During the trip, so many very interesting cultural differences came up, when we realized we had different expectations or ideas about certain situations, and through talking. Mayumi and Aiko both had a lot of interesting questions about American culture. One thing we were talking about on the way home was our homelives, as in what we do at home, what our homes are like, and a lot about shoes in the home (or not, as in Japan). It turns out, it is not so different at all, but we each had very different expectations of the other. I think when we learn about the daily lives of people from another culture we usually learn about quite traditional ways of living. For example, I learned in Japanese class about Japanese families eating on the tatami mat at a low table and generally spending a lot of time on the tatami mat floors. Both Mayumi and Aiko said they spend almost no time on the floor, and actually Mayumi said they very rarely use the tatami room, except on very special occasions with visitors. Her family has a couch in the living room and eats at a western style table, and in general their house is quite western. This is not really so surprising when I think about it, but it made me realize that without realizing it, I had a very traditional image of Japanese daily life in my head, even though many Japanese people today are not living like that. Interestingly, the ideas that they had about American daily lives were a little different, in that they were not more 'traditional' than we actually live, but more based on American movies and TV shows, like most ideas people have about other countries. I really love learning about people's ideas about America and American life, and talking to them about the reality (at least for the part of America that I'm familiar with), and also talking to them about my ideas of their culture and hearing the reality. It is so interesting and generally very very amusing. There were a lot of Japanese people staring on the train....and most of the weekend possibly....
I was looking up a couple things online about Japanese culture and I came across a blog that a woman who lives in Tokyo writes called Here and There Japan. She posts about everyday things in Japan, including many cultural insights. Its written with a focus on children so most of her entries are very short and simple. I really love looking at it! She shows you the kinds of things that you usually would not learn about unless you came and lived in Japan. Also, I like that she seems to notice the very small things, which I also like to notice. Check it out if you are interested!
I meant to post a few sentences and ended up going on a bit. Maybe I should start proofreading and editing these entries.....not today though.
More to come soon about Kinosaki!
Take care,
Katie
