Here in Germany...

My friend Jenny suggested that I revive this blog so I can post stuff about my time in Germany.  I doubt that I will be good about keeping it updated, but I have decided to try to post some stuff.  This is not likely to be an organized journal, but rather, a series of things I’ve noticed and such.  Still, it’s better than nothing.

Today I am going to start with some observations about Germans/Germany:

People do not respect the sanctity of the queue here.  Twice in the week I have been here, while in line at the grocery store, I have seen a person with a few items slide in front of another person (who stepped away for just a second to look at something/grab something).  It seems rather rude to me but no one seems to mind.

Germans seem to prefer bigger sturdy bikes. I don’t really see the thinner road bikes here so much.

Apparently people here do not put milk in their tea.  My advisor told me that only I and the other American he knows does this (although he admits that he thinks Indians do this as well).  They also seem to put some weird milk product in their coffee (which might be condensed milk?).  I finally got regular milk today and my tea tastes so much better.

All hair styles are ago here.  Actually, it’s quite nice that there is more of a variety in how people style their hair here.  I’ve seen more curly hair like mine just allowed to be than I ‘m used to.  Of course, many people just go with straight hair, but I feel like I stand out less.

Although most Germans are thin and fit, there are definitely some more generous frames here.  I could buy clothes here (unlike in Japan or Korea where everyone was tiny compared to me).

Although people here are very concerned about recycling and stuff, I don’t see that many students carrying around water bottles (so far, I’m the only one I’ve noticed bringing my water bottle to the cafeteria at lunch).  Related, I don’t think people drink tap water here all that much...

Korean Fashion

So like in Japan, I’ve been meaning to write a post about fashion here. I think Japan inured me to a certain level of craziness because the women seem less oddly dressed to me. And when I think about it objectively, I don’t think that some of the stuff they were is any less crazy. But I do notice that quite a few women just wear jeans/shorts/fairly normal skirt and a t-shirt. Some even where tennis shoes, although heels are far more likely. As in Japan, women here have got amazing ankles because they will wear heels everywhere. And I think it is more impressive here because I think Seoul at least is far more hilly and steep at points than either Tokyo or Kyoto.

Koreans are very into enjoying the natural environment (which is a very cool trait of the culture). So you often see people in hiking gear on the trains, heading out to the outskirts of Seoul to hike (or doing some urban hiking). Older, retired people in particular seem to embrace this as a pastime which is pretty awesome. So hiking/sporting gear is always an option for people to wear.

Women do wear some crazy stuff though. They are into very feminine clothes like in Japan; they just don’t layer as much. And I don’t see as much lace…but I do see a lot of floral prints and very, very cute things. Both with heels and flats, there is this style of shoe that is very popular in that it wraps around the ankle and zips up in the back. You can tell who has bought the good shoes and who hasn’t because the ones with cheap knock-offs will leave the back unzipped and have band-aids on the back of their feet. One other thing that I should mention about women’s clothing is that they are not afraid to wear short shorts or skirts here. I have seen a lot of shorts and skirts that I think most Americans would view as inappropriately short around the city. The women here are thin enough to carry it off (usually) but still…really short. However, they don’t really show cleavage at all here. In fact, most women keep their shoulders covered even. So legs are okay to show but not upper body.

As for men, there are some interesting styles with them too. Businessmen wear suits obviously, but they often wear these shiny suits that I find odd. Men also commonly carry bags around with them that are essentially purses. I hate purses in general so I think it looks exceptionally weird for a guy to have a nice bag. Casually, men here tend to wear very fitted clothes (sometimes to the point of being tight but usually not). This has the effect of making the men here seem very, very thin and (to me anyway) fragile. The people here are often very skinny anyway and wearing such fitted clothes just accentuates it. I think in the US guys generally don’t try to stress their skinniness if they are skinny so it seems very odd that they do it here. I feel like I could break these guys if I sat on one of them.

I’ve already mentioned polos so I guess I will leave it at that for now. It will be interesting to see what I think of Japanese fashion when I return there later this week. I wonder if it will seem less crazy to me the second time around.

Almost over??

So my program in S. Korea ends officially on Thursday (which I still can’t believe…where did the time go?). I have a lot left to say about Korea so I might be putting up a post a day…we’ll see. This is not the end of the Asian trip yet, though. I go back to Japan for a week and then return to Korea. What will happen at that point is still up in the air (though it should be resolved in the next day or two, huge mess that it is). In any case, to start off the week, here is a list I have been working on of things I will miss in Korea and things I will not.

Things I will not miss (i.e. lets get the bad stuff out of the way first)
Almost getting run over all the time by scooters and mopeds with drivers that act as if the sidewalk is for them only.

Having to hear otherwise very rational people talk seriously about fan death. The whole thing makes no sense.

The aforementioned concept that a woman simply must be ½ of a couple for her life to be worth living (and the general obsession with being all cutesy with your significant other).

Food that is too spicy for me to eat (and constantly being concerned that the food I ordered/got will be too spicy for me to eat)

People treating me as if just because I don’t speak the language, I am entirely incapable of taking care of myself (Eunae, bless her heart, is often guilty of this)

Related to the previous one, people figuring that it is okay to be pushy and knock into me with out any sort of apology because I am foreign. I mean all I need is a little head nod to acknowledge that you were in the wrong; words are not required (I got this in Japan too).

Struggling to find vegetables to eat especially when fresh produce is so expensive.

Only having a microwave, toaster oven and hot pot for use in cooking.

Sleeping on the floor because by bed in the loft is way too hot (though I do have a mattress and everything so it’s not too bad)

Not having wireless internet

Lack of wheat bread (like in Japan most of the bread is super white)

Living in such a restrictive dorm, it sucked that I was not allowed to ever bring visitors past the entryway of the dorm. And they have cctvs EVERYWHERE so you can’t escape them.

A door that talks to me (saying the same things in Korean over and over again)


Things I will miss
Awesome public transportation

Spicy food. I have sort of developed a love/hate relationship with spicy food as you can see by the fact that it shows up on both lists. I can’t eat much of it but there are a few things I grown to tolerate and kind of like even if I can only eat a small amount.

Euna’s down to earth sense of humor, Eunae’s caring concern (even if it does annoy me sometimes) and Sung-jin’s happy energy.

Having eggs and tofu prepared in so many delicious ways which makes me able to use them as my primary sources of protein (I like meat, but I prefer it as more of an occasional thing)

Having an amazing, clean, and safe city at my doorstep to explore.

Cheap laundry (less than a dollar for wash AND dry) where the detergent is provided for you.

Having lots of banchan (small side dishes) when eating. Plus we always share them so I get a little of everything.

The kindness of strangers. Several times Koreans have stopped to try to help even if they don’t speak English! Although people in Japan are also nice, they often felt so self conscious about their ability to speak English that they wouldn’t just stop to help someone who is struggling (though of course they will try to help if asked). Koreans (particularly older people) don’t seem very concerned with how exactly they are going to communicate and just try to help. And it always does help, at least a little. Plus you feel less guilty about bothering someone if they offer to help without you asking.

