You know how your stomach drops to the floor the moment you see those flashing lights in your rearview mirror? That terrible mixture of shock, horror, anger, and fear rolling through your body in waves? I endured this torture for a little over 10 minutes this morning on my way to work.
Before my parents go into a enraged shock: NO, I was not running from the police.
To my dismay, on-duty police in Japan always ride with their lights flashing. If they need you to pull over, they sound the sirens. Despite knowing this, every time I’m driving and see the flashing lights, I immediately go into a terrified panic convinced that because they won’t understand me, they’ll somehow revoke my visa and throw me in jail. This panic lasts for about 1.5 seconds before I remember how it works here in Japan and realize that in any case, I’m being utterly ridiculous.
This morning was the worst, though. Waiting at the exit of a koban – these small police stations are located every 5 or 6 blocks in Kumamoto – was a police car with flashing lights. None of the 10 cars in front of me stopped to let them onto the road; so in a monkey say, monkey do approach, I calmly drove past as well and let them wait for the next available opening in traffic. Unfortunately, that opening came directly behind my car. So as soon as I passed, the police car with flashing red lights pulled out behind me and followed me for the next 5 kilometers.
It was horrible. I kept looking at the policemen in the rearview mirror, half expecting them to be gesturing angrily for me to pull aside. I could practically see them take my international driver’s permit, which is unfortunately made of paper, and tearing it in half while yelling at me with a lot of words that I didn’t understand. At every intersection, I chanted “Turn, turn, turn, turn…” When they finally did turn, a sense of relief that one so rarely feels in life came over me. I’ve made it one though more day without being thrown out of the country or instigating an international conflict. Well, maybe I shouldn’t say that. The day is young.
Album currently playing on my IPOD – Miles Davis’ 1970 masterpiece, Bitches Brew. A complete departure from the smooth modality of Davis’ 1959 Kind of Blue; Bitches Brew is not an easy album to listen to. It’s challenging and provocative. Put another way, it’s brilliant.
- Jenny
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tastes a Bit Like Glue, Actually
While my Christmas holiday was quiet and relaxing, my New Year’s was filled with traditional Japanese activities. A few days prior to the new year, the lady that I sublet from, Ito-san, flew into town to celebrate the holiday with her family and very graciously offered to sleep in the spare room allowing me to stay in the apartment during her stay. Though she was often out visiting her friends and family, I enjoyed having the opportunity to finally meet her face to face and get to know her better.
I may have mentioned before, Ito-san is a poet and translator who now lives in California with her Polish husband, a graphic artist, and her youngest daughter. As you would imagine, she’s well-traveled and very knowledgeable on a variety of subjects – a really fascinating person to talk to.
But back to the holidays, my New Year’s holiday began a couple days early on December 30th with the mochitsuki. Mochitsuki is a traditional mochi-pounding ceremony in Japan, most often performed for the New Year. Rice is soaked overnight and steamed, then kneaded and pounded into a sticky paste. To do this, two or three people use wooden mallets (kine) in a large mortar (usu) while another person occasionally turns and wets the mochi. Once it is fully beaten and reaches the right consistency, the sticky mass is quickly turned over to a person or group of people to form into different shapes, usually a flattened sphere. Sometimes, the mochi dumpling is filled with sweet bean paste (anko), then it is called daifuku. To get an idea of what mochi tastes like, imagine salt-water taffy, but without any flavoring or saltiness, and covered in flour. It’s not the best description, but about as close as I can come. It’s not my favorite Japanese food.
Mochitsuki is one of those traditions that is gradually becoming lost as urban areas grow larger and the rural areas shrink, but in my apartment building - a co-op - their goal is to recreate that smaller community setting. Therefore that Tuesday afternoon, the 40 or so residents and several of their friends gathered in the deck / patio area of the building to make mochi. They built three small fires using bamboo from the small woods behind the building: one for the rice steamer, one to heat water used in the kneading and pounding of the mochi, and one for a big pot of pork and vegetable soup to feed everyone. The weather was nice and sunny, the soup was delicious, and good time was had by all.
