Νever refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay a welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience.*

I am Olympia Toptsidou. I was a student for three years at the Kyoto City University of Arts (one as a research student and two in a Master's Program) on the subject of Oil Painting.

My interest in Japan started early on from my childhood and was evoked mainly by the images and the story of Candy-Candy, the character of the cult 70's anime/manga. Drawn and coloured differently from the rest European and American comics, it functioned as a prelude of my general interest in the somewhat different japanese art. Therefore, I started studying Japanese hard from the age of 18, gained the 2kyu and applied successfully for the MEXT scholarship after graduating Thessaloniki's School of Arts.

My first days in Japan were sort of numb and the everyday felt weird since I could hardly recognise anything familiar and no matter how hard I had prepared, I still failed to express myself in Japanese. In the beginning there was a semester of language courses at Kyoto University. I quickly became friends with various students, but still there was no interaction with Japanese people. The Japanese lessons, though well-orginised, were rather dissatisfactory. They were mainly focused on subjects of economics, politics and corporations and left the rich world of arts, literature and philosophy disproportionately unremarked.

During that period I was residing in a clean and comfortable dormitory that was nevertheless located far from the University. This room was offered by Kyoto University but I had to move out as soon as the Japanese courses had ended. I then moved in an old japanese machiya with another friend. It was quite difficult to communicate our needs and find the accommodation we wanted but fortunately we managed everything. Before long we were changing our tatami mats, dusting the long-forgotten tokonoma and getting acquainted with the neighbours who were rather unaccustomed with having foreigners around the block.

My japanese art-school days and the first interactions with Japanese classmates came along with spring's cherry blossoms. The japanese school life often brought in mind situations pictured in manga pages and the general climate was that of a junior high. I was impressed by the high levels gossiping was used and how that was not considered an issue, but I got used to this as well as several other idiosyncrasies of the japanese school life. I became friends with some girls but I kept on having issues with smooth communication and interesting discourse. Only after I met some brilliant and experienced Japanese was I at last having a talk of matter. The relationship with my professor was determinative during my stay in Kyoto. My advice is that one should trust their professor and be clear about their goals and aims. Try being politely specific on what you want and efficiently active so that your work can be given credit. When the professor's trust is gained so will be his/her protection and backing for the future.

The monthly stipend was quite satisfactory for the everyday and it covered the expenses of school fees. Nevertheless, one should try and save up for some extra travelling or personal buys. Also, for the period I spent there, the amount of the stipend gradually grew less and that caused a little change from the usual.

There were many surprises and impressive things in my life in Japan. Literally everyday there was a small surprise awaiting me. Food, nature and shopping were some of the positive ones.

My advice to those who wish to visit Japan is to study Japanese because it will surely come in handy. Moreover, they should carefully study the part of Japan that interests them the most. This kind of research will help them with the actual stay in Japan and their behaviour and studies there. And a final hint: many are the times when one feels a minority in Japan. Everything surrounding you reminds you that you're different, that your way of thinking and set of morals do not apply on this land. In Japan nothing comes easy, fast nor in the way you expected it to come. But if you set your mind to it and work hard using their rules while not forgetting yours, anything can finally happen. * lyrics from “ beached”, Orbital, 2000

 

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