. Many heads of state (at least the heads of Shiga and Michigan), academic officials (like our Vice Provost Kim Wilcox), and business leaders (Japanese speaking lawyers, Japanese CEOs in Michigan) met together to celebrate and give speeches regarding the progress of JCMU, plans for future expansion, and a new scholarship fund for future JCMU students. Sitting in the conference room of the gala felt like a United Nation’s meeting. We were given hand-held radio receivers and headphones; the two frequencies: 1) Japanese translation 2) English Translation. After moving to the dinner room, another set of speakers came to the podium. One was the governor of Shiga… his speech was quite prolific in nature, and he seemed proud of the fact that JCMU was located in his prefecture. 
If I took anything from this day, it is that things are not always what they seem to be under the surface. Despite the presence of big name Japanese companies like Toyota, Hitachi, and Panasonic in the U.S. and big name American companies like Proctor and Gamble and Coca-Cola in Japan, the leaders of Shiga and Hikone were willing to admit that there are still challenges to establishing healthy economic relations between the U.S. and Japan. One is the cultural and language barrier. Japan’s culture is entrenched in thousands of years of history. The U.S. has only been around for 225 years, and therefore we have less of a cultural foundation to fall back on. Japanese are willing to learn English, while Americans are not willing to reciprocate this courtesy. Despite the differences, the potential for economic success between the two countries is outstanding, given both are the two largest economies in the world; and one can only hope that it is because of, rather than in spite of, students like us who are willing to break cultural and linguistic boundaries that the economic prosperity of Japan and the U.S. can be obtained.
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