Interview #4 with Kazuma!

Today's interview is with everyone's favorite modest pretty boy Kazuma Hashimoto!

 Let me give everyone in America a little back story on Kazuma. Basically, when the Americans first got here we hadn't met many Japanese students that could completely and effectively communicate in English. Well when my friend Alex Caggiano and I met Kazuma, little did we know how ingrained in our lives he would become. Kazuma basically forced his way into the lives of all the international students at APU and we all LOVE him for it.

Mad respect for this guy and the way he lives life. Enjoy.

What is your Name?
Kazuma Hashimoto

Where were you born and where did you grow up? What was it like growing up there?
I was born in Saitama, Japan. Right after this my family moved to west side of Japan where we lived in various cities such asOsaka, Nara and Kyoto because of my dad’s job. When I turned 3 my family moved back to Saitama. 

Are you a full time student or an Exchange student?
I’m a full time student!

Why did you decide to come to APU?

Before I came here I actually graduated from the vocational school for English in Tokyo. As I learned English there, I came to think about how much I wanted to improve my English speak with foreign students. I knew there was a university where it  was possible to do this. That was APU. So, as I said above, after I graduated from the vocational school, I came here as a transferred student. That’s why, although this is my first semester in APU, I’m technically a junior classification.

What are your plans after this semester ends? Short term, then long term plans.

For now I’m planning to go to the U.S for sightseeing during summer vacation once the semester ends. That is going to be my maiden voyage abroad! Unfortunately I have never been abroad  before in my life, so I’m so excited about going! As far as long term plans, I can’t still see what kind of job I will get in the future but I will work for a company which requires me to use English. One of my plans is to work for a Japanese company in the U.S. Examples of companies I might work for could be a travel agency or maybe an NGO? I don’t know exactly…But I will find it out in APU.

What is the most valuable thing you have learned while in APU regarding American culture?

This question is created for me right? lol.Yeah I have learned lots of things about American culture... I think. One of the things that I think is impressing about Americans is that they are never shy when it comes to talking during discussions in class. It might depend on individuals, but people I met in my classes do not seem shy. They never hesitate to speak their opinions or ask questions even if it’s sometimes interrupting the lecture the prof gives. This has really inspired me. Recently I have gotten a bit better at trying to act like Americans do but it's still quite difficult for me to speak about issues such as international relations in class. Americans always seem to lead discussion as well. I’m not sure why, but I think it’s because of the fluency of English they use. Anyway in Japan, basically teacher gives us a lecture in one way and students don’t participate at all. One of my Japanese friends told me that in his class taught in Japanese, the class is so quiet and no one says any opinions or questions during the class. On the other hand, my American friend told me that it’s normal to participate in class. I can tell that the reason for this difference is based on the difference in education styles between the two countries. The main reason why I decided to study international relations in APU is because I wanted to discuss international issues from international perspectives with many foreign students, therefore there is no point if there is no class discussion. That’s why I took all of my classes in English. At this point, I am still unable to play big roles in discussions like the Americans, but I am getting closer to doing so.So, I must really focus and work towards improving my English skills.

What is your favorite English word/phrase?

I have so many. “YOLO”,“That’s what she said”, “Shot gun” ,“Fubar”, “Mother f**ker” ,”Swag”, “What’s crackalackin?” etc…but if I have to pick only one, I would choose “Zero f**ks given”.

Where did you hear that word/phrase?

I think from you! I like this phrase because I don’t want to hesitate to ever try new things. lol. Why should I have to hesitate to make mistakes? English is not my first language, so I don’t care if I make a mistake. Zero f**ks given. 

AMEN! Alright, so back on track. What is your FAVORITE Japanese food?
Karaage especially chicken nanban. I’m happy that I can eat it in cafeteria whenever I want.

The infamous "blue tongue" picture

Me too, Japanese fried chicken is AMAZING. Anyway, how did you meet me?
I still remember clearly. I met you in front of the bars 68 and plan B on the first Friday we were here. Alex, Thom, and I were looking for one more person to take a taxi with us to go back to AP house. That ended up being you. I don’t know how but all of the people I went back with were American. lol. In the taxi I took a photo of all of us. It’s funny that your tongue is blue for some reason.lol

 What was your first impression of me?

Your first impression is like “oh this is American”.  The next day after we met first, I went to your room to hang out remember? You were reading a novel at that time. To be honest you looked like a good student man.lol

D'awwww thanks! Describe your favorite experience with me thus far here in Japan.

This is when I teach you Japanese and you teach me English while girls are making dinner for us.lol Even though you only have almost a month here, I wanna teach not only good Japanese but also dirty Japanese for you bro and vise versa.

Am I absolutely awful at Karaoke?
Haha I guess you are a good singer. I love you 4 American guys singing Back Street Boys there. That time was my first time to go to Karaoke with Americans. I felt this was how we were supposed to sing Back Street Boys that I sing every time I go to Karaoke. I was so excited to listen to songs sung by Americans. And I look forward to go there with you again.

Such a stud

After knowing me for as long as you have, would you ever visit Texas to see what it was like? Why or why not.

Yeah definitely I will. I wanna see real cowboys. And you know, Texas is the second most extensive of the 50 states following Alaska. So I wanna experience the "huge feel" of Texas. You are one person I wanna keep in touch with forever. When I come to Texas show me how true Texans live. And you have to come visit Tokyo as well!  I will show you a lot and of course you can stay at my house! When you come to Tokyo, let me know!

Oh, I definitely will. So, any final thoughts or comments?

Dude, do you know why tomorrow is the important day for America? Yes, 4^th of July is American Independence Day!!! Let’s celebrate it together.

Anyway again, you have only a month in APU, let’s have fun a lot and experience a bunch of things that you can’t get in the states!!!

This was such a great interview in my opinion. Kazuma's English speaking/writing abilities have improved DRAMATICALLY since I first met him in March. Thank you so much for take this time to completely and fully fill this out, I know it wasn't easy to write that much English!

I hope the rest of you enjoyed reading this. This probably about as close as we will get to an interview with a Japanese student that has not ever been out of Japan!

Until tomorrow, thanks for reading.

Song of ze day!