After being here for 4 months...or at least it was four months when I started writing this blog...I've gotten a little distracted lately, I have found myself falling into a daily routine. Here are just some of things that I have gotten used to doing:
1) Sorting garbage - Japan is one of the few countries that burns its trash. Because of this, all garbage has to be sorted into burnable and not burnable. Burnable garbage gets picked up 2x's a week and then the non-burnable stuff gets picked up once a week. They also have a day for "other" items (e.g. clothes, old household appliances/goods, newspapers, bottles, and cans). All trash is wrapped in small, clear garbage bags and left in designated spots along the street. I have to admit that I know when to throw out the burnable and nonburnable, but am still at a loss for when to throw out "other" garbage. I asked my roommate and she said, "There are posters all over town, just read them". However, all those posters are also located in the path of oncoming traffic making it rather dangerous for me to stand there and try to read them.
2) Stray cats and crows - I don't know how this happened, maybe I should ask someone someday, but Japan is OVERRUN by crows and stray cats. Nothing is more annoying than being awoken at 3am to the sound of two cats fighting. Or being woken up at 6am to the sound of a hungry crow cawing on the fence. In some places, the crow population has gotten so out of hand that they have actually attacked people. Maybe Alfred Hitchcock wasn't too far off. I recently asked someone why they don't just use the stray cats to kill the crows. Sounds like a good enough plan. I mean to be honest I think I'd rather have the stray cats (who all run in terror at the sight of humans) to the man eating crows. But the other day, while waiting for the train, I found out why this wouldn't work. Someday I'll get my camera to work and upload the photos that I took. The crows are the same size as the cats here and a hell of a lot more aggressive. For about 10 minutes, I watched as a crow chased a cat around the train platform, pecking at the cat, until the cat finally ran off under a fence. I was both in awe and disturbed by the thought that the crow was larger and more aggressive than the cat.
3) Stealing internet from my neighbor's wifi connection and still downloading at speeds of 1.0 MB. To think that I just downloaded 699 mb in under 20 minutes is phenomenal (the average download speed was 800kb/sec). And this is a wifi signal from a neighbor 25 meters away. Unbelievable, though not surprising as Japan has some of the best internet capabilities in the world (8-30 times faster than in America) and at some of the cheapest prices (full service runs around $30/month). But since my roommate refuses to get internet (which I can't do without a Japanese person there to say I will pay my bill), I will continue to steal my neighbor's.
4) "Oh, I see" and "right/ isn't it?" While I haven't picked up on speaking Japanese, yet, I have started incorporating English versions of Japanese phrases into my conversations. It's as strange as it sounds. Japanese use a word "naruhodo," when they understand what someone is trying to say. It pretty much means, "Oh, I see." They also throw in "ne" at the end of many of their sentences to illicit agreement from the listening party. While I don't toss these in at the end of my English sentences, I have started using their English equivalents...OFTEN. I'd like to think that this is a positive first step towards actually speaking Japanese. **Update: Eventually I did start using the Japanese words in my English conversations.**
5) Bowing and saying, "sumimasen." Sumimasen means excuse me or thank you. Meaning it's used ALL the time. In fact, I don't think that Japanese people really mean it, as much as they're just trained to use it. Nonetheless, I find myself bowing and saying sumimasen every time I ask someone for something, bump into someone, look at someone the wrong way, cross paths in front of someone, or when someone has done something for me (even something ridiculously trivial). I'm a little disturbed by how quickly I picked up on bowing and apologizing as it's completely un-American. But, if it keeps the peace, then so be it.
6) Sleeping on a futon. So I couldn't quite get used to sleeping on one futon, but 3 I can handle. A Japanese futon is really just a thin, maybe 5-6cm thick, mattress that lies on the floor. They're very firm and to be honest kind of a waste of space. One mattress is usually so thin that it's no better than just sleeping on a blanket on the floor. Thus, the reason why I have 3. **Update: I eventually upgraded to sleeping on a mattress on the floor which turned out to be some of the best sleep I've ever gotten.**
7) No air conditioning. Most places do NOT have central AC. Stores and trains do, but that's about where it ends. In Japanese houses, AC units are wall units. This means that every room that you want AC in requires a separate wall unit. These units run around $400, so you can imagine how expensive this could get if say you wanted one in the bedrooms, living room, and kitchen. Although you have to purchase separate units that look ungodly sticking out of the wall, that does mean you can also run them separately, saving you loads of money in the long run.
