After 6 years of living in Asia, a couple of hours away from what I grew up feeling was the greatest country in the world- namely China- I had finally bought a ticket, acquired a Visa, put together an itinerary and gone to Peking Beijing. It had been a long time coming. If you’ve read part 1 of [...]
I woke up the other day to the sound of a voice through a loudspeaker crying something repeatedly in a beckoning voice and I had no idea what he was saying but it reminded me of back home when, from the Muslim Temple’s loudspeaker, a voice would croon “Allah U Akbar” over and over until [...]
I have begun my summer reading a little earlier than usual…my summer vacation actually begins this Friday, but I saw David Sedaris’ latest book, When you are engulfed in flames, in Kinoukuniya and bought it immediately. He makes me laugh out loud in inappropriate places and at inopportune times but I don’t care. I need to, sometimes, [...]
…and he bench presses Japanese nurses! What a hilariously brilliant Beer ad campaign! I’ve been watching the NBA Playoffs on NBA Broadband and they show the commercials so I’ve been able to catch a whiff of what’s cooking in the US through the commercials. Well, we’re still creative as hell, that’s for sure, as evidenced [...]
Reason2Write,the founder and creative genius behind one of my favorite blogs has gone ahead and given me a reason to write. (-; She has tasked me to think of alternative explanations for why SOME Japanese people behave the way they do towards me. Racism, and its virtually identical twin sister, xenophobia, as well as other forms of negativity, are not allowed. I must [...]
おーい、日本人のみなさん、おれら黒人をみると避ける人がいるが、避けられるたんびにすごく悲しくなるんだ。おれらもみんなといっしょなんだ。仲良くやりたいんだよ。 Roughly translated it means something to the effect of: “Hey, Japanese People! When you see us black people do not avoid us. Every time you do it we get very upset. We are all the same! And we want to have a good relationship with you. My friend, 空, after reading Lighten up Loco, was inspired to write [...]
I’ve been doing some thinking…a lot of thinking, actually. For the most part I’ve focused my blog on Japanese people, culture, customs and idiosyncrasies, and the highs and lows of living among them, as well as the effect of xenophobia on the soul. What I have ignored to a large degree is the issue of other people living here who also have [...]
Translated it means: Don’t distinguish between Japanese and foreigners, just sit down like a well-mannered samurai! (It’s kind of a Japanese joke to make light of the serious subject) Something interesting happened today. I discovered a Japanese blogger had linked to my blog post: An empty seat on a crowded train. What he said I [...]
One of my favorite things about Japan are onsens. I was introduced to onsens on my first visit here, before I decided to relocate. I came to visit my friend and stayed with him for a couple of weeks. During that time he, his girlfriend (now his wife), a friend of hers and I went out [...]
There used to be a hilarious English comic strip in Japanzine magazine, very popular in Japan, about a loser from Canada who comes to Japan to teach English and, by virtue of being un-Japanese, becomes super popular. It was called Charisma Man. This was before my time (I arrived here in 2003) but it remains kind of an [...]
...cuz we all need defense against the dark arts!
…
Raw Like Sushi
