Ramblings

So we have decided to ramble about random things that we've ignored in previous posts.

People
There's been a couple of times where I've experienced the generosity and kindness of Japanese people. For example, during winter I dropped my glove a couple of times around the front entrance of our building and each time it was placed on the handrail of the steps so that I could see it. Also, just last week it was pouring rain and I didn't have an umbrella. A elderly man yelled for me to stop and he walked me from the train station all the way to the front steps under his umbrella.

It is still a common practice for women to quit their jobs once they are married. This is easily visible during the day when all you see are groups of women with strollers walking around together. Another curious observation is that housewives walk around with aprons on while shopping around town. Nick has often confused them with actual store employees.

Food
The strangest thing we've encountered is how raw food is so common. Not only do they consume raw fish but also live squid, raw eggs, raw chicken, raw sea urchin and even raw horse meat (*gasp*). Although we may find these disgusting, we have found that many students feel the same way about some common American foods (i.e. biscuits & gravy). Actually, if you look at it while imagining that you don't know what it is, it does look pretty disgusting.

Shout Out
We would like to thank Aaron Guittar for equipping us with a region free DVD player. It's been a lifesaver for us. We are the only ones in our office with this commodity and we're very grateful for it. Also, thank you to everyone who's sent us care packages: Mom and Dad, Madre y Padre, Titi Evelyn, Titi Maribel, Aaron & Trinnia, and Ashleigh & Tim.

Household Items
When we first came to Japan we were excited to sleep in the traditional Japanese futons but after three months we feel otherwise. Maybe if the company would have provided us with high quality futons we would feel different but the cushioning is fading fast. Also, the lack of quality in our sheets is evident in the little nubbies that formed throughout the sheets.
In our apartment we do lack some "standard American items" such as a microwave, oven and a dryer. Having an oven or a dryer is not very common since most apartments do not come equipped with them. I think dryers are not widely available since everyone hangs their clothes out to dry. We thought we would have a harder time living without a microwave but since there are no '5 minute frozen meals' available at the grocery store then it's not as useful as it was in America anyway. I do miss the clothes' dryer badly. Laundry is a week long event. On the flipside, we have discovered how great it is to cook with a gas range (which is fairly standard in Japan). It literally takes 2 minutes to boil water, and cooking is fast overall.

Technology
A misconception that we and other people have is that Japan is technologically more advanced than the US. While this may be true for some industries we have found that in other industries it's equal to and sometimes behind technology in America. For example, while every household in America has a can opener (some even electric ones) in Japan these are pretty rare. Instead I had to use a "primitive tool" by hand. In their defense, there isn't much need for a can opener in Japan because cans are fairly rare, and the cans the do have come with an easy open tab.

We also thought cell phones would be tiny but they are a "normal" (or bigger) size. The reason phone aren't tiny, however, is because they're packed with so much technology. Most phones have a digital camera (with 2.0 megapixels), full internet access, and a second camera that allows the user to make videoconferences. I had a student tell me that she didn't have a computer because she didn't need one; she used her cell phone instead. Cameras and Video cameras might be slightly smaller and cheaper than the US but not significantly.
In regards to dvd/video rental, there seems to be a balance between japanese and foreign language formats. While on the subject of movies, in Japan we have not heard about the widespread use of high definition and we definitely have not heard about someone owning a "big or widescreen TV". I told one of the students that we had a 50 inch high def TV and she thought I was rich! After visiting the electronics store I realize why. Although many of the best TV's are made in Japan, they are still surprisingly expensive here (for example, our TV costs about 60% more here).

Wrap Up
I think overall we have noticed that the Japanese lifestyle is not based on huge possessions like it is in America. Everytime I do an English lesson on "What's important to you?", a home is the last thing on their list. I guess that's only the "American dream". Everyone focuses on other things (women do seem to have an obsession with clothes shopping though).
Of course, never use our statements as generalizations for the Japanese as a whole because we do live in "the country" as most students refer to it. Life in the big city might be completely different from what we've experienced (just like the difference between New York City and rural Oklahoma).