Spring is in the Air

I’m liking the weather here more and more. Slowly but surely spring is coming and it’s only February. I’ve stopped wearing underarmor to track practice, I don’t need slippers in the house, and I don’t wear a hat anymore to school. It’s a wonderful thing, spring. Soon the cherry blossoms will be upon us. Cherry blossoms are an extremely important part of Japanese culture. They only last for a few weeks each year and the whole country goes nuts. The media faithfully tracks the progression of flowers from Okinawa to Hokkaido. While the blossoms have a short life at any particular spot, the season goes on for over a month. I’m looking forward to it. Spring officially started about a week ago. To welcome in the new season we tossed soybeans outside and said “out demons” and then tossed them inside and said “in luck.” Then we ate beans, each person was supposed to each the number equal to they’re age but I they’re way too good to stop at 19. A few days later my host mom broke out a huge diorama of ancient Japan. It’s a three-tiered tatami platform with dolls portraying old Japanese people sitting on it. They’re large dolls, dressed in elaborate kimonos with painted faces holding fans or swords. This was difficult to put up, as there were no instructions and Momiji saw it as her new playground. We had to move the dining room table to make space for it. This house is being continually invaded by large pieces of furniture. When I first arrived I was struck by how spacious it was. Then the piano arrived, now this giant doll panorama. We had to move the ball pit to fit the piano in. Yes, there’s a ball pit for Momiji. It does double duty as a pool in the summer. This raises an extremely important question, how come I didn’t have a ball pit when I was a kid? And why don’t I have one now?

This past week I’ve been living with another exchange student from Taiwan, Sha. I’ve mentioned him before; he was with us at Christmas and we went to his house once for dinner. The Ibaraki’s hosted him for a few days back in August. He flew home yesterday and wanted to do another home stay before he left. He was a lot of fun to have around and we spent most night up late talking. First we talked about Japanese culture and language but moved into more serious topics, such as what is in Taiwan’s future. I’ve never thought much about Taiwan before, but it must be scary living in a country where you’re in the shadow of a very powerful neighbor who regards you as illegitimately independent. I told him I learned the Taiwan is a free country and China has it wrong. He was very happy to hear that.

On Saturday he took me into Tokyo to some spots he liked and felt I should see before I go. We visited the National Science Museum first, which was good but not really anywhere close to the Field or the Museum of Science and Industry. Then we went to Akihabara to look at all the electronics there. I was under the impression that electronics stores were big and spacious and didn’t usually reside side-by-side. I was wrong. Akihabara is a neighborhood in Tokyo where there are several blocks of hardware and software stores. These look exactly like crammed food stalls or tiny apartment buildings except that they are all filled with the latest electronic gear. It was a pretty neat place. I can’t figure out how everything at every store can be the same price. We ended up buying a webcam for Ibaraki-san to show Sha’s appreciation for hosting him. Sha stayed a grand total of about nine days here and got a webcam for them. I’m going to have to get something solid gold when I leave.

Sha’s gone; it was an oddly sad moment. There were many tears from Sha and Ibaraki-san. She and I were talking today and she said that she really likes hosting exchange students (I’m her third) but that the parting is so hard she’s going to have to think about getting another one after I leave. Already she’s pained at the thought of me leaving which is still a good four months away. I find this rather sweet.

Today was a very relaxing and rather unproductive day, which I believe I’m entitled to occasionally. This week and next I have practically no school. Monday was a half-day, today and tomorrow are off, Thursday and Friday are testing days so we only have the mornings. I’m not even taking any tests on Friday so I just get to sit in the library all morning and then go home. Next week on Monday and Tuesday there are more tests so more afternoons off. I’m really really happy with my school. Not all Japanese schools have so many holidays. My host father is continually jealous. I’m fine with it. I believe that most students spend these days off studying like they’re intended for but I just get to hang out. I slept in a little bit and then went for a run before brunch. Getting some exercise before food is the best decision I’ve made all week. It's a perfect way to start off the day and gives me so much more energy throughout. I didn’t feel lethargic the whole day like I normally do on a day off. I’m definitely going to have to keep that up. Then I went to the library and got a library card. I recently finished my book on Japanese history and checked out another one. I spent a solid couple of hours reading Time, Newsweek, and the paper. Geez the news these days is awfully depressing. Most of the articles are about the economic crisis and the rest are about war. After that I felt in the mood for some comedy so I looked on the foreign bookshelves.

I found a very funny book about an American’s experiences living in Japan. I only got through the first chapter and didn’t take it home as I already had a few books, but I will read it at some point. He hit upon an excellent truth about living here. He said you go through various levels dealing with the differences and similarities between Japan and America, each one going deeper into the culture. I’ve experienced this exactly.
Level one - This place is weird. The signs, posters, flyers, everything is writing in a language unlike anything in the western world. The people speak an equally incomprehensible tongue that could be from Mars. It’s crowded everywhere and little old ladies wearing pink jumpsuits are cleaning the men’s bathroom in the airport. Something’s up.
Level two – Nothing is different. Japanese businessmen are dressed in suits, people ride trains to work or drive cars made by the same company as the one you own in the States. They have skyscrapers, winding roads, lots of trees, and McDonald’s. Japan isn’t so different after all.
Level three – What? Do they always take off their shoes when entering buildings? How come they’re always bowing to each other? Why do all schools look the same? And every train is always on time. Always. They must be different.
Level four – Deep down, they’re the same. They value family, education, and respect for elders, harmony of the community, group dynamics, working hard and innovation. Japanese all want the same things that Americans do; they just have a different way of getting there.
Level five – Vending machines sell used underwear. Thousand year old building are tucked between brand new houses. Geisha’s dressed in fashions coined hundreds of years ago mingle with businessmen of the modern age. They’re phones are out of this world – so they're modern. But they sometimes wear clothing from the 7th century – so they're ancient. But my house has an electronically monitored bathtub. What is going on here? Can’t this country make up its mind?

Pretty much every day I find something that swings my opinion on Japan between the two extremes: the same and completely different. There are so many little differences, bike brakes are backwards, traffic lights are horizontal, Rubik’s Cubes have the yellow and blue sides reversed, and yet so much is the same. They’re really the same inside, or are they? It’s what makes living here so incredibly fascinating every day. I think that I come a bit closer most days to understanding the Japanese mindset, or maybe understanding that there’s not anything different to understand. Understand?