Japan Trip 2015: IAFOR ACAH & LibrAsia 2015

Crossing the river towards the OICC

Let me first spell out these acronyms: IAFOR stands for International Academic Forum. ACAH means Annual Conference on the Arts and Humanities. LibrAsia is a coined word for Librarians in Asia or Libraries in Asia. Put together, these are the three reasons why I was in Japan in the first week of April this year.

I attended the IAFOR ACAH LibrAsia Conference (April 3-5, 2015), presented a paper, learned loads and had a good time. This last bit is the icing on the cake. A lot of work went into research and writing the paper. Now here's what happened in the conference.

The plenary sessions began in day 1 where academics from the arts and humanities presented their research papers. I came late on the first day so I only had the chance to listen to Mr. Jared Baxter talk about Van Gogh's Starry Night and the influences it has on different disciplines as well as its impact in the political, cultural and historical milieu of the artist, past and present. This was already in mid-morning. A session before the morning break. I met Filipino academics and presenters too. There was a good number of Filipino participants and paper presenters from Luzon and the Visayas. Somehow, the atmosphere did not feel so foreign at all.

The Pinoy Continget at the IAFOR 2015

Before lunch break, we were all treated to songs and dances of the Taiko Drum Perfomers. I was impressed by their youthful exuberance performing their traditional songs and dances that I wrote a haiku.
   
"Thunder in the flesh
Proud, powerful and unafraid
Taiko drum performers"

Candy receiving her certificate from Dr. Lo

Breakout session began at 1.30PM. I presented my paper on school librarians and leadership in the library session with Candy May Schijf and Mr. Wilson Chu of the Hong Kong Design Institute presenting too. Candy's paper was about Information Literacy and assessment while Mr. Chu's paper was on attitudes and perceptions of students on the library and how this can help librarians create the space, services and programs of the library. The session was chaired by Dr. Patrick Lo of Tsukuba University.

Discussion during our session thrived. The audience were interested to know about the government's guidelines on school libraries in the Philippines. Dr. Lo was particularly eager to know the school library landscape in the country. This led to an exchange of calling cards, more conversations and sharing of future research projects after our presentation. Right after, Candy and I rushed to Willian San Andres Frias' presentation. We didn't see her present her paper on collection development and research data, but a physicist and librarian from Vienna was giving her accolades for her paper, even encouraging her to have it published in an academic, refereed journal.

What were Cristina, Grace and Darrel doing all the time?

A haiku is about a moment.

Cristina chaired a session and presented her paper too. Grace and Darrel sat in sessions in the literature strand. During the afternoon break, I met Dr. Grace V.S. Chin from the Univeristi of Brunei Darusalam. She wrote a paper on Jose "Butch" Dalisay's novel, Soledad and Her Sisters, and the OFW experience seen through the lens of the matriarchal archetype. I was introduced to her by Grace Bansig (ye, another Grace), since she listened to her present her paper.

The last session we all attended was the Haiku Writing Workshop by haiku master, Emiko Yamashita. I will devout one post for that workshop since it is one of the more memorable sessions in IAFOR LibrAsia 2015. Well, at least, for me.

This is Day 2 of my Japan Trip of 2015. My post on Day 3 is next. 

Japan Trip 2015: Friends New and Old in Osaka and Kyoto

A groupie before they bid me farewell for my lone journey to Kyoto

I look back at the week I spent in Japan and words come to me to describe it: mentoring; adventure; kindness; intellectual discourse; art and culture; international mindedness; serenity; order; discipline; risk taking; friendship.

For today, I will write about FRIENDSHIP.  

Friends Old and New

I think when people travel, they are bound to discover new ones and were helped by the good old ones. This happened to me at the onset. It was Ann Grace Bansig who pushed me to submit a paper in the IAFOR LibrAsia Conference. I remember it well. We were having a light dinner in Tokyo Tokyo last year when the idea of attending conferences in 2015 came about. There is no harm in trying so I told Grace and Darrel (who was with us at the time). After reading the guidelines of the IAFOR's Call for Papers, I submitted my paper on leadership and school librarianship. In less than a week, I got an acceptance letter. A few weeks after this good news, Grace sent a text message informing me of the good news she and Darrel received from IAFOR. We were all very excited at the opportunity to engage in conversation with librarians from different cultures and backgrounds. And yes, the idea of visiting Japan thrilled us to the bone!