The awesome group of EAPSI people who I will miss tons. Particularly because none of them are organismal biologists so I won’t see them at meetings or anything. Hopefully the NRF is serious about having yearly alumni meetings so I can see them all again.

The fun Japanese people that live on my floor. Nozumi is hilarious, Megumi is adorable, Naoko has the funniest facial expressions, and Teppei (the lone Japanese guy) is kind of cute (and mentioning the last got me into trouble).

Norebang (i.e. Karaoke) with people my age. It’s a bit more fun then going with an older man who just wants to sing very sad, melodramatic songs. And who cares about the actual singing.

Having a code to open my door rather than keys to keep track of.

Having a gym and a track right downstairs (even if the machines kind of suck).

Awesome sports coverage on TV (and the lack of commercials in the middle of a show in general).

Hot springs/public baths. (first learned to love them in Japan, but they are basically the same here).

List of particular foods I will miss:
Bibibap -so very simple yet one of the best foods ever,

Kongbiji jjigae – a stew made out of the left over ground soybeans from tofu, I can’t describe how awesome it is,

Japchae- a pancit like noodle dish,

tteok- rice cakes that make their way into both sweet and savory dishes and are awesome chewiness,

Bulgogi – I’m sure you know what this is

Jeon – Korean style pancakes that have vegetables cooked in them, awesome in its countless varieties (the cafeteria normally would have a few different kinds every week). Kimchi jeon is actually one of the few ways I’ll eat cabbage kimchi (I usually prefer the radish kimchi)

Vinegar drinks – during orientation we had a vinegar fruit punch and a vinegar tea, both of which were awesome. I have yet to find this kind of drink again sadly

And, oddly enough, I will miss that spicy soybean/chili sauce that you put on rice and eat in lettuce leaves. It’s really good and you only need a little so it doesn’t get too spicy.


I am sure that there are other things I will/won't miss but those are the things that come to mind. Overall, I am not feeling an itching need to get back to the US. I am not frustrated and tired of living in another culture as I was at the end of my time in Japan (because I had to work a lot harder there?). I am mostly just sick of living in the dorm and not being able to cook for myself. And I am missing people at home. But other than that, I could stay another 2 months at least without any problems.

Relationships and other randomness

There are mirrors everywhere here. It’s kind of amazing actually where all they shove these. Goes along with the Korean woman’s obsession with their looks (not that the US is any better really but I feel that in the US there is a broader acceptance of what is attractive, here it seems very narrowly defined). Plastic surgery and weight loss are huge topics here. In fact two of the three women in my lab have talked about starting new diets (the Special K plan, which is exactly what you think it is-eating special K cereal, was attempted by two of by labmates on seperate occasions). But at least they were reasonable about it (they both abandoned it pretty quickly). Honestly I don’t think that either of them needs to lose weight, I think it is more of an issue of finding time to work out and get toned rather than eating less or more healthily. (Which Euna at least seems to be focusing on).

Polo shirts are very popular here and guys often pop the collar. They are also popular as couple shirts…that strange phenomenon where a boyfriend and girlfriend wear the exact same shirts on purpose.

Which brings us to couples in general. Let me just say that I would hate to be living here and be single. It’s bad enough to be visiting shortly while being single as I am currently doing, but to have to deal with it all the time…I would go crazy. There are sort of two reasons why it would be bad. First, couples here are very into PDA. It never goes so far as kissing, but you always see couples cuddling on the train (fine) or being very cutesy with each other (which I admit I find more annoying). Example of the latter: A guy had his arm around his girlfriend who was trying to read a book. He kept interrupting her by pressing two of his fingers against her lips which he would then press against his own. Indirect kiss! So overly cute and annoying, particularly because she was trying to do something else, and this couple was in their 20s certainly (I could tolerate it more if they were young teenagers I think). You see this sort of thing alot. Even older couples partake in the overly cutesy behavior.

Second, and this is really the bigger problem, there is a ton of pressure to be part of a couple (particularly on women). Everyone obsesses over it here to the point that it is extremely annoying. One of the guys in my program lives next to me and I have gone out to dinner and lunch with him and his german labmate (who also lives on my floor) a couple of times. I mentioned this to the women in my lab and they proceeded to ask multiple times if anything was going on between us. Which clearly there wasn’t. And when I did mention in passing that I had met this Japanese guy that I thought was kind of cute, well they just went crazy (I should have known better than to say that to this group of people but I wasn’t thinking). I kid you not that the conversation quickly turned to marriage. Of course they were joking, but only partly. It was clear that they were half serious. I am almost 30 of course, and once you cross that age, the pressure to get married really kicks up. Sung-jin in my lab is at that stage and I think it’s unbearable how often others bring up her single status. That is one aspect of the culture I will be glad to escape when I leave.

DMZ

Two weekends ago, I along with several other people in my program (from here on out called EAPSI people) made a trip to the DMZ. This was a very unique and surreal experience which makes it kind of hard to describe to others. I had a vague understanding of the history of the Korean War, but really next to no knowledge as to what happened after the ceasefire. This trip included a very helpful overview of both of these so I know a lot more about them now.

The way the tour works is that the morning of the tour, you head to the USO in Seoul. From there they bus you to the DMZ and take you along to various areas around there. We had a tour that went to the Camp Bonifas for a slide show history lesson (which was really good-brief but very informative) then on to the JSA (joint security area), then we stopped at a few guard posts where we could take pictures of the huge N. Korean flag and flagpole (both of which are just gigantic) and see the so called Propaganda village which seems to have lights on but no one home. Then we went to the 3rd tunnel (one of 4 tunnels the North Koreans apparently dug to infiltrate S. Korea), some viewing area that was outside the DMZ, I believe, and then to the Dorasan train station.

Visiting the DMZ reminded me of visiting Hiroshima in that it was a bit jarring to be around all these people that are joking around when you are in such a historically significant and sad spot. Of course, I have no way of knowing how others feel and people express there emotions differently so I certainly don’t mean that as a judgment statement. I just mean that I felt very tense the whole time we were in the DMZ and particularly when we were in the JSA and I didn't know how to react when others were joking around. I am very outwardly serious when confronted with situations like that whereas others might be less so. Again, I’m not saying there is a right or wrong way because clearly there isn’t, but the difference can be startling. Actually I felt tense even before we entered the DMZ. I was talking to someone sitting next to me when I was very startled to see Korean soldiers in a little roadblock thing as we drove by. I don’t ever see soldiers in battle ready positions like that so it startled me. Also, the knowledge that a hiker nearby was killed a week earlier by a landmine (and this is not uncommon) is also sobering. Landmines are just terrible weapons of war and should never be used as far as I am concerned. Even once the two countries unify, they will have to invest heavily in de-mining the area because the whole area is heavily mined.

Going to the JSA after hearing the brief overview of events was interesting. I had never heard of the Axe murder incident, but that is a story that will stay with me for a long time, I am sure. The JSA in general is the weirdest place. With it’s blue buildings, soldiers in rock ready position (some variant of a taekwondo position) and mirrored sunglasses, a N. Korean guard straight across from you watching you with binoculars, white stakes in the ground to designate the line you must not cross…so much weirdness. Plus you are not supposed to point or gesture towards the N. Korean guards at all. Just so strange.

