I’ve been thinking I’ve wanted to write here for a few days now, but I don’t really have a one track mind right now and have no single idea I wanted to write about. So, enjoy – my random thoughts spewed below!
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Just remembered when I was in Okinawa and a British couple approached Danielle and I as we were rushing to the shrine just before it closed. The man said “Excuse me, are you English by chance?” (He was polite about it.) But I replied quite suddenly with “I speak it.” I realized only afterwords how rude I sounded. They still asked for our help in finding a garden nearby and I was able to wisp away their minds with my awesome Japanese reading power! They didn’t talk to us much when we bumped into them again… This also is just one of the many times here when I realize how informal and rude my English has become. Now enjoy some pics of me from Okinawa! (And the Oita crew too!)
In Oita, before going to Okinawa, while on the most bumfuck (pardon) road heading out to a shrine in the hills, came across a human sized cone.
Actually before going to southern Japan, I went to an event during cherry blossom blooming time called 花見 (hanami). This literally means “flower viewing” but honestly I don’t think much of that goes on during the event. Primarily people just go to the park, sit under the trees and get trashed. And here is where I got my most disgusting view of Japan. (Not that it’s anything that’s gonna scare me off. I’m a pretty down-to-Earth guy, I think. And honestly when I saw this all I could do was laugh hysterically like a publicly drunk, babbling fool.) Oh, and speaking of publicly drunk, this should kind of allude to you that drinking in public in Japan is legal and furthermore alcohol can be purchased pretty much anywhere, anytime and by anybody. I’ve only been carded here like twice. (I’ll exclude the comparative number of times I’ve gone drinking…)
Anyways, returning to the point: disgusting Japan. I joined two friends from the dorm at the YouTube hanami party in Yoyogi Park near Harajuku. The event was open to whoever wanted to come, so there were tons of people – primarily non-Japanese. Got there, started powering down free alcohol and it hit my bladder FAST. So, I decided to head to the bathroom. Here I saw a huge line where I waited for practically 20 minutes to pee. And by the time I made it to the bathroom I was crouched on the ground clutching at my loins. In line though, I noticed there were people using the bathroom on trees in the back and subsequently decided that was the place for me next time.
First time I went back I tried to be discreet about it, but that’s when I realized just how not-discreet everyone else was – bearing all for all to see and not caring in the least. Among the times I went back to have a pee, I saw every imaginable expulsion of bodily fluids on the ground. The areas behind the buildings and around trees were filling like pools because the ground couldn’t soak up anymore. Girls and guys, number 1 and number 2, as well as a few people purging themselves. The whole time the park is filled with people going to and fro. Man was I grossed out… Here are some far more normal pics from the same day!
As mentioned before, I quit kyudo. But also as mentioned before I have a huge love for it. So, I decided to buy the outfit and I’m going back to the off-campus dojo again to find out how to wear it and of course to stay brushed up on my skills. I also want to continue going in the US at the place in Raleigh. Maybe I’ll make a trip there from time to time – at least once a month. So, it’s not a waste at all. I’ll continue going to the off campus dojo once or twice every week from now on. In the picture is my outfit still fresh and in the bags. My name, in Japanese, is embroidered on the pants in orange.
Still tired of people staring at me on the train and leaving the seats beside me empty until the train gets so packed that someone has to sit down. It makes me think back to the previous five minutes to be sure I didn’t accidentally fart without realizing it. Being in classes with more Japanese people and being around Japanese people more often this semester I’ve begun to notice a bit more discrimination towards me and also have noticed since coming here, more and more I’m treated like a child and told what to do, what to say, and when to do it. I hate how the people taking my order at restaurants cut their Japanese down to informal because I’m a foreigner. They know very well how disrespectful it is and yet they think they are doing it to help me, not realizing of course that I learned text book Japanese – the respectful language. Of course I wonder if some just use it simply to be disrespectful back to the already disrespectful foreigner who eats and drinks and farts on the train. (Scratch that last one, I only did it once. On accident. Really!)
EDIT: One final point on the discrimination issue I forgot to mention when I first posted. A fun little story of what happened on the train. There was a guy and three girls and he was talking on and on about whatever and carrying on and making them laugh. (In Japanese, yes of course.) He finally made it to the subject of piggy flu and decided to throw the word “America” in there too. I donno what he was talking about, but I found it a nice chance to shoot him a nasty look just to see what kind of “Oh crap!” reaction I could get out of them. Unfortunately his back was to me so one of his female friends opposite him instantly got the brunt of the blow. Her face changed from a big smile to very apologetic and almost scared as she started shushing him saying 失礼！失礼！(That’s rude! That’s rude!). She indicated me, the foreigner, on the opposite side of the car from them. I kinda laughed it off for the most part mostly because I was having fun with it in the first place. I was even considering starting to fake cough near him just to freak him out a bit. Thinking back to it, it was indeed pretty rude and presumptive of him and kind of makes me angry. But what can you do? Just be you.
Recently I’ve been staying just regularly busy. Lots of homework and studying for Japanese class. It really is intensive but I can already tell I’m learning SO much more than last semester and it’s FAR less boring too. I haven’t gotten out much for leisure time and hanging out except with my girlfriend. But the two of us do fun stuff together too. We even checked out the old Arakawa line I had been dying to ride for so long and saw an old early Showa era 商店街 (shoutengai; shopping arcade).
Still, I have a number of places I want to see and things I must do before heading back home. Can you all believe I only have two and a half months left here? I’d like to think it’s a long time, but it sure is flying by. Things are gonna get more and more hectic by the end of the semester with exams as well as my JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test). So bear with me guys! And I’ll be sure to take a few pictures of my room at its finest and put them up on here before I start packing things to send home.
Thinking of going home is the craziest confused process on my mind. I’m happy and sad about it. I wouldn’t mind staying here but would love to be back home. Recently I’ve even been experiencing my most serious bouts of homesickness. Then, the next day, I won’t be able to even consider going back home without feeling sad about leaving here. It’s tough, but I’m surviving just fine. Keep reading and looking forward to next time everyone!
Writing from Koganei, Tokyo, Japan | May 17, 2009
