Japan

Oh Japan, you are so wonderful. So lets begin with a little history of Japan. Towards the end of the war, Japan was very ready to surrender. We had basically bombed the shit out of their country until there was basically nothing left. (Now this is just what one of my friends read at the Hiroshima museum, this isn’t necessarily fact or fiction. Take it how you will.) So Japan was ready to surrender- and we set the official date for the surrender for like 4 months in the future. Then Russia wanted to have a part in rebuilding Japan and kinda controlling it when all was said and done. So we decided we wanted to end the war once and for all and we wanted to have all the control over the situation and leave Russia out of the whole thing. So we dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and killed hundreds of thousands of people (and destroyed their crops, lives, and caused leukemia for many years to come) those weren’t soldiers we killed… those were people. So then Russia started talking to Japan about surrender and pushed the surrender date up to like in the very near future, but instead of waiting and letting Russia take the credit, we bombed Nagasaki (killing probably around the same amount of people) and then the surrender happened right there and then. Then we had control over all kinds of stuff because they officially surrendered to us. I’m not sure if this all makes sense or even if it’s correct, but that’s what I took away from the whole situation.

Needless to say, we then forced the Japanese to re write their constitution so they didn’t decide to be communists like we had always feared. But the people they selected to write the constitution refused to do it because they wanted to keep using the constitution they had before. So like 10 or 14 Americans got together to write a constitution for Japan, none of them had political science degrees or any skills in completing a task like that. They basically just modeled the constitution after our constitution. I’d say this is pretty much why everything in Japan reminded me of America. Kobe was pretty much like any American city, but really expensive. It was kinda interesting to see because most of the info structure was very similar-but everyone actually followed the rules. The walk/don’t walk signs were actually paid attention to. Even if no cars were coming… they still stood there till the green man came on. Basically, it was the complete opposite of Vietnam. I just went with it. I just mimic whatever the locals do and I feel that’s the safest way to hang out in a country. If I do what everyone else does, I won’t be hit by a car or taken to jail. (o:

So the day we got into Japan it was crazy. The Japanese customs are very strict so we had to have out temperature taken while we were on the boat. Then we took our passports and landing cards, stood in a long long line, then were finger printed, interviewed and then were allowed to go on our way. Basically, we didn’t get off the boat till 1pm. Normally it only takes till 10ish. It was okay with me tho. Hahaha my friend Corette said “Just don’t commit any crimes in Japan without gloves on.”

When we got off the boat Mal (who I like to call Meow) and I walked around Kobe to see what it was all about. It reminded me a lot of Pittsburgh. When I’m in a new country, I like to compare it to places I have already been. South Africa reminded me of florida. Hong Kong reminded me of NYC. India didn’t remind me of anything at all. But Japan could defiantly fit in any city in America. It was a little hilly, but set up exactly the same. It was super interesting how us sticking our nose in another countries business forces them to act like us.

One difference between Americans and Japanese (besides the language) is how polite the Japanese are. In America if you were in NYC and confused about where you were going… if an American walked up to you helped you figure out where you were on a map, then offered to take you to your next bus stop, you would be super confused and even skeptic. Of course you would be because we are basically trained to think that way. In Japan, it was common for us to come across a local that would go above and beyond what would be expected of them in America. If I walked past someone and my breeze knocked a napkin off their table- I would naturally just bend over and pick it up for them. It was sorta my fault, but not a really big deal. A person from Japan would take the napkin and genuinely apologize till I walk away. It is super weird because we would normally just give a smile and take the napkin or to be honest, just ignore the whole situation. It was kinda nice go to from pushy countries to a very polite one.

Back to my stay in Japan- Meow and I were walking around Kobe and we decided to go back to the boat to find some more friends. As we walked back, we saw Davis and Andre walking towards us with a group of Japanese students. Apparently, they were at the welcome reception (through semester at sea) and these students were taking them to karaoke. Karaoke in Japan? I just thought it was a stereotype!! So we get to the Karaoke place and it’s $5 an hour. So we get one hour and they lead us to a little room. A karaoke bar in Japan isn’t like it is in America. It’s a little room with a tv and some hi-tech gadges in it. The room is about 5X10 for 5 people to go in and sing for a year. It was super fun- but I realized something about Japan. Most of the stereotypes we generally accept are very true. The Japanese people are always polite and doing whatever they can. In Karoke, they clap off beat. They are always smiling and generally happy and they love sushi. Just like you see on the chappelle show- that’s how it is here.

My second and third day in Japan were spent at a homestay. My family was a woman named Satoko who kept me company for those two days. She worked for the city and had a beautiful house right outside of Kobe. Satoko and I stayed with a woman named Tamiko and Stacy (a semester at sea girl) pretty much the whole time so we could keep each other interested. Tamiko was an English teacher so she was very fluent in English. With our families- we went to Osaka. Osaka is like 40 minutes from Kobe. It is where a lot of people live, who normally work in the city. It’s a nice area and in the center is Osaka Castle. The castle was built by a Samari as his castle when him, and eventually his son, ruled the area. Because most of the explanations of the items inside the castle were in Japanese, I didn’t get most of it, but there were lots of folding screens that depicted important battles. It was interesting to see all the things that still existed from hundreds of years ago. The Japanese people are so diligent and very good at keeping things in order. This was shown in The Osaka Castle because of all the artifacts that they still had. It was pretty amazing to me.