8) Utilities are cheaper than DIRT! My water bills comes every two months and even though my roommate takes a 30min shower every day, the bill is only $39! My electric bill comes once a month and runs about $18 and the gas runs about $24 (all stoves and water heaters run on gas). Beautiful! Although, what they don't charge in utilities they more than make up for in initial rent fees (4 - 5 months due up front).
9) Kombini's...Like America convenience stores are EVERYWHERE, though I never really used them outside of really long road trips. But here, where I'm always walking, kombini's are truly convenient. I often find myself wandering into one on my way home, after a long day. It's really a bad idea! One kg later, I'm now planning my route home AROUND kombini's.
On the other hand, there are plenty of things that I haven't gotten used to:
1) Sweating, always. In the two months of summer, I've used more deodorant than I probably used in a year back home. I turn my head and sweat starts pouring down my shirt. The annoying thing is that it's not even HOT here (compared to Arizona), it's the damn humidity! Horrible. Just once I'd like to go somewhere without looking like I walked through a rainshower.
2) Cockroaches the size of small birds. These things are everywhere. I was wondering through an expensive part of Tokyo, and just sitting on this post outside of a high class hotel was a giant cockroach. Japan is full of creepy crawlies and since most places leave their windows open, these creepy crawlies frequently find their way inside.
3) Earthquakes. Most people don't seem to notice, while I on the other hand find myself constantly frozen in fear always.
I'm sure there are more things that I'll think of when I come across them, but this is all you get for now :) After 4 months here, I've definitely come to see a different picture of what Japan and Japanese people are like. I still love it here and have met some wonderful people, but now see a slightly bigger picture. I can't really say if it's good or bad, but it's certainly different than what I expected (granted, some things are exactly how I expected).
1) Sorting garbage - Japan is one of the few countries that burns its trash. Because of this, all garbage has to be sorted into burnable and not burnable. Burnable garbage gets picked up 2x's a week and then the non-burnable stuff gets picked up once a week. They also have a day for "other" items (e.g. clothes, old household appliances/goods, newspapers, bottles, and cans). All trash is wrapped in small, clear garbage bags and left in designated spots along the street. I have to admit that I know when to throw out the burnable and nonburnable, but am still at a loss for when to throw out "other" garbage. I asked my roommate and she said, "There are posters all over town, just read them". However, all those posters are also located in the path of oncoming traffic making it rather dangerous for me to stand there and try to read them.
2) Stray cats and crows - I don't know how this happened, maybe I should ask someone someday, but Japan is OVERRUN by crows and stray cats. Nothing is more annoying than being awoken at 3am to the sound of two cats fighting. Or being woken up at 6am to the sound of a hungry crow cawing on the fence. In some places, the crow population has gotten so out of hand that they have actually attacked people. Maybe Alfred Hitchcock wasn't too far off. I recently asked someone why they don't just use the stray cats to kill the crows. Sounds like a good enough plan. I mean to be honest I think I'd rather have the stray cats (who all run in terror at the sight of humans) to the man eating crows. But the other day, while waiting for the train, I found out why this wouldn't work. Someday I'll get my camera to work and upload the photos that I took. The crows are the same size as the cats here and a hell of a lot more aggressive. For about 10 minutes, I watched as a crow chased a cat around the train platform, pecking at the cat, until the cat finally ran off under a fence. I was both in awe and disturbed by the thought that the crow was larger and more aggressive than the cat.
