Hanging out with some distant cousins in Arashiyama Monkey Park in Kyoto
Hello! My name is Claire Dranginis and I am senior majoring in East Asian Studies with a minor in Management and Organizational Leadership. My introduction to the Japanese language was in high school, when through the strange power of the internet I became a fan of the the “Visual Kei” band Dir En Grey. I soon started listening to many other Japanese rock bands, and my interest in the language that all these groups were singing in grew. I decided to give learning Japanese a shot, and started to teach myself. My study of Japanese has led me to a greater interest in Japanese culture outside of the weird rock bands that I loved as a high schooler.
I was fortunate enough to be able to study at Keio University in Tokyo last spring semester, and my experience there both gave me greater insight into Japan and left me with more questions. I look forward to thinking about the answers to those questions in our class this semester!