Comments | discountsatori: Dead-end philosophies on location

discountsatori

Dead-end philosophies on location

Jan 03, 2004 23:24

Last year I was reading Douglas Coupland's Microserfs during the first week of January. This year, I'm reading Douglas Coupland's All Families Are Psychotic (which was sent to me packed with Adam's receipts and ticket stubs from New York and bearing a faint smell of coffee I never want to go away). Continuity is my bitch ( Read more... )

athletic torture, milestones, japan stories

Comments 7

dlc1178 January 3 2004, 07:03:24 UTC

i've been thinking about teaching abroad upon graduation (china, though) and found your journal as search for such interests.

what you've done *is* pretty fucking huge, and somewhat inspirational. so thanks!

Japanese money adamant_turtle January 3 2004, 11:02:10 UTC

From your posts, I'm still trying to figure out what's expensive in Japan, and what isn't. How much does the average Japanese person in Tokyo earn, for example? in proportion to these costs?

Re: Japanese money discountsatori January 3 2004, 16:23:28 UTC

Average salary here? Yikes, I'd have to look that up. But think of the money thing this way: 1 yen = 1 American cent, roughly. So getting 4 tofu burgers for 100 yen was like getting 4 tofu burgers for 1 American dollar. We have the "Shop 99" chain of supermarkets here -- everything's 99 yen, and that's considered cheap, the same way that dollar stores are considered cheap in the U.S. Quart of milk for 99 yen? Excellent. Quart of milk at Natural House organic supermarket for 340 yen? Not so cheap.

So, 1000 yen = (roughly) $10, and 10,000 yen = (roughly) $100. I'm still getting used to this. Since the concept of Japanese money hasn't quite sunken in with me yet, I'm probably spending more than I did at home. (i.e. I see a shirt that costs 5900 yen, and think, "Oh, that's a good price!" And then I have to stop myself and say, "Wait, no it isn't! I'd never spend nearly $60 on one shirt at home!")

collegegirl January 3 2004, 11:38:37 UTC

You have no bloody idea how jealous I am of you. :P

Four Tofu Burgers for 100 Yen? delahk January 3 2004, 12:31:23 UTC

WOW. That is cheap. Especially considering:

Live mid-market rates as of 2004.01.03 20:14:30 GMT.
1.00 USD
United States Dollars = 106.860 JPY
Japan Yen
1 USD = 106.860 JPY 1 JPY = 0.00935804 USD

Laurie, I've read your journals since Memory and Desire. Thanks for letting the world see such an interesting life. You're a very cool person.

Huh. My first comment to you is about tofu burgers. How odd.

unsteadily January 4 2004, 13:40:22 UTC

i love douglas coupland.