Our group had two American soldiers with us (one of which looked like he was 18! But actually was much older), they were very nice and I talked to one of them a bit about the life up there.

We did see a ton of cranes (the DMZ has basically become this huge nature preserve) and that was cool. On a lighter note, the acronym ROK is pretty sweet for a military force. We kept hearing the soldier say “the ROK soldiers” which sounds pretty cool.

The train station is really sad. S. Korea built this really nice new train station that is intended to link up with tracks to the north (as historically a train ran the length of the whole peninsula), but for now it just sits empty. You can take a train ride from a town just south to the Dorasan station, but there are only like 2 trains a day, so other than tourists the station sees no activity at all. Seeing how busy other train stations are, it seems very sad that this one is so empty. But it is also a sign of hope that things will get better.

These are just a few of my unorganized thoughts about the DMZ.

A day in the mud!

Yesterday was a fieldwork day and a lot happened so I thought I would right up my general impressions of the day before I forgot. I met up with Eunae and the two high school students (whose names I have no idea as to how to spell so I won’t try) outside my dorm at 8 or so and headed for the train station. From there we had to head out to the blue line and take it all the way out to Incheon (about an hour’s ride). After a taxi to the ferry we had to wait for everyone else to meet up before heading out to Jakyakdo, a small island about 15-20 minutes ride away. There we geared up and spent the low tide (which was maximal at 1pm) going around the island looking for things. The island started rocky and then became a huge mudflat before becoming rocky again. In about 3 hours we made it all the way around the island (though we could have made it in less than 1 hour I think if we hadn’t been looking and collecting along the way). Then we gathered everything, looked through what we had collected (fixing a few right there and packing the rest live to be fixed in the lab), grabbed the ferry and headed back. None of us had actually had a meal since breakfast (just snacking on bananas and some fancy bread) so Dr. Song had us stop for a meal. Then we headed back on the long train ride back, brought the specimens up and fixed them.

So there is a bare-bones description of what happened but there are few points worth going into more detail…

First and foremost, Dr. Song is a force of nature. One she gets started, she just goes and you have to really fight to keep up with her. It’s pretty funny actually.

Also, it’s funny how different labs do things. The way this group preps for field work is a bit different from how I do it, particularly their insistence that everyone get a giant set of forceps and a spoon (both on loops that go around your hands). Honestly, a butter knife would have been more helpful in my opinion.

I’m really sorry that I didn’t have my camera to take pictures during this…there are some pictures from the lab camera that I grabbed so I have something from this which I will post on facebook sometime.

I never fail to hurt myself in some way during fieldwork. Usually it is my legs but this time I was wearing waders so the most I could do was bruise my leg (which I did too). But the bad cuts were on my arms this time. Not that they were that bad…they really weren’t and didn’t hurt much (though they are a little sore today). However, cuts on both arms bled like no one’s business. Suddenly there were huge drops of blood on the rocks and on my gloves and it took me a minute to figure out that it was me. The lab kind of freaked out about it (and still seem very worried about it today) but they really are not bad at all.

When working through a mud flat and you are given the option of waders that are too big or too small, definitely pick the too small one. I had waders that were too big, which resulted in me literally getting stuck in the mud. Every time I would go to move my leg, my foot would pop out of the boot and I would have to fight to stay upright (which was not always successful). I had to work so hard to move around that I had to have burned a lot of calories. It was extremely frustrating…but what can you do but laugh. Particularly when a high school student runs over with a shovel to help dig you out…twice.

And, by the way, the waders did not even work that well. When I got out, I could tell I was a bit wet before I got out, but I figured that I had sweat a lot working through the mud. But once I saw how wet I was…I definitely did not sweat that much! Sung-Jin said that hers didn’t work to well either and her pants were clearly wet too. Good thing we both wore fast drying pants. Should have brought an extra shirt though…

When we got back to the Incheon station, Dr. Song decided that we should have dinner in the Chinatown across the street but she didn’t want to bother to bring all the stuff we were carrying so she just went into a police station and asked them to watch our stuff. Judging from the reactions of her students, I don’t think you can generally treat the police station as a storage facility but she is an older woman in a culture that demands respect for someone of age, so what are the police going to do? Obviously, they said yes. The whole exchange was really amusing.

We had a good dinner at a random Chinese resturant in Incheon’s Chinatown. This dinner included drinks and a toast and is officially the first time I have drunk with my lab.

We got back to the lab at about 8 or 8:30 but I didn’t leave until after 11. It took me that long to fix all of my material. And I still had to spend time today making a spreadsheet of samples and better labeling the things I have (I did a pretty quick an dirty labeling yesterday). So it was a very long day. I was going to leave early today to go to a baseball game, but it has rained out so no go. I don’t think I am going to go anywhere or do anything tonight. I’m just going to chill out and relax I think. Save some money for another day (which by the way, I only spent about $4 dollars yesterday and that was off my transit card so really I spent nothing yesterday).

Overall, I got 5 species, including 2 I really wanted. Honestly, there was only one other species at the site that I would have liked to have so it worked out well. Plus the trip was fun so overall it was a very good day.

Quick update

Just a few thoughts...

1. The Seoul subway is awesome. Easy, clean, fast...why can't we have this at home?
2. I really starting to feel comfortable in my lab much in the way I am comfortable at home. This is mostly because Eunae is awesome and goes out of her way to help me. We never had a formal welcome party for me like we did in Japan, but I am much more at ease here than I ever was in that Japan. But some of that may also be that I am more comfortable with myself too. I'll probably never know.
3. Having people to hang out with in town is really nice and I appreciate it. But going to the shrine by myself this weekend reminded me that it is really great to travel by yourself sometimes.
4. This coming weekend I am taking Friday off and heading to Jeju Island which is supposed to be beautiful. Hiking, biking, beaches and super cool looking lava caves will be the order of the day. And since I get in 4 hours before everyone else (I get there at like 8 am, everyone else gets in from 12-1 or later), I think I am going to take the morning to do the lava caves on my own. (see here for where I am going).
5. If I don't break my dorm door before I leave it will be a miracle. I can't tell you how annoying it is to have a door that speaks to you EVERY time you open/close/or touch the door. Shut up stupid door!
6. They eat fresh (raw) priapulids here! And how I discovered that is kind of a funny story for another time.

Japan vs Korea (for research experince anyway)

I know I should really try to avoid comparing my Korean experince to my Japanese one, but I can’t help it really. In a couple of ways I am already clearly better off then I was in Japan.

1. I am not isolated as I was in Japan (which was both a good thing and a bad thing, but did make several things harder).

2. I have actually gotten to know several of the other participants better than the ones I knew in Japan. I never really clicked with a lot of people in the Japan program (I think the huge size overwhelmed me a bit, plus I realize that I am a bit of a different person now). There are only a few from Japan that I have kept in touch with, but I think (and hope) that number will be far greater for this trip. The women of the group all seem awesome and I like all the guys (though I admit one or two of them got on my nerves a little after spending soo much time together during orientation-but I think that was just a result of spending too much time together).

