On being a foreigner and in well over your head

I just tried the pineapple version of the alchohol/sodas. It actually tastes like fresh pineapple (not canned, fresh burn-your-tongue but tasty pineapple). Sadly, I don't think we'll ever see these at home because people would sue the company because they didn't bother to read the label, saw a picture of fruit, and gave it to their toddler.

Sorry, waxed a bit cynical there.

Anyway, it occurred to me on the way home from class that the single most important experience I am gaining here is the simple experience of being a foreigner and not understanding everything around me. It's tough, it's humbling, but all in all not that bad... and it really brings home the idea of what it must be like to be a foreigner in the United States. I've always tried to be sensitive, but this really has taught me to appreciate more deeply the many individuals I meet for whom English is a second language. I wish there was a feasible way to make this experience mandatory for all Americans before they leave compulsory education. You learn what kind of sympathy you do and don't appreciate, how it feels to have others frustrated at your lack of comprehension, how it feels when people look at you like an idiot just because you can't remember the word you want to say. You realize that years of textbook education don't really teach you the words you really need on a daily basis even if you pulled straight As and impressed every teacher who instructed you. Most importantly, you learn the feeling of panic that comes after you manage to cobble together two coherent sentences... only to have the other person think you know more than you do and start speaking full speed .

True, I intend to use Japanese in my career. But even if I didn't, the most important thing I am bringing home stands. No matter what your feelings on immigration, foreigners in your home country deserve your respect. I'm not saying assume each foreigner is a saint fighting an uphill battle against persecution and Hollywood-style circumstance. If there's a second important thing I've learned, it's that assholes and bastards are pretty much evenly distributed across all racial and political boundaries. But understand (I know, I'm preaching to the choir here) that just opening your mouth in country that speaks a different language than you bounces back and forth between terrifying and carrying a resigned acceptance you are going to embarrass yourself at some point.

Yes, sometimes it sucks and makes me whiny. But it is a wonderful lesson, and I'm glad to have it. And just think... this is JAPAN, where the vast majority of people speak some English, signs are quite frequently bilingual, I can find familiar products, and in a panic I can find at least one person who speaks fluently enough in English to help me. This is NOT the experience of most foreigners in America. Granted I have never been to areas where having materials bilingual in Spanish is considered a necessity, but what I have seen in Indiana, New Hampshire, and places in between can in no way compare to the amount of English help available here. In fact, next time I hear someone complaining about a bilingual sign in a grocery store/bank/post office, or it taking two repetitions to order a Big Mac, I may haul off and smack them. It's not about our culture. It's about being a good neighbor in a country where globalization is a fact, and a fact that often works in our favor.

As an aside, I'm stepping around the issue of the outsourcing of tech support. Yes, this is a mutually frustrating process, and a much more complicated issue. Let's just say the need for politeness and understanding still applies (but does not mean you can't be annoyed), and that the difficulty is not just ours.

Make your kids try a foreign language, preferably when very young, unless you have extraordinary circumstances that prevent it. It's good for them, it's good for the world. Even if they aren't very good, so what? Praise them for trying! Seeing how hard it is to be on the outside may be the lesson that does us as a country the most good.

Ikebukuro and Shinjuku (Tokyo)

The weekend before this past one, Jason and I spent the day in Tokyo with our friend Keleih. She was in our Japanese class two (or three, first year is fuzzy to me) years running and is an incredibly talented individual in both language and culture. She was in the Hakuoh program the year before us, and now has moved back to the Tokyo area for work. She and her boyfriend have been wonderful to us, and took us around Tokyo for a day of sightseeing, then back to their place for some board games. It was great fun!

Our first stop was one of the many cat cafes in Ikebukuro. Basically, you pay a fee (about $10/hour in this place) and get to hang out and drink tea and coffee and pet the cats. There were several in this place, and they were really fairly inert. They obviously do treat them well and keep people from hassling them, but the cats are so used to being pestered they just kind of lay there. They do have places they can escape to, and the attendants are watchful. The rules specifically prohibit bothering them while they sleep and picking them up. They also regularly hand out packets of snacks, which turns them from furry little carpets into blurs of feigned adoration. Anyway, it was a great place to visit, and I got a little bit of my snuggle impulse worked out.

