I arrived in Japan for the first time. I had a custom officer rifle through my suitcase and took one of the most beautiful train rides of my life (and, geeky fact, I took trains across Canada and Australia, so I know my train rides) across the Inland Sea from Okayama.
Geez, I'm gettin' old!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
What every woman needs!
This site is awesome. Plug in your height and weight and get pictures of women the same size as you.
It's funny how they don't look anywhere near as big as I think myself to be, isn't it?
It's funny how they don't look anywhere near as big as I think myself to be, isn't it?
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Communal Charisma man
So, I went out with some people the other night. One of my friends is leaving for another city and it was a goodbye party. I don't normally go out in big groups of foreigners (OK, I hardly ever go out full stop, but let's pretend I'm a social butterfly for the moment, shall we), so I had sort of forgotten what foreign men become in a group.
Almost all of the guys in this group are lovely individually (apart from that one, annoying one who keeps making the same tired joke that wasn't funny the first three times, and explaining it really doesn't make it funny either, but skip past him) but put them together and they become a communal "Charisma man", the stereotype of the foreign man who comes to Japan and finds himself popular among women for the first time in his life.
I've always defended my fellow foreigners when they're labelled "Charisma Man", because, as with every stereotype, it's unfair to the ones who are actually good people who aren't particularly arrogant. Having said that, as with every stereotype, there's some degree of truth.
We were all sitting in a bar, 7 gaijin and 2 Japanese friends, when the girls at the next table came over to say hello. Cue the guys at the table to act like Brad Pitt being interrupted from a quiet dinner with Angelina. The rolling of the eyes, the reluctant answer, being nice was just beyond these guys, suddenly. The girls in question were going to Canada in the summer and wanted to know if we could tell them anything about it. We told them none of us were Canadian, and that most of us were from England.
"Oh, is England near Canada?" she asked, all Bambi eyes.
"Well, clearly you need a map, huh huh huh."
This was followed by sychophantic laughter, while the poor girl stood there, laughing along with that look on her face that you have when you don't really get the joke, but feel like you should laugh anyway.
After almost 6 years here, I know how annoying it is to be answering stupid questions all day long, and how irritiating it is to have your evening constantly interrupted by people keen to have a "I met a Gaijin the other day" story to tell their friends. It is tempting to be downright rude, I usually just answer politely, bow and walk away, which may seem rude to some, but I just don't have enough hours in the day for everyone's questions, I have things to do people. The one thing I refuse to do is take the piss. A joke is only funny if both parties find it so, if you're having a laugh at someone's expense, it stops being funny when that person doesn't get it. It starts being cruel, and these otherwise nice guys were being cruel to a girl just trying to get ready for her big adventure to Canada.
I've been on the receiving end in Japan, where a group of people are having a laugh abot something I said or did, but I didn't get it. It made me feel utterly stupid, foolish and like I should just turn around and go home before I humiliate myself further. That's why I felt so sorry for this poor girl, although I'm not even sure she was that bothered.
Once the girls had moved on, the guys went back to their normal selves, and were unfailingly polite, as always. So, it was not only a case of communal Charisma man, it was also a case of temporary Charisma man.
Almost all of the guys in this group are lovely individually (apart from that one, annoying one who keeps making the same tired joke that wasn't funny the first three times, and explaining it really doesn't make it funny either, but skip past him) but put them together and they become a communal "Charisma man", the stereotype of the foreign man who comes to Japan and finds himself popular among women for the first time in his life.
I've always defended my fellow foreigners when they're labelled "Charisma Man", because, as with every stereotype, it's unfair to the ones who are actually good people who aren't particularly arrogant. Having said that, as with every stereotype, there's some degree of truth.
We were all sitting in a bar, 7 gaijin and 2 Japanese friends, when the girls at the next table came over to say hello. Cue the guys at the table to act like Brad Pitt being interrupted from a quiet dinner with Angelina. The rolling of the eyes, the reluctant answer, being nice was just beyond these guys, suddenly. The girls in question were going to Canada in the summer and wanted to know if we could tell them anything about it. We told them none of us were Canadian, and that most of us were from England.
"Oh, is England near Canada?" she asked, all Bambi eyes.
"Well, clearly you need a map, huh huh huh."
This was followed by sychophantic laughter, while the poor girl stood there, laughing along with that look on her face that you have when you don't really get the joke, but feel like you should laugh anyway.
