Getting Oriented
Since this is my first official post, I'm not really sure what format I'm going to use for this blog, so I apologize if it seems jumbled and confusing, but I will improve it as time goes on. Also, I apologize for any other posting errors, but the links to all my pages on the internet are in UNICODE UTF-8, since I don't yet have the Japanese character patch for Windows.
The first few days have been tolerable. Coping with the extreme jet-lag, and having to sit through boring workshops and panel presentations have taken their toll, and have proven to be the low points of my stay, but its almost over. When we arrived at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo, it was around 8 PM on a Sunday night (7 AM at our departure point in Boston). We are staying in a part of Tokyo called Shinjuku, with its many bars and restaurants, and casino-like arcades with bright flashing lights everywhere, that can give you an epileptic seizure.
My roommates and I walked around for about an hour looking for an ATM, and this was when I got my first chance to speak Japanese with a local. I calmly walked up to a police officer after I took a few minutes to figure out in my head what I was going to say. Sumimasen, ATM wa doko desu ka? (excuse me, where is the ATM?) I must have said it perfectly, because the way he responded, the quickness of his speech made me think that he thought I knew how to speak, when instead I was forced to give him the helpless stare. He got on his cell phone and called over one of his buddies, and they walked us to the nearest bank with a VISA logo. I've noticed that people here, no matter what job they have, will almost always go out of their way to help someone. Everything closed early on Sunday, so we went back to the hotel, bought some more beers from the Konbini (Convenience store), and tried inebriation as a remedy for the jet-lag we knew was approaching, and would throw our sleep cycles into disarray over the next couple of days.
The next morning was series of many awkward but pleasant introductions to other JET participants, a few misunderstandings with some Aussies at breakfast, and the inevitable comparison between how America differs from Japan, which I'll all briefly explain.
The Aussies
When you're put in social situations such as mine, you're forced to come out of your shell early on, or else you get stuck in an increasingly awkward situation, like when trying to decide who to sit with in a room full of 2,000+ people during breakfast. I introduced myself in the elevator, and we collectively made the silent agreement that it was ok to sit with one another and eat. Here is a rough example of what I can recollect from the breakfast convo:
Nick (Ausses #1): Yea, so...Its funny how playin' in the yard back home in Brisbane, my brother and I used to fool around and switch back and forth between Aussie and American accents. We'd be playin around you know, and my brother would suddenly say, "Hey man! How ya doin', Can I help ya??" (In a perfectly American sounding voice)
Me: Ha!
(Then I explained the Americans mimick Aussie accents from what we hear on the Foster's commercials, and how some of us use the phrase, "Shrimp on the Barbie")
Aussie #2 (whose name I forgot): What the fuck is a shrimp?
Nick: Its a prawn, you Americans don't know what that is, but thats what we use.
Me: Ah!
Aussie #2: Why can't you ride your bike and piss?
Me: (I tried explaining the mechanics of human anatomy, and why its difficult to pass urine through the urethra when sitting on a bike, when they both looked at each other and started laughing, explaining to me that they were talking about how its a law in Japan that you can't BE pissed (drunk) and ride your bike in public)
The BIDET Enema (if you dont know, look it up)
In short, that last person who used it turned the water pressure all the way up on the toilet. I pressed the button with the crudely drawn image above it, and before I knew what was going on, the jet stream let loose, and its aim was true, almost as if it was using some sort of radar-guided Japanese technology. I almost fell off the toilet laughing.
The Elevators of Death
Its so funny watching Americans cope with how quickly the doors open and shut here, you can imagine the horror.
I'm playing hooky right now, sitting in the lobby writing this entry, and I'm feeling exhausted. I'll probably go back to my room and catch some Z's before the afternoon is over.
Sayonara!
The first few days have been tolerable. Coping with the extreme jet-lag, and having to sit through boring workshops and panel presentations have taken their toll, and have proven to be the low points of my stay, but its almost over. When we arrived at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo, it was around 8 PM on a Sunday night (7 AM at our departure point in Boston). We are staying in a part of Tokyo called Shinjuku, with its many bars and restaurants, and casino-like arcades with bright flashing lights everywhere, that can give you an epileptic seizure.