They made mochi for each of the families in the building, so they went through the process described above 14 times - once for each family, not including me. They put me to work once in shaping the mochi which was fun, and once in pounding the mochi with the kine which was a blast. It was also quite tiring and more than slightly nerve-wracking. Swinging this heavy wooden mallet along with two other guys and one guy occasionally reaching in to wet and turn the mochi, keeping the rhythm was incredibly important as you could imagine.
Pictures of my mochitsuki experience can be found on my Flickr site, http://www.flickr.com/photos/25083690@N03/sets/72157612803645309/
New Year’s Eve isn’t really as big of an event here in Japan as it is in the U.S. I hopped the bus downtown in the afternoon only to discover that many of the shops and smaller restaurants were closed. It reminded me of walking around downtown Pasadena after 4 pm on New Year’s Eve with all of the shops and restaurants closed and windows boarded up in preparation for the next day’s parade. Actually, it’s a lot like Christmas Eve in the U.S. Though there are some celebrations, the day is mostly spent in travel and preparation for the next day.
Anyway, though the downtown slightly resembled a ghost town, a few of the larger department stores were open as well as Tsutaya, the book store that has saved my sanity since I’ve come to Japan.
Side note: An American issue of Vogue magazine costs $21 here. Time Magazine is $17. And while the English book selection is fairly diverse, it’s pretty hit and miss. The only Hemingway they carry is The Sun Also Rises; the only Austen is Northanger Abbey; no Stephen King. But they do have the entire Gossip Girl series and all of Roald Dahl’s books. Go figure.
After perusing the books and picking up a couple new pens for school, I walked across the street to an Indian restaurant that one of my friends recommended. I’m new to Indian cuisine, but count me among converted. I am a fan. My meal of spice rubbed lamb cooked in a tandoor served with rice and garlic naan was amazing. I returned last weekend and had a terrific, if extremely spicy, seafood curry.
That evening, I relaxed with a glass of wine and a plate of cheese, crackers, and summer sausage that my parents had sent me for Christmas and watched a bit of the traditional year-end music countdown on television. This had been mentioned by many of my friends and co-workers, so I suppose it’s considered kind of the traditional thing to do on New Year’s Eve. It was interesting and I was kind of surprised how many of the songs I recognized from hearing them over the radio at lunch. After a bit though, I switched to the DVD player and watched Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Tom Stoppard is my hero.
Well, I was planning to finish New Year’s with this post, but it’s getting fairly long and I need to get this posted, so I suppose New Year’s Day will just have to wait.
Album(s) currently playing on my IPOD –In honor of the Presidential Inauguration, I have been listening to America (The Audiobook): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction. A wonderful combination of wit and sarcasm, America (The Audiobook) works perfectly to temper the almost overwhelming sense of hope and optimism of Obama’s inauguration. Even if you’ve read the book, I highly suggest listening to the audiobook. The narration by Jon Stewart and the other Daily Show contributors give it a whole new snarky dimension.
In a slightly more conventional vein, Antonin Dvorak’s 1893 String Quartet No. 12 “American” has also found its way onto my playlist. Performed by the Smetana String Quartet, it’s beautiful.
Current reading material – I just finished reading Kurt Vonnegut’s 1997 novel / memoir, Timequake. I’ll confess, this is only the second Vonnegut novel I’ve read, not to mention a few of his short stories. That said, I consider him one of my favorite authors. His writing always seems so effortless. No matter if he is writing about becoming unstuck in time and traveling to the planet Tralfamadore or if he’s writing about his family, it never seems like he is laboring over the words. This is particularly interesting considering Vonnegut freely admits his struggle to write Timequake lasted almost 10 years only to realize that the finished product was crap. So, the novel published, Timequake, is parts of the original novel combined with personal observations and antidotes. It’s just hilarious and incredibly easy to read. I finished it in two sittings.
I may have mentioned before, Ito-san is a poet and translator who now lives in California with her Polish husband, a graphic artist, and her youngest daughter. As you would imagine, she’s well-traveled and very knowledgeable on a variety of subjects – a really fascinating person to talk to.
