Can't say Noh to Thrift Stores, but Can to Brazilian Stalkers

Time now. 9:55 p.m. The 2nd day of my 3 day weekend. Yesterday was spent wandering the streets of Iwata, or rather, the random stores - depaato (department store), thrift store, and dinner at Kappa Zushi (a revolving conveyor belt sushi restaurant). Surprisingly, my fellow Fukuroi ALT pointed out that the thrift store had kimonos. Thus, at least half an hour was spent trying on various colors and attempting to wrap it around myself in a realistic manner, then turning this way and that in the mirror and asking countless times... "what about this? Is this a good color?" Eventually, some women, perhaps a store employee or maybe just random shoppers, came near to where we were trying on kimonos and sat down, "folding" obis (the bands that you wrap around the kimonos). It felt like spying. Perhaps they were ensuring the crazy loud foreigners would not leave their precious used, smelly and slightly stained kimonos in a disarray. Or maybe they thought we would try to smuggle something out - because really, it isn't like we wouldn't be noticed.

After this time of trying on countless gorgeous kimonos, and me deciding I wanted to buy at least four, I settled on a brilliant blue one, with a wavy pattern integrated into the outer fabric, along with a shiny gold-patterned obi to wear with it. Yes, no wedding dress for me, and some might think it odd that I would simply settle on this ensemble found in a thrift store (for only $140) and without looking around more... but, I am a simple girl. I prefer simplicity and I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted to begin with, something soft, simple, and that would make me feel elegant and pretty. Yes, a rather girlish notion, but it was the image in my head. Now, I don't have to worry anymore about trying to find something here in Japan - no more stressing about going to other cities and trying to figure out where I will find something I like. Now.... bridesmaid's outfits.... sigh.

So, it has been a little over two months now since my arrival in Japan. I feel as if I am coming to terms with various things these days. One thing that gets me sometimes, is the fact that it takes three times as much energy to do one thing that would be simple for me to do by myself in the U.S. Such as, doing a transfer on the ATM. Of course, these challenges hardly phase me, although they do frustrate me at times with how much time it takes and my lack of understanding, and because of my resourcefulness I feel that I am able to figure things out quite quickly and then feel a great sense of accomplishment when I have figured it out. I have a feeling that not all people do this, try to figure things out, perhaps they don't care or just give up or have someone else do it for them, but, being independent, I am forcing myself to figure out how things work in Japanese so I don't need to ask for help. Although, the interesting thing is, when I do ask for help, 9 times out of 10, people usually have no idea how to help me, so really, I find asking people for the most part is useless anyway.

This has made me think of independence versus interdependence more lately - Japan being traditionally an Eastern culture and thus more interdependent. The United States obviously Western and as independent as a two year old. Two incredibly different ideologies that permeate how children are raised and how life is carried out every day. Neither is better than the other really, from a sociological point of view, as each has advantages and disadvantages. As for parenting, the ideal philosophy would be a mix of the two, allowing children certain amounts of independence at appropriate stages of life, and also ensuring a healthy sense of dependence on parents and family and society as a whole. However, I have noticed that the influences of Western culture are far more evident on youth here and even young adults like myself. Nothing quite like Western countries yet, but... I see many budding similarities. And getting to my point, thinking about marriage also has pushed me to analyze these ideas of independence and interdependence. I am an incredibly independent person, and while it is a big part of my personality (nature), nurture also shaped me to be even more independent and not to depend on anyone, for ANYTHING. So, needless to say, being in a foreign country and attempting to learn and figure things out, it is far outside my comfort zone to ask for help from anyone, even though its something I need to learn. I think interdependence is a healthy thing to learn and use in accompaniment of independence. Imagine how that might change the various social climates in the U.S....

Back to Japan. I was riding my bike to the grocery store last week, when suddenly a creepy white van pulls off the road and a young Brazilian man yells out the window to me "Sumimasen! Sumimasen!" (excuse me). Of course, not one to talk to strangers generally, and with a media induced fear of men in creepy white vans, I sped away on my bike. Not long after the same man pulls up aside my bike (I am riding on the sidewalk, he is on the road). Again he calls "Sumimasen!" and some other garble in Japanese that I couldn't understand. I was getting a bit more freaked out at this point and hurried to my destination, the grocery store. He had to stop at a red light, but then as I was rushing into the store, again, pulls up near me and yells "Excuse me, sorry, sorry, but do you speak English?" Of course, how do I respond to that? I hesitantly offer a yes, and he proceeds to ask about a nearby DVD store. I shrug and say there is no DVD store around here, and say its across the train tracks back the way he came. He is confused, and then starts to inquire about my job, age, why I came to Japan, where I'm from, etc. I had fun offering stretched-truth answers, as I tried to demise an escape plan. Finally, he asks for my phone number, oh such boldness. I of course, replied I don't give out my phone number. So he asked if he could give me his. Anything to get rid of him I rationalized... and so he wrote it down, said, "hope to see you soon darling!" and drove off. Usually, my friends are the ones to get hit on, but I guess current circumstance render me as the default in this case.

I also had the privilege of attending a traditional Noh play this past week. It involved two days of "explanation" for those of us who don't understand Noh plays (which is most Japanese as well) so we could understand what was going on. Oh, and the explanation was IN Japanese of course. So, my two and a half hours on each separate day involved sitting, attempting to catch beginning or ending words, and then zoning out and praying for the whole thing to end so I could go home. Wow, what cultural enthusiasm. The wonderfully nice teacher who invited me to this of course, explained things to me in English later so I could understand some of it. She also joked the second day that I must have understood more than the first day. I really couldn't say which day allowed more absorption...

Finally, the third day was the actual play. I had been warned about this by various people - that the common joke about Noh is not to fall asleep. Well, I was pretty excited to dress up for once, and felt all important doing something so cultural. I will say that Noh plays are traditionally only performed by men, and the main character or characters usually wear a mask that actually changes the expression based on lighting (which I think interested me the most about the whole thing). Then, no speaking, but sounds that resemble chanting/droning/groaning/agonizing. I could see, as I sat mostly listening to this play (since there was a tall person in front of me), how people fall asleep. I again zoned out numerous times and avidly awaited the ending so I could go home and sleep. Not to sure I want to go to a Noh again, but at least I can say I did it.

As I finish this off, I should mention the various mosquito carcasses littered across my walls. I really don't know how they get in, but I often wake up in the morning with 10 - 20 mosquito bites, so, I have been stalking them lately. Other than them, all is quiet on the bug front. Perhaps many of them are going into hibernation for the winter, aside the spiders. Although I seem to find more centipedes these days....

Oh and random note, they don't sell Hydrogen Peroxide in Japan (H2O2). Apparently only chemists can use this, whereas in the U.S. you can buy a huge bottle for a $1. The pharmacist was confused that I would use it for anything other than cleaning injuries. I kept repeating "kuuuriiinnnn" (clean) but he was confused. The lady translating for me said kurin as well, and of course he understood her. Sometimes this happens, where I will say something, and a native Japanese will say the exact sane thing and then whoever we are speaking to suddenly understands for them. I really don't know what to say about that. My next mission - getting a haircut.