Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Nihon-koku: The people
In this second post, I will tell you my impressionsabout the people in Japan!From my point of view, this simple fact make it much easier to appreciate the country.
As some people there have pointed out, it is maybe difficult to distinguish when they are nice because they actually like you, or only because they are very polite and they have to do it. I didn't have the impression that they were waiting you to turn the back in order to make something bad. On the contrary, I had the feeling that the main reason why they are so nice is because they trust very much the others, so they are suspicious or worry about other people, but willing to talk and be friend. They can do that, mainly because the total lack of criminality. It is amazing, and after few days it is very easy to get used to this security. And is an extremely nice feeling, just to feel safe and to be able to trust people. I don't know exactly how can it be possible that they don't have criminality, but I think it is because of their attachment to honor and tradition. They rely very much in the society, in the services and the support they can have from it, and they are all working to make it work properly. Maybe I'm only saying nonsense, but I really had the feeling that their view is much more for the community then what we are used to, so they don't mind working a bit more or being a bit more patient or polite if this can help the community, because they trust that soon or later they are going to make use of it themselves. Which of course makes completely sense, but for us is difficult to apply.
They put people around the city in every corner just to help finding the way or crossing the street, in most of the restaurant you can see the cook making your dinner, and most likely you will exchange some words with him, it is normal. Even in Tokyo, I had the feeling that everybody could always find a moment to listen to you, to tell you a word or helping you out. Maybe they only feel obliged to do that, but I ca tell you, after you profit of it a little bit, you feel obliged to be nice as well, because it is so easy to see the advantages of such a behaviour.
The first Saturday we have been in a bbq party near Tokyo, and it has been very explicative of such a behaviour. We didn't know anybody, apart from one of the organizer, and there were more then hundred people, only few of them speaking English. Nevertheless, it has never been easier to make friends and enjoy the company! Everybody talked to us, asked us question, they put effords in making us feeling at ease within the company. It has been a great party time!!! Same thing with Sandro and his japanese friends, and with most of the people we met and we had occasion to talk with!
It can be that they are just curious about us, that's possible, but for me it is really wanting to find a defect in a nice way of doing! So, they are just very nice people!!!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Nihon-koku: first impressions
Well, it's quite hard now to write about the first impressions, as I also have some second and third impressions... Nevertheless, I'll try to make some nice description about it. (trying to ignore that the only option that has been voted in the poll was one I didn't put, and didn't get much votes either...)So, before the first impressions, is important to know that most of us has some prejudices about Japan. For example, I thought that Tokyo is a super chaotic city, that the Japanese society is very maschilist, that they don't have any free time and their culture, although interesting, is so much different from ours that is very difficult to appreciate.
Well, in most of the points, I realised very early I was wrong. Some points, I still don't have a clear idea about. So, for example, I immediately realised that Tokyo is indeed an extremely vast and busy city, but is not at all chaotic. On the contrary, is amazingly ordered and clean. People are very polite and trustful (I will come back on this later). The metro and train system is really as efficient as we think it is, but it surprised me also about how clean it is. (I even saw some cleaners cleaning the spaces between the tiles...) So, finally, although with more people, Tokyo gave me the impression to be much easier to live in then Paris or London (I will try to avoid comparisons with any u.s. city or place or piece of culture, as it would be not a fair comparison, better stay among countries with a history, some culture and some will of living without having necessarily a car). About maschilisim, it appear to me to be a very difficult judgement. There are mainly two aspects to take into account. One is that Japanese deeply rely on their traditions, so a woman not taking care of children and do the same job of men is sort of incomprehensible for them. On the other hand, they are very kind people, so women cannot be treated badly. We met quite several girls that work and proceed in the career, but they don't have children. I honestly don't know how long this thing will go on. The general impression I had was quite optimistic though, and I think that every gain japanese women will have, it will be a true one, not like us that we can enter into politics, but only by means of blow jobs.... so I have the feeling it is a very difficult matter to judge.
As for free time... well, at the end it is not so diffent then us. They stay many hours in the office, but not working 100%, so at the end is very similar to what happens in big companies here, where you cannot leave early, but you can check your email from time to time.... Is very interesting the social enviroment they form during work. I like it, at least in young age, because very often, if you move in a city only for work, the office is really the place where you meet more people. Of course, it can become too much when men cannot go home with their wives because they have to go for dinner with the boss....
