Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Two things that bother me about Japan
First of all, sorry I haven't updated more often. I've been busy with school and haven't thought to put up stuff here. There are a number of things that bother me about Japan, but I'll only write about two tonight that are rather mundane.
1. In Japan, no one says 'Bless you' when you sneeze. I'm not superstitious, I don't think you're soul is leaving you through your nose when you sneeze, but this is something so ingrained in my head during my upbringing that it was really hard to not say it during my first few months here. I still look at teachers who sneeze, but hesitate to say anything. In Japan, sneezing is public is a little taboo. People today understand that you can't control and those in your close friend group don't care, but it is considered rude to sneeze around other people. It's part of a feudal ethic code that goes back several hundred years. I think it's also part of the reason Japanese people cover their mouths when laughing.
Earlier tonight I was hanging out with some teachers and the one who teaches English had a cold. While we were talking she sneezed and I started telling her about 'bless you' and how awkward it was not to say it. The rest of the night she got a kick out of every time I responded to her sneezes.
2. Juice/milk. You can find good juice in Japan, but it costs a lot. At one grocery store in my town they have the Japanese brand juice and Tropicana. Tropicana is, in my opinion, much better tasting, but it's about 220 yen, or more than $2.50 per liter/quart. I could get two quarts of orange juice for $3.30 in the US (I think). At another grocery store Dole juice is for sale at 108 yen per 500 mL, or about a pint. That's actually slightly cheaper than the Tropicana (which is nice because I can get two kinds of juice for less than the price of one).
I have not found anything like skim milk in Japan. There are low fat milks, and some milk that taste significantly better than others. However, being raised on skim milk I require some low fat alternative. I found a low cost brand that I really liked, but it either went out of business or changed labels two or three months after I started drinking it. I now use a secondary brand that I is rather famous and will be around for the foreseeable future, but it's still more fatty than I would like.
Anyway, those are two small complaints I have, but they come up often. I don't expect to change them anytime soon, but I would appreciate some good American juice/milk.
1. In Japan, no one says 'Bless you' when you sneeze. I'm not superstitious, I don't think you're soul is leaving you through your nose when you sneeze, but this is something so ingrained in my head during my upbringing that it was really hard to not say it during my first few months here. I still look at teachers who sneeze, but hesitate to say anything. In Japan, sneezing is public is a little taboo. People today understand that you can't control and those in your close friend group don't care, but it is considered rude to sneeze around other people. It's part of a feudal ethic code that goes back several hundred years. I think it's also part of the reason Japanese people cover their mouths when laughing.
Earlier tonight I was hanging out with some teachers and the one who teaches English had a cold. While we were talking she sneezed and I started telling her about 'bless you' and how awkward it was not to say it. The rest of the night she got a kick out of every time I responded to her sneezes.
2. Juice/milk. You can find good juice in Japan, but it costs a lot. At one grocery store in my town they have the Japanese brand juice and Tropicana. Tropicana is, in my opinion, much better tasting, but it's about 220 yen, or more than $2.50 per liter/quart. I could get two quarts of orange juice for $3.30 in the US (I think). At another grocery store Dole juice is for sale at 108 yen per 500 mL, or about a pint. That's actually slightly cheaper than the Tropicana (which is nice because I can get two kinds of juice for less than the price of one).
I have not found anything like skim milk in Japan. There are low fat milks, and some milk that taste significantly better than others. However, being raised on skim milk I require some low fat alternative. I found a low cost brand that I really liked, but it either went out of business or changed labels two or three months after I started drinking it. I now use a secondary brand that I is rather famous and will be around for the foreseeable future, but it's still more fatty than I would like.
Anyway, those are two small complaints I have, but they come up often. I don't expect to change them anytime soon, but I would appreciate some good American juice/milk.
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