So far Ikebukuro has been my favorite part of Tokyo. Akihabara was a little overwhelming (and is also where I got spit on), and the part of Shinjuku we saw was beautiful, but a little sterile. Ikebukuro is lively and looks very different from any Western city, but seemed relaxed enough for me to enjoy walking around. I wish I had gotten a shot of the police box shaped like an owl!

Our next stop was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building,a great place to get a panorama of the city. Going to the 45th floor in either tower is free of charge, and they have a cafe and gift shop in each (thanks, by the way, Keleih!). We were very fortunate, they were running a test of a handheld tour-guide device (check the pictures below) with the amusing title of the "Tokyo Ubiquitous Technology Project". Basically, they gave us these handhelds for free. They interact with various key points around the observation lounge, and display relevant guides and information on the screen. You can touch a building's image and it will give you a little information. Interesting stuff, very user-friendly, multiple-language support, and very good at matching the view.

Unfortunately the cloud cover prevented us from getting a view of the mountains, but the view was amazing nonetheless. I actually learned quite a bit from the Ubiquitous Guide. I cannot express how vast the city looks from up there. It goes out infinitely in every direction, just a sea of buildings. The only spots of green I could see from that height (the streets are nicely manicured, but from that height you can't see it) were the area around the Meiji Shrine, and the grounds of the temple right at the base of the Municipal Building.

I did look up Ubiquitous Technology when I got home, since we spent a bunch of time chuckling over the name (mostly because we didn't know exactly what it meant). This Wikipedia article gives an explanation and is worth a read. I'd say the guide they were testing does a good job of striving towards the goals of ubiquitous technology, but I can't help feeling sad about how quickly those would be wrecked at a US tourist site. After living here for a while, I'm not sure I buy that the Japanese are more polite than Americans overall, but they do have much more collective respect for other people's things, and I would hope we as a society could learn to strive towards achieving a similar attitude.

We finished out the day with board games and sushi. It really is nice having people around with similar taste in table games. And, well, sushi. I like sushi. Rather a lot.

I'll finish out with some shots of Oyama, mostly flowers. This is pretty much a part of my daily life, walking to the stores down at the train station and back. It's about 40 minutes by foot from my dorm, and a pleasant walk except for the sweat. In the rain it's pretty miserable. But pretty much, this is where I go for everything. There are better stores, but I can actually get here on foot easily.

That's all for now, folks. Maybe my next post will be less than a week behind what I am up to...

Flower photo dump

The wild roses are the most noticeable new blooms. There are cultivated versions as well, of course, but I find I really prefer wild roses most of the time. Can't argue with the smell of a deep, red, 'traditional' rose though. The clover is amazing; that smell I wish I could bottle and take home. It's all over the place.

Shouwa Day and Golden Week holiday

The Tuesday before last we had an optional trip to the seashore with the Taiwanese exchange students. It was about two hours away by car, and we were promised amazing sushi. This brings me to a very important point - this post contains pictures of dead fish. If you are a strict ethical veg/vegan who does not like to see dead food with faces, please don't read further. I'm posting these for those who are curious, but I don't want to upset anyone either.

Our first stop was a kaiten zushi restaurant. Basically, this is a sushi restaurant where all the dishes come by on a conveyor belt, and you just grab what you want. The plates are color-coded according to price so that when the waitress writes your bill, she knows what to charge. Prices are marked everywhere, so it's not a surprise. There's free hot green tea at the table, at least in this place, and you can order fresh sushi, soup, etc as well.

Here's a movie of the conveyor in action:


The sushi was amazing. We're talking right off the boat. There was a windowed room outside of the restaurant where you could see one of the chefs breaking down whole fish. They had EVERYTHING and it was all exceptionally fresh. I tried the unagi (roasted eel, a personal favorite) which was enormous and very tasty. I also had salmon, some thin whitefish, and (octopus). The first time I tried tako I loved it, so I was excited, but this time I had trouble. The quality was superb, but the pieces were much thicker than I had had before, and it was so chewy that the texture became quite difficult. It was hard to swallow, so I don't think I'll attempt tako that thick again. I ate it, though, and it was a good time on top of very tasty. Cheap, too, I paid about $10.50 for a ton of food.

