The Course Of Understanding: In a Word, I'd Say....

Sunday, February 22, 2009

In a Word, I'd Say....

We have a new front-runner in the search for a single word to describe modern Japan, submitted by a good friend and fellow JET (you know who you are): "Sheltered" Previous top entries include: "Constrained" "Comfortable" "Dazed" "Unexpected" "Sterile" Those that aren`t a single word but I like them anyway: "There`s something in the water..." "Cookie-cutter country" And a final one you can`t be expected to understand if you haven`t lived in Japan, but if you have then it says it all: "I`m fine thanks, and you?"

2 comments:

AnonymousFebruary 25, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Caleb,
That explains a lot of the communication here. Maybe for a different reason. We don't want to get involved. We don't want to share. We use a polite phrase to end the conversation about us and move on not really caring about the other person just being polite. If someone actually told us how they were we would be bothered.
ReplyDelete
Replies
calebFebruary 25, 2009 at 10:51 PM
I haven:t really thought this through, but I think the key might be when you say "for a different reason". In the west, in general, perhaps we don:t give the feelings of others enough consideration. Here, it:s too much consideration. When people start apologizing profusely because they:re offering to do ME a favor (but don:t want to make me feel guilty, or obligated to reciprocate), that:s a vicious cycle that has no real winners! (although, if everyone plays along, there are no real losers either...) Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Welcome!

Welcome! Vítám vás! Yokoso! Karibu! And... whatever it is in Hindi. If you're even a little interested in travel, culture, language, living abroad, philosophy, and understanding the world and yourself a little better, then you've come to the right place! The text below, "Beginnings," will get you started on the concept of this site. Enjoy looking around, and take a moment to consider what you find here! All the writing is my own, unless in quotation marks, and I've taken all the photographs, unless noted. I'd be honored if you want to use some material on this site, so just ask! I'm an aspiring writer and aspiring photographer, so remember that using material without permission is stealing a little bit of my future! I welcome your thoughts, questions, and ideas, so please comment or contact me on email. Thanks for visiting! -caleb

The Beginning

It all started on a wintry day in 2006 when my life-long friend Bethany and I unfolded a world map on the floor of my flat in Prague. We’d been raised in northern California, but now I was in my third year in the Czech Republic, Bethany was spending a year in Lithuania, and filled with the youthful sensation of unlimited possibility, we fell to listing all the countries we wanted to live in someday. My foray into Central Europe had sparked my interest in culture, and so I mocked up a list of countries that I now call “The Course of Understanding Tour,” consisting of 4-5 countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. It was several months before I actually thought about it seriously... I remember over a decade ago when my grandmother came back from a trip to Kenya, and told me that “the culture is so different, but I’ve found that wherever you go, people are people.” Years later my cultural anthropology professor told us stories about throwing up over the mere sight of dinner in an African jungle: “Culture is not a ‘mind over matter’ kind of thing; differences can provoke an innate and uncontrollable physical reaction.” Where’s the common ground between these statements? When you strip away all the differences between us that cause discomfort, fear, or vomit, what “people are people” elements are you left with?... I’m now halfway through a year in a Japanese village. Next I’ll be spending six months in India, and then six months in a Kenyan orphanage. The culture shock I most fear is one day returning to America. This blog is to bring you along with me as I experience many of those vomit-inducing differences, and slowly try to piece together an understanding of what makes us all members of the human race anyway.
February 2008