But back to the holidays, my New Year’s holiday began a couple days early on December 30th with the mochitsuki. Mochitsuki is a traditional mochi-pounding ceremony in Japan, most often performed for the New Year. Rice is soaked overnight and steamed, then kneaded and pounded into a sticky paste. To do this, two or three people use wooden mallets (kine) in a large mortar (usu) while another person occasionally turns and wets the mochi. Once it is fully beaten and reaches the right consistency, the sticky mass is quickly turned over to a person or group of people to form into different shapes, usually a flattened sphere. Sometimes, the mochi dumpling is filled with sweet bean paste (anko), then it is called daifuku. To get an idea of what mochi tastes like, imagine salt-water taffy, but without any flavoring or saltiness, and covered in flour. It’s not the best description, but about as close as I can come. It’s not my favorite Japanese food.
Mochitsuki is one of those traditions that is gradually becoming lost as urban areas grow larger and the rural areas shrink, but in my apartment building - a co-op - their goal is to recreate that smaller community setting. Therefore that Tuesday afternoon, the 40 or so residents and several of their friends gathered in the deck / patio area of the building to make mochi. They built three small fires using bamboo from the small woods behind the building: one for the rice steamer, one to heat water used in the kneading and pounding of the mochi, and one for a big pot of pork and vegetable soup to feed everyone. The weather was nice and sunny, the soup was delicious, and good time was had by all.
They made mochi for each of the families in the building, so they went through the process described above 14 times - once for each family, not including me. They put me to work once in shaping the mochi which was fun, and once in pounding the mochi with the kine which was a blast. It was also quite tiring and more than slightly nerve-wracking. Swinging this heavy wooden mallet along with two other guys and one guy occasionally reaching in to wet and turn the mochi, keeping the rhythm was incredibly important as you could imagine.
Pictures of my mochitsuki experience can be found on my Flickr site, http://www.flickr.com/photos/25083690@N03/sets/72157612803645309/
New Year’s Eve isn’t really as big of an event here in Japan as it is in the U.S. I hopped the bus downtown in the afternoon only to discover that many of the shops and smaller restaurants were closed. It reminded me of walking around downtown Pasadena after 4 pm on New Year’s Eve with all of the shops and restaurants closed and windows boarded up in preparation for the next day’s parade. Actually, it’s a lot like Christmas Eve in the U.S. Though there are some celebrations, the day is mostly spent in travel and preparation for the next day.
Anyway, though the downtown slightly resembled a ghost town, a few of the larger department stores were open as well as Tsutaya, the book store that has saved my sanity since I’ve come to Japan.
Side note: An American issue of Vogue magazine costs $21 here. Time Magazine is $17. And while the English book selection is fairly diverse, it’s pretty hit and miss. The only Hemingway they carry is The Sun Also Rises; the only Austen is Northanger Abbey; no Stephen King. But they do have the entire Gossip Girl series and all of Roald Dahl’s books. Go figure.
After perusing the books and picking up a couple new pens for school, I walked across the street to an Indian restaurant that one of my friends recommended. I’m new to Indian cuisine, but count me among converted. I am a fan. My meal of spice rubbed lamb cooked in a tandoor served with rice and garlic naan was amazing. I returned last weekend and had a terrific, if extremely spicy, seafood curry.
That evening, I relaxed with a glass of wine and a plate of cheese, crackers, and summer sausage that my parents had sent me for Christmas and watched a bit of the traditional year-end music countdown on television. This had been mentioned by many of my friends and co-workers, so I suppose it’s considered kind of the traditional thing to do on New Year’s Eve. It was interesting and I was kind of surprised how many of the songs I recognized from hearing them over the radio at lunch. After a bit though, I switched to the DVD player and watched Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Tom Stoppard is my hero.
Well, I was planning to finish New Year’s with this post, but it’s getting fairly long and I need to get this posted, so I suppose New Year’s Day will just have to wait.