3. The lab here understands what I do far better than I think Kubuto sensei ever did-mostly because they use nematocysts in their studies too. I don’t think that they completely understand though, and a few comments have been made about cnidae which make me wince…but I’m not sure how to correct some of the misinformation they seem to have.

4. The women in the lab talk to each other! Some of it is seems to be small talk, most of it I think is related to work, but either way, it is not silent in the office or lab during the day. Any no one brings their lunch so I have someone to eat with every day. In my Japanese lab, people rarely talked to each other and the constant silence nearly drove me crazy (although I don’t understand what they are saying in the lab here, I find it comforting that some social interaction is going on). And I rarely got asked to go to lunch. Of course in Japan, every one was technically in different labs (as is often the case at marine stations) and everyone cooked for themselves for lunch (as going into town would be quite a hassle), but still, it is a big difference.

5. Another thing, while most of us have been wearing pants to the office simply because it is a little chilly in there, I have seen some women wearing shorts. This makes me happy because I will occasionally wear shorts too (I wore them all the time in Japan because it was just soo hot everywhere) and I will not be the only one wearing them as I was in Japan!

So overall, my experince has been a good one so far. The one major down point is that I was much better equipped with Japanese than I am with Korean. I just don’t know as many words/phrases in Korean as I do in Japanese and the whole language is harder for me for some reason. I will need to force myself out of my shell to go out and try some things here (which to be honest, I had to do in Japan too-I think my memory is making Japan seem easier than it was).

We have planned field work for the 15th so I will do light microscope data with the samples I brought until then. And I have a paper that I am finally getting good work done on. So I’ve managed to keep myself busy..except today where I haven’t been able to focus. I blame the fact that it’s Friday and my feet have been wet all day. Who can focus with wet feet?
Okay, this post ended up being a lot of nothing, but there you go. You all know that I tend to ramble…

Alive and well in Seoul

Finally, a post! Although I primed you all for posts clearly I have been behind the times in getting anything up. I knew that would probably be the case since I remembered struggling to put anything up during orientation in Japan. I just can’t focus very well when there is so much going on…and there was more going on for this orientation than for the Japan one.

While in Japan we mostly (except for the homestay) stayed in one place, but in Korea we have been bused all over! Everyday, we would load up on the bus and it would drive us somewhere else, usually at least an hour away. We visited a few museums and a Korean folk village (but for such short periods of time as to only see a small bit of what was there), and we visited research and industry sites (like Posco, Hyundai heavy industries, KIMM). Towards the end we got back to cultural trips like going to see world heritage sites Seokguram grotto and Bulguksa Temple (and a few other cultural places sprinkled in). Finally, we did a temple stay for the last two days. I had wanted to do a temple stay while I was here but did not want to do it by myself so this was perfect.

Speaking of the bus, everyday you would need to make a decision about where to sit/who to sit by. Of course it is best to be last for this for obvious reasons. But somehow I was always on time and was usually one of the first people on the bus. I feel like I am too old to feel all self-concious about whether people want to sit next to me or not…but I guess I am not. I got way too concerned about it and I need to learn to be less conscious of these stupid things.

In between all the touring there was norebang (the Korean word for Karaoke), a nice spa bath visit (like onsen but I don’t think it was hot spring water), some late night drinking, hanging out watching world cup games and just having fun. The best thing was watching S. Korea futbol! The Korea Nigeria game was on at 3:30 am and we were in Seoul at the time, so a group of us wore red shirts and went out to one of the public places they set up for watching the game. Soccer is huge here (since they hosted the world cup and did well in 2002) so they put out huge screens and close down roads for people to watch. And the red devils (the name of the Korean fans) come out in force. The Nigeria game would determine who would place second in the group so it was really an important game. Anyway, we went and had a great time cheering them on. The game ended in a draw which was good for Korea so everyone was happy. For the next game (in which Korea was sadly eliminated) we were at the temple so we were not sure if we would be able to watch the game or not. But no fears, the monks seem to be fans too (at least one of them was a big fan) so we all came to watch and cheer them on. Some older women were also staying at the temple and I think they were surprised by how vigorously we cheered the Korean team on. But they were good sports and we all had fun.

Then it was a long trip back to Seoul, dinner and good bye to everyone (temporararily at least) as we all dispersed to our host institutions. I believe we all arrived safely but it’s kind of sad that I won’t see some people of the group much during my time here. Though in Japan I barely saw anyone at all so I can’t really complain.

I think that’s enough as an initial primer on what is going on. I’m almost through my first week at Ehwa so I will have more to say soon. Take care!

PS I put photos up on facebook and I think you can see them by following this link.

Plans, plans, and more plans

So I need to book my flight to Korea soon which requires some serious contemplation on what I want to do after the program ends. I assumed that this trip would be much like the Japan trip, i.e. no one would want to make concrete plans so I ended up traveling on my own that last week. Not that it was a bad thing, I quite enjoyed being able to just do whatever I wanted. But I did miss not having anyone to talk to at meals. With Korea, it seems I was grossly mistaken in expecting the same sort of dynamic. It seems that there a quite a few people in the Korea group that like to plan rather than wing it. There has already been quite a bit of discussion about a trip to Japan after the program ends and some mention of coordinating a trip to Jeju island during the program. Overall, this makes me happy. I can wing things if needed, but I do like to have an actual plan with an idea as to what will be happening. If the plans for Japan actually materialize (and since I am mostly dealing with engineers here, I think they will) then I will probably join the group for a while, then split off to do my own thing when they go to places I ‘ve been before (though I think I do want to go to Kyoto again). I’ve already talked to my host mother and I will need to plan in some time to stay with them. I am really excited to see them again, though kind of horrified too – Emi (the mother) just told me that Waka has just started kindergarden! She was just a baby when I met her! Oh well, at least Emi shouldn’t have changed much. I’m not sure how much the kids will remember me anyway…. I love taking to Emi because she always makes it clear that she loves me as much as I love them. When I first emailed her, I asked if the family would still be in Kyushu (their hometown to which they typically travel every August for the Obon festival). I thought that they would be back in Yokohama (near Tokyo) by the time I would be able to go to Japan, but if they were in Kyushu I was just going to travel that island. When she wrote back to me, she apologized for the fact that they were not going to still be in Kyushu because they needed to drive back. She then offered to look into flying to Kyushu so that she and the girls could stay longer to see me. Which is really going out her way, but made me feel wanted, so I can't deny that I liked it. Not that I would let her do it. It's easier for me to go to Yokohama anyway. Alright, more later!

Active once again

After my 2008 trip to Japan, I let this blog lie unactive since I haven't had any adventures quite as fun as that. But it is now fairly official that I will be going to S. Korea this summer for at least 8 weeks to have more fun (and do some research too). I've changed the name of the blog to reflect the fact that this time, I will be working on Anthozoans (sea anemones and relatives) rather than the super annoying (to work with at least) Medusozans (jellyfish, hydra, ect.). I'm sure that I will end up posting randomly like I did in Japan (I never really did post on all of my travels at the end) but hopefully I'll be a bit better than last time. In any case, I'll post again before I go to talk about exactly where I'm going (short answer Seoul) and what I will be doing while I am there. Ja mata ne/Annyeong!

