Classes Have Begun and Comments on Japanese Punctuality

Classes have officially begun as of Monday. So everything is going well now. The first day was rather eventful. I was skyping mother dearest, since that's what good daughters do you know. And since I didn't want to be really rude, I decided I would skip breakfast. No big deal there. I never eat breakfast in the US. Let me just tell you that in Japan, you can't skip breakfast. Ever. After my 25 or so minute bike ride to school, I was feeling more than a little woozy. "I'm not feeling well," I told my friends. "Let me sit down for a minute." So I sat down, gave myself just a few minutes, took a sip of water, and felt fine. We went on our way again to the line. That lasted about oh 10 seconds before I felt worse than before. I made it to the wall, sat down, and promptly passed out. Yes, you read that right. Passed out. In the middle of the cafeteria. In front of the line. With every single person there going "What the heck just happened?!" So while my friends were trying to figure out if I was diabetic or not, luckily a nice Japanese student talked with them, and went to buy me a Coke. Coming to, I found not only the three friends I had started out with but also some of the Japanese buddies, who were more than a little flustered. They're checking on me, talking with my friends, and trying to translate to the cafeteria staff what happened. I'm here drinking my Coke, trying to be good when the health center comes in rolling a green chair. I'm not even kidding. You can't make this up. Realizing what's about to happen, I think now is a good time to throw in a couple Japanese words and say, "I'm fine. Really." Somehow I think I'm speaking Japanglish though because the Japanese buddies are still translating. While convincing the health center that I'm fine for me, the buddy is commenting about how terrible I look and that maybe I should go with them. Finally, we get the health center sent away, and since I've had that Coke, I'm feeling a lot better, so we get some food and continue. I then go to my next class where I promptly fail an exam, and finally to my listening & speaking class where I'm just tired and not paying attention. So yes, first day was overall a fail. But talk about a story!

Second day however was a phenomenal success. I ate breakfast! That was already a better start than the previous day. My classes were wonderful as were the teachers. I made a lot of new friends, and overall everything was great. Since that day, classes have been wonderful. So far, I've taken classes in Comprehensive Japanese, Japanese Listening and Speaking, Japanese Studies, Japanese Society, Japanese Economy, and Comparative Historiography (which is comparing Japan, Germany, and the USA and how our history depends on how we've been shaped by governmental and media propaganda). All of them have been phenomenally interesting.

Now, all of this is all well and good, but although it's relevant, it's probably not extremely interesting, so the rest of this post will be devoted to some good old-fashioned Japanese-ness. First, let's cover the concept of time here. Japanese are punctual, exceptionally so. If you're not punctual, you get yelled at by your friends, coworkers, boss, etc. It's just not acceptable to be late. And by late, we're meaning 1 minute late here. We're not on American time anymore, Toto. For example, in orientation, we were supposed to start something at 9:35. Our Japanese orientation leader, realizing that we were about to be late, instantly asked us all to get out our schedules. He then explained that we would regrettably be late, and asked that instead we would be beginning the next task at 9:36. If we would all mark that in our schedules, it would be appreciated. Meanwhile, it was 9:34. Oh Japan, how I love you.

Let's look at another fine example. In the US, we consider our trains, busses, planes, etc. to be on time if they are within a 10 minute window. That means 10 minutes early, on time. 10 minutes late, on time. In Japan, that's blasphemy. Here, things are considered late if they are delayed by 8 seconds. Yes, you read that right. 8 seconds. You can tell too. Those Japanese businessmen, they get out their watches when the train is about to arrive, and they frown. "Will I make it to work on time?" they wonder. "It's almost 9:30, and the train hasn't arrived yet." Meanwhile, the American is absolutely fascinated across the car. 8 seconds! It takes longer to breathe than that! If you don't believe me (and that's understandable. I know this is a radical notion), please refer to this link courtesy of the Wall Street Journal regarding Japanese punctuality: Lessons From Japan for U.S. Train Operator.

Finally, it is getting late, so I'll have to leave soon, but before I go, let me just let you in on a little bit of humor. So, women here end all of their sentences with ね(ne). Ne is sort of the Japanese equivalent of "don't you think?" or "right?" "It's a good day, ne?;" "It's hot out, ne?;" and so on and so on. The other day I actually ranted about this to someone. "It's driving me nuts! Ne ne ne ne ne! Everyone says ne!" And then I noticed that I started doing it. I'm not sure how long I've been doing it, but I've definitely picked up on the habit. It's almost bad in a way. I'm causing myself pain with all of my "ne"-ing. Worst part is, once you put one "ne" in, more are bound to come. Good news is, I'm starting to sound female in Japanese. Bad news is, I'm driving myself nuts. Ah well, to each their own I guess.

Last thing, and then I'm off. I keep talking about how awesome all of the vending machines and such are here. I have a video to share with all of you if you're still interested.

Enjoy!

Michelle