Album(s) currently playing on my IPOD –In honor of the Presidential Inauguration, I have been listening to America (The Audiobook): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction. A wonderful combination of wit and sarcasm, America (The Audiobook) works perfectly to temper the almost overwhelming sense of hope and optimism of Obama’s inauguration. Even if you’ve read the book, I highly suggest listening to the audiobook. The narration by Jon Stewart and the other Daily Show contributors give it a whole new snarky dimension.
In a slightly more conventional vein, Antonin Dvorak’s 1893 String Quartet No. 12 “American” has also found its way onto my playlist. Performed by the Smetana String Quartet, it’s beautiful.
Current reading material – I just finished reading Kurt Vonnegut’s 1997 novel / memoir, Timequake. I’ll confess, this is only the second Vonnegut novel I’ve read, not to mention a few of his short stories. That said, I consider him one of my favorite authors. His writing always seems so effortless. No matter if he is writing about becoming unstuck in time and traveling to the planet Tralfamadore or if he’s writing about his family, it never seems like he is laboring over the words. This is particularly interesting considering Vonnegut freely admits his struggle to write Timequake lasted almost 10 years only to realize that the finished product was crap. So, the novel published, Timequake, is parts of the original novel combined with personal observations and antidotes. It’s just hilarious and incredibly easy to read. I finished it in two sittings.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Christmastime in Japan
There is land called Procrastinationia and I am its Queen.
I have intended innumerable times to write for you all. I have dictated half a dozen entries in my head as I went about my day. But just as I am about to sit down and open Word to begin, I am distracted by a book… or a movie… or a beautiful day to take a walk… or even that exotic of all activities, cleaning.
Let’s not dwell on that though, shall we? I’m here, ready to tell you all about Japan during the holid- Oh, look! Something shiny…
As a joke, I was going to stop there and wait another day to post my real entry. Only I realized that because I have taken so long to update, you all have no doubt taken to only checking this blog once a month or so and the joke would be lost. My habit of procrastination ruins my joke about my habit of procrastination. Oh, the circle… it is vicious.
So, many of you have asked if Christmas is celebrated in Japan. The answer is… kinda. Christmas in Japan is celebrated much like St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in the U.S. - completely divorced from any original religious and cultural meaning, and used as an excuse to hang garish decorations, give little children candy and trinkets, and go out with friends and drink until you can’t remember your name.
My Christmas in Japan started the Saturday evening prior at my apartment building’s Christmas party. I had received a wonderful invitation – all photo-shopped with Christmas banners and Santa Claus graphics – to the annual party which this year would feature a classical guitar concert followed by a potluck dinner and BINGO. It wasn’t until a few days later that I realized the invitation was entirely in English and had been made specifically for me.
The concert was wonderful. The guitarist, Shiochi Ishibara, played a 12 string guitar mostly, and a regular 6 string for the occasional song. He was accompanied by another man playing just about every type of percussion you can think of. There was even a fairly small gong used at the end of one song. They played mostly classical music, but also John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ which was quite poignant.
It was a very special moment for me as I listened to the beautiful sounds of the guitar, my mind supplying Lennon’s lyrics about his dream of one world, and looking around the room to these people who despite my complete inability to converse with many of them, had welcomed me with such friendliness. Despite my slight irritation at the way the Japanese had seemingly stripped Christmas of all religious meaning; at that moment, I realized that the spirit of Christmas still remained. Joy to all and peace on Earth.
The concert ended with a sing along to ‘Silent Night,’ and my heart about stopped when after a few rounds of the song, Shiochi-san called out “Now, English.” Fortunately, a few of the other residents sang with me and we received a rousing round of applause before one final round in Japanese.
After the concert, tables were quickly assembled and the residents began returning from their apartments with dish after dish after tray of meats, vegetables, salads, and soups. My snickerdoodle cookies seemed to go over quite well. And after numerous toasts; many dedicated to a newly married couple that were seated near me and which contained several good natured jabs at the 20-year age difference and other risqué matters if I read the bride’s blushes and men’s’ laughter correctly; we played BINGO. Now, I may not speak Japanese fluently or even anywhere in the vicinity of fluency, but I do pride myself on knowing my numbers. Unfortunately, when the numbers are being announced by two pre-teen girls in what can kindly be called a brisk pace, I occasionally got a bit lost. I should perhaps not forget to mention the couple of glasses of beer and shochu I had had by this time that no doubt played a part. Luckily, the two very nice gentlemen sitting to either side of me made sure that I didn’t miss anything and I was calling out ‘BINGO!’ in no time.
