Friday, March 07, 2003

*... say what you mean, mean what you say ...*
this phrase is along the lines of the Golden Rule and other mantras pounded into my very roots, like my colorguard instructor's "practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." (he also liked to tell us "there's no crying in rifles!!" after we whapped ourselves in the knee/hip/head, and wanted to complain about the immense pain... but i digress...). And this whole complicated compliment system doesn't seem to adopt the meaning/saying ratio as I am used to it. Apparently the 'Japanese way' only applies in certain situations. For example, in the workplace, or between women, or combinations thereof. I realized this as I reflected in the genuine (hmm, or are they??) compliments that I give on what I consider everyday kinda things. For example, "Kondo-sensei, nice haircut!" (accompanied with a lot of gesturing, ending in a thumbs up). He immediately goes red and starts to giggle, like I just asked him to go courting with me or something. Compliments between men and women are waaaaay too laden over here, so i'm going to have to be careful. I apparently have half the male staff at my school thinking I want 10,000 of their babies.

This train of thought brings me to another one (loosely, of course, but what's new there): I highly doubt that i will stop complimenting people altogether, but I have become aware of it. Goes along with some other habits I've picked up over here (nose-picking NOT one of them, thank goodness. Well, not yet, at least). For one thing, I should just legally change my name to Jay Walker. I also never lock my bike or my apartment. There are other personal habits I won't share here (but I will say that I know a certain karate group I would put to shame in any upcoming belching contests. Well, maybe not put to shame, but at least surprise) But I suppose one day of these habits at home will probably be enough to set me right again, as I lay run-over in the street while someone ransacks my house and steals my car... I'd probably have a few "compliments" for people then...
4:59 PM

Thursday, March 06, 2003

*... just file it under "it's the Japanese way" ...*
"Britt-sensei, I think you're great, and I don't mean that as a compliment." Err, thanks. ? My supervisor paid me this respect yesterday after I led her class in a rousing game of Pictionary and Battle Janken. She gets very excited over these games, and wanted to tell me how much she likes them. It is very common for the Japanese to mask what they really think, or try to get a conversation going by either really complimenting you or really insulting you (though they don't see it as insulting... my favorite one so far has been "buritto-san, are you on a diet? well you should be.") So by telling me I'm great, but not as a compliment, she meant that she actually thought it, and wasn't just placating me. Well thanks!

And speaking of weird priorities (loosely) I can't help but notice what qualifies as newsworthy over here. I tune into the nightly news in an effort to discern maybe a little bit of what's going on with the rest of the world. However, last night's top story was about a baboon that was found in Tokyo. This was followed by a gripping blurb about an above average number of fish found in a creek near Tokyo. Then a segment dramatically entitled "Potentially Fatal Dangers in Our Everyday Lives" ((title page splashed across the screen)) about scary bathtubs. I would have thought the next two stories would have been more likely to qualifiy in that category: "Reports of train drivers falling unconscious during high speed travel on the rise" and "Glass factory fan breaks; sends hunks of 3kg steel flying up to 300m away in residential areas". At this rate, I'll be lucky if I get out of this country alive.
11:45 AM

Wednesday, March 05, 2003

*... i don't want the cheese, i just wanna get outta the trap ...*
Wind I can handle. Snow I can handle. Rain I can handle. (I'm not saying that I'd be happy about it, but I can handle it.) Sun I can DEFINITELY handle. But combining all of the above is pushing it just a little too far. For the past 2 days I have been kept awake at night by the wind attempting to knock my apartment down, to then set off into blizzardy gusts of snow and rain blowing in my ears (inside! my! ears!), yet there is hardly a wisp of cloud in the sky. Now tell me, where is this weather coming from? (One hypothesis offered was that it's soap flakes... from...? No, sorry, that's not it.) It's a bright, sunny, cloudless, "I'm-pretending-to-be-spring-but-haha-fooled-you!" kind of day, but the next minute it's snowing on my head (and in my kitchen), and visibility is zero because the wind has whipped up the snow so much, you can't see four feet in front of you.

WHAT THE HECK?! A little slack here... please??

On a happier note, I have FINALLY finished those stupidrickafrickapieceanogoodstinkin' speaking tests. And only a couple of days before graduation! Whew, barely made it!
9:31 AM

Tuesday, March 04, 2003

*... happy birthday ...*
She'll give you sound (?) career advice (strippers make good money!) and she's not afraid to tell you when you're "WRONG!" She's loud very loud, she's caring, she easily makes friends with people in even the most questionable of occupations. If you know her, you love her; if you've never met her, you should. (Even you, who is afraid to because of the stories you've heard... don't worry, love and fear cause very similar heart palpitations, you'll hardly notice the difference.) She's sometimes like a 12-year-old version of me (can you imagine?!) and she's celebrating her birthday today! She's

MY MAMA.

Let's show her the love, folks.
8:59 AM

Sunday, March 02, 2003

*... the new 'do ...*
I got my haircut for the first time in Japan yesterday. Due to my lack of access to appropriate software, I unfortunately won't be able to show you, so just use your imagination. There are 2 distinctive features of Japanese hair styles: 1) they've got a bit of a "where oh where has my little dog gone?" thing going with their 'ears cut short' and their 'tails cut long'. 2) They love to thin out the ends to create a soft wispy look. That's all good, except for when your stylist goes a little overboard. Don't get me wrong, she did a fabulous job overall, but she did go a little crazy with the thinning shears and now I have half the amount of hair at the ends than I do at the roots. It gives me sort of a fuzzy, cuddly-soft look. Unless I put gel in it, and then it gives me a sort of porcupine look. But, you know, a CUDDLY porcupine...

((I posted this yesterday, but it didn't take, so here it is "again")):
*... uncanny ...*
yesterday I met a bus driver who drove exactly like my dad does when someone cuts him off... right down to the death stares and ample use of the horn. Funny how one gets reminded of home, even if it is accompanied by a wave of panic.
12:45 PM