Explanation

So I started writing all of these posts (or at the very least was thinking about them). But I’ve been busy. I just had about 3 hours on the train, so I decided to catch everyone up. I’m going to split this into a couple of posts so it’s not one massively long post. Plus it makes sense to break them up the way I wrote them. I kept it so the most recent trip is the newest post so you will have to go back to the Nara post and scroll up from there to get it all in chronological order (if that is how you want to read it). Also, I didn’t go back and change stuff for the Nara post to reflect that I took that trip about 2 weeks ago. Just to let you know.

Out of Tokyo

Okay, I can now check off another famously Japanese thing off my list. I have now had a homemade bento. My host mother made it for me because we didn’t have time for dinner. I was just going to buy something at the train station, so I was really surprised that she put it together for me. And it was fantastic, so much better than anything I could buy. I wish I had thought to take a picture of it before I ate it. It was so nice and balanced, rice, meat, vegetables, egg (I seriously am going to start making tamagoyaki when I get home. Best eggs ever). Even the guy next to me commented on my bento. It was soo good. And she even wrapped it up with chopsticks and everything.

I love my host family so much, just in case it wasn’t obvious. I set a day aside to see them again. So they picked me up at the local train at 10, and then we hung out at their house for the whole afternoon and they took me back to the train at 6 so I could get to Shin yokohama for the train to Himeji at 7:22. But I had such a good time hanging out with them. I realize now how incredibly lucky I have been to have them. Many Japanese are not so easy to get close to, but my family didn’t stand on ceremony at all. I played with the kids and washed dishes. And my host mother hugged me as soon as she saw me again. It makes me sad that I don’t know if/when I will see them again. Will definitely have to send them a package when I get home. Ideas as to what to send? I’ll have to think about it.

And I accidently ended up in the smoking car again. So annoying, how did I manage to sit down in the only smoking car on the train! It’s a gift. I’m too stubborn to move, though really I should. Maybe in a little while I will. Seriously though, if these people can’t go 30 minutes without lighting up, how do they survive the day when smoking isn’t allowed in most places? Seriously, a mystery.

Anyway, tomorrow is the castle at Himeji in the morning, then Hiroshima were I seriously expect to shed some tears. Despite my host researcher’s urging not to see the memorial and museum dedicated to the bomb and those affected because it would be “unpleasant” I am going. I don’t think I should ignore an important part of modern history that my country was involved in simply because it will make me uncomfortable. Unlike Kubota who seems to refuse to see anything negative about his own country (seriously, I was really tired of the endless comments about how great Japan is by the end. And don’t act all superior about things like racism – you have it too and in some more insidious ways than the US. This is worth it’s own post really), I feel like I should be aware of both the good AND bad things of my country. Ignoring one side or the other is dangerous, I feel. I don’t expect to have an easy time with it, and I fully expect to cry (just the thought of the girl and the cranes makes me tear up). But ignoring the event is worse, I think. Any thoughts?

Nikko

Hmm. I don’t think I say much about this trip. I got up early on Friday to head out Nikko which is 2 hours by train north of Tokyo. It gets busy, so I was trying to beat the crowds. I mostly succeeded. But the main thing about this trip was that I was cold! For the first time Japan. When I left the hostel, I realized that it was a bit cooler (a storm had moved through the night before), but I was so used to Shirahama where no matter how cool it is in the early morning, by 10 or so, it is freaking hot. So although I thought about going back at least for my long sleeve hoodie, I didn’t. I should have. And I should have put the one pair of pants I had on. And brought an umbrella. I didn’t do any of those things so I was a bit cold and wet (though the rain wasn’t so bad because it misted and didn’t really rain heavily. And I bought an umbrella for the second time this trip. You would think I would learn. And now I have I will always bring an umbrella from now on.). I later remedied being cold with my favorite Japanese thing, a trip to an onsen which was super hot. 15 minutes in the water was all I could stand, but it was wonderful and warmed me up completely.

Anyway, as for Nikko, near the town there is a complex of temples and shrines amongst a forested area. The guy who established the Shogunate asked his son to build a tomb for him there and enshrine him as a God. He did so and along the way, built lots of buildings that seem to serve the purpose of showing off how powerful and rich the family was. Seriously, these are the most gaudy temples and shrines (particularly the Toshogu shrine complex) that I have ever seen. Lots of gold and very involved carvings. On the other hand, there is a lovely garden associated with one of the temples, lots of beautiful stone lanterns, and moss covered stones that are really beautiful all over.

Those elements help make all the gold and ornate carvings seem less over the top. But the whole place reminds me of a super-done-up Kumano shrine. But those shrines are more dignified and serene and they are not the result someone in power trying to show off. I can see why the people in Tokyo who all told me the loved it were impressed – you can’t see anything like it in Tokyo, but it is truly sub-par to a shrine and temple complex like Nachi. But I’m glad I went, and I liked it. Plus it makes me realize how lucky I was to see two of the Kumano Sanzan which have a longer and more interesting history to me as well as nicer complexes.

Leaving Shirahama for Tokyo

So my last day in Shirahama seriously sucked from a work perspective. I have been seriously angry at Kubota sensei for what happened that day and in my heart of hearts, I don’t know that I will ever completely get over it. I don't think I can talk about it rationally yet so it will have to wait until more of my anger has dissipated. But I can say that I am super happy that I left Shirahama that night and met up with my roommate at Sokendai, Lee. I absolutely love that girl and within 5 minutes she had me laughing and relaxing. She goes to school in West Virginia, SS. Some day I will need to rent a car and travel to the state to see you and Lee. Plus her host decided to pay for a hotel room for her Monday and Tuesday night which meant that I didn’t have to pay anything for a room. Good thing too because it’s so easy to spend money in Tokyo, I overspent a little.

Then on Wednesday, we were put up by JSPS at the Keio plaza in Shinjuku. The nicest hotel in the most upscale neighborhood that I have ever stayed at. I don’t know why they chose to put us all up INDIVIDUALLY in this super expensive hotel. It seems that at least could have made up pair up (and I wouldn’t have minded being with Lee again). Not that I’m complaining, but it seems like they could have used the money a bit better. It was nice to see everyone and talk to them all again. I would say that I meet about 4 or 5 people that I really want to keep in touch with. Hopefully they feel the same too.

Oh, and there was a minor earthquake during the final presentations for the program, so I have now experienced that too (something Kubota sensei said that I needed to experience while I was in Japan to have the full experience).

Nara

I just had both a really nice weekend and a really frustrating one. On Friday evening, I caught the bus back to Osaka (my 3rd trip on this bus!) where I spent the night. I was really glad to be in a hotel that night because it meant that I could watch the Olympics! (the TV in the common room of the dorm does not work). I missed the performance unfortunately, and had to settle for watching the teams march in and the lighting of the torch. I must comment that Japanese coverage of the event is far superior to American coverage. I watched it for a few hours (from about 10:30 to after 1 since it took so long to get to the lighting of the torch) and there was not a single commercial! I don't know how it works here, but that was wonderful.

