Several of you have asked what differences I'm noticing in Japanese culture (shout out to Jamie E, Mabel D, Taylor R, Justine R, Morgan B, and probably others that I can't remember offhand), so I'll now to address those issues in this post. (please note, for the benefit of readers fortunate enough not to be my students, that there are of course far more than eight significant elements of culture; these are simply the ones I choose to zero-in on in seventh grade social studies).
Language is certainly the one difference I've felt the most profoundly. Though English is in many ways ubiquitous, I can't escape situations (and don't want to, completely) in which I feel unsure or dumb because I can't understand Japanese. Yesterday (Saturday in Tokyo), for example, I spent much of the day wandering the city by myself, walking and subway-riding wherever the spirit led me. That's how I like to experience a city, and Tokyo proved no exception -- it was an enjoyable, relaxing day. But sometimes I really wished I could read Japanese, like when I came across what looked to me like a little park. I was warm and a little tired after roaming the streets for several hours and I wanted to sit down on the bench and rest in the shade for a while. Which I did, but I couldn't help but wonder uncertainly if the signs said something like, "Not a Public Park" or "Private Area - Stay Out." So I didn't stay long...
The same problem had occurred when I was keeping an eye out for a small Shinto shrine that I'd identified on my map. I came to this short driveway, and even though I could see the sign, I had no earthly idea whether it was saying, "Come on
in, all you American tourists, and visit our shrine," or maybe "Stay out -- private
drive." I want to avoid being the stereotypical rude American tourist who waltzes willfully wherever he wishes, so I chose not to walk up the driveway -- and good thing, since I found the shine a few blocks away.
And when going out to eat, an ignoramus like me has three options: 1) Choose a restaurant that has English subtitles and/or pictures of the food, 2) Order blindly off a menu in Japanese script, which means you'd have no idea what you're ordering, because most Japanese servers aren't able to speak enough English to be very helpful, or 3) Be grateful to hitch a ride with trip-friends like Jenny and Kip and Ken who know more Japanese than I do -- not enough to read a Japanese menu or anything, but enough to say things to the server like "chicken and vegetables, please." Of course, the chicken and vegetables might come out different than expected, but at least it's semi-familiar.
Many eateries have pictures or even plastic replicas of their meals outside,
sometimes with English captions. That can be really handy, as in this picture of a meal that I'd have to steel myself to order.
It isn't hard, though, to find foods that remind me that I'm in a new culture. Sometimes the "strange" food looks pretty good, as was the case with these parfaits I saw through a window...
... and sometimes it's slightly less appetizing. Forunately, I have a whole community waiting back at home to share the experience with me. Ryan S. asked me to bring back some food for him, so I was thinking he might like the dried octopus which is available in just about every store.
And surely Mrs. Sotebeer and Mrs. Grabill would love some of these crackers to munch on.