Randomnessssss.

RANDOM POST TIIIIIIIIIIIME! I've been wanting to do a post like this for a while and today seemed like an alright day to do it since nothing exciting has happened since I last posted. Except for joining the track & field club, but that's for another day.

Today I want to talk about some things that I've noticed about Japan that are different from Chicago. OF COURSE some things that are said or done in Chicago are different from other parts of the world; even within the U.S., so this is just my Chicagoan observation at work here.

#1 Convenience stores.
They're EVERYWHERE. And they're 20x nicer than American ones. I'll elaborate on 7-elevens because that's usually where I go. They have entire aisle dedicated to Shonen Sundays, any other manga magazine you can imagine, and any other magazine in general you could possibly want. Quick side note: While manga in America can cost over $10 per volume, here they usually cost about 340 yen or so (that's about $3.50). WHAT IS THIS INSANITY? Side note end. The next aisle has stationary and a little bit of candy. The aisle after that is candy bliss. My mother is reading this right now rolling her eyes because she thinks I've been buying loads of it (I tend to eat a lot of candy at home...). Well guess what? ..... She's right. I can't help myself. Every single candy in a 7-eleven here is new and interesting to me so of course I have to buy it. :S Anyway, after that aisle there's the bread, refrigerated goods, and microwaveable/convenient products. This includes instant ramen! Funnily enough, I see the Cup Noodles brand here a lot. 7-elevens also have a vast array of refrigerated obentos, ice cream, and hot food. Yesterday, my host mom bought our entire meal at 7-eleven, and although I wan't fond of much of it, it was all very decent quality food. So yes, コンビニ (konbini) in Japan are much better than American ones. Point for Japan.

#2 The Moped thing-ys!
It may very well just be where I am, but the people around here love their mopeds. Actually, they may be something totally different, but I'm pretty sure that's what they are. I don't see that many legitimate motorcycles, but I've defnitely seen some. You have to be 18 here to get your license for a car, but I believe you can drive a moped at 16, so that might be part of the reason why. It's funny to see a man in a business suit or a woman all done up riding around town on a moped though, gotta say. When I first got here I was surprised that they would cut in front of all the cars in any given lane at a stop light. This seems kind of dangerous to me, but if we don't have an accident every day I guess it's alright.

#3 Boys
 First off, they're usually pretty shy (at least when it comes to girls). I think most of the guys in my class were either terrified of me the first few weeks, or did not wish for my presence. I'm thinking it was the first one, but if you're in 2 の E, lemme know. :P ALSO. Boys here tend to be a little more feminine than the boys I'm used to back at home. No, they don't run around proclaiming their love for hello kitty, but most tend to be more open with their emotions than American boys. There is a boy in my class who acts very masculine; sags his jeans (most Japanese boys don't do that), is cocky, and has a very boyish aura about it. The only odd thing is that he has a pink pen, pink pencil case, pink folders, and (this one really puzzled me) a pink phone. And I'm not talking light pink, I'm talking shiny, hot pink. O_O But, you know, whatever floats your boat. It's also very okay here for guys to hug, and I've even seen a boy sit on another's lap. Ah, culture.

#4 TV Shows
Go youtube a Japanese program. Not anime, one with real people. They're hilariously and awkwardly random. I've seen average women dressed in kimonos wrestling (don't get any ideas), snails being stuck on people's faces, and oh so much more. And the subtitles, oh god! It's like CNN on steroids. Almost every single thing said has subtitles in varying colors, sizes, and fonts. Sometimes, the hosts of the show will appear in a little circle in the corner of the screen as you're watching a video being replayed. It's very strange, and yet I've somehow grown to view this kind of TV as normal. It really is entertaining, though, I recommend watching it, even if you can't understand (that'd probably make it even funnier to watch).

#5 English
This one's short and to the point: Most Japanese do not speak good English. They're totally good sports about it and try really hard if they see you can't speak Japanese, but many of them (at least here in Kumamoto) do not speak very much.

#6 Bread
Whether you love white, sliced Japanese bread, hate it, or are somewhere in between (I LOVE it), it's obvious that the Japanese love their bread. And not just sliced bread; they like filled bread, savory bread, bread with all kinds of spreads, melon bread, and the list goes on. Usually the filled ones have some sort of cream or jam. They're all delicious, so it doesn't really matter. If you're ever in Japan, stop by a convenience store and look at the bread, pick anything, buy it, and eat it. You will like it.

#7 Cars
If you ever come here, you'll know what I mean. While Honda, Nissan, Toyota, etc. are Japanese brands of cars, they're VERY different from American models. I have not seen a single Toyota Rav4 (sorry mom) or Nissan Altima. The cars here tend to be extremely boxy (think a Cube), and the closest thing to 'sleek' I've seen is a Toyota Prius. So... yes. Not too interesting here. Most cars look pretty much the same. 

#8 The streets
If you get into the suburbs, you'll see that the streets here can get SUPER narrow. To the point where I've thought multiple times I was going to die because the driver would crash into a wall. And at intersections you can't see around corners so they all have those convex mirrors so you can see around them. Scary stuff right there. I didn't notice them at first so I thought the driver had to make a complete guess on when to go.

#9 .....
Some things they don't have here: STICK DEODORANT!!! How I will miss you so when mine is all gone. They use some spray deodorant that I don't think works as well, so I'm very sad to say that once my deodorant runs out, I will very likely be a sweaty blob living in Japan. Please, if you have any kindness in your heart, think of my poor, poor underarms. .... Or don't. Yeah, just don't. Think of ME! 
They also don't have cereal. Or at least the vast array that they have in America. I haven't specifically looked for any, but the other exchange kid here says they don't even have Cheerios here. Yes. Shock and disbelief. The king of all cereals is dead in Japan. 
There's also not that much peanut butter here. I've seen a teeny little Skippy jar a few times and that's it. They have ピナッツクリーム (pinattsu kuriimu - peanut cream), which doesn't taste much like peanut butter at all and can never replace peanut butter's deliciousness. The peanut cream taste very artificial and way too sweet to be peanut butter, but my host family really likes it. >___> 

Alright well that's enough text for me today. I'm kind of bothered by the fact that I ended at 9, but I ran out of steam. 

Hopefully you enjoyed my random post. I'm off to bed now, so goodnight/goodmorning/good day! (Wherever you are)

-Ellie