After almost 6 years here, I know how annoying it is to be answering stupid questions all day long, and how irritiating it is to have your evening constantly interrupted by people keen to have a "I met a Gaijin the other day" story to tell their friends. It is tempting to be downright rude, I usually just answer politely, bow and walk away, which may seem rude to some, but I just don't have enough hours in the day for everyone's questions, I have things to do people. The one thing I refuse to do is take the piss. A joke is only funny if both parties find it so, if you're having a laugh at someone's expense, it stops being funny when that person doesn't get it. It starts being cruel, and these otherwise nice guys were being cruel to a girl just trying to get ready for her big adventure to Canada.
I've been on the receiving end in Japan, where a group of people are having a laugh abot something I said or did, but I didn't get it. It made me feel utterly stupid, foolish and like I should just turn around and go home before I humiliate myself further. That's why I felt so sorry for this poor girl, although I'm not even sure she was that bothered.
Once the girls had moved on, the guys went back to their normal selves, and were unfailingly polite, as always. So, it was not only a case of communal Charisma man, it was also a case of temporary Charisma man.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Weird dream
I had an odd dream last night, which I think was caused by a radio show I had been listening to while I ironed (a little snapshot there into my exciting life. The good news? I can now wear that white shirt because the creases are all gone, yay!). They were talking about the upcoming Queen's Jubilee (congrat Ma'am.) and then went on to discuss OBEs and other such goings on.
So, in my dream, I was going to Buckingham Palace to collect my OBE (yes, yes, delusions of grandeur), but I couldn't find the doorbell. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find it. So I missed the ceremony, and didn't get the OBE I'm not even sure women can get. Gutted.
I wonder what it all means.
So, in my dream, I was going to Buckingham Palace to collect my OBE (yes, yes, delusions of grandeur), but I couldn't find the doorbell. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find it. So I missed the ceremony, and didn't get the OBE I'm not even sure women can get. Gutted.
I wonder what it all means.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Step away from the TV
I've just had to. It was that or have some kind of TV rage incident, which wouldn't do as it's not my TV.
What show made me so cross? Well, they had a panel of women, (smug) marrieds on one side and spinsters on the other, and the purpose of the show seemed to be to analyse what could possibly be wrong with the women who had reached 44 and not got married. I mean, the horror! There MUST be so much wrong with these women, it's good RNB TV are there to help them!
They had that annoying woman who married a baseball player recently, can't remember her name, but she's been on every TV show going, banging on about how happy she is in Fukuoka, with her husband. To be fair, being happy is a good thing, but she could stop going on about it.
Yes, I know I sound like a bitter spinster, but is it really necessary to televise smug married people being smug and making the single people feel rubbish about it? One of the women on this show said she didn't want to get married, she likes having control of the TV remote control, doing what she wants at weekends, and being able to travel whenever she wants (fair enough, there's only so much Match of the Day a girl can tolerate, and there's nothing more annoying than having perky people try to get you active at the weekend, I should know, I'm usually the perky one in this house), and you should have heard the audience "eeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhh"ing. That level of incredulity is usually reserved for really crazy stuff, like losing weight on one of those diets shows. You know the ones I mean, where overweight women are pointed and laughed at, and people express surprise at them looking OK in a dress after 5 hours in makeup, post diet.
Anyway, at least the TV rage incident got me posting something, it's been a while. Now I've done that, and got the rant off my chest, maybe I'll chance SMAP Bistro. I could be back if they say something that bothers me...
What show made me so cross? Well, they had a panel of women, (smug) marrieds on one side and spinsters on the other, and the purpose of the show seemed to be to analyse what could possibly be wrong with the women who had reached 44 and not got married. I mean, the horror! There MUST be so much wrong with these women, it's good RNB TV are there to help them!
They had that annoying woman who married a baseball player recently, can't remember her name, but she's been on every TV show going, banging on about how happy she is in Fukuoka, with her husband. To be fair, being happy is a good thing, but she could stop going on about it.
Yes, I know I sound like a bitter spinster, but is it really necessary to televise smug married people being smug and making the single people feel rubbish about it? One of the women on this show said she didn't want to get married, she likes having control of the TV remote control, doing what she wants at weekends, and being able to travel whenever she wants (fair enough, there's only so much Match of the Day a girl can tolerate, and there's nothing more annoying than having perky people try to get you active at the weekend, I should know, I'm usually the perky one in this house), and you should have heard the audience "eeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhh"ing. That level of incredulity is usually reserved for really crazy stuff, like losing weight on one of those diets shows. You know the ones I mean, where overweight women are pointed and laughed at, and people express surprise at them looking OK in a dress after 5 hours in makeup, post diet.
Anyway, at least the TV rage incident got me posting something, it's been a while. Now I've done that, and got the rant off my chest, maybe I'll chance SMAP Bistro. I could be back if they say something that bothers me...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)