English language schools ("eikaiwa") and foreigners working in them get a bad rap among the foreign community in Japan, but I can say without hesitation that they are the best cultural exchange environments around. A big part of the reason for this is that foreigners who are studying Japanese tend to want to speak mundane Japanese for practice outside of the eikaiwa, and those who work in an
mercredi 7 juillet 2010
Will Miss #197 - cultural story exchanges
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
English language schools ("eikaiwa") and foreigners working in them get a bad rap among the foreign community in Japan, but I can say without hesitation that they are the best cultural exchange environments around. A big part of the reason for this is that foreigners who are studying Japanese tend to want to speak mundane Japanese for practice outside of the eikaiwa, and those who work in an
mardi 6 juillet 2010
Won't Miss #197 - condoms that are too small
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
There is an effort among some foreign women married to Japanese men to dispel what they believe is the "myth" that Japanese men have smaller penises than foreign men based on their (statistically insignificant) personal experiences. I have no interest in myths, but I do know some facts. The fact of the matter is that penis size in a given population relates not to the size of the men, but the
lundi 5 juillet 2010
Will Miss #196 - a ritual for everything
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
One of my students is an older gentleman who pays me in cash at the end of the lesson. There is a certain awkwardness associated with handing money over to someone with whom you have a teacher/student relationship because of the atmosphere of friendliness and cordiality in what is essentially a business relationship. The Japanese have a way of addressing this and many other potentially awkward
dimanche 4 juillet 2010
Won't Miss #196 - no English Subtitles
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
If you see a movie like "Avatar" or "Lord of the Rings", there are made-up languages used during certain points of the movie. Even though the movie is in English, there is no way to understand fictional languages without subtitles (unless you're a big geek and speak fluent Elvish). Even if you read Japanese fast enough or well enough, it is disruptive to your enjoyment of the movie to be torn
samedi 3 juillet 2010
Will Miss #195 - housewives being valued
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
In the U.S., women who stay at home and are either housewives or stay at home mothers have to fight a battle to be appreciated. They're often seen as lazy, bon-bon-eating slackers who lounge about the house all day and mooch off of their employed husbands. I realize that is an exaggeration, but I would wager that most American women feel a need to justify their choice not to work. In Japan, the
vendredi 2 juillet 2010
Won't Miss #195 - platinum jewelry
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
A sign about platinum jewelry.
Among my married students, I have never seen one wear a ring made of gold. Every married person I've ever met in Japan has a platinum wedding band. In fact, Japan buys 85% of the world's platinum jewelry. Considering that they have less than 2% of the world's population, that's some pretty impressive conspicuous consumption. I've never gotten a straight answer as to
Among my married students, I have never seen one wear a ring made of gold. Every married person I've ever met in Japan has a platinum wedding band. In fact, Japan buys 85% of the world's platinum jewelry. Considering that they have less than 2% of the world's population, that's some pretty impressive conspicuous consumption. I've never gotten a straight answer as to
jeudi 1 juillet 2010
Will Miss #194 - bontan ame
Posted on 00:00 by Unknown
One thing that tends to happen as you get older is that you prefer things that aren't so sweet when you indulge in treats. We often hear that Japanese candies aren't as sweet as American ones, and, speaking very generally, that is true (though it isn't always true by a long shot). One of the candies which I've discovered here that nicely replaces sweet American candies like Sunkist Fruit Gems is
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