This place had everything I could think of and more. They even had sei whale, which I hear is very chewy and tasty, but I could not bring myself to try. I'm no vegetarian, but there are a few foods I won't eat on ethical principle. Whale and veal are the two biggest for me. However, the whaling industry is a complicated problem, and in places like Japan there are historical and cultural factors that I have to consider before I get in a snit. Ideally, I would certainly like to see an end to whaling. On one hand, one needs to respect cultural traditions. On the other hand, there is a huge scale difference between Japanese whaling and the whales taken by Inuits and other native groups in the Americas, and since we are speaking of a very slow breeding set of species, there's a purely logistical aspect to consider. Change of this kind can't be forced, however, and all I can do is choose not to partake and explain myself, when appropriate, in a reasoned and nonconfrontational manner.

There is apparently a place where one can try horse sashimi nearby, though, and that I'm interested in. I also want to try raw horse ice cream and the squid ink ice cream. Ok, here are the pictures from the restaurant.

Outside of the sushi place was a huge fish market. It was fascinating. They had vendors selling all manner of snacks. The buckets you'll see below were for people to stand over while eating things like shrimp kebabs, so that they could drop the shells right into the buckets. Sorry for the poor and rather pink quality of some of the pictures, it was very very bright, and my camera decided it was not happy.

Our next stop was the seashore itself. I was a little disappointed that we went to the boring sandy beach instead of having a chance to poke through Cambrian rock and exciting tidepools full of critters, but it was still amusing. As you can see, Mike, the bloke from Australia, had a blast picking up all the girls and pretending to toss them in the sea. They had some brief revenge. This reminds me I need to take pics of everyone so that I can let you know who everyone is. For now, be confused.

We went to a flower/amusement park next. The giant panda was a coin-operated vehicle that kids could ride around on for a few minutes. They were really cool, and I was sad to think how impossible that would be to implement in the US, since they would be vandalized in no time. The flowers were amazing. The yellow is rape as in 'rapeseed oil'. The blue flowers are called 'nemophilia.' We knew we were going to see them, so we started seeing a few and I was excitedly taking photos... then we rounded a corner and saw the real attraction- a hill completely covered in the flowers. It was breathtaking. When we got to the top of the hill there were acres and acres of them in every direction. The pictures don't do it justice. Then we saw the tulips, many of which were almost past it, but they were still lovely. I didn't get too many good pictures of those, though.

We did a little shopping afterwards. I have yet to find the Ghost in the Shell figures I want, but we stopped by the pet store where they apparently sell giant rhinoceros beetles as pets. Neglected to get pictures since I was pretty worn out by then.

The rest of our vacation week was fairly uneventful. I already mentioned the Karaoke the previous Friday and my first experience of the hangover. That Tuesday we went to Tokyo with our friend Keleih. We were expecting the mini-convention she took us to see to be more oriented to the kind of anime we enjoy (explosions, action, running jumping climbing trees), but it was mostly borderline softcore shows we had never heard of. Some of the costumes were extremely impressive, and I recognized a few characters. We got to see a mockup of Wolfwood's weapon from Trigun that I wish we could have afforded, someone dressed up as the priest from Hellsing (I am too lazy to look up his name), and, disturbingly, sexed up versions of snow white and strawberry shortcake. Worth it to see the costumes, for sure.

Afterwards, we went to Akihabara, basically the electronics and assorted geekery area of Tokyo. We looked through some shops that sell action figures but I didn't find what I was looking for. Still fun, although I have no idea how anyone can find anything in those places, since there seems to be no comprehensible system of organization. Most of the stores sell doll parts for do-it-yourselfers, and after seeing hundreds and hundreds of disembodied female butts, I considered packing my suitcase with them just to see what would happen at customs. Frankly, I miss the more equal-opportunity fandom of the United States. We don't have the variety that Japan does, but it least we have things for girls who like men. I don't have a problem with stores packed with half-naked female figures, but I would like things to be fair.