3) Stealing internet from my neighbor's wifi connection and still downloading at speeds of 1.0 MB. To think that I just downloaded 699 mb in under 20 minutes is phenomenal (the average download speed was 800kb/sec). And this is a wifi signal from a neighbor 25 meters away. Unbelievable, though not surprising as Japan has some of the best internet capabilities in the world (8-30 times faster than in America) and at some of the cheapest prices (full service runs around $30/month). But since my roommate refuses to get internet (which I can't do without a Japanese person there to say I will pay my bill), I will continue to steal my neighbor's.
4) "Oh, I see" and "right/ isn't it?" While I haven't picked up on speaking Japanese, yet, I have started incorporating English versions of Japanese phrases into my conversations. It's as strange as it sounds. Japanese use a word "naruhodo," when they understand what someone is trying to say. It pretty much means, "Oh, I see." They also throw in "ne" at the end of many of their sentences to illicit agreement from the listening party. While I don't toss these in at the end of my English sentences, I have started using their English equivalents...OFTEN. I'd like to think that this is a positive first step towards actually speaking Japanese. **Update: Eventually I did start using the Japanese words in my English conversations.**
5) Bowing and saying, "sumimasen." Sumimasen means excuse me or thank you. Meaning it's used ALL the time. In fact, I don't think that Japanese people really mean it, as much as they're just trained to use it. Nonetheless, I find myself bowing and saying sumimasen every time I ask someone for something, bump into someone, look at someone the wrong way, cross paths in front of someone, or when someone has done something for me (even something ridiculously trivial). I'm a little disturbed by how quickly I picked up on bowing and apologizing as it's completely un-American. But, if it keeps the peace, then so be it.
6) Sleeping on a futon. So I couldn't quite get used to sleeping on one futon, but 3 I can handle. A Japanese futon is really just a thin, maybe 5-6cm thick, mattress that lies on the floor. They're very firm and to be honest kind of a waste of space. One mattress is usually so thin that it's no better than just sleeping on a blanket on the floor. Thus, the reason why I have 3. **Update: I eventually upgraded to sleeping on a mattress on the floor which turned out to be some of the best sleep I've ever gotten.**
7) No air conditioning. Most places do NOT have central AC. Stores and trains do, but that's about where it ends. In Japanese houses, AC units are wall units. This means that every room that you want AC in requires a separate wall unit. These units run around $400, so you can imagine how expensive this could get if say you wanted one in the bedrooms, living room, and kitchen. Although you have to purchase separate units that look ungodly sticking out of the wall, that does mean you can also run them separately, saving you loads of money in the long run.
8) Utilities are cheaper than DIRT! My water bills comes every two months and even though my roommate takes a 30min shower every day, the bill is only $39! My electric bill comes once a month and runs about $18 and the gas runs about $24 (all stoves and water heaters run on gas). Beautiful! Although, what they don't charge in utilities they more than make up for in initial rent fees (4 - 5 months due up front).
9) Kombini's...Like America convenience stores are EVERYWHERE, though I never really used them outside of really long road trips. But here, where I'm always walking, kombini's are truly convenient. I often find myself wandering into one on my way home, after a long day. It's really a bad idea! One kg later, I'm now planning my route home AROUND kombini's.
On the other hand, there are plenty of things that I haven't gotten used to:
1) Sweating, always. In the two months of summer, I've used more deodorant than I probably used in a year back home. I turn my head and sweat starts pouring down my shirt. The annoying thing is that it's not even HOT here (compared to Arizona), it's the damn humidity! Horrible. Just once I'd like to go somewhere without looking like I walked through a rainshower.
2) Cockroaches the size of small birds. These things are everywhere. I was wondering through an expensive part of Tokyo, and just sitting on this post outside of a high class hotel was a giant cockroach. Japan is full of creepy crawlies and since most places leave their windows open, these creepy crawlies frequently find their way inside.
3) Earthquakes. Most people don't seem to notice, while I on the other hand find myself constantly frozen in fear always.
I'm sure there are more things that I'll think of when I come across them, but this is all you get for now :) After 4 months here, I've definitely come to see a different picture of what Japan and Japanese people are like. I still love it here and have met some wonderful people, but now see a slightly bigger picture. I can't really say if it's good or bad, but it's certainly different than what I expected (granted, some things are exactly how I expected).
