After I went through customs, I got a little paper entitled "To Alien Entering Japan." The sci-fi nerd in me couldn't help but be amused. So, I'm an alien...
In many ways I feel more like an alien than I ever have in my life. And the book, The Arrival
by Shuan Tan, captures many of my experiences perfectly. If you haven't "read" this book, you should. I say "read" because it's a graphic novel with beautifully drawn pictures, and no words.
by Shuan Tan, captures many of my experiences perfectly. If you haven't "read" this book, you should. I say "read" because it's a graphic novel with beautifully drawn pictures, and no words.
I can't understand or read the language around me and I've eaten foods that I've never seen before. (One fruit I ate tasted like a starfruit but was shaped like a small pear and had a pale red color to it.)
So I've decided to document some of the things and experiences that are so novel to me now:
-Using high-tech toilets with lots of buttons, among which are ones to rinse and dry your bottom
-Cars all have the driver's side on the right and everyone drives on the left side of the road
-Not being able to read anything because it's all written in a foreign script
(ie. store signs, product names-good thing a lot of groceries have pictures, directions, books, movie titles, basically anything you can think of that you read)
-Everyone is very polite, but you don't talk to people you don't know
-Movie rentals come in blue case- bag-thingys that you keep the DVDs in and return them in (I'll have to take a picture)
-Seeing Okinawans protect their skin from the sun better than I do (all the kids from daycare wear hats whenever they go outside to play)
-Having a mandatory rest time at a public pool where everyone is required to get out of the water and take a break
-Minimal physical contact
(Of course you bow when you greet people, so there is no physical contact in greetings- no hugs, kisses, and only handshakes with foreigners. But even something like paying the cashier, you put the money down on a little tray and the cashier picks it up from there. If they hand money or a card back to you, they hold the edges with both of their hands so that you can grab it in the middle. Those are just a few examples)
-Using toilet slippers.
I knew that you left your outside shoes at the door and wore slippers or inside shoes when in the house, but then there are a pair of sandals just inside the bathroom door for everyone to put on when they are using the bathroom. You don't wear you house slippers in the bathroom.
(more to come later)
Do they use umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun? People do that in China. Thanks for sharing the new things you are learning! I hope that you don't press the wrong button on the toilet. Love you!
ReplyDeleteThe toilets sound awesome! Luke would be happy there. Also, I find the fact that yuo don't talk to strangers fascinating. Sounds like you haven't made any major faux pas yet!
ReplyDeleteJen, yeah they totally have sun parasols or whatever you want to call them. As for the toilet, I experimented a little at home, pressing all the buttons to see what they do. In public restrooms they have a music button so people won't hear you doing your business in the toilet. =)
ReplyDeleteToni, it is a very efficient and tidy society. As for the faux pas, it does help that I don't have to talk to people I don't know; fewer chances to mess up that way. But it still happens. I forgot my Eco bag (reusable shopping bags) when I went to the store the other day and I had to pay ¥3 for a plastic one. I hope I won't forget mine again. =)