Afterwards, we went to Keleih's favorite restaurant, Shamaim. They serve Israeli cuisine, all you can eat for about 20 bucks plus the cost of drinks. It was incredibly unbelievably delicious.

One unpleasant observation is that Japan is really just not polite. I am glad Dr. Marrero was kind enough to warn me about the pushing, because people just really are in their own little world. It's understandable as a survival mechanism in such a busy place, but especially for me it is unnerving. But just a word to the wise, Japanese politeness exists mostly on the job. Shopkeepers will fall over being nice to you, but once you get out in the hustle and bustle, people give no quarter. There are idiots in every country. One gentlemen 'accidentally' spit hot dog crumbs and relish into my hair at a coffee shop and then cracked up about it with his buddies. It was humiliating and frustrating - I didn't have the vocabulary to tell him off, and even though I would have liked to 'accidentally' smacked him with my bag on the way out, I can't afford a brush with the police so if there's a slim chance... It was a powerless feeling. But the next day out walking in Oyama I interacted with a few of the locals, who are much more polite and friendly, and I felt better. I guess what I take away from it is that people are very much the same everywhere, in both the good and bad ways. For every strong point a country has, it usually has a counterbalance, and it wouldn't make any sense not to keep trying because there are jackasses here.

We did find an internet cafe at the next train stop down from Oyama. The connection is ok and the price isn't bad, so when we desperately need internet, it's a good option. I was glad I had my surgical masks though - it's a tiny place and Japanese people chain smoke like you wouldn't believe.

The trains are great here. It's hard for me to deal with the crowds, but I've not been on any where the men with padded arms have to squish you in. It's a lot like the metro in DC, and very clean. Very convenient, but man the trains don't stop for long. I don't think that level of punctuality exists at home.

Alright, time to study.

My minions

Since I miss my kitties, I've decided to redirect my energy into forming a massive army of Japanese animal minions. Yes, I know, it seems like a silly and useless pursuit, but when I rampage through Tokyo on the back of a giant frog, you'll all be sorry you laughed at me.

Allow me to introduce my minions:
Dorobou-kun: A chocolate lab who lives along the street that goes to the train station. Jason named him 'little thief' because his modus operandi is to try to steal a bag, a shoe, a ring, or anything he can take back into his dog house so that he can get even more attention. He's really very sweet, but also very stinky. We had some trouble setting up boundaries, since he's a jumper, but after his worst burst of not minding in which I nearly lost my sweater to his thieving ways I ignored him for a week, and now he behaves for the most part. I have to keep a hand on his nose to keep him reminded to stay down, but I love him. Anyway, he's not the brightest of my minions, but he was the first to sign up. In the slideshow, you can see him in action trying to steal my groceries.

Oscar: The alley cats around here are very skittish, which is just as well because apparently people think it's funny to abuse them here too. They are considered pests by most, and there's next to no humane society here. A few private catch-neuter-realease programs only. They keep only the friendly ones, because those are likely to be tortured by assholes. Excuse my language, but I don't think there's any excuse for inflicting pain for one's own amusement.
Anyway, I don't think Oscar has been on the street for very long. He's so dirty and friendly, I wish I could help him find his way home. We saw him the first time a couple of weeks ago. When we walk to the station from my room, I always stop near the laundromat where the alley cats hang out. I think the owner of the karaoke place that shares the building sometimes gives them scraps. This one day I saw one I had never seen before. I said something dumb and cutesy, and instead of preparing to bolt, he looked at me. There was something obviously very different, so I took a shot in the dark and bent down and beckoned to him. He ran right up and nuzzled my hand purring. Usually cats are frightened of me; a couple of times they've been so skittish that when trying to take food they've accidentally gotten a claw stuck in me beside me thumbnail (not recommended, it hurt: I toss them food now). Anyway, I happily petted him despite the fact that he may be the dirtiest animal I have ever touched. I wish I could have picked him up and taken him home; he would happily have come, but no pets are allowed and I have no idea what I would have done with him in July. Not only that, he almost certainly has fleas, and I didn't want to inflict that on the building. Still, it's heartbreaking. I worried for a while he was no longer with us since it went so long without seeing him, but just the other day he was back behind the laundromat. He was a little less friendly, but that may have been because I had food this time. Still, he let me pet him, but if he becomes less tame it may prolong his life, sad to say.