A lot of friends helped me too in planning and preparing for the trip. Many of them wished to remain anonymous especially the kind of help they extended to me. I am sure of one thing though, I will do more random acts of kindness especially to travelers and librarians dreaming of traveling abroad to attend a conference. I will pay "it" forward.

With Ryota who is a Manny Pacquiao fan. He believes that Pacman will defeat Mayweather!

Candy May Schijf, a friend I have met over in FB, whom I briefly had an EB (eye ball) at the Rizal Conference in November last year, submitted a paper and it too got accepted. Her friend from DLSU Taft, Willian Frias got an acceptance letter as well.

So our company of three, became five. In December 2014, we met to plan the trip. We had constant convo in FB on flight details, lodging, logistics and visa applications. A week before the trip, Cristina Villanueva of UP Baguio sent word via FB since she learned that there are Filipino librarians attending and presenting in the conference. She too was a presenter and session chair at the IAFOR. We arranged to meet in Osaka during the conference.

Leaving Manila on different routes and plane reservations, we all met at Osaka International Convention Center on Day 1 of the IAFOR LibrAsia. Happiness!

At Tennoji Park. Our first encounter with the glorious sakura!

Dare and Grace

One dynamic of friendship I find worthy of reflection is that of collaboration. This is very evident in the relationship of Darrel Manuel Marco and Ann Grace Bansig. I have seen these two together in many instances where one's personality and strength complement the other. Where Grace lends energy and sprite, Darrel provides balance and introspection. In my imagined reality, I see them as a couple perfectly fitted to each other. But, sad to say, this is just me dreaming romantic dreams unsuitable for others to make it come true. The point is, good friendships thrive in all walks of life and in all peoples regardless of age, religion, cultural background and sexual preferences. This is the magic of friendship that is why, it must be nurtured and kept healthy.

Sadly, I didn't see Darrel and Grace present their paper on the Overseas Filipino Worker and Philippine Children's Literature since I needed to be in Kyoto on Saturday night. More on this in another post.

I am impressed to see both of them go beyond the horizon. How many Filipino school librarians venture into writing about children's literature, analyzing context and determining the constructs of knowledge found in these children's stories? Only a handful dare to do so. I think it is relevant that school librarians look at the reading materials that children read because, after all, school librarians bridge children to books and information sources. From what I read in FB, the duo dared to push the envelope during their presentation and they both accomplished this with grace. Congratulations!

As of writing, Darrel and Grace are still in Japan, meeting friends and having the summer of their lives! As I posted on FB, I wish them well and that their friendship may bring forth more collaborative endeavors in the future. 

Friends in Kyoto

I spent my last day in Japan in Kyoto. I took the subway from Osaka then made the connecting ride via the Limited Express in Kyobashi. It took me an hour to reach Demachiyanagi station. I met Lani De Vera there, a friend from way back. She teaches English in an IB school there. She treated me to dinner in a ramen house and the ramen was delicious! I spent the night at her place and the morning after, we met her friend, Midori-san.

With Lani and Yanagida-san who has been to Bohol and Cebu.

It was raining that Easter Sunday. I wore three layers of clothing but the cold climate got through my bones. This did not stop me from enjoying the walk down the Philosopher's Path. Lani and Midori-san planned a hanami but due to the rain, a change was imminent. Lani and I found ourselves in Midori-san's home. It was mid-way the Philosopher's Path. I just have to say this: the whole place was like a setting in a Miyazki movie. More on this in a future post. Again.

With Midori-san whose name means "green" in Japanese.

At Midori-san's home, we met Yanagida-san, her husband. He is a retired teacher. He likes taking photographs, traveling and listening to music. He showed me his CD of Celeste Legaspi songs. He showed me his album filled with his photographs of fall, winter, summer and spring in Kyoto, Okinawa and Mt. Fuji. He even offered his place for me the next time I am in Kyoto. Their hospitality warmed me enough to still the shaking coldness in my toes and fingers. Midori-san fed us a plateful of pizza, salad, fresh juicy tomatoes and sweet bread. The coffee was great too! The brunch was perfect for the long walk she had thought out for us to take.