The next morning, I got up early to head to Nara, the first official capital of Japan. There is alot of history in Nara...and deer. Most of the sights are concentrated inside or around Nara Koen (nara park). The park is also filled with deer who are entirely tame since tourists (and vendors) feed them. Nara is famous for the deer and the world's largest wooden building, the Todai-ji temple, which also houses Japan's largest Buddha statue. Anyway, I met up with Jamie, another American JSPS fellow who is working in Kyoto. We walked around the park, seeing the various temples shrines and lanterns (the Kasuga Shrine here has hundreds of charming stone lanterns that have moss growing on top). I won't comment on the heat because you all should know by now that it is very hot everywhere in Japan now. But I enjoyed green tea ice cream and later melon flavored shaved ice (the shaved ice that they have here is awesome. Also, I love the melon-flavored stuff here, something I sadly cannot get in the US).

Nara itself was nice. It was of course nice to have someone to talk to and we met up with Liz (who I had previously traveled with in Osaka and who is stationed in Nara) for dinner and had a wonderful meal of okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and some other teppan cooked thing that was also oishii (delicious).

The annoying part was listing to Jamie (who is stationed in Kyoto) and realizing that she has seen NOTHING of the city even after about 6 weeks there! I mean, I know that she is working hard, but she didn’t even take an hour out of her day to see the big Gion Matsuri parade! There were so many people in Kyoto to travel with and it is easy to navigate. Plus there is tons to see, so her constant comment “next time I come to Japan, I do x and y” got on my nerves. You gotta take advantage of opportunities when they come! And what makes you think next time will be different from this time? If you were not motivated to do it while it was so easy, why would you do it next time? That just drives me crazy. But looking at her is kinda startling because I think that is how I used to be. I now realize how far I’ve come and I’m really proud of myself. I’ve come a far way from the insecure high school student who worried about everything and never did anything. And Japan has really pushed me and forced me to grow in a good way. (As I side note, I have similar frustration with Liz who complains about how isolated she is. Excuse me? You are about 1 hour and maybe 30 minutes from Kyoto and Osaka. I realize that you have to take a bus and a train to get there so it’s not really an option on evenings, but at least you have access. And you got taken to Tokyo for a long weekend to do work and shop so I don’t want to hear it!)

Sunday was crazy. Since we did Nara as a day trip, I decided that I would go back to Kyoto to buy gifts since I hadn’t done that yet. I knew a good place that was a cooperative of several small stores that sell handcrafted things. So I thought that I would catch the train to Kyoto from Nara which is pretty easy, grab a bus to the store, shop, grab the bus back, and hop on an express back to Osaka in time to catch my bus at 1:50. The bus to Osaka only takes about 30 minutes (everything is pretty close together in Kansai). And catching buses from Kyoto station is easy so I thought I could do it no problem. I did do it, but I barely made my bus. Seriously, I got to the bus at 1:45 and the bus left promptly at 1:50 because everything is one time in Japan. And I don’t know if I would have made it if it weren’t for the fact that the train let me off right by Sakurabashi gate which is the exit that I needed for the bus. But I got gifts for all my family members…except Ryan who I totally forgot (though I included him the budget, I kept wondering why I was under budget). Oh well, I’ll pick him up sometime.

Update

So I’ve been pretty busy lately trying to get some research done before I leave (especially because I think my host wants me to give a talk on what I did here even though I have repeatedly told him that it would be a very short talk), and with various activities in town and travel.

Last Friday we had the dance festival in town, which wasn’t much of a festival. I mean there were a lot of people and it was nice, but there wasn’t really food, games or other things that I now associate with Japanese festivals. Basically, these women who were all dressed in identical yukatas (the obi color differed sometimes) gave everyone a fan and urged you down the street to a park which had lanterns and was done up for the occasion. The fan had a number on it (mine was 285) and I was a little confused at this point. Anyway, they played this song and the women started to dance in wide circles around a central stand. The dance only had about 8 moves and they encouraged everyone to join in. After an hour, everyone broke for free tea, some speeches and chitchat. Then the women did a more involved version of the dance for a little bit before going back to the simplified steps and encouraging people to join in again. After a while, the dancing stopped and they had a lottery (which included some nice prizes including a ryokan stay). Sadly, I did not win anything, but I was very proud of the fact that I understood most of the numbers (though it took me a few minutes to remember that sen is 1000). The whole thing was very low key and pleasant. I participated in the dance for 20 minutes or so before chatting with another American for a while (I have actually seen a few white people around now that it is high season here).

The girl, whose name I can’t remember, was really nice but a bit of an idiot. She apparently got some money from her school (she had just graduated college and I think it was her school that gave her money) to study bunraku, the elaborate (and awesome) puppet theater developed in Japan. Bunraku is centered in Osaka where there is a national theater for the art form (also several stories of this art form are about life in Osaka). I saw a short performance of bunraku in Kyoto and totally loved it. So much so that I looked into trying to go to a performance in Osaka. Unfortunately, I could not figure out how to get tickets (I only found out AFTER I went to Osaka, darn it), but I did know that there was a summer performance going on in Osaka. So when I asked this girl if she was going to see the show (shows actually, because they have 3 going on at a time), she said that it had just left Osaka. I gave her a weird look but figured she knew what she was talking about. During my travels this weekend I saw a flier for bunraku in Osaka stating that the performance would end on AUGUST 6. Soon after, I also figured out how to get online tickets (there were still some available for all 3 shows). I lamented the fact that I could not back to Osaka to see this, and generally thought that the girl was an idiot. How do you come to a country to study something and don’t even have the right dates? Oh well.

On Saturday, I caught the train down to Kii Katsuura so that I could see the Nachi waterfall and the adjoining grand shrine. This was the second of the three grand shrines of the Kumano region (the Hayatama shrine in Shingu being the other I have seen so far). I am hoping to make it out to Hongu to complete the trifecta, but it will have to be the last weekend I am in Shirahama and…well, we’ll see how it goes. I think I should be able to make it.

I arrived at Kii Katsuura unsure of which bus to catch up to the waterfall. Luckily I asked a guy at the bus station, who didn’t speak any English but was super nice and looked out for me after that (he came up to me later to tell me I could buy a ticket when the woman started manning the both, then he made it clear by pointing which bus was the one I wanted). I was nervous about finding the right bus and the right stop since I know there wouldn’t be any English, but managed fine as always.

Nachi was very nice, though hot (as it is everywhere these days). The waterfall is the tallest in Japan I believe, being about 133 m high. It does not seem very wide, though it is hard to tell from the base of the waterfall. There is a small shrine right at the base, but that is not the grand shrine. For that, you have to hike a considerable way straight up (more stairs, just like the Kamakura shrine in Shingu). I had hoped to avoid a lot of upward climbing because it was so hot, but what can you do? (Later my host told me that he had seen the waterfall, but had never hiked up to the shrine. Which seems rather pointless if you ask me. The waterfall is beautiful, no doubt, but some of the more enjoyable views are from the shrine and it is the shrine that makes the area more than just a pretty place).

