Exploring Emics

One of the great benefits of studying abroad is that it provides a more enlightened perspective on which to view the world. Etics, such as the need to eat, drink, and sleep certainly happen in every culture, but it may be naive to think that any activities beyond that aren't influenced by culture. My experience studying in Japan this semester is constantly challenging that which I once held to be universal truths.

Only now am I realizing how much my outlook on life is truly shaped by American culture. One interesting example of this is the "animal noises" in Japan. Previously, I assumed that all frogs went ribbit, all cats went meow, and all sheeps went baah, etc. Little did I know, that intercultural communication in Japan extends to animals as well.



Ex:
Dogs say "wan wan"
Horses say "hihiin"
Pigs say "buu buu"?

And perhaps the funniest one, frogs say "gero gero"

The following link has a list of some other Japanese sounds..

www.sljfaq.org/afaq/animal-noises.html

Strange Things Seen in Japan

These are just a few photos taken from my phone that give an idea of the strange things a visitor to Japan will encounter on a daily basis. I would love to have been in the corporate boardroom when some of these ideas were being pitched..


This a notebook I bought from the bookstore on campus. In case you can't read the type it says, "College Plus for all sensuous people line :B. Authentic Necessaries for official and personal life scene."

Believe it or not, this is a package for condoms. Apparently this has helped sales..

This was on sale at the 7-11. "Excuse me, can you tell me where the bathroom is?" "Ya, just go past the malicious weaponry isle and turn left.."


Mm.. American cola, wish we had this back home

Devin's Osusume (Recommendations for places to go in Japan)

Even though I have only been on this island for a month I have already amassed a fair bit of travel under my belt. The following pictures were taken at some of my favorite touristy and not-so-touristy places in Japan. So if you are brainstorming for travel destinations in Nihon, you might want to check some of these places out..

Round 1 Entertainment Center- Hirakata, Osaka, Japan

This place had literally every form of cheap amusement that you could fit under one roof, including; video games, billiards, ping pong, fishing (yes, fishing), shooting range, basketball, batting cage, tennis court, soccer court, badminton, roller skating, karoake, massage chairs, and my personal favorite.. mini-motorcycle races..

The Kamo River area is one of the most popular nightlife spots in Kyoto. On one side you have Pontocho Street, which is bar after bar after over looking the river and on the other side is the infamous Gion which is famous for nightlife in its own right..

Another obvious but necessary tourist destination is the infamous Kinkakuji, aka the Golden Pavilion.

Beautiful yes, a little wasteful.. maybe.

If you can successfully make it past the thresholds of hungry deer in Nara, you might find yourself at one of the largest wooden buildings in the world, which also happens to be home to one of the biggest Bhuddas..

Koshien Stadium, Japan's most historic ballpark and home to the Hanshin Tigers, is a great place to watch baseball, down a few asahis, and let loose for a while.

Although a sobering experience, I highly recommend visiting Hiroshima to see the Peace Memorial Museum and the A-bomb Dome.

"Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."

-George Santayana

This link connects to the album I made of my first week traveling around Japan.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=3&aid=2019929&id=1573860135#/album.php?aid=2019929&id=1573860135&page=3

Nonverbal Communication in Japan

In the Western World, we rely heavily on the actual words said in a conversation to decipher the meaning. This is due largely to a direct style of communication. In Japan, however it is important to preserve wa (group harmony) and ensure that everyone saves face. The meaning of the word yes can range from yes, no, to absolutely not. Meanings are often implied rather than directly stated. In order for a foreigner (like me) to communicate effectively here, it becomes important to be very observant of body language and cultural norms.

Some forms of non-verbal communication are exceedingly obvious. When a foreigner makes a cultural foux paus, the nihonjin in charge will likely respond with their arms raised in a big X. Other non-verbal signals are not always easy to spot. In my experience so far, people in the U.S. seem much more willing to express their discomfort openly than people in Japan. Whereas a customer service rep at a 7-11 in the U.S. might be openly grumpy to customers, a similar employee here will always put on a smile and force out an irrasshaimase. The separation of honne and tatemae helps to explain this phenomenon. In Japan, due to social obligations and a group mentality, it is common for Japanese people to suppress their true feelings (honne) and instead act according to social expectations.

The following video, although intended to be humorous, gives an interesting look into other nonverbal communication that is present in Japan. Enjoy..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_RM8To5mjU&feature=channel

Camping at Lake Biwa!

Welcome to my blog..

Throughout the course of this semester I will document my travels, trials, and tribulations in Japan. As one of the few people studying at Kansai Gaidai who are visiting a foreign country for the first time, I am seeing everything through fresh lenses. I am a newbie to both Japanese language and culture, which should make for some blogworthy experiences.

This past weekend I traveled with international students (2 Columbians, 2 Germans, an Australian, a Swedish-Brit, a Ukranian, and 3 other Americans) to Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan. This was about as intercultural as it gets. The campsite we stayed at was one of the most aesthetically pleasing places I have ever been too. It felt almost as if we were on the set of Lost. For 3 nights we camped out, bbq`d, swam, explored, danced, and even tried to start conversations with the local Nihonjin.

There were some pretty big differences I noticed between us and our campsite neighbors. Other than a random guy that windsurfed past us on the first day, we were the only foreigners in site. Most campers stayed for only one night, whereas we decided to make the most out of Silver Week and rough it in the wild (no showers, etc) for 3 days. Despite this, we still had the shoddiest tents on the beach. This was evident when one of them snapped halfway through the trip and we had to duct tape it back to stay under cover.

One thing I noticed about Japanese culture thus far is that they take everything seriously. They even relax seriously. Their tents looked like they could have had a basement dug underneath with possibly a kitchen. Their also seemed more organized in planning their meals. Although our bbq ended up being delicious, our inability to read japanese food labels left us with cow intestines and 64 hotdogs on a stick. All in all, it was an amazing trip and I am looking forward to experiencing whatelse Japan has to offer outside the city of Hirakata..