Japan Meme - Day 1 - A picture of you "in Japan".
I am totally pinching this meme from Laura, and am going to try to write 30 entries about Japan. We're coming up on a year that I've been home, and I think this will be a good chance to sort out some things. I left Japan very suddenly, and I have a lot of unresolved feelings about that.
Day 01 - A picture of you "in Japan". (doing or wearing something "Japanese")
Day 02 - Describe your neighborhood in Japan.
Day 03 - Most interesting person you met.
Day 04 - What's your favorite place that's not in any of the guidebooks/lists of places to visit?
Day 05 - Which, if any, Japanese mannerisms or expressions have you adopted?
Day 06 - Food that you swore you would never eat but now love (or tolerate).
Day 07 - Which Japanese words do you use in English? (hanami, shinkansen, etc.)
Day 08 - Are you a Herbivore or Carnivore? S or M?
Day 09 - Favorite stores/shopping centers.
Day 10 - Something about Japan that sets it apart from anywhere else.
Day 11 - What did you find most overrated and underrated about Japan?
Day 12 - Describe a fail!gaijin moment. (Where you did something wrong or completely misunderstood because you couldn't ~read the air~ or just plain had no idea what you were supposed to do because you weren't born and raised here) Describe a gaijin!smash moment .(Where your foreignness was to your benefit)
Day 13 - -Something about Japan that sets it apart from anywhere else.
Day 14 - What is the hardest thing about living in Japan versus your home country?
Day 15 - Weirdest food item you've seen, and weirdest food item you've actually eaten.
Day 16 - How you realised you'd acclimated to Japan. (if you have)
Day 17 - Your karaoke top 5, your sushi top 5, your conbini top 5.
Day 18 - Post some amusing/cute/faily purikura.
Day 19 - Your favorite Japanese character(s) and Gachapon/UFO Catcher toys
Day 20 - Favorite Japanese festival or folklore.
Day 21 - Favorite and least favorite Japanese fashion trends.
Day 22 - Your favorite Japanese saying or kotowaza (proverb).
Day 23 - What is something you have/do in Japan that you wish you had/could do in your home country?
Day 24 - Your favorite Japanese slang or borrow-word (外来語), e.g. セフレ "sex friend"
Day 25 - Most interesting vending machine find.
Day 26 - What's your favorite/least favorite train line.
Day 27 - Place you avoid going to if at all possible.
Day 28 - A picture of you looking like a weaboo/A picture of you trying to blend in and failing.
Day 29 - What's the thing you [will] miss most about Japan when you leave (either on vacation, or move away)?
Day 30 - Did Japan meet your expectations, both good and bad? What has been the most surprising thing about Japan for you, or the thing you least expected?
This is a picture of Candice and I at Kamakura, a famous shrine on the coast just outside of Yokohama. It has a huge, very old, very famous statue of the Buddha, which can be clearly viewed behind our smiling faces.
This picture is one of the more significant because it was taken on September 23rd, 2009, less than twenty-four hours before I found out about my mother's death. For a long time, I thought of this day as my last good day in Japan. I was very excited on this day - Candice and I were seeing each other for the first time since I left and I had just had my 26th birthday. Taking this picture is my dear friend Laura, whom I am still close to. I remember how happy I was and how charged I felt about the future at this point. I really was ready for 26 to be the best year of my life.
In the end, it wasn't. The next day we got the news of my mother's death and I spent the rest of that week in a fog. I still am caught off guard by how much it hurts, losing my mother. I know it seems stupid, like, duh. Losing a parent is rough. Some days it seriously takes my breath away. But the thing about that picture? It wasn't the last good day in Japan or in general. I've had a lot of good days since then. I went to TOKYO DISNEY, for pete's sake. That? Was an excellent day. So instead of labelling this picture "Lastgoodday", which is what it was on my old computer, on this one, it is simply "mecandicekamakura". I smile when I see it now and have a better handle on my time over there.
Day 01 - A picture of you "in Japan". (doing or wearing something "Japanese")
Day 02 - Describe your neighborhood in Japan.
Day 03 - Most interesting person you met.
Day 04 - What's your favorite place that's not in any of the guidebooks/lists of places to visit?
Day 05 - Which, if any, Japanese mannerisms or expressions have you adopted?
Day 06 - Food that you swore you would never eat but now love (or tolerate).
Day 07 - Which Japanese words do you use in English? (hanami, shinkansen, etc.)
Day 08 - Are you a Herbivore or Carnivore? S or M?
Day 09 - Favorite stores/shopping centers.
Day 10 - Something about Japan that sets it apart from anywhere else.
Day 11 - What did you find most overrated and underrated about Japan?
Day 12 - Describe a fail!gaijin moment. (Where you did something wrong or completely misunderstood because you couldn't ~read the air~ or just plain had no idea what you were supposed to do because you weren't born and raised here) Describe a gaijin!smash moment .(Where your foreignness was to your benefit)
Day 13 - -Something about Japan that sets it apart from anywhere else.
Day 14 - What is the hardest thing about living in Japan versus your home country?
Day 15 - Weirdest food item you've seen, and weirdest food item you've actually eaten.
Day 16 - How you realised you'd acclimated to Japan. (if you have)
Day 17 - Your karaoke top 5, your sushi top 5, your conbini top 5.
Day 18 - Post some amusing/cute/faily purikura.
Day 19 - Your favorite Japanese character(s) and Gachapon/UFO Catcher toys
Day 20 - Favorite Japanese festival or folklore.
Day 21 - Favorite and least favorite Japanese fashion trends.
Day 22 - Your favorite Japanese saying or kotowaza (proverb).
Day 23 - What is something you have/do in Japan that you wish you had/could do in your home country?
Day 24 - Your favorite Japanese slang or borrow-word (外来語), e.g. セフレ "sex friend"
Day 25 - Most interesting vending machine find.
Day 26 - What's your favorite/least favorite train line.
Day 27 - Place you avoid going to if at all possible.
Day 28 - A picture of you looking like a weaboo/A picture of you trying to blend in and failing.
Day 29 - What's the thing you [will] miss most about Japan when you leave (either on vacation, or move away)?
Day 30 - Did Japan meet your expectations, both good and bad? What has been the most surprising thing about Japan for you, or the thing you least expected?
This is a picture of Candice and I at Kamakura, a famous shrine on the coast just outside of Yokohama. It has a huge, very old, very famous statue of the Buddha, which can be clearly viewed behind our smiling faces.
This picture is one of the more significant because it was taken on September 23rd, 2009, less than twenty-four hours before I found out about my mother's death. For a long time, I thought of this day as my last good day in Japan. I was very excited on this day - Candice and I were seeing each other for the first time since I left and I had just had my 26th birthday. Taking this picture is my dear friend Laura, whom I am still close to. I remember how happy I was and how charged I felt about the future at this point. I really was ready for 26 to be the best year of my life.
In the end, it wasn't. The next day we got the news of my mother's death and I spent the rest of that week in a fog. I still am caught off guard by how much it hurts, losing my mother. I know it seems stupid, like, duh. Losing a parent is rough. Some days it seriously takes my breath away. But the thing about that picture? It wasn't the last good day in Japan or in general. I've had a lot of good days since then. I went to TOKYO DISNEY, for pete's sake. That? Was an excellent day. So instead of labelling this picture "Lastgoodday", which is what it was on my old computer, on this one, it is simply "mecandicekamakura". I smile when I see it now and have a better handle on my time over there.