One of the funnier moments of the evening occurred as I was talking with the aforementioned gentlemen about their work, architecture, which has occasionally taken them to the States. Both men spoke English fairly well and I had to laugh when after the younger gentlemen finished speaking, the older gentlemen turned to me and said half-jokingly, “I have some difficulty understanding your English, but I understand his English perfectly. You should work on your pronunciation.”
This was not the end of my party circuit, however, as a few nights later, I met with my co-workers from Shichijo Elementary School at a great little restaurant in Kumamoto for their annual ‘Christmas / Year End Party.’ I didn’t ask for fear of sounding egotistical, but I think the Christmas bit was added simply as a nice gesture for me. The food was delicious – we had a variety of dishes, but the centerpiece of the meal was a spicy Korean soup with all kinds of vegetables and pork – and company was very nice. I had a good time seeing my co-workers outside of school and getting to know them a bit better. However, this was certainly a ‘company holiday party’ and I was accordingly anxious about the whole thing for reasons wholly different than you think, though you would be correct to think they are alcohol related.
In my experience, in the States, company holiday parties are generally regarded as an opportunity to gather embarrassing information and stories about your co-workers when they’ve drank a bit too much and to use that information to shame and blackmail them throughout the rest of the year. Good times.
In Japan, there is no shame or embarrassment regarding things done or said when one is drunk. Not only that, but apparently the Japanese as a society practice something similar to collective amnesia when it comes to what others do or say while intoxicated. Tell a ribald and frankly insulting joke about the boss’s wife to a group that includes your boss? As long as you are drunk, no worries. The boss can’t get mad and the next day everyone will pretend it didn’t happen.
And not only is there no shame in getting drunk at the company holiday party, it’s actually a little insulting to your co-workers and especially to your boss if you don’t drink and keep up with the rest of them. Now, there were certainly a few of my co-workers that were driving and therefore didn’t drink and no one held that against them. But, by and large, when the boss asks if you would like a drink, you answer ‘Yes, please.’
So as an American, it’s razor’s edge to walk. I want to drink enough to be sociable and not insult my superiors, but I also cringe at the idea of getting drunk, especially in front of others, and especially in front of my co-workers. And just to make things a bit more difficult, it is the culture here not to fill your own glass, but to fill your neighbor’s and they will fill yours. So, it’s difficult to keep track of how much you’ve drank because your glass keeps getting refilled before you can finish it, and I was sitting across from my kocho-sensei - Principal – so he was the one to keep refilling my glass.
I ended up drinking a bit more than I’d wished, but not too much to do or say anything silly. A few of my co-workers, on the other hand… As I said, they were a lot of fun and I had a great time seeing a different side to these people that I work with. However, I occasionally pictured my own elementary school teachers in their place; and that is mental image that I find both amusing and slightly horrifying. Go ahead. Try it. You want to both laugh and scrub your brain out with bleach, right? Me, too.
Christmas Day was quiet. My family had all gathered for Christmas Eve back in Kansas and I was able to talk to them all on the phone and wish everyone a Happy Christmas. Afterwards, I took a nice walk along the bank of the Tsuboi River before coming home to spend the rest of the day cuddled up with a blanket, some homemade vegetable soup, and movies that my parents had sent. It was a nice day.
Album currently playing on my IPOD – Fleet Foxes 2008 self-titled album. Hands down, my favorite album of the year. Recalling the sounds of the Beach Boys and CSN&Y, these guys are amazing. Check out their official music video for ‘White Winter Hymnal’ on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQRS40OKNE
Also on my IPOD queue – She and Him’s 2008 album, Volume One. Like many others, when I hear that an actor is putting out an album, I roll my eyes and unfairly judge them before I even hear a note. That said, I can’t help but like this duo which features the singing and songwriting of Zooey Deschanel. I admit, her lyrics can be a bit amateurish and her voice while perfectly serviceable, is certainly not remarkable. And yet, this album is a lot of fun and even a bit addictive. It’s an odd recommendation I admit, but a recommendation nonetheless.
