Monday, November 23, 2009

I have pictures!

But the pictures will have to wait until tomorrow when I'm not completely tired from my long weekend trip to Yamagata. I had a great time and came back with lots of fun stuff, I just really need sleep before I need to download pictures! :-)

Friday, November 20, 2009

Junior high school girls... in Japan!

This week I only taught 2 classes at the girls' junior high that I teach at. There are three girls in one of those classes that are obsessed about marriage and kids (and they are only 14!!).

I supposed I made a silly move when I answered the question, "do you have a boyfriend?" with the answer "yes." I could have been more mysterious about things and made life slightly less interesting. Well, these three girls from the aforementioned class are always asking me when I'm going to get married. To this question I reply, "mada, mada" (not yet).

This particular class was made more interesting by another question: "Alisha, when are you going to have a baby?" My reaction... "HUH!?!?!?!" To illustrate how wrapped up in marriage and babies these 14 year-old girls are I should say that throughout class they were making a list of names. Not names of potential husbands... but baby names. I wanted to say to them, "don't you have the order of things a bit backwards!?" But I didn't.

Once class was over and I ran into the same girls at lunch, one assured me that my boyfriend was going to surprise me and propose on Christmas Eve. To that I just laughed because I know very well that he won't. Geesh!! What is it with 14 year-old Japanese girls!?! I'm fairly sure that I wasn't thinking baby names at age 14!

So, the moral of the story is... don't tell girls you have a boyfriend unless you want them to turn into your mother!! Haha.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Bowing in Japan!

Now... my brother brought up a very interesting "news" item for me the other day. He asked if I'd heard about the right-wing going nuts over President Obama bowing to the Emperor of Japan. It is entirely frustrating that people are pushing their own agenda to the extent that they completely disregard Japanese culture as being the reason that the US President would bow to the Japanese Emperor.

Bowing is greeting between people of all ages. A bow is usually deeper based on the age and status of the person you are bowing to. (Obama is in his 40s and the Emperor is in his 70s - and he's the Emperor!) Friends bow to each other as do family members. It's not a sign of subservience (usually anyway, only when you are bowing to apologize ).

Why did the Emperor not bow to Obama in greeting? He's the Emperor of Japan. He is the ONLY person in Japan who does not have to bow to reciprocate a bow made in greeting. The Japanese Emperor is no longer regarded as a god, but he is still probably the most respected figure in all of Japan. (There were celebrations last week for the Emperor's 20th year on the throne... it was full of celebrities just like the Queen's Jubilee in 2002 in the UK.)

Why is the right making a big deal out of this cultural exchange that was a sign of good will and cultural understanding? Well, I have a theory. Instead of trying to resurrect the Republican party in an honorable fashion, by re-defining goals and their voter base, it is easier to oppose President Obama on EVERYTHING. The attacks are getting more and more petty and proving that the American people made the right choice in voting for Obama. Isolationist behavior, as displayed by the right-wing, is what earned the US a horrible reputation on the international stage for the last 8 years. Thank goodness there's been a change.

OK, my political rant is over... I'll talk about something more fun tomorrow! :-)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

My poor neglected blog...

So, again, I have managed to neglect my blog. But in my defense, there hasn't been a lot happening lately.

Things have been happening... but mostly things like "we went to look at the fall leaves in Yokohama and while I was there I fixed a bench" or "I looked as a very old building and tried to find out when it was built, but couldn't" so... not very exciting things to post on a blog.

In March, I plan on moving. Moving is REALLY expensive in Japan... much more so than in the US. (You have to have between 3 and 4 months rent up front!) So these days, Shimon and I are trying to minimize expenses and maximize money saving.

However, this coming weekend is a LONG weekend. I will be going up to Yamagat (where I used to live) to visit a friend of mine and see some of the old places that used to be my "old haunts." I'm pretty excited to be going and very much looking forward to the girls weekend that will ensue. After that I am bound to have tons of pictures and stories as well. :-)

That's the scoop... I will try to keep blogging away... I'm sure to have more stories as the Christmas season begins. Bear with me, if you can... :-)