Flowers year-round Quiet neighbors My big apartment Sleeping on the floor Sushi Karaoke Speaking Japanese Sea Mall Looking out over Kanmon Warf A nice salary Fairly reliable public transportation Cheap health care Friends Church Shibata-san's bread Watanabe-sensei's jokes Okonomiyaki (especially from Kawamoto) 100-yen movie and CD rentals The adventure of living abroad.
Chi-chan recently sent me a package from Japan and, knowing all too well about my obsession with Japanese versions of Kit Kat, included a bag of fun-size regular Kit Kat and a box of "Petit Kit Kat." Though I saw it in the stores a lot, I never bought Petit Kit Kat because I figured it was just a smaller version of Kit Kat. I wasn't disappointed when I opened the package to find that I was right. However, the cute smallness of Petit Kit Kat was so funny to me that I decided to do a little size comparison with the fun size bars.
The Petit Kit Kat is, of course, the one on the bottom. Isn't it just the cutest lil' thing?! And the Japanese were kind enough to include the caloric intake in each package.
Just in case the smaller, one-serving fun-size Kit Kat isn't small enough for your diet, one-bite barely-satisfying Petit Kit Kat might be the size for you.
It doesn't really feel too weird to be back in the States. Aside from realizing I had very little dairy in my diet in Japan and having to relearn how to manage my finances in the US (also, how to write out a check and how to use a debit card, of which I had forgotten my PIN), I haven't noticed any shocking changes. Things are kind of the way I expected them to be. I guess that's a good thing.
I do miss Japan, though. I miss the independence I had there. I miss my friends. I miss sushi. I miss knowing how everything works. I miss speaking Japanese, oddly. But I DO NOT miss the oppressive humidity. The weather at home is GORGEOUS.
Because of the ultra-humid weather lately, I have been wearing a lot of skirts to work to keep the crotch sweat at a minimum (probably TMI, but I don't care. It's funny). So I come to work wearing a mustard yellow skirt that hits just above my knee (the following is the only good picture I have of myself in said skirt):Almost as soon as I get in the teacher's office in the morning, Hello Kitty Lover Gym Teacher points at me and says, "Miinii-sukaato!" (mini skirt). I look down, look up at her, and say (in Japanese), "No, this isn't a mini skirt. Wait-- is this considered 'mini' in Japan?" She confirmed that indeed, it was a mini skirt by Japanese standards. Shocked, I try to explain that this skirt is not a mini skirt, and that it's appropriate in the U.S. She just shook her head and chuckled.
When I was a kid I went to a weeklong Bible camp every summer. The camp was run by pretty conservative Christians, and the dress code was equally as conservative. The most infamous-- and most easily enforcable-- rule was "No shorts or skirts that reach 3 inches above the knee or more." They even made little 3-inch wooden measuring sticks to check people on their way out of the cafeteria. I checked the aforementioned mustard yellow skirt and it did indeed pass the 3-inch test. I thought if I could safely wear the skirt to Bible camp, it would be ok in Japan. I guess I was wrong.
Is Japan that staid that a skirt that hits just above my knee is not appropriate for teachers to wear to school during the most humid time of the year? Suffice it to say, I felt uncomfortable and exposed the rest of the day.
I wrote awhile back about my traumatic visit to the hospital to check on stomach problems. Now I would like to balance that with a post about my completely un-traumatic visit to the dentist.
Apparently my wisdom tooth was a very clever little guy. He (apparently my tooth is a male. I will call him Gary) made my previous dentists think there were more than just one of him, and he waited over four years past the normal time wisdom teeth come down to make his appearance (I think Gary wanted to be fashionably late). I had a full mouth x-ray (at the hefty sum of around $100) before I left for Japan, and the dentist said I had only two wisdom teeth-- one on each side of my maxillary (that's the upper jaw for you yokels)-- and that they didn't look like they were coming down to bother me for awhile, so I should go to Japan without removing them. I know nothing about tooth migration, so I took the dentist's word for it. About two months ago my teeth seemed to start moving, and Gary the Smartypants actually broke through the skin. I debated back and forth if I should get rid of him, then after being told that dental work is really cheap in Japan, I decided to nip it in the bud and have Gary evicted.