Current reading material – I just finished reading the 1986 graphic novel, Watchmen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. I’ve never read a graphic novel before, and really only read this one at the urge of my Dad, but I’ve got to admit that I’m impressed. The illustrations are amazing, but more importantly to me, the story is constructed and told brilliantly. I’m now super excited to see the movie version when it comes out in a few months.
- Jenny
I have intended innumerable times to write for you all. I have dictated half a dozen entries in my head as I went about my day. But just as I am about to sit down and open Word to begin, I am distracted by a book… or a movie… or a beautiful day to take a walk… or even that exotic of all activities, cleaning.
Let’s not dwell on that though, shall we? I’m here, ready to tell you all about Japan during the holid- Oh, look! Something shiny…
As a joke, I was going to stop there and wait another day to post my real entry. Only I realized that because I have taken so long to update, you all have no doubt taken to only checking this blog once a month or so and the joke would be lost. My habit of procrastination ruins my joke about my habit of procrastination. Oh, the circle… it is vicious.
So, many of you have asked if Christmas is celebrated in Japan. The answer is… kinda. Christmas in Japan is celebrated much like St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in the U.S. - completely divorced from any original religious and cultural meaning, and used as an excuse to hang garish decorations, give little children candy and trinkets, and go out with friends and drink until you can’t remember your name.
My Christmas in Japan started the Saturday evening prior at my apartment building’s Christmas party. I had received a wonderful invitation – all photo-shopped with Christmas banners and Santa Claus graphics – to the annual party which this year would feature a classical guitar concert followed by a potluck dinner and BINGO. It wasn’t until a few days later that I realized the invitation was entirely in English and had been made specifically for me.
The concert was wonderful. The guitarist, Shiochi Ishibara, played a 12 string guitar mostly, and a regular 6 string for the occasional song. He was accompanied by another man playing just about every type of percussion you can think of. There was even a fairly small gong used at the end of one song. They played mostly classical music, but also John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ which was quite poignant.
It was a very special moment for me as I listened to the beautiful sounds of the guitar, my mind supplying Lennon’s lyrics about his dream of one world, and looking around the room to these people who despite my complete inability to converse with many of them, had welcomed me with such friendliness. Despite my slight irritation at the way the Japanese had seemingly stripped Christmas of all religious meaning; at that moment, I realized that the spirit of Christmas still remained. Joy to all and peace on Earth.
The concert ended with a sing along to ‘Silent Night,’ and my heart about stopped when after a few rounds of the song, Shiochi-san called out “Now, English.” Fortunately, a few of the other residents sang with me and we received a rousing round of applause before one final round in Japanese.
After the concert, tables were quickly assembled and the residents began returning from their apartments with dish after dish after tray of meats, vegetables, salads, and soups. My snickerdoodle cookies seemed to go over quite well. And after numerous toasts; many dedicated to a newly married couple that were seated near me and which contained several good natured jabs at the 20-year age difference and other risqué matters if I read the bride’s blushes and men’s’ laughter correctly; we played BINGO. Now, I may not speak Japanese fluently or even anywhere in the vicinity of fluency, but I do pride myself on knowing my numbers. Unfortunately, when the numbers are being announced by two pre-teen girls in what can kindly be called a brisk pace, I occasionally got a bit lost. I should perhaps not forget to mention the couple of glasses of beer and shochu I had had by this time that no doubt played a part. Luckily, the two very nice gentlemen sitting to either side of me made sure that I didn’t miss anything and I was calling out ‘BINGO!’ in no time.
One of the funnier moments of the evening occurred as I was talking with the aforementioned gentlemen about their work, architecture, which has occasionally taken them to the States. Both men spoke English fairly well and I had to laugh when after the younger gentlemen finished speaking, the older gentlemen turned to me and said half-jokingly, “I have some difficulty understanding your English, but I understand his English perfectly. You should work on your pronunciation.”
