Alec in Japan

A few days ago two coworkers and I went sightseeing around Okinawa. We went to the Sweet Palace, Okinawa’s famous aquarium and Nago Pineapple Park. It’s the first video I’ve made outdoors so I didn’t realise how important a quiet setting is. I’m also umming and aahing a lot because I didn’t plan what I was going to say before I turned on the camera.

 Anyway, below is the video. Below that are subtitles because it was too time-consuming to put them in the video.

Alec
Good morning! Read the rest of this entry »

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This July, so much as happened with me settling in Japan for my working holiday, starting my first full-time job, and living away from ‘home’ for the first time.

 Here are the events which shaped July 2007:

• Being able to put into practice and use all the phrases for shops and restaurants which I had so dutifully studied.
• Going out to dinner with most of the foreign staff at the hotel. We had Korean BBQ and then went drinking on the beach. I remember the smoke from the BBQ being so strong, and laughing because it was all blowing in Attila’s face … then the wind changed and it wasn’t so funny anymore.
• Watching Okinawa singing and dancing at the hotel. At the end I was called up on stage to dance with them, and then I had my photo taken with one of the performers. The great thing about being alone in a foreign country, is that you can do any silly/stupid/embarrassing things, and no one will really ever know about but you.
• Typhoon Man-Yi. My very first experience of a natural disaster.
• Going to Unna Matsuri with a co-worker and Natalie. We had a fantastic time and I’m sure I sweated out all my natural moisture. They had a massive hot pot which everyone took servings from, and there was also an old man who kept stepping on his poor little chihuahua.
• Celebrating George’s 20th birthday. We had an Italian dinner in Chatan, and then went to Naha to go clubbing. Had an amazing time and we all ended up sharing a cheap hotel room with no air-conditioning. We slept in our jeans and woke up dripping with sweat. We were all too exhausted to care though.
• Watching the YouTube version of my Top 10 Half-Japanese Celebrities article reach more than 8000 views, 70 comments, and 40 favourites.

Here are the funny anecdotes which made me Read the rest of this entry »

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I’ve been in Okinawa for a few days now and it really does feel like a different country from Japan sometimes! The Okinawan culture is blend of Japanese, Chinese and American cultures with a generous helping of island spirit. And whilst on the one hand Okinawa has been the object of international disputes for hundreds of years, it feels like a little island that no one’s discovered before.

When I first arrived at the airport, I noticed that everything was so amazingly clean. Riding the monorail to the centre of Naha I don’t think I would’ve been surprised to see people eating off the pavements! That side of Okinawa was very Japanese; the cleanliness. Once I arrived in Naha at my hotel, I began to see a bit of a more different side to Okinawa.

The budget hotel I was staying at was in a very non-touristy shopping area around Heiwa Douri (Peace Street). The shops seemed pretty basic and were run, for the most part, by little old ladies. As I walked around Heiwa Douri a lot of people were looking at me with what seemed like a mixture of curiosity and hostility. I’ve been around a lot in Japan but I’ve never been the object of such looks. I don’t know whether it’s because I’m a foreigner in a small city, or because they think I’m one of the many American soldiers stationed on the island (or perhaps because I’m just so damned good-looking!).

Last night I was walking to the beach and walked past a house which was really a bit of a shack. Inside the tv was left on and there was an old woman lying down who’d obviously just fallen asleep with the door open on to the road. It reminded me a lot of a kampung house in Malaysia.

The weather is really hot and really humid; again a bit like Malaysia. I suppose Okinawa is so far south that it’s not surprising it reminds me of South-East Asia in a lot of ways.

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Here I am, a week before leaving to Japan, and people are asking me why I’m doing this. Why am I living in Japan for a year? Why am I intent on spending a year on the Japanese minimum wage? Why a working holiday and not just sunbathing in Thailand?

The reasons are quite simple really. I want to write them here for you to consider and also for me to look back on during and after my year in Japan.

Learning Japanese
This is the main reason I’m going to Japan. I really enjoy learning languages and being able to talk to people. Because I’ll start studying another language at university, I want to get fluent in Japanese so I can forget about it and start learning those other languages.

Travel
I live to travel! When I think about my life up until now, the things I remember are moving to new countries and travelling to new countries. I want to look back on my life when I’m 85 and have great memories of living in different countries and seeing different places.

It’s the Right Time!
I’ve finished high school but I’ve not started university. I don’t have a mortgage, a family or a career so I have nothing tying me down. Before I step on the treadmill of life, I want to enjoy my freedom and just bum around for a year working silly jobs.

Culture
Japanese culture is so foreign. Such a cliche so please don’t kill me for writing it, but it’s true! Honestly, who wouldn’t want to spend a year surrounded by air sex, eyelash wigs, Pepsi Ice Cucumber and cute mascots for political parties?

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