My roommates and I walked around for about an hour looking for an ATM, and this was when I got my first chance to speak Japanese with a local. I calmly walked up to a police officer after I took a few minutes to figure out in my head what I was going to say. Sumimasen, ATM wa doko desu ka? (excuse me, where is the ATM?) I must have said it perfectly, because the way he responded, the quickness of his speech made me think that he thought I knew how to speak, when instead I was forced to give him the helpless stare. He got on his cell phone and called over one of his buddies, and they walked us to the nearest bank with a VISA logo. I've noticed that people here, no matter what job they have, will almost always go out of their way to help someone. Everything closed early on Sunday, so we went back to the hotel, bought some more beers from the Konbini (Convenience store), and tried inebriation as a remedy for the jet-lag we knew was approaching, and would throw our sleep cycles into disarray over the next couple of days.
The next morning was series of many awkward but pleasant introductions to other JET participants, a few misunderstandings with some Aussies at breakfast, and the inevitable comparison between how America differs from Japan, which I'll all briefly explain.
The Aussies
When you're put in social situations such as mine, you're forced to come out of your shell early on, or else you get stuck in an increasingly awkward situation, like when trying to decide who to sit with in a room full of 2,000+ people during breakfast. I introduced myself in the elevator, and we collectively made the silent agreement that it was ok to sit with one another and eat. Here is a rough example of what I can recollect from the breakfast convo:
Nick (Ausses #1): Yea, so...Its funny how playin' in the yard back home in Brisbane, my brother and I used to fool around and switch back and forth between Aussie and American accents. We'd be playin around you know, and my brother would suddenly say, "Hey man! How ya doin', Can I help ya??" (In a perfectly American sounding voice)
Me: Ha!
(Then I explained the Americans mimick Aussie accents from what we hear on the Foster's commercials, and how some of us use the phrase, "Shrimp on the Barbie")
Aussie #2 (whose name I forgot): What the fuck is a shrimp?
Nick: Its a prawn, you Americans don't know what that is, but thats what we use.
Me: Ah!
Aussie #2: Why can't you ride your bike and piss?
Me: (I tried explaining the mechanics of human anatomy, and why its difficult to pass urine through the urethra when sitting on a bike, when they both looked at each other and started laughing, explaining to me that they were talking about how its a law in Japan that you can't BE pissed (drunk) and ride your bike in public)
The BIDET Enema (if you dont know, look it up)
In short, that last person who used it turned the water pressure all the way up on the toilet. I pressed the button with the crudely drawn image above it, and before I knew what was going on, the jet stream let loose, and its aim was true, almost as if it was using some sort of radar-guided Japanese technology. I almost fell off the toilet laughing.
The Elevators of Death
Its so funny watching Americans cope with how quickly the doors open and shut here, you can imagine the horror.
I'm playing hooky right now, sitting in the lobby writing this entry, and I'm feeling exhausted. I'll probably go back to my room and catch some Z's before the afternoon is over.
Sayonara!
posted by Alex Cruz at
10:08 PM
4 Comments:
Alex the bidet comment...I fell off my chair laughing in the lab and now people think I have severe prblems..tooo funny...i will give you a brief excerpt of what I have to memorize today for work
"In digital systems, such as the BD FACSVantage S cytometer equipped wtih the BD FACSVDiVa option, the voltage corresponding to each signal is digitized into one of 16,384 possible levels 10 million times per second by ADCs. Signal are continuously digitized during normal operation, whether a pulse is present or not, and all digitized signals are represented as numbers in memory.."
taken from Introduction to Flow Cytometry: A Learning Guide
55 pages of that shit...all of which I must know by heart so I dont break the 1 million dollar machine...
you've never seen a bidet before? haven't you seen crocodile dundee?
it's said that your blog already has a viewership twice that of mine. alas. sounds like it's gonna be a great two years.
bong.
ha, no one will read this comment ever. i will still post though.
Alex....did I detect a faint whiff of sarcasm in your description of the musical prowess of the band members????
Were you BORN playing a guitar???
I'm sure they were just giving you the opportunity to jump up there and give them some lessons.....
cha-chinnnng
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home