Gaijin

Sarah Joy brought home Nanako after a shopping exploration, and one of the topics of conversations that came up is about natto, the beloved Japanese fermented soybeans.  I think a favorite activity for Japanese citizens is to introduce to snack to American gaijin to see their reactions.  If I was to try to explain how natto tastes using a keyboard, this is probably what it would look like:

BLAGHADRHGDFKGLSDFGADGR

>:(========)

GLGdfgadadgjauiaeDFGSADRGdjsfgadjkgfhuahuaehulVASDJASEFGJAERadgasd

FLEHBLAGHBLAGHBLAGHGRAAAAWWAAABLARFBLARF.

Which brings me to the topic of gaijin.  Gaijin, as I previously mentioned, are foreigners in Japan.  They can be whities, blackies, Chinesies, whatever; if they weren't made in Japan, they are gaijin.  Coming to Japan is much different from going to Europe, were passing for a native only requires wearing inconspicuous clothing and not hauling around a camera that you whip out for pictures every 5 minutes.  In Japan, blending in is not possible when your skin is tinted pink and you stand 6 inches taller than the average woman (and let's not even get into facial differences).  Let's not forget that Japanese style is insanely cute and composed even in 100% humidity; so while Japanese college students look like they just stepped out from some uber chic indie zine, I tend to arrive on the scene red-faced and pouring sweat with my baggy clothes sticking to my damp skin.  Real life might not seem so bad, but it's highly amusing to look back at pictures of myself with the students, where they are cool and classy while my appearance is more comparable to a fat man who has just gotten off a treadmill set to "mountain sprints".

But more importantly, there are cultural differences; general practices of courtesy that are ingrained into Japanese life.  Many of them aren't very difficult to remember, like pointing to your nose when referring to yourself; however, I had to constantly remind myself  not to point at people with one finger--and I have found it nearly impossible to always avoid eating and drinking while walking--I've definitely begun to notice how often I do certain things after I find out I'm not supposed to do them.  

Constantly standing out can be kind of weird; when we walk on trains, people always look at us (but try quickly to hide it), and we occasionally hear people utter the word "gaijin" to each other when we go by--but when you can't help it, you have to just go with it.  So technically, if we make faux pas every once in awhile, it's okay, because hey--we're gaijin.  If the humidity is pressing down on us on our walk to school, then I'll play the gaijin card and sneak a drink of Aquarius--the important thing is knowing the when going against the rules is seen as impolite, and when it is seen as adorably American (okay, I'm not sure anyone ever thinks that, but I have my hopes).  

DAIbutsu!

Last weekend, the gang (i.e. BEST setters* and Japanese students) headed for Kamakura for a beach trip--or what we thought was to be a beach trip.  The details of the trip weren't translated entirely, so what we were told was that we would be having a beach day and then we would stay the night in Kamakura, with a trip to the onsen thrown in somewhere.  The Japanese students decided that instead of paying for a hotel, we would just go to an all-night hang out place, with the options being an internet bar, restaurant, or karaoke (can you guess which one I would choose)?  Staying up all night singing is pretty much what I do most of the time anyways, 

so it sounded good to me.

When we got to Kamakura, we were told we would go to a shrine first, which was located a little up in a hill.  We had to walk through a small tunnel before getting to the place; it turned out it was a temple where you washed your money to give it a lucky cleansing.  It was so humid out that I wish I could have had a little lucky cleansing--what's nice is that from the pictures, you can definitely play "Spot the Gaijin", because you have all the Japanese students looking fresh and trendy, and then I am the sweaty, red-faced whitey  with the awkwardly large back

pack that knocks people over in the train station.  Aside from red and whitey-ness, the money laundering (teehee) was in this serene little cave, the inside of which was decorated with collections of 1,000 paper cranes--each batch supposedly granting a wish to the person who patiently completed the origami task (my question is--what did they wish for?  My guess is more origami paper for more wishes!).

After leaving the temple, we proceeded uphill for a "little hike"--a nice excursion, but many of the girls were not prepared--some were wearing skirts, and more than one wore strappy sandals with heels.  We were told the end of the path would lead to the Daibutsu end--"

Dai" meaning big, "butsu" meaning buddha--something I didn't think much about at the time.  However, when we finally ended up at the destination, I saw that the name was no exaggeration--at 43 feet tall, this buddha was humongous (note the pic from last time, yes?).  

After visiting the Daibutsu, we walked around the area for a little while before heading to the onsen.  When we arrived, Mark, our leader, told us that we were going to do our first pair talk while in the onsen.  "Pair Talk" is where we partner with a Japanese student to talk more deeply one on one, so that we can just be really honest with each other to help strengthen our friendship--so of course, my reaction is, "Oh great--the first time we get to talk deeply with another student we'll be completely naked."  Talk about being open.  However, it actually went well--I think had I not been paired off and instead went with the larger group, I would have felt much more intimidated by the...casual atmosphere.  Instead, my partner showed me the ropes, and I felt much more comfortable then I would have if I had just tried to jump in on my own (sorry, no pictures of the onsen).  

After the onsen, we waited around a little while til we could head off to our designated all night destinations--I was more than excited to try Japanese karaoke again, and I had a feeling there would be some feisty singers in the group (1-2-3-4...jk).  At the place, I realized karaoke places are magic! because they provide FREE ice cream and drinks with your session!  That's when you know things are going to be good (because believe me, I took advantage of the free helpings).  My pair talk partner had also decided to do karaoke; I was definitely impressed by the number of English songs she did (on the list of our duets were: Womanizer, Take Me Out, and Girl Put Your Record On--which she knew the lyrics to better then I did).  However, we weren't able to make it the whole night, which was why we rented two rooms--we split up to sleep in the wee hours of the morning.  Even with two rooms, though, there we still a little bit short on space--some kids ended up sleeping on tables, one boy slept sitting up against the wall, and I used spread out footrests--my fitful sleep was a result of a fear that I would slip through the gaps in my makeshift bed and fall on the ground.  

When we woke up in the morning, we went outside only to discover that it was pouring rain.  After a deliberation at McDonalds (where I had a Bacon and Potato Pie--similar to the apple ones in America), it was decided that we would head to a sports gym to play volleyball and basketball.  I was fine with playing sports, but I couldn't figure out why it was so expensive (they told us it would be around $17).  When we got to the Sport-cho, I realized that "gym" was definitely the wrong word to describe this place--it was like a mini, indoor fun park that looked like a Chuck E. Cheese's for adults (and for kids, I guess), only without the pizza.  The inside included: a mechanical bull (and yes, I rode it--4 times), an arcade area, a mini putting zone, pool tables, a skating rink, a shooting range, a reading room with massage chairs and a manga library, and more fun things that I am forgetting.  

On the train ride back, I realized that while our weekend was jam packed with activities, our beach trip ended without us ever stepping foot on the beach.  Still, everything we did was very Japanese and unrepeatable as well as incredibly fun--and I definitely slept well that night.

*The Lingo

BEST club= Bible English Sports and Travel Club at Chuo University

SETters= Student English Teachers

Gaijin= Literally "Foreign Person", any non-Japanese person

Onsen= Bath houses