That day I had a chicken dish that was so delicious. It was rice with pieces of chicken on top. Then on top of all that was egg. Tamiko told me this dish was called Oyako Donburi. Donburi means bowl, which is what the food was in. Oya means parent and Ko means child. I’ll give you guys a couple seconds to realized why that is hilarious….. And for my slower audience it’s hilarious because the chicken is the parent and the egg is the child. Hilarious… right? Another dish that is similar to that one has pork instead of chicken, but the rest of the food is the same. This dish is called Tanin Donburi. Tanin means stranger, which is also very funny to me for some reason.

The second day, we went to Kyoto for the day. Kyoto is an area that has about a dozen shrines/temples within a couple mile radius. We planned on going to four sacred sites, but we only ended up gong to two because we ran out of time. Kiyomizudera temple was a Buddhist temple built in 778. It was super beautiful there. Before you enter the temple, you are expected to rinse your hands in the water that comes from the mountains that surround the temple. I took some pictures of people washing their hands. Specifically, some pictures of a mom helping her kids wash their hands and at the same time teaching them a tradition that they will use for the rest of their lives. The second place we visited was a shrine. I believe the fact it’s called a shrine means it comes form the religion Shinto. Yasakajinja Shring was brightly colored and there were lots of people walking around. There were 3 or 4 areas set up for fortunes. You would chose a number and tell the man at the stand, he would then give you the piece of paper that corresponds with that number. You would read it then fold it and tie it onto one of the areas set up to hold fortunes. Some areas were strings hanging vertically. Other areas were poles that were arranged horizontally. Either way, it was probably my favorite thing to photograph because it looked super cool and artistic. (o:

Much of my stay in Japan was filled with the beautiful background of cherry blossom trees. We just happened to visit the same week the trees were in bloom. Let me tell you, Japanese people LOVE cherry blossom trees. The trees are everywhere and it was difficult to find a tree that wasn’t occupied with people that sat on a blanket and had a picnic. Many high school and college students hung out with their friends under the trees after school. I mentioned the cherry blossoms that are in DC and Tamiko already knew about them and got excited when I mentioned them. We all exchanged email addresses and said our goodbyes. I enjoyed my homestay. It allowed me to see more of Japan than I would have alone. Although the people are super nice and eager to help you, it is still difficult to get around. After getting thru china on my own, I was relieved to just follow someone who knew where they were going.

Unfortunately for me, Japan was super expensive. The last day, I just hung out and didn’t do much of anything because I didn’t want to waste my money on a $40 T-shirt or a $20 meal. I found an internet café and hung out for 2 hours. This was by far the nicest internet café I’ve ever been to in my life. I guess I don’t frequent them at home, but it was def the nicest of my whole trip. There were free drinks, big screens, a fast connection and comfy seats.

I’m glad to see the regulars are still consistently commenting on my blog. I appreciate every letter that is typed. I will suggest something from everyone that is reading this. Take 5 minutes, or as long as you want, and send me an email. I’m def not complaining but the next few weeks are gonna get tough for me. I have 23 days left on my trip. Only 3 of them are spent on land. That, topped with the fact that finals are coming up very soon will make me hate my life for sure. The next time I’ll check my emails will be April 21^st. So you all have almost a week to make some time for your favorite world traveler. Just to make it clear, you don’t have to be my immediate family or best friends to write an email. I’ve heard from most of them a lot. Even if my dad gave you my blog and you barely know me, I’d like to hear from you. Even if your one of the people that work with Mrs. Fetsko and you’re reading my blog because you like my stories, send me an email. I’m not threatening anyone but you better write OR ELSE. (o: My email address is Nicoledembski@gmail.com

Right now, the boat is rocky-er than it has ever been. It’s kinda fun for me because I don’t get sick. Basically I just get to watch, and hear, stuff fall off tables onto the floor. I hear everyone’s drawers opening and slamming shut. Today at dinner, the soup pot fell off the counter and dishes fell onto the ground. It was moderately exciting.

Mumma (biological) tomorrow is one of my best friend, Allie’s, Birthday. Those plates and hats will def. come in handy for her celebration. (o:

Poppa Bear- I can’t stop thinking about driving that vette right after I get home, graduate, have a party, go back to cal, then come back home and sleep for a whole week.

Mark- Thanks a ton for the Atlantic crossing care package. I’m crushing some cheddar chex mix as we speak (I was gonna save all the triangle crackers for you, but it’ll will be like 3 weeks before I get home). The beef jerkey is pretty much gone and I put my steelers print bandana on max.

Kristofer- Thanks for taking care of all my graduation stuff. And thanks for the news about me walking with honors chords!! I was super excited when I read that! Love you times infinity.

Joule- I’ll be home in 24 days. You’ll have your bff back and I’ll be chearing your little softball players on as soon as I can!!

Mumma (friend) I’m glad you’re doing better. I can’t wait to call you from Hawaii and hear about your life.

Nano- I’m glad I got a chance to talk to you online for a minute. I miss those little gutz and I can’t wait to give you your present. You’ll love it for sure.

Rye- thanks for coming on strong in the 4^th quarter. (I prefer football over baseball)

Rannie Rand- You’re the best sister ever. Congrats on the brand new purchase. I can’t wait to help you tear that wallpaper down when I get home. Just so you supply some food maybe some tony’s pizza, I’m sure you can sucker some of my friends into helping. (o: