So far life in Japan is pretty interesting. I made it safely into through Shang Hai to Osaka Japan. I was supposed to have a reservation with a shuttle company that would take me to my apartment in Kyoto, but apparently the reservation got lost in translation. Thankfully i was able to contact Prof. Morokuma who explained the situation to the people at the desk and they put me on a shuttle to Kyoto, so everything worked out well.
There have certainly been some new things to adjust too, the first obviously being the time change (13 hours ahead of Atlanta time). I'm still adjusting, but i'm getting closer to normality. The first few days i was waking up at 4:30 in the morning. Amazing, i was actually the first one to work everyday this week. Anyone who knows me knows that that is an amazing feat for me to be up an about voluntarily.
The language barrier is definitely there, but i'm doing pretty well in getting by. Most people know a little broken english so i can at least get across my intentions in public. Thankfully, everyone at the office speaks english, so there's no difficulty there. One thing i am definitely having trouble adjusting to is bowing. Anyone who serves you, either cashier, secretary, or driver bows to you. Of course, i want to bow back but i'm often caught off guard and end up just nodding my head instead of a full bow. I can see why many companies have etiquette classes to teach their employees to bow effectively.
The food here isn't much different from back in america, with a few exceptions. They have many of the same brand names and everything is labeled with either english or illustrations in addition to the standard japanese. However, there are some jarring differences. No matter how hard i try, i can't get over seeing squid and octopus on display at the grocery store. Seafood is more prevalent, which doesn't bother me, but so is shellfish, which i don't eat. And the first thing i noticed about Kyoto's streets (besides driving in opposites directions) is that there seems to be vending machines on every corner. The sell sodas, canned coffee, tobacco, and alcohol. While i was on the plane ride, a line from a Bob Dylan song about travel abroad kept running through my head: "Oh, to be back in the land of Coca-Cola." He obviously had not been to Japan when he wrote that. I've just as many Coke products and vending machines here as i ever saw at Emory, maybe even more.
Well, this is getting a little long, so i'll finish up. I'll upload some pictures when i get a chance. Hope everyone else is having good time abroad
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Thanks for posting, Ben! It is good to hear from you. I can imagine it is hard to get the bow done properly. Keep trying!
As for food, are you mostly cooking for yourself or going out?
I hope your circadian rhythm gets settled soon. James will be all messed up with you next week when he gets to Australia!
hahaha, great post, ben! i'm glad ma sent me the link to this.
what other crazy crap can you buy from the vending machines? furniture? real estate? pets?
Ben! I'd been dying to catch a post from you. The time difference sounds lethal. Happy to hear your travel went well in spite of minor bumps.
I now have this vision of wee children gathering around you to hear you tell them stories about the fabled World of Coca Cola.
Glad to hear from you. Maybe the Japanese will begin to sound like English soon. Take good notes on the customs and etiquette. We'll add some new prep...
Hope all the lab work is going well.
P
Post a Comment