Tuesday, May 20, 2003
This is my summer blog. Since I'm supposed to be doing CMC(Computer-Mediated Communication) research this summer, it's only appropriate that I do it in blog format. This will serve as my journal in Japan for my workshop on "Exploring Japanese Contemporary Urban Culture" and hopefully keep my friends posted on my adventures as well.
Three days after my arrival in Japan, I am still getting over jetlag and getting accustomed to my surroundings. I arranged a homestay thanks to meeting an incredibly nice fellow Tech student and Tokyo native who let me rent her room for the summer. Her mother and I met up at Shinjuku station Saturday. Most of the rest of that day was unpacking and napping. Around 11 pm, my bed started shaking--my first earthquake since being in Chile. I couldn't sleep afterwards, but since she has high-speed internet, I was able to chat in the wee hours. The house has a furry toilet seat cover on the toilet itself--she showed me the options of heating the toilet as well as turning the toilet into a bidet or spurting out water to clean yourself. I was not expecting my first encounter with ubiquitous technology to be in the bathroom.
Sunday, we went to the festival in Asakusa (sp?). There were so many people. At several points I was afraid of getting crushed. People in headbands and traditional outfits(not kimonos) grunting as they carried along a shrine. The women all wore leggings, many of the men just wore the sumo bottoms under their vest garment, showing their bare legs. One group had a lot of guys with body tatoos and the leftover ones not on the shrine were off to the side posing for photo takers. There were a fair number of people taking pictures with their cell phones and some with mini-camcorders.
Eating is an issue but my Japanese Mom has been very understanding. She cooked traditional Japanese beef (Siyuki?) which was very yummy. One interesting thing is the bread vs. rice option--I wouldn't normally consider that an either/or choice since I think of them as different parts of the meal.
Monday was orientation so the excitement began. I got lost on the way since my directions were off and the policeman I asked for help directed me to a Zen Temple instead of Temple University. Going to the bathroom, I found more options, with pictures to illustrate. A button with a musical note made a flushing noise--apparently Japanese women press it so other people don't hear while they are going to the bathroom since they are so modest. A Japanese girl there was very amused by my surprise, especially when I took out my camera to take a picture of the display.
The Temple group wandered around Roppongi, but I left early since I was tired. My last observation for the night was at Wendy's. I wanted to get a Frosty, but what she offered was about the same size as the kid's size back home. Even the medium size seemed smaller than a small back home. I guess the "Biggie-Size" phenomenon which turned the size large of my childhood into the small size of today has not hit Japan.
The class started today at 9 am so I had to deal with rush hour, reminding me of 4th of July crowds in Chicago on public transit. The idea of personal space came up in class and I was also reminded of the old Dial or Sure commercials. I was very conscious of sweating in such close contact but I think deodorant is rare here so guess it's not a problem for everyone else.
Three days after my arrival in Japan, I am still getting over jetlag and getting accustomed to my surroundings. I arranged a homestay thanks to meeting an incredibly nice fellow Tech student and Tokyo native who let me rent her room for the summer. Her mother and I met up at Shinjuku station Saturday. Most of the rest of that day was unpacking and napping. Around 11 pm, my bed started shaking--my first earthquake since being in Chile. I couldn't sleep afterwards, but since she has high-speed internet, I was able to chat in the wee hours. The house has a furry toilet seat cover on the toilet itself--she showed me the options of heating the toilet as well as turning the toilet into a bidet or spurting out water to clean yourself. I was not expecting my first encounter with ubiquitous technology to be in the bathroom.
Sunday, we went to the festival in Asakusa (sp?). There were so many people. At several points I was afraid of getting crushed. People in headbands and traditional outfits(not kimonos) grunting as they carried along a shrine. The women all wore leggings, many of the men just wore the sumo bottoms under their vest garment, showing their bare legs. One group had a lot of guys with body tatoos and the leftover ones not on the shrine were off to the side posing for photo takers. There were a fair number of people taking pictures with their cell phones and some with mini-camcorders.
Eating is an issue but my Japanese Mom has been very understanding. She cooked traditional Japanese beef (Siyuki?) which was very yummy. One interesting thing is the bread vs. rice option--I wouldn't normally consider that an either/or choice since I think of them as different parts of the meal.
Monday was orientation so the excitement began. I got lost on the way since my directions were off and the policeman I asked for help directed me to a Zen Temple instead of Temple University. Going to the bathroom, I found more options, with pictures to illustrate. A button with a musical note made a flushing noise--apparently Japanese women press it so other people don't hear while they are going to the bathroom since they are so modest. A Japanese girl there was very amused by my surprise, especially when I took out my camera to take a picture of the display.
The Temple group wandered around Roppongi, but I left early since I was tired. My last observation for the night was at Wendy's. I wanted to get a Frosty, but what she offered was about the same size as the kid's size back home. Even the medium size seemed smaller than a small back home. I guess the "Biggie-Size" phenomenon which turned the size large of my childhood into the small size of today has not hit Japan.
The class started today at 9 am so I had to deal with rush hour, reminding me of 4th of July crowds in Chicago on public transit. The idea of personal space came up in class and I was also reminded of the old Dial or Sure commercials. I was very conscious of sweating in such close contact but I think deodorant is rare here so guess it's not a problem for everyone else.
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