Since I am a young worldly person, this task has been, for the most part, easy. While everything is pretty smooth, there are two cultural adjustments I just cannot take.
What is it you ask?
The language barrier?
Taking my shoes off before going into a dressing room?
Vegan and vegetarianism being almost non-existent?
NOPE:
1. The Weather
Seriously. No amount of orientations and predeparture manuals could prepare me for this climate. Tokyo should definitely be designated "Tropical". Soaring humidity day and night, high temperatures, and flash downpours at least once a day. It has yet to ever "drizzle", it's always a torrential mess. Luckily, the weather will drop down to "warm" while we are here and we'll be out before it dips near "cool". I think we may have had one or two days without some rain, BUT STILL.
2. Sidewalking
Since the Japanese drive on the opposite side of the road that United States citizens drive on, I figured the rules for sidewalking would be switched as well. Well apparently not! People just walk all zany, and not even in the touristy / shopping districts either. Throw bikes, schoolgirls, and slow old-timers into the mix and it's just a hodge-podge pot of pedestrian pandemonium. Aye aye. People walk into me all the time. At first I thought it was because I'm a "gai-jin" (foreigner) but then I noticed that nobody moves out of each other's way regardless of race.
**Please note that those photos are from Google images and not ones I have taken.**
Because I do not like to end on a negative note, here are some things that I can adjust to:
Seriously. No amount of orientations and predeparture manuals could prepare me for this climate. Tokyo should definitely be designated "Tropical". Soaring humidity day and night, high temperatures, and flash downpours at least once a day. It has yet to ever "drizzle", it's always a torrential mess. Luckily, the weather will drop down to "warm" while we are here and we'll be out before it dips near "cool". I think we may have had one or two days without some rain, BUT STILL.
2. Sidewalking
Since the Japanese drive on the opposite side of the road that United States citizens drive on, I figured the rules for sidewalking would be switched as well. Well apparently not! People just walk all zany, and not even in the touristy / shopping districts either. Throw bikes, schoolgirls, and slow old-timers into the mix and it's just a hodge-podge pot of pedestrian pandemonium. Aye aye. People walk into me all the time. At first I thought it was because I'm a "gai-jin" (foreigner) but then I noticed that nobody moves out of each other's way regardless of race.
**Please note that those photos are from Google images and not ones I have taken.**
Because I do not like to end on a negative note, here are some things that I can adjust to:
1. Emphasis on matcha powder
2. Not having to worry about get shivved on the metro
3. Coffee and cake restaurants in every mall
4. Consumerist culture x10
5. Muscat flavored Kit Kat bars
6. Watermelon flavored Kit Kat bars
7. Everyone lookin' sharp
8. Drinking alcohol legally (not only am I old enough to drink BUT you're allowed to drink on the street)
9. "Youth and deviant subcultures"
10. City life
2. Not having to worry about get shivved on the metro
3. Coffee and cake restaurants in every mall
4. Consumerist culture x10
5. Muscat flavored Kit Kat bars
6. Watermelon flavored Kit Kat bars
7. Everyone lookin' sharp
8. Drinking alcohol legally (not only am I old enough to drink BUT you're allowed to drink on the street)
9. "Youth and deviant subcultures"
10. City life
No comments:
Post a Comment