I went to the dentist's office on Monday (my day off) with my friend, Nobu, just in case I needed someone to translate for me (plus, Nobu recommended the dentist and had to hear me complaining about jaw pain enough that he actually told me I should go to the dentist. I took that as him volunteering to come along). I filled out the obligatory first-timer forms and waited the obligatory half an hour until my name was called. Then I sat down in the giant, scary chair and told the doc in my best Japanese that I thought I had two wisdom teeth in my mouth. He did a physical examination and said, to my surprise, that I had one wisdom tooth and one tooth-shaped bone protuberance (I spelled that word correctly without spellcheck's help. Booyah). I looked at him in surprise, thinking he must be wrong because my American dentist said I had two wisdom teeth. I kept repeating in Japanese, "That's not a tooth? Not a tooth?" And he replied in English: "No tooth. Bone. Bone!" Then, probably because of all my bitching, he decided to do another full mouth x-ray. I thought, Great, now this visit will cost me my firstborn child. I was ushered into the x-ray room, given a lead vest, then told to stand in the appropriate spot while a red laser beam was directed onto my nose. The assistant left the room and turned on the machine. To my utter surprise and delight, the machine started playing "It's A Small World After All." I had to force myself not to laugh, for fear of messing up the x-ray.
I waited a bit for the doc to come back with the x-ray to show me, definitively, that I have one wisdom tooth and one bony protuberance. Then he asked what I wanted to do: leave it in my mouth to possibly hurt more and annoy me, or just yank it out. I decided to yank it out. Then the pain began. He injected a huge needle into my upper-left gums and began pumping me full of general anesthesia (also spelled that right the first time. Go me). This part hurt me much more than the actual tooth-yanking. But just in case it hurt, I asked if my friend Nobu could come in and, as the doc put it, "shake hands" while he was extracting. The doc pried Gary from his comfy little alcove and said, "finished!"
So many people had told me over and over again that having wisdom teeth removed is a huge pain and it hurts and you can't eat anything normal for a week, and it's really expensive. In my case, however, lil' ol' Gary was no problem at all. And the consultation, full mouth x-ray, tooth yanking with anesthesia, three kinds of medicine, and a check-up the next day cost me a grand total of about 3400 yen-- the equivalent of about $35. This is why I would love for our next president (please let it be Obama) to push for some kind of national health care plan.
The best part of the whole experience? I got to take Gary home with me.
Lots of Western music is popular in Japan, and since I've been here I've noticed that a particular few bands are extremely well-known throughout the country. Here's a list I've compiled (in no particular order):
Bands/Musicians:
ABBA
The Carpenters
The Beatles
Avril Lavigne
Hillary Duff
Stevie Wonder
Celine Dion
Michael Jackson
Beyonce
Mariah Carey
Madonna
Cyndi Lauper
Songs:
Country Road-- John Denver
My Heart Will Go On-- Celine Dion
Bad Day-- Daniel Powter
All I Want For Christmas Is You-- Mariah Carey
We Are the World-- Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie
My friend, Chi-chan, who told me that Kiyomizu Temple was a famous suicide spot has told me she was misinformed. Here is some information she wanted me to pass on to my readers about the temple: "Kiyomizu is famous for the magnificent height and the view from there. It's a very significant sight that, if you are ready to do something important or special, you can imagine that great view and you can challenge yourself to do something right. Kiyomizu temple's great view can give you that power and the thrill that you can almost jump in. So it's not for killing you. Those views encourage you to do something. Kiyomizu also is known for being built with no nails! It's only made of wood!"
Here's some more info straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.
Golden Week is a block of holidays in the first week of May. Often the holidays fall so that there is almost a week of vacation for students and some businesses. Lots of people travel during Golden Week, and students often come home from college for the first time during this break (since the school year starts in April). This year I went with Chi-chan to Kyoto.This is Kiyomizudera. I'm not sure what it's famous for, but it is probably the most famous tourist spot in Kyoto. Chi-chan told me one of its claims to fame is that lots of people used to commit suicide by jumping from the temple into the ravine below.
Another really famous site in Kyoto is the Golden Pavillion. I saw it with my mom when she came to visit, but since this was possibly Chi-chan's only time in her life to see Kyoto, it was a must-see on our list. The irises were blooming this time, and their deep purples were beautiful against the golden building.
