It's not so bad here, I guess

I am drinking a congratulary chai latte because I just finished my last final. Go me!

The other night my host mom told me that her grandparents are still alive and kicking, depite being in their mid-90's and having a fondness for sake and smoking.
"Wow, that's amazing. They must be pretty tough," I said.
My host mom went on to tell me that, in fact, her grandfather had survived a Siberian labor camp.

Say what?

I did a little research, and it turns out that after WWII, Russia took all the Japanese soldiers still in its country and forced them to work in labor camps. Now you know.
"My grandfather says that it was terribly cold, and that the food was pitiful and they worked all day. Nobody expected him to survive and come back to Japan."
"Wow. How long was he in Siberia?" I asked. My host mom thought for a minute, then said,
"I don't remember. He used to tell me about it when I was young, but since he would always start crying I would beg him to stop."

I was going to complain about how cold it is in my room at night but I think I won't now.

You can never have too many of these

Every time my host grandmother goes on a trip she brings back little souvenirs for everyone. This evening she came by with a bag full of souvenir goodness, wherein I received this little marvel: a cellphone charm daruma.
But wait, there's more. When tilted forwards the daruma's eyes pop out. I think my host grandmother was saying something about this meaning your wish has been granted. Okay, but it still looks downright freaky. Furthermore, when you hold the daruma up to the light and look through the middle, you can see the image of a Buddha with the words "Good Fortune" and "Safety in Traffic."
Plus it comes with a tiny jingle bell.
Probably the most random, crazy gift I've ever been given.

A first

I have been riding the train for two hours every weekday ever since I got to Japan 4 months ago. And today for the first time a random person on the train started talking to me. A businessman wearing a sick mask (people do that here when they have a cold) sat down next to me and noticed that I was practicing kanji.
"Wow, you're studying very hard, aren't you?" he said.
I was very surprised, and delighted too that someone was being friendly.
"It's because I have a test today," I said.
"Well, do your best! How long have you been studying?"
"Three years."
"Wow, that's amazing. Where are you from?"
So we had a short little conversation before he opened up his newspaper and left me to my studying. When he left the train he gave me a thumbs up sign. It pretty much made my day. While people-watching on the train I've often wished that I could chat with them, since I'm interested in everyone here. But it seems like the Japanese just don't start up conversations with strangers much- particularly with gaijin. Sometimes I've seen people sneak glances at my homework as I study on the train, but when I look at them they always shift their eyes quickly. One time a high school boy sitting next to me was working on English homework, and I really wanted to volunteer to help him out, but was afraid that I might come off too weird since no one else does it.
In fact, the train is often extremely quiet. And for some reason, the degree of quietness is directly proportional to the degree of crowdedness on the train. So we'll just be chugging along, squished together like sardines, in complete silence. It's like how no one talks in a crowded elevator.
Time to take that kanji final!

Engrish Strikes Back

Images of Christmas from Japan

No, I don't know what this is.

In Japanese they call snowmen "snow daruma."

The Japanese love elaborate Christmas light setups. Well, who doesn't, I guess?


Back when I was in Nagoya, my church had a Christmas concert. As Robert would say, it was "pretty much amazing."




Merry Christmas everyone!

Precious bodily fluids

I have a cold for the third time in four months.

This is crazy. I never get sick this often.

Experiencing Japanese family life?

Sometimes I wonder why my host family isn't embarrassed to act the way they do around me. The children throw tantrums, my host mom emasculates and henpecks my host dad, the host dad blatantly ignores my host mom. And that's just a few examples. Meanwhile, I'll just be sitting there at the dinner table thinking, "aren't they ashamed of themselves?"

Perhaps they're trying to treat me as part of the family, not as a guest. So sometimes I feel bad that I don't spend more time with them. But seriously, if they wanted me to be part of their family, maybe they should have made their family life more appealing.

One thing that really frustrates me is the way Origami Boy is allowed to treat his little brother. Origami Boy has serious anger problems. I truly worry about him. I think he inherited them from his mom because the actions he takes and the voice he uses when he's angry is an obvious imitation of hers. When Origami Boy is angry with Whiney for whatever reason, he screams at him and hits him mercilessly. If Whiney is doing something Origami Boy doesn't like, Origami Boy will physically force him to stop. One day he was particularly angry and was torturing Whiney so relentlessly that Whiney locked himself in the bathroom just to escape.

And the weird thing is, my host parents don't do a thing about this! I don't know why. Today Origami Boy screamed at Whiney, hit him on the head and kicked him in the stomach. My host mom saw it all and didn't do a thing. I think this explains why Whiney cries so dramatically. He's trying to get someone to notice and stick up for him. I'd do the same if I was in his situation.

I'm only here for a semester. Of the exchange students who are studying for a whole year in Japan, a surprising amount of them have applied to move out of host families and live in dormitories instead. If I was here for another semester, I think I would do the same. Luckily I only have one more week with my host family.