The rest of the morning, Midori-san was with us as tour guide to the Nanzen-ji Temple. There I saw girls in kimono, a temple gate that reminds me of Avatar (think Aang and the gang), an aqua-duct, more sakura and rain. Lots and lots of rain!

At noon, Lani brought me to Kyoto Station where I started my journey towards Nagoya to Central International Airport. I have fond memories of these three cities: Nagoya, Osaka and Kyoto. I meant to go back to Japan. God willing.

Now, I need to save up. And do more thinking and working and engagement in an endless conversation on matters that are relevant to the profession.

Japan Trip 2015: Nagoya to Osaka Day 1

And so, I am back.

I am here to tell the tale and it goes like this.

When my paper was accepted for oral presentation in the IAFOR LibrAsia 2015, I was excited. Who wouldn't be? I thought, I will be presenting, once more, to an international audience and it is going to be in Japan. Japan! Images flashed through my mind: kimonos, haiku, ramen, robotics, kamishibai, kabuki masks, geisha, samurai, Studio Ghibli, and, cherry blossoms. The long and short of it, the preparation for the trip was remarkable. Thanks to the help of Darrel Marco and Ann Grace Bansig, I was booked on time and got my visa a week before our scheduled flight.

So, Darrel and I were together on the flight coming in Japan via Nagoya Central Airport. The Conference was in Osaka but due to our limited budget, we went the long way round. And boy, did we go round and round on our first night in Nagoya. When we reached Meitetsui Station, we looked for the bus stop of the night bus. We needed to ride this bus on time since the last trip is at 24.30. We followed the instructions in our online reservation form but couldn't find the spot. Our first attempt was the Meitetsui bus station but it was the wrong one. We asked the staff where Willer Express makes its stop but they simply said they do not know.

We went back where we started. You see, when you are lost, go back to where you began and you will find your way. So we retraced our steps, tried calling Willer Express (a futile effort) and trusted our instincts. We headed to JR Line and there, we found an information center. We asked for directions. The language barrier was so strong that it was an additional challenge. We comprehended through actions and signals, body language, and yes, intuition, again. The Japanese police and information staff we talked to when we were looking for the stop of the night bus were all very serious at helping us. I think they know what we meant and that they provided us with the right directions, but expressing these in a language foreign to theirs didn't help us. On our third try, yes, we went back to Meitetsui Line, a Japanese woman came out of nowhere when we were asking for directions from a taxi driver. Luckily, Chisako, our savior for the night, could speak English. Another luck came about. Darrel's Android picked up a signal to connect via wifi so he could download a map. Showing the map and our reservation print out to Chisako, she helped us find our way to the bus stop. She was after all, going to Tokyo via Shikansen and our way to the bus stop is her way to Shinkansen station as well.

With Chisako who helped us find the stop of the night bus.

It was a long walk. Pretty much like a regular 3k run for me. So imagine Darrel and I lugging our bags and suitcases, lost in Nagoya with only our map, our print outs and our guts intact. It was a test of faith. I never realized how steadfast and persevering Darrel is until that night. He never gave up given the time left at our hands. He was calm too. I sure did learn a lot of things from him that night. These days, I worry a lot. I almost gave up telling Darrel to buy us new tickets in another bus company. The thing is, he has so much trust. So much faith. Then I realized, I am growing old. How blessed am I to be in the company of the young.

How unafraid and trusting was I when I was Darrel's age? Maybe I need to remember. Maybe I need to bring back that heart of a child in me. I sure need to reflect more on this. Darrel and I were together Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. There I was being blessed with the grace of friendship and the kindness of a stranger.

The Night Bus has a game console, a small TV screen and headphones for music.

Finding the bus stop, we thanked Chisako. I gave her a copy of my book as a token of gratitude. The long ride to Osaka began. When we reached Osaka, we walked four or five corners more. We reached the train station, got off at Shin-Imimamiya, walked three corners, and finally we found our hotel where Ann Grace, May Schif and Willian Frias had checked in a day before. They were on their way out while we were on our way in.

SURPRISE! We were so noisy! We were so Pinoy!

Together at last!

The 5th Asian Conference on Literature and Librarianship

I am registered.

My flight is booked.

I am excited to present my paper on school librarians and leadership in LibrAsia 2015 The 5th Asian Conference on Literature and Librarianship in Osaka, Japan.

Paper Accepted at the LibrAsia 2015 Conference