At the entrance to Heian Shrine stands the largest torii gate I've ever seen.
One of the things Chi-chan really wanted to do was eat traditional-flavored sweets in Gion. So we did. And they were dang expensive. She really enjoyed her Green Tea Parfait, and I liked my Green Tea Parfait and Rice Cake Pudding thinger ok. Green tea is not my favorite ice cream flavor, but it was good with cake and whipped cream. Although, anything is good with cake and whipped cream.
While in Gion we saw maiko (apprentice geisha) walking home after entertaining somewhere. Everyone in the street stopped and watched in awe as they were quickly ushered in the gate of their home.
On May 3rd a festival called "senteisai" was held in Shimonoseki. I'm not exactly sure what the festival commemorates. Here's what the city website says: "In the Middle Age, the last battle between the Genji clan and the Heike clan broke out in Dannoura on 24 March 1185 and Yoshitsune won the battle by using the tides. On the other hand, Emperor Antoku died with three sacred treasures and the Heike clan was ruined. The Joro-sanpai (worshipped by court ladies) of the Sentei-sai Festival, which takes place at the Akama Shrine, is famous throughout Japan and is conducted to commemorate the Emperor Antoku, who drowned himself in Dannoura."
It was the most crowded I've ever seen the city. People must have come from all over Yamaguchi to see the parade and the festivities downtown. The whole day centered around a dance held at the famous Akama Shrine. Before the dance, women dressed in bright kimono and elaborate makeup and hair paraded through the city.
There were pretty little girls (maybe as young as 4 or 5) on palanquins surrounded by attendants, then progressively older girls followed until finally we could see what all the fuss was about: She's not a geisha. I don't think. But she is a dancer. Video to follow.
A new Japanese slang formed around Abe's famed inability to read the atmosphere in tense social situations. The Japanese call this 「空気読めない」(kuuki yomenai). That means, literally, "can't read the air." This image is similar to the English idiom, "can't feel the tension in the air." The Japanese have shortened this slang from kuuki yomenai to simply KY.
I try to explain to my Japanese friends that Americans could never comfortably say "KY" because of the personal lubricant brand of a similar name, but I always get really embarrassed trying to explain the phrase "personal lubricant." Anyway, this slang has become really popular as of late, and people always laugh when I say it because they never thought a foreigner would be able to use Japanese slang words! I've tried to think of a comprable American slang term, but I don't think we really don't have one. "Socially awkward" could possibly describe it, but I could think of nothing as succinct as "KY." So try using it with your friends. See what kind of reaction you get when you say, "Oh, yeah. Steve. He's really KY." I know I'll use it when I'm Stateside!
When my mom came to visit she brought me James Clavell's Shogun, a historical fiction novel about Japan during the Edo period and the arrival of the first non-Spanish/Portuguese Europeans. I know it is fiction (and therefore should be taken with a large chunk of salt), but from other history books I've read, I think Clavell's description of Edo-era samurai culture is pretty accurate. So, while reading and thinking about the book, I've been compiling a list of traditions and ideas from samurai culture (as depicted in Shogun) that are still present in Japan today. Here they are, in no particular order:
loyalty. The samurai was completely loyal to his leige lord, and the peasants were completely loyal to their ruling samurai-- to the death. If your lord asked you to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), you did so without argument. In modern Japanese society, loyalty is found in slightly different capacities. For instance, although the royal family has almost no power over anything in Japan and they're basically held as prisoners in the Imperial Palace complex in Tokyo, Japanese people never say a bad word about them. In fact, Ben Hills, author of the book Princess Masako (a book which chronicles the life of the imperial princess), has recieved several death threats from radical Japanese because the book is critical of the royal family. Loyalty also manifests itself in the workplace. Once hired to a company, many employees work at that company their whole lives, even if they could possibly find better pay or benefits elsewhere.
importance of ceremony. Of all the traditions and ideas I noticed in the book, I feel like this tradition has changed very little from the time of the samurai. This manifests itself often in bowing. In samurai times, it was vitally important for all people to bow to the proper angle, depending on who they were addressing. Lords and samurai received a very low, formal bow. Servants recieved a shallow bow, or even just a nod of the head. Also, during a formal ceremony (like a funeral, an audience with the Shogun, or the traditional serving of tea), bows were lower than they were in daily life. Nowadays that tradition still stands. At the beginning and end of every class, students must stand, bow together, and greet their teacher. During the high school graduation ceremony, I noticed that the students' bows were MUCH lower and pronounced than during a normal school day.