Anyway, I got up there; though I was disgusting by the time I made it. I stopped to have an ice cream (which tasted fantastic because I was so hot) and while I was eating it, I had marvelous views of the waterfall, the surrounding mountains and forests as well as the valley. Definitely worth the hike. The shrine was nice and next to the shrine was a Buddhist temple. The people at the temple where especially friendly, urging everyone to come in and look around. And the guy who stamped my book spoke a little English and joked around with me a bit. Left me with a really warm feeling of the place. Then I went down to find daimon-zaka. Daimon-zaka is part of the ancient pilgrimage between all the grand shrines and a few other holy sites in the Kumano region. I guess it was a popular pilgrimage at one point (imperial family members made the trip and there is a famous quote about the path being so crowded, it was like a line of ants). My understanding is that people believed that the Gods dwelled in the Kumano region and that these particular Gods accepted everyone, regardless of gender or background, as long as they made a sincere pilgrimage. Not surprisingly, this made them very popular. Daimon-zaka is a remnant of that ancient trail, so I walked down it a bit. It was really lovely – lined with trees so that it was cooler than other areas with a nice breeze. But it was pretty vertical. It was no walk in the park to make this pilgrimage, I got a sense of that walking back up Daimon zaka to catch the bus back to Kii katsuura (and I later learned that I could have picked the bus up at the base of the trail. Sigh). Anyway, I have a lot of respect for the people who made (and still make) that pilgrimage. And I can see why it would be a deeply religious experience.

After that, I had a headache from being overheated and not eating enough (I drank a lot of water but only realized later that I hadn’t eaten very much). So I grabbed some yakisoba at a restaurant while I waited for the train back. Overall, a great experience although 10 degrees cooler would have been so much nicer.

I went to the open-air onsen on Sunday and ate out in town, but I think I will talk about those later (I really need to do a separate post on onsen…).

Hana-bi!

Apparently, Shirahama has two big fireworks shows in the summer. One July 30 and another August 10 (why they are only about 11 days apart, I don't know). Anyway, some labmates and I walked down to the beach on the 30th to go see the fireworks this week. I was kinda worried as we walked down because I was really hungry and didn't know if I would have time to run to the super market to grab something to eat. I need not have worried. This was a fireworks festival which means that there were food vendors lining the walkways to the beach. So I got some very good yakisoba and Fukami-sensei's wife gave me a can of ume-shu (basically plum wine, the best alcohol ever) and I was set. There were also some games for kids (I saw the goldfish game again) and it was very busy by the beach. However the most crowded part was not on the beach itself, but on the non-sandy part. Although we didn't have a blanket or anything, we just went on down to the beach and reconciled ourselves to being sandy.

I'm glad we did, because the view from the beach was AMAZING! I don't think I've ever been closer to fireworks before. Although, I don't feel that I can call what I saw fireworks. The show was soo much better than anything I've seen in the US that it seems silly to call them the same thing. So from now on, the US has fireworks, Japan has hanabi.

The hanabi show just blew my mind. They played with size, color, distance, angle, direction, timing all kinds of things. And I saw several types that I have never seen in the US (and I have gone to the big Chicago fireworks before so I'm not basing this all on small town fireworks - although Shirahama is a small town). It was a solid 30 minutes of really awesome explosions. There were at least 4 "grand finales" in the show, not including the last one which lit up the whole sky. Plus it was over the water, which made it really nice too. Afterwards, I was told that this show was the short one, the one on the 10th is supposed to be longer! I don't know how they can improve on what I saw, but I'm looking forward to seeing the show on the 10th. Actually, that weekend, I am going to Nara, but I've made sure that I will be back by 5:30 so that I can go drop off my stuff, relax for an hour and then head back down to the beach for the show.

Tonight there is some dance festival from 7-9 on the road by the beach. I'm unsure what exactly this is, but I'm going to go check it out too.

Weekend plans - well, this weekend, I'm going to stick close to Shirahama because I have traveled far the last two weekends and will be traveling next weekend. But I think I will take the 2 hour trip to Nachi tomorrow morning (unfortunately, I can't really get a train earlier than 10:30, but oh well). The highest waterfall in Japan is there and has long been considered a deity. So one of the three big shrines of the area (Kumano sanzan) is there. I'll spend a couple of hours walking around there seeing the waterfall, shrine, and remnants of an ancient pilgrimage road there (the Kumano region is generally thought of as a holy region). Then on Sunday, I'm going to sleep in, and go to the really famous open air bath. I'm really looking forward to more onsen! Then I need to come back and work in the afternoon, but I can mostly take it easy.

Finally, it looks like my plans for my travel week are coming together. It looks like I will spend a few days in Tokyo (though I am hoping to make a day trip to Nikko) with someone, then head out by myself to Hiroshima to spend 2 days (and visit the island near by, Miyajima), then head over to Kanazawa where I will be by myself for one day then meet up with someone else for the second day, and then the 5-6 hour train ride back to Narita airport for the long flight back. It's kind of a crazy plan because I will be traveling for 5-6 hours by train, then wait at the airport for 2 1/2 hours, then board a 12 hour flight back to Chicago. But this is the best way to make use of my time (and maximize traveling with others). I know that I will be wreaked when I get to Chicago, but I probably would be anyway. And I'm staying with my family (I'm so glad that I scheduled in some collapse time at home where my family can look out after me). I'm planning on just hanging out with my family for the weekend and on labor day, then seeing friends on the 2nd and 3rd.

Okay, this post has wandered far off the original intent, so let's leave it here for now. Talk to you all later!

Lab parties

The last two weeks, the lab here has been really social having two parties and an outing. I'm not sure why they decided to have these parties (at least one was because two of the professors decided to fund one I guess) but they were really fun.

