Comments on: I’m back from Europe!

By: kirin

kirin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:34:12 +0000

Thank you for sharing your story. Wow, I like how Brazilians enjoy holidays. I wish we could have that long holiday… If we try to take 30 days off, then that's the time when we quit and change jobs. (T_T) *crying*

By: kirin

kirin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:34:29 +0000

I don't know about peeing on the tracks… But we sure have uchi/soto notion. Uchi-dzura （内面）is a face that one makes to his family, while soto-dzura (外面）is a face that he makes to his work. When he is a really nice person (pretends to be nice) at work, we call him "Sotodzura ga ii" but most of the case he is not that good at home. ^ ^;

Taiwan sounds very similar to Japan. But in Japan, slurping is considered OK and we think that could even make your noodles taste better. So many of us like to slurp when we eat noodles. :p

By: Denise

Denise — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:18:27 +0000

I lived in Japan for 3 years (due to a scholarship) and I noticed that most Japanese people can't (or don't know how to) have fun. I worked in a restaurant during the last 2 years and my bosses had not much in life besides their work. Sure one of them was married and had a baby. But still he was more at the restaurant than at home. My Brazilian male coworkers would talk a lot to him. I heard that he said he doesn't like making love to his wife, cause women are too complicated, so he'd rather do it by himself.
In Brazil people usually get 30 days off per year – all at once, 2×15days, or any other convenient combination for the worker and the company. However, some people have jobs that are not completely regulated, so they don't have the right for vacations. Also getting a job here is very complicated. There are no "arubaito" jobs here, where people work in restaurants and get per hour and work just some days a week. A waiter here usually works a year (5-6 days a week) and then can take his 30 days off….
I had an interesting time in Japan but I believe every foreign gets a bit crazy there after some years, then it is time to go back home or move to another country. I don't plan on moving back there but you never know…

By: Becca

Becca — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:31:54 +0000

haha, yes, we learned a bit about the Japanese idea of "uchi/soto" and that the genkan(not sure about the spelling of this) is usually lower than the rest of the house, and you take off your shoes to go up to the rest of the house ^_^ I was also very surprised when I first moved to Canada that one of my Caucasian friends would just wear her shoes all over her house, but some other houses have a foyer area for shoes, and you take it off when you enter, just like in Japan. In Taiwan my family always take off shoes at the door, so I thought it was kind of dirty to wear shoes in the house too.

our professor talked about how the uchi/soto of trains and the train track, the train being uchi and the tracks are considered soto, so when she was in Japan it was considered okay to publically urinate on the tracks!!! I am not sure how recent this is, but this was very strange to me.

my mother always lectured me when I slurp my noodles… I think it is considered rude in Chinese culture to slurp but I do it anyway xD

By: kirin

kirin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:03:29 +0000

Oh they have such an event in winter time…but I think it'd be difficult for me to travel there in winter. My luggage will be full of clothing and coats. I cannot live in a cold place. I think I like Singapore.

By: kirin

kirin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:00:31 +0000

Singapore sounds such an interesting city. I have many blog readers from Singapore. I think I should visit there to see how it's like. I like warm places better. Don't you feel so cold in Holland?

By: Dutchie

Dutchie — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:15:18 +0000

Things in Venice r indeed expensive. This is bec they hv to transport every necessities onto the floating island. They do not hv any natural resources. Venice is at its most magical in February when the streets r filled with Venetians dressed in exquisite costumes n wearing artistic masks. They r much better organised than the rowdy carnival in Brazil. The dutch has a more homey carnival where the public donned on funny outfits n partied for 3 days straight (only in the south, btw). Beers will flow freely but not so much as the Octoberfest in Germany :-p

By: Dutchie

Dutchie — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:02:20 +0000

Glad u enjoy ur trip to Europe. Is life just as hectic outside of the big cities in Japan ?

I definitely lived life to the fullest when I was living in Singapore. This is due to the warm weather n the outdoor life, as well as the convenience of being in a city state. My office was just a 7mins bus ride n it's also in the hub of night life

In NL, the long distance between the suburbs n the city is too far. We dont socialise with our colleagues bec of time restrains. I'm always glad when I leave the hectic city for the fresh air in my quiet neighbourhood :-p

By: kirin

kirin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:04:36 +0000

Oh it's so nice of you to pray for your friends. I wouldn't say that every single Japanese suffers from the same situation, but the situation should be similar more or less… I heard another story from my friend in Florence. When her friend from Japan visited her in Florence, she was crying looking at beautiful city and nature in Italy. She took her 5 or 6 days holiday for the first time in many years. (Of course she had to put up with all the grudge from her boss and coworkers.)She is always working until late at night or even up to next morning everyday. She was so exhausted from her life in Tokyo, which is full of work, work, and work….She just couldn't stop crying even at the airport and during the flight back to Japan. I'm so sorry to hear this story, she is mid 30's and single, but why should she have to live like this?

By: Cath

Cath — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:08:19 +0000

I finally have enough time to read this entry. It's very precious to me because it gives me a clearer picture of the work stress my Japanese friends are facing. My husband and I have a few Japanese Christian friends who are dear to us. It will be good to empathise with them as I pray for them.
I hope to find time to read the other comments! ^_^