suicide as a release of shame. If a samurai shamed his master, he would immediately ask permission to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) so that his suffering would end and the shame on him and his family could be released. To commit ritual suicide was a way to die with one's honor still intact. Nowadays, people still talk about how "so-and-so was so ashamed, she committed suicide." According to a report in Rising Sun of Nihon,Japan is #10 on a list of the top 15 countries with the highest suicide rates. Apparently for every 100,000 deaths in Japan, there are 24.2 suicides (Lithuania was #1 with 42.1).
Other things I noticed but didn't feel like fleshing out just now: protection of honor and respect for the position/station of others.
Last Friday I gave a lecture to some workers at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on how not to speak Janglish. The following is a summary of that lecture.
Janglish (和製英語,): strange or awkward English that Japanese English speakers often use.
Types of Janglish:
Poor Pronunciation.
Borrowed words (written in katakana) with different meanings in English from their meaning in Japanese. For example, the borrowed word "マンション"(pronunced the same as "mansion") is derived from the English word "mansion," but in Japan a マンション is a lot more like a condo and a lot less like Bill Gate's house.
Phrases or sentence patterns that are taught in Japan, but are rarely spoken in English-speaking countries. For example, "See you!" is not used in the U.S., but the Japanese are taught to say it for "goodbye."
After the lecture a few people went to a bar, where I discovered that I think I am much better at Japanese after I've had three beers.
Today some of the English students came to the lounge to eat lunch with Ami and I. We got to talking about the names of the fingers: thumb, index, middle, ring, pinky. The students told us that in Japanese, the fingers are part of a family: the thumb is the dad, the pointer is mom, the middle and ring fingers are sister and brother, and the pinky is the baby. They asked what the word "pinky" means. Ami and I looked at each other a bit and realized that it doesn't really mean anything-- it's just a cute word that means "small." Apparently there's a type of breathmint called Pinky in Japan.
If that wasn't funny enough, then Ami and I explained the "Pinky Swear" and the students got excited and said they have a similar concept in Japanese, called yubikiri. The oath goes something like this:
The Japanese language has a ton of awesome words for sound effects for things we don't have exact words for. I made a list of some of the more interesting ones. Read the sound and the explanation and imagine the thing making that sound. It's sort of funny.
サクサク saku-saku: Crunching of potato chips, leaves, other crispy things.
ニョロニョロ nyoro-nyoro: Something long and thin like a snake moving along with a wriggling motion.
サラサラ sara-sara: Murmuring, rustling.
ドキドキ doki-doki: Heartbeat.
チュ chu: Kiss noise.
プチプチ puchi-puchi: Pop pop, crackle crackle.
プルプル puru-puru: Shake, quiver.
ゲップ geppu: a burp.
パクパク paku-paku: opening and closing mouth, eating, gobbling. This is where Pac-man came from!
I want to 見つける someone who really 知ってる me. でも、 what does that 意味？ だれか分かる？ How do I know もし someone 分かります me? Am 私 that difficult to understand? だれか知ってますか。 In this 世界、no one speaks my language. How ironic. だれもない分かるね。 たとえ when I'm surrounded by 人 who 話す my language, I still feel that they 聞こえない what I'm saying. みんな分からないね。
I love to look in my Japanese-English dictionaries and find interesting word meanings. A lot of words are two characters that, when put together, can hold an entirely different meaning when separated. To whit:
神風 kamikaze: literally it means "God's wind" or "divine wind." And I thought it just meant "suicide bomber." This adds an interesting insight to the Japanese mindset during WWII.
食道 shokudou: separately the two characters mean "food" and "road." Together they mean "esaphogus." Anyone know the Latin meaning of "esaphogus?" Is it similar at all?
男色 danshoku: These two characters are "man" and "color." Can you guess what they mean when combined? "Homosexual:" a man of a different color. Hehe.
Name: Ruthie Home: Japan About Me: I want to know who God is and what his truth is. I love getting lost in beautiful music and cloudless star-filled skies, especially in the fall. I hate being bored. I like big cities. I want to travel the world. read more
Name: Ruthie