Last Monday, we had a takoyaki party. Takoyaki are these little dumplings that usually have small chunks of octopus in the middle. You cook them in little friers (see second picture below) and throw a bunch of other stuff in them (ginger which is the dark red stuff, green onions, and a few other things) and on them (takoyaki sauce, some green spice that is very common here, and dried fish flake kinda things). Some people also put mayo on their Takoyaki, but I do not hold with that (in a word, yuck!). I wasn't sure about the dumplings because I don't generally like squid and octopus (too chewy for me) and I was worried that the ginger would be too strong for me, but they were wonderful. The octopus was great (not chewy at all) and the mix of seasonings were amazing (I couldn't even distinguish the ginger, everything melded together so nicely). This is apparently a specialty of Osaka, which I also visited last weekend. I had takoyaki in the city and realized that I vastly prefer homemade (or at least Keita made) takoyaki. Watching them make takoyaki was cool too. It's actually super easy, except for when you need to turn the dumplings. That seems to require some skill to do it neatly. Keita was very good at it, Yuko was okay, and everyone else was bad. But they still taste good even if they don't look nice. Everyone ate and drank so much at the party, it was amazing. Some one kept bringing out more and more food. The takoyaki is gone, now we will make somen. That's gone, now we will bring out a huge selection of cookies and stuff. Now mangos. Now a watermelon. Now ice cream. STOP! I can't keep up with it all.
Poor Keita had to do most of the cooking (which he admits is always the case). He also did the primary cooking at the barbecue that we had this past monday. It started to really storm right about when it was time to start, so I thought we would postpone the party. Oh me of little faith! They shoved the grill under one of the overhangs of the building right outside the door and grilled there (see picture). It was an awkward place to have a party and it was very hot (due to the humidity being so high) but the food was good and it was fun. They grilled some veggies and meat which was dipped in a soy and sesame based sauce after grilling. Tasty. This party wasn't as big or as long as the takoyaki party (there wasn't an endless amount of food at this one), but it was really nice.
Finally, yesterday, a bunch of us went to see Ponyo on a cliff by the sea (I think that is the english translation). It's the new Hayao Miyazaki film (the guy who did Spirited Away) that just opened last week. This one has a lot of marine animals and themes in it, so of course the lab was interested in going (though they might have gone anyway). I just wanted to see it. So we went to the film, then had ramen (and did a little shopping) afterwards. The movie was awesome. Because it's geared towards younger children, it was very easy for me to understand the big picture. Some of the details escaped me, but I got the idea. Also, a couple of points I was able to pick up and understand some Japanese (it was pretty simple Japanese and not integral to the plot, but it still made me happy that I understood it). A very happy cute movie that is not saccharine sweet, I really recommend it. I'm already looking forward to seeing it in English with my mom, who will love it. And hanging out with the group was fun too.
Tonight is a big fireworks festival (Hanabi!) so I think there is going to be a small party on the terrace of the aquarium. I hope it doesn't storm for it (it has the last 2 nights). I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but starting in mid July, we have fireworks every night. But these are message fireworks (people pay for the fireworks and I think get a message projected while they go off). These are small shows, but tonight should be a big one! I'm looking forward to it. There is another big fireworks show on Aug. 10 (I don't know why they put them so close together) and a dance festival of some sort on Aug. 1. So I'm not going to travel much this weekend, just going to enjoy the local parties.

Japanese Fashion!

After spending some time in both Kyoto and Osaka, I have a couple of observations on Japanese fashion. Well, mostly on women’s fashion, actually.

So it seems that there are a few general ground rules that most women here follow*.

1. The more layers the better. Women are seriously into the layered look here. They typically wear dresses (that would be perfectly fine on their own) with leggings (most common) or jeans or other pants (less common). If wearing a shorter top (which still typically comes to their thighs), they will throw on shorts and leggings (even though you may only barely be able to see the shorts). Usually, several tops are layered on top of each other (which sometimes looks fine and other times seems like overkill). Sometimes you’ll see a normal top and shorts and they will still have leggings.
2. The frillier and more obviously feminine they can make the outfit the better. This means that a lot of outfits have ruffles, tiers, and most oddly, lace in random places. Lace in particular is really popular to have in parts of your top or skirt. I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen as much lace worn before.
3. Even when it is sickeningly hot out, shorts are generally not worn in preference for dresses and pants (or usually both). Shorts are only worn (generally) if they are really really short or as part of a romper that is very hard to explain (it sort of needs to be seen to be believed). But no matter how hot it is, many women will still maintain the layered look with leggings or jeans. (If it isn’t obvious from what I’ve written so far, leggings which usually go to the mid calf or ankle are very popular here. Usually black.)
4. The look must be completed with heels of some sort. It doesn’t matter how incongruous heels look with the rest of the outfit, or what activity has been planned for the day (see my earlier post about this). Many times I think that the footwear really doesn’t go with the rest of the outfit, but they wear those heels anyway. (Note regarding #2: there is a particular type of heeled sandal that some women wear here that has lace attached to the straps. It looks quite odd…again; I’m at a loss for words to describe it). Also, there are these gladiator sandals with heels that I see all over. Sometimes the straps go to the ankle but sometimes they go almost to the knee!
5. As for hair, it is generally down, pulled up to a tuft at the top of the head or into a side style. They like side ponytails here, something I have not seen in a long time.
6. For most women, it seems that the paler the skin, the prettier it is considered to be. This is partly why you see women with umbrellas everywhere in the heat of the summer (often these umbrellas are frilly in an attempt to keep with #2); the other reason of course is to beat the heat. You also see women with these gloves that go to or even over the elbow everywhere. I guess the main reason they wear these is to keep their arms from getting tan. I can understand that, but what I can’t understand is why most of them are black and made of some heavy almost felt-like material. It is freaking hot here, why wouldn’t you wear white gloves made out of a lighter material? Also, some women have taken this as a fashion I think because you also see several women wearing them indoors. (Note: there is a group of young women that are the exception to this rule. There is definitely a subset that tan like crazy, often lighten their hair, and wear a lot of bright often neon colors)
7. Makeup is a must here. I don’t really ever see Japanese women without it (except for maybe Yuko here at the lab, but she like me is a science nerd so I don’t think she counts). They must put something over it to lock it onto their face in the summer because otherwise I don’t know how it doesn’t sweat off (these women DO sweat. Considerably less than I do, but they do. I have seen it).

So those are a few general rules as to what to wear if you are a young hip Japanese woman in her 20s and even 30s. Of course these are generalizations, but it’s kinda scary how little women deviate from these rules. The US has a lot more variety in what women wear for sure. My general impression of fashion here – it is absolutely crazy. I think some of the underlying ideas are fine, but it is often taken to far or too literally or something. Many, many Japanese women are beautiful, however, I feel like they try to hard. They often wear so much frilly, lacey stuff that it overwhelms them I think. It almost seems like they feel the need to scream that they are female in every possible way, and I don’t like that kind of obviousness. Of course I’m not really fond of frills and stuff, I like things simple, so I may be biased. But I really do feel that if they relaxed a little, took it down a notch, many Japanese women would look far prettier which I think is the ultimate goal here. I think eventually I will put up some pictures to illustrate these rules.

A few notes on men’s fashion here. Many businessmen wear suits for work, and they are perfectly normal. And young men here generally wear typical guy stuff casually. But there are some obvious differences from what young guys wear in the US. Men here wear far more colors than guys in the US, and very bright colors at that. Liz and I were at the Osaka Nike store this past weekend and the bright colors of the shoes they sold there would never fly in the US today (maybe back in the 80s or early 90s). Also guys here aren’t worried about being labeled as feminine (i.e. they seem more secure in their masculinity, maybe because the culture maintains such sharp divisions for them they don’t need to worry about it). This means that guys wear pink, accessorize, and will even wear hair clips (I saw a guy in Osaka with a neon pink hairclip this morning that matched his neon pink shirt). I don’t really have a problem with it, but it is a bit startling at times.

And just to kill two birds with one stone here, some older Japanese women are really pushy! Sometimes to the point of being what I would consider rude. I give these women the right of way every time I see them. But often, they come up behind you and shove you over. This is of course not the general case, but I saw it (and experienced it) often enough (particularly in Kyoto) to see that it is a trend. Anyway, I was really annoyed by it last weekend and felt the need to comment on it.

*These fashion rules apply to younger women (20s and 30s). Middle aged and older women wear stuff that is pretty typical in the US. Though they still wear heels more often than we do. And rule #6 applies to all ages. Also, I should note that there are some middle to older aged women that always wear kiminos, and yukatas (the summer kiminos) are very popular with all ages to wear in the evening when going out.