Leftenant Nyan and the Noisy Brigade:
The tortie in closeup is Leftenant Nyan, the boldest of the alley cats. Definitely wild, but brave enough to come right up to me for food and to stay there while eating instead of grabbing and running. She will even tolerate me petting her briefly, although she will grouse and back off. I'm careful to pull away when she fusses, but so far she's made no sign of aggression. I'm excited that she'll permit that much so soon. I miss my babies... Anyway, the 6-7 members of the noisy brigade know me now. When I walk up to them they yell at me, and as soon as I move to get snacks from my bag, they run up and sit a few feet away.

The crows are not minions yet, but they are HUGE and noisy. I hope the audio on the video below works enough for you to hear the creepy sounds they make.

That's all for now. Okay, I've down flowers, animals... maybe I'll have some stories and photos of people soon.

More flowers (notice a theme?)

It's incredibly beautiful here. First the cherry blossoms, now I'm surrounded by irises, wild roses, poppies, and clover. While walking I'll all of a sudden stumble into a pocket of the most amazing floral smells. Of course, sometimes I'll walk right from that into the smell of fertilizer. Still, it's gorgeous.

I should really take photos of people.

Time for a massive photo dump

Sorry it's been a while since I posted. The workload has been high, and then we hit the Golden Week holiday and I couldn't get to the internet with any consistency. Also, well, I've been lazy and when I do have internet access I'm usually setting either school or goofing off as a priority. Anyway, my apologies.

We finally got to Tokyo on Tuesday which was fun, I'll give you the details on that when I clear up my backlog. Our friend Kitano-san is back in Tokyo and she has been amazing. She and her boyfriend took us around on Tuesday, and the Friday before she and the amazing Yoshiko took us to Karaoke in Oyama. As a consequence of the latter I discovered the joys of the hangover for the very first time and spent the night sleeping in the tub for some reason I assume made sense at the time. I'll gladly do karaoke again, but I think I'll stick to beer which I can't drink as fast as these amazing things:
It's basically a cocktail in a can (this one reads Salty Dog). Amazing, fizzy, slightly sour, with 5%+ alcohol and they go down sooooo eaaasy, much to my chagrin. They are now under a strict consumption limit since I spent all Saturday lying in bed contemplating my idiocy and nursing the bruises I got from hitting my head when turning in my sleep... in my bathtub. I've finally topped the pool table.

Anyway, going back a bit I've seen some beautiful scenery around, and here are some slideshows for your viewing pleasure.


Below is a brief summary of the amazing flowers I've seen around. If you know what any of them are, please let me know! Okay, I know poppies when I see them, but the others... Anyway, I am constantly amazed by the flora in Oyama, and I hope you will enjoy these!

We passed this graveyard/temple near the Oyama train station. It seemed very serene, but note the giant bell! Yes, graveyards are very small here comparatively. The tendency is for small family plots containing the ashes of many people, with thin wooden markers indicating the names of the deceased. Visitors to the graves burn incense there to honor them.

Saw these on a tree near the main campus, anyone know what they are? They are always in the exact same spot. I think they are feeding from the tree's sap, but I never see any of them move.

I've posted pictures of the shrine near the dorm before, but it burst into bloom a week or so back. Turns out the lower tree is actually wisteria, and it was amazing. It was incredible. Sadly the blossoms are over for now, but here's a peek.

The weather has had some foul spells lately. Lots of rain and cloudy days, high humidity, and hot enough to remind us that June and July will be horrible. Before the latest spurt of incredibly wet weather, we had an incredibly windy day, and I got a couple of videos, one of the shrine in bloom, and one of a field on my way to campus.





Okay, that's it for now, I'm done clogging your browser for now. Hopefully soon I will give you the rundown of our latest adventures in Tokyo.