This was not the end of my party circuit, however, as a few nights later, I met with my co-workers from Shichijo Elementary School at a great little restaurant in Kumamoto for their annual ‘Christmas / Year End Party.’ I didn’t ask for fear of sounding egotistical, but I think the Christmas bit was added simply as a nice gesture for me. The food was delicious – we had a variety of dishes, but the centerpiece of the meal was a spicy Korean soup with all kinds of vegetables and pork – and company was very nice. I had a good time seeing my co-workers outside of school and getting to know them a bit better. However, this was certainly a ‘company holiday party’ and I was accordingly anxious about the whole thing for reasons wholly different than you think, though you would be correct to think they are alcohol related.
In my experience, in the States, company holiday parties are generally regarded as an opportunity to gather embarrassing information and stories about your co-workers when they’ve drank a bit too much and to use that information to shame and blackmail them throughout the rest of the year. Good times.
In Japan, there is no shame or embarrassment regarding things done or said when one is drunk. Not only that, but apparently the Japanese as a society practice something similar to collective amnesia when it comes to what others do or say while intoxicated. Tell a ribald and frankly insulting joke about the boss’s wife to a group that includes your boss? As long as you are drunk, no worries. The boss can’t get mad and the next day everyone will pretend it didn’t happen.
And not only is there no shame in getting drunk at the company holiday party, it’s actually a little insulting to your co-workers and especially to your boss if you don’t drink and keep up with the rest of them. Now, there were certainly a few of my co-workers that were driving and therefore didn’t drink and no one held that against them. But, by and large, when the boss asks if you would like a drink, you answer ‘Yes, please.’
So as an American, it’s razor’s edge to walk. I want to drink enough to be sociable and not insult my superiors, but I also cringe at the idea of getting drunk, especially in front of others, and especially in front of my co-workers. And just to make things a bit more difficult, it is the culture here not to fill your own glass, but to fill your neighbor’s and they will fill yours. So, it’s difficult to keep track of how much you’ve drank because your glass keeps getting refilled before you can finish it, and I was sitting across from my kocho-sensei - Principal – so he was the one to keep refilling my glass.
I ended up drinking a bit more than I’d wished, but not too much to do or say anything silly. A few of my co-workers, on the other hand… As I said, they were a lot of fun and I had a great time seeing a different side to these people that I work with. However, I occasionally pictured my own elementary school teachers in their place; and that is mental image that I find both amusing and slightly horrifying. Go ahead. Try it. You want to both laugh and scrub your brain out with bleach, right? Me, too.
Christmas Day was quiet. My family had all gathered for Christmas Eve back in Kansas and I was able to talk to them all on the phone and wish everyone a Happy Christmas. Afterwards, I took a nice walk along the bank of the Tsuboi River before coming home to spend the rest of the day cuddled up with a blanket, some homemade vegetable soup, and movies that my parents had sent. It was a nice day.
Album currently playing on my IPOD – Fleet Foxes 2008 self-titled album. Hands down, my favorite album of the year. Recalling the sounds of the Beach Boys and CSN&Y, these guys are amazing. Check out their official music video for ‘White Winter Hymnal’ on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQRS40OKNE
Also on my IPOD queue – She and Him’s 2008 album, Volume One. Like many others, when I hear that an actor is putting out an album, I roll my eyes and unfairly judge them before I even hear a note. That said, I can’t help but like this duo which features the singing and songwriting of Zooey Deschanel. I admit, her lyrics can be a bit amateurish and her voice while perfectly serviceable, is certainly not remarkable. And yet, this album is a lot of fun and even a bit addictive. It’s an odd recommendation I admit, but a recommendation nonetheless.
Current reading material – I just finished reading the 1986 graphic novel, Watchmen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. I’ve never read a graphic novel before, and really only read this one at the urge of my Dad, but I’ve got to admit that I’m impressed. The illustrations are amazing, but more importantly to me, the story is constructed and told brilliantly. I’m now super excited to see the movie version when it comes out in a few months.
- Jenny
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