Just a few quick thoughts on socializing in Japan that i have been thinking about lately. Something i have mentioned previously in this blog is that in Japan people dont self disclose meaningful personal information so easily or quickly. Initial conversations with a person are in fact very light in terms of content rarely involve really [...]
• A common Technique for detecting lies is watching what direction a person’s eyes shift when they are thinking of the answer to a question. If you are facing the person, and they look to the right, they are remembering something, if they look to the left, they are creating something in their mind. I’ve [...]
How do you get respect in Japan? Step one: get really really old. At least become the oldest person in the room, and you can claim the rank of senpai, and refer to everyone else as the lesser ranked “kohai’ to reinforce the idea of hierarchy, and your superiority in everyone’s mind. Step two: get [...]
In China I started using QQ. A Chat messenger software i used to talk with my friends. The same way i use Skype and MSN messenger to keep in touch with everyone else in the world. I can also use Skype and MSN to search for new people to talk to. And i can almost [...]
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Just a few quick thoughts on socializing in Japan that i have been thinking about lately. Something i have mentioned previously in this blog is that in Japan people dont self disclose meaningful personal information so easily or quickly. Initial conversations with a person are in fact very light in terms of content rarely involve really [...]
continue reading
Friday i met Shohei and his Chinese friend in Shinjuku. We went to an izakaya for a few drinks. his Chinese friend, Osan, said, “Japanese people are robots.” I immediately gave him a high-five. I am always happy to meet people with this honest perspective of social interaction in Japan. Everything needs to appear perfect and [...]
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Received this letter today, “Regarding your application for the Japanese Language Program, Fall Semester 2010. Thank you for applying for the Japanese Language Program at Keio University. To our great freaking regret, we must inform you that your application was not successful. Admission to the program is determined by the Admission Committee after thorough evaluation [...]
continue readingSo I was just sitting near Hachiko in Shibuya with Alex. And a Japanese guy came up to me and started talking to me in English, so i replied in Japanese, “why do you assume I speak English? just because i’m white? that’s kinda racist” Actually the Japanese language doesn’t have a word for “assume,” [...]
Friday i met Shohei and his Chinese friend in Shinjuku. We went to an izakaya for a few drinks. his Chinese friend, Osan, said, “Japanese people are robots.” I immediately gave him a high-five. I am always happy to meet people with this honest perspective of social interaction in Japan. Everything needs to appear perfect and [...]
In China I started using QQ. A Chat messenger software i used to talk with my friends. The same way i use Skype and MSN messenger to keep in touch with everyone else in the world. I can also use Skype and MSN to search for new people to talk to. And i can almost [...]
Just a few quick thoughts on socializing in Japan that i have been thinking about lately. Something i have mentioned previously in this blog is that in Japan people dont self disclose meaningful personal information so easily or quickly. Initial conversations with a person are in fact very light in terms of content rarely involve really [...]
• A common Technique for detecting lies is watching what direction a person’s eyes shift when they are thinking of the answer to a question. If you are facing the person, and they look to the right, they are remembering something, if they look to the left, they are creating something in their mind. I’ve [...]
Photo taken in Liuzhou, China by Liuzhou Laowai. Do editors and designers deliberately sabotage advertisments and signs like this? It reminds me of when i was in a restaurant in Hangzhou, China and on the menu’s description of the dish it said “the carrot fucks the broccoli.” And I even saw a little kid with [...]
We planned on going to a night club in Suwon, but on the way a Korean guy tried to get us to go to a “club” he was working for. We said what the hell and sat down at a table there after negotiating the price. The first odd thing i noticed about this place [...]
This was my first time to see a vending machine like this old one selling hentai manga in a residential area in Hachioji, Tokyo. It seems quite old and attached to a small toy and book shop. When we walked by it a young girl maybe 9 or 10 years old walking by in the [...]
Received this letter today, “Regarding your application for the Japanese Language Program, Fall Semester 2010. Thank you for applying for the Japanese Language Program at Keio University. To our great freaking regret, we must inform you that your application was not successful. Admission to the program is determined by the Admission Committee after thorough evaluation [...]
