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Published: September 13th 2004
Apartments
In my experience, Japanese buildings are much nicer on the inside than on the outside..."I'm studying Japanese."
To anyone who is reading this, I must apologize for the mundane entries as of late. Fortunately, some fairly interesting events are approaching. Sometime this week -- whether tomorrow, Thursday, or Friday I cannot recall -- about 10,000 Japanese students will be returning from their summer vacation. Additionally, next Friday I shall travel to Tokyo.
I've been so tired lately. Yesterday, I had no meat during the entire day. For dinner, my host family cooked chaahan, because I said that I liked it. Chaahan is fried rice; it's actually from China, apparently. Inexplicably, Japanese people eat gohan (white/steamed rice) with chopsticks, but chaahan with a spoon. I asked for chopsticks, because eating rice with a spoon, for me, psychologically, is difficult.
Every day, I ride at least 4 trains: two coming to school, and two going back to the host family's house. On the trains, everyone appears to be extremely exhausted. I know that America is a nation of tired people, but Japan seems to be even more collectively sleep-deprived. It seems as though everyone is attempting to get every moment of sleep possible, even on a five-minute train ride. Additionally, Japanese people generally do
not talk much in such areas. They read their books, newspapers, or listen to music while looking down. Being a foreigner, I get some subtle stares, but, aside from that, people tend to be quiet and ignore everyone else. It is a contrast to the more openly-friendly American climate. I'm not suggesting that Japanese people aren't friendly. On
the contrary, most Japanese people I've met have been quite friendly. Japanese people, unlike Americans, however, typically do not start a conversation with a stranger, or even make eye contact. There are also some cultural differences, especially with regard to politeness in public situations. As an American, I am accustomed to allowing people to walk through doors before me as an act of politeness. Japanese people, however, simply rush through doors like water through a pipe -- going in both directions. I still haven't quite become accustomed to this.
In a moment of supreme rarity, I saw a Hummer on the way to school today. In a country full of sub-sub-sub compact cars, this was truly a sight. I can't imagine that it would even fit on most streets here.
On a personal note, I've started brainstorming for a
novel. I just have to write, apparently. I completed my 93,000 word first novel before I left. While I was going to do something completely different, I would really like to continue that. The bitter taste left in my mouth after proofreading those 93,000 words is now gone, so I think that I can start a new work with some enthusiasm. Hopefully, I can find 30 minutes or so per day in which I can write.
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anonymous
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Entries
Don't worry about your entries being mundane. This is some great stuff. This is great that you can share your experiances with you. I almost feel that I am there with you. For me, this may be the closest for me to getting to the Asian continent. Keep doing what you are doing. You should write that novel. I will buy a copy (as long as you autograph my copy). Dan, Jr.