Japanese Yogurt

Never again.

First Things (Not) First

"I'M NOT DEAD." - P!nk

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm not. I'm in Neyagawa-shi in my OCD-clean room, wearing a towel on my head, mismatched socks and typing in the dark while listening to some 70's punk. (No Time To Be 21 by The Adverts for those who like recommendations). Thus is the reality of my life right now. Slightly chaotic, slightly intriguing. Mostly weird. 

Before we go any further, I'm going to clear up some myths about Japan that I've found either ARE or AREN'T true. If later on I find my observations were incorrect, I'll come back and change them, but for simplicity's sake, let's assume I know what I'm talking about.

QUERY #1:
Japanese people are really polite.
As a general rule, this is true. Elderly people are treated very well, respect speech is used, people who work in the food industry and retail are RIDICULOUSLY helpful, and if you're lost on the train, strangers will go out of their way to make sure you get to where you're going. One woman actually rode home with me when I was hopelessly lost. However, students disrespect their teachers, people litter in botanical gardens, women in train stations will get past you by any means necessary etc. In other words, it's like America. Except the girls at MacDonald's are perky and don't glare at you for buying their stuff.

QUERY #2:
Japan is safer than America.
Without a doubt, Japan is safer than America. I could walk down Higashikoriencho naked and not worry about someone wearing a hockey mask jumping out of the bushes. There are also no crimes by handgun here, or virtually none. If there are, the rate is like 15 per year or something like that. 

QUERY #3:
Japan has some interesting..................tastes........
We're not talking about food here, darlings. Yes, it's true. There's a bit of a schoolgirl fetish here. Japan can seem pretty sexist at times. For example, this morning I was watching a show where six guys sat around talking about what they thought was cute that girls did, and each of them showed what kind of fashions they liked for girls, which was modeled by a very attractive young woman who posed for the camera in various styles. One was filmed in a kid's bedroom with her dressed as the Mad Hatter. Um...what. So, yes, it would be difficult to be a feminist here because things like that are so engrained in the culture. But it's not impossible to be a strong Latina like me. Aherm. Sike, I'm kidding. But not about what I said about Japan.

QUERY #4:
Japanese food has a lot of salt in it.
GURL. LET. ME. TELL. YOU. There is so much salt in Japanese food. When I eat ramen, I go through about three glasses of water. Part of this is because it's customary to drink the soup broth after you've noshed on whatever's in the bowl, so my tiny veins are just coursing with salt and cholesterol and my heart starts beating like the hooves of a racehorse. That's not to say that Japanese food (especially ramen) is not delicious, because it is. (I'm going to go through yakisoba withdrawal when I get home). It's just that I'm also going to have to have quadruple bypass surgery.

Some notes on home life:
-I take a bath in the ofuro every night. There's a ritual to it and it's relaxing.
-The dogs, Yon and Supi, are constantly shedding and sleeping on my bed and stealing my slippers.
-My host mum calls me Sofeetch.
-My host dad and I have serious talks about things like religion, college, Japanese opinions of different races, and why students here don't learn about WW2 (hint, it has to do with Pearl Harbor). Needless to say, we have fun, but our dynamic is quite serious.
-My host sister and I play music together (usually her on violin and me on mandolin, unless we decide to switch).
-I make snacks and my host brother eats them.
-The neighbor has declared herself my third mother (after Ummi*, and Yukako-san)
-The TV is always on, and the house is full of Kiki's Delivery Service tchatchkies.
-The floors are impeccably clean.
-Rice is served with dinner every night, but breakfast usually includes toast.
-Everyone's up by 9, and in bed by 1am 
-There seems to be a slight obsession with mayonnaise for some reason.

If you have questions, or want to correct my observations, please - by all means - let me know! I'll try to keep this thread going as I go along.
*Ummi is Arabic for my mother, which is what I call my mother. Logical.

A Brief Apology

I should explain myself before I start posting again.

I want to apologize, because from what my parents have told me, people were actually reading this blog while I was posting. It's kind of funny because I always saw this blog in the same way I see my Twitter account: just something to do, throwing pieces of my life and experiences out there, in case anyone finds them interesting.

I should note that no one, except Nate Christian, and maybe Abbey Holcomb, reads my Tweets. Naturally, I was sure my blog was just an afterthought.

So here I am, ready to put aside my procrastination and actually write some things about Japan (surprise!)

Are you ready? Things are about to get krunk.

California - Day 2

Today , my mother and I hopped on a bus and went to Japantown. (Kiiiiiind of pointless, but it was fun!!) I have never seen so much Hello Kitty paraphernalia in my life. I'd also never seen a Zen monastery before. That was cool.

I'm amazed how clean and spiffy a city San Francisco is. All the buildings are occupied, every residential street looks colorful and picturesque, the people are dressed to the nines. Even the homeless! One gentleman I saw had a fedora, and one woman had leopard print tights. Oh, Maryland, you did NOT prepare me for that.

I'm putting up some pictures so those who aren't of Facebook can see what I've seen. 

This is at the Japan Center in Japantown. The inside of the building behind it is really just a mall, but there is a peace garden in the middle, and that's where this pagoda is. 

I'd never seen a Zen monastery before, and this was right on the edge of Japantown when we got off the bus. 

50 Shades of Gray in Japanese! I was so tempted to buy it, but I really didn't want my host family finding it and thinking I had a fetish thing going. Probably NOT the best way to make friends, especially in a considerate and modest culture. 

I know this is out of order, but this is the view of the Rockies from my seat on the airplane. I'd never seen them before, and I was glued to the window like a six-year-old for the last hour of the trip. 

And finally, the view from our room. I will never get tired of hearing a city breathe.

California - Day 1

After a six hour flight, I can honestly tell you that I am sitting 50 feet above Sutter Street in San Francisco. There's a fire escape just outside our window but they're locked. Oh, the temptation!

I always heard people say that California is warm, but I didn't believe them until I stepped out of the airport and into the West Coast air. Now, let me begin by explaining that I was wearing a pea coat over a sweater over a T-shirt so I had less to pack. It was fun in Philly (where the temperature at 6:30 hovered around -2000) but it became a nightmare on the plane and definitely in the taxi.

I'd put up some pictures but unfortunately a hotel that was built in the early 1900s will only let you charge your laptop OR your phone, not both at the same time, and obviously the internet is better. So Apple wins. 

I keep teasing mummy that I'm going to hop on a bus and roam around the Castro* and get my hair cut short and pierce my tongue before I leave. Some part of her believes it. 

Although I'm content to sit here, admire the skyline and listen to the city breathe, Mummy is ITCHING to power walk through downtown, so I'll keep this short. 

More to come. 

MORE PANIC

There are not many days left, Blogfriends.

I just ordered some long underwear (the silky kind) because apparently Japanese classrooms are so cold in the winter that they're white from the vapor of people's breath.

WHAT?

Yes, it's true . I was told by a student who's there now. 
I was also told by Rachel Stoddard to bring a bag of lollipops in case there are any little kids I can't understand. This is ingenius.

Also, it looks like the mandolin won't be coming with me ;___;

BUT OH WELL. I'm off to go finish this stat class so I can get on the plane without a single worry (besides, you know, moving to another country alone).

PANIC

So, Blogfriends:

There are 21 days left before I leave for Osaka.

 

21 DAYS? 21 DAYS? That is nothing! I've taken SHOWERS that lasted longer.