Same things for the kids... we have this idea that japanese students have a hard time in school, because of the competition and the "afternoon" activities.... well, this can be actually be compared to u.s., and there is certanly worse, because the society is extremely more capitalistic, so only money counts. What you get is that the football quarterback enters in harvard and the black guy don't... in Japan the society is more meritocratic, maybe severe, but not different from many university campus we have in Europe.
Last but not least... the culture. That was the thing that amezed me most. For those of you who read the Gattopardo, is a bit a reinterpretation of the famous sentence. "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."
In this case the interpretation is that human being can grow in very different enviroments and in very different backgrounds, but if you let them develope by themselves for enough time, you get a very similar conclusion. I would be very curious to know if we would have let the native americans or the africans grow by their own, if this theory would be confirmed or not. For now, I think the asiatic culture is our only mean of comparison. Well, I have to say that is really amazing to see how their habits are so similat to ours, although they express it in a such different way. For example, the food. They go out eating together, they give importance to the meal as we (italians) do, and they are very skilled cookers. The difference is of course in the kind of food, in the tradition of eating, of dinking tea, of sitting at the table. But, as soon as you accept these different way of doing things, you feel immediately at home. As I mentioned before, the kindness and the politeness of the people really helps in these matters. But this is not the only example. Also religion, festivities, country festivals, theatre, literature, poetry, everything seems a real parallel to our colture. Everything we are used to, there it exists also, it only looks different. To me this is really great, because you can discover so many new things, always keeping your habits there.
Ok, well, I just mentioned a little bit some first impressions, to give you a hint about how enthusiastic I've been of this trip. In the next post I will be more precise about some aspect of the country impressed me more.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Peddler's Village
While the world is waiting for a post about our Japanese honeymoon and a smaller world is trilled hoping that Fassino is good guy (even if the solidarity given to him by Berlusconi does not help so much) I decided to face the jet-leg and to try to catch a flight to New York.
I managed to do it at the second try since my KLM flight of yesterday got canceled because of some secret problems to the aircraft.
This time I didn't got rich (as last time when KLM overbooked my flight) but they still gave me some 95€ which "is not cookies".
(And KLM is still my favourite company)
So I flew today to Newark and I had to take a train to go to New York.
This allowed me to make acquaintance with Peddler's Village (thanks to an adv on the train) which wikipedia shows as
a 42 acre 18th century style gathering place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It has shopping, dining, lodging, festivals, craft competitions and an antique carousel. The complex is also used for weddings, holiday parties, reunions, retirement parties, picnics, and corporate meetings. Special events and seasonal festivals draw nearly 3 million visitors to Peddler's Village each year.
The complex is located in Lahaska, Pennsylvania near Doylestown and New Hope.
Yearly events include a watermelon fest, scarecrow competition, apple festival, gingerbread house competition, Christmas festival, quilt competition. The Peddler's Village Strawberry Festival is held on the first weekend in May since 1969.
We could go there for honeymoon instead of Japan!
What a pity...
Monday, July 21, 2008
Holy smoke!
Here we are after our Japanese honeymoon.
I'll leave to Ele to explain all the nice things we saw in Japan (it was really awesome!) because we need to set finally up the winner of the Euro 2008 ugly bets, which is....
.... Giovanni (van Bronkhorst)!!!
Unperishing glory for him and may he live in eternity lying in the gardens where there are rivers of milk of which the taste never changes, rivers of wine, a joy to those who drink, and rivers of honey pure and clear.
(Still I'm not sure I'd like to swim in rivers of honey...)
In the meantime, while we where honeymooning in Japan and Giovanni was mooning over honey rivers, the Dutch founded a new Church, the One and Universal Smokers Church of God, after the new law banned smoking in the Dutch bars since July 1st (Good morning Holland!).
People who join the church get a membership card entitling them to smoke inside the building. Worshippers believe in the trinity of smoke, fire and ash and honour their god by smoking.
Dozens of bars have joined the movement which claims the Dutch constitution and European rules give it legitimacy under the right to freedom of religion.
Good mooning, Holland.
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