Final report

We have to write up a final report about our goals and results this summer. We also have to write about any cultural things we learned. 

I am struggling with what to write for the cultural lessons portion. This report will be bound into a book and distributed to all the other participants and advisers so I cannot say anything negative. I don't like that I cannot be truthful about my whole experience, good and bad. I have to find a good way to spin everything. 

Before coming as well as along the way, I was told about typical Japanese labs and Japan culture. My experience was right in line with what they described so it was a first-hand experience of what I had already heard. 

1.) People work from 10am to midnight and take a long lunch and tea/snack break during the day. 

2.) People do not have lives/hobbies outside of lab 

3.) People are not involved in all aspects of a project, rather, they specialize in one portion. 

4.) People are overly-helpful in Japan, in a way that makes Americans uncomfortable. 

5.) There is a large gender divide and hierarchy is important 

6.) People do not speak/discuss much in meetings, at all; just the top professor speaks 

7.) Even if something incorrect is said, do not contradict it. 

8.) Japan chooses to expose leg instead of shoulders: you can wear tiny shorts and that is fine but a tank-top is highly-offensive in its sexual suggestiveness. Each country chooses its own body area to focus on. 

9.) English is viewed as "cool" and British apparel is everywhere. 

10.) People LOVE their fish here and do not waste anything. 

11.) Japan is allllll about tourism. Everything is deemed special, "best," "top," "historical." There is a LOT of self-promotion. Nobody speaks negatively about Japan until something negative happens and then speak as if it was obvious. 

12.) There is a lot of "cute" stuff everywhere. There is no age-limit for it. 

I felt very masculine in Japan. 

Wrap up, move out

They are coming to inspect my apartment and collect the final rent and utility bills on Thursday. Consequently, I can stay until Friday but must move out on Friday. I really wanted to stay in town through Saturday so I will have to sleep on the floor of either M' or a coworker's apartment.

I cannot figure out how to go about preparing for this. I'm a really, really bad mover. I can't decide how I will handle getting my suitcases to the airport directly, or hotel and then airport-- where it is safest to have them stored for a week, if I will need anything from their contents, what it is safest to take to the convenience store to have shipped and what is safest to carry around for a week and store in lockers at random train stations or hostel rooms. I am afraid that my carry-on suitcase will be too large for lockers at some locations and then what do I do?... But I do not have anything else I can use. I can't decide what is the minimum I will need for the week and how much extra space I will need in the suitcase for anything new I acquire.

You might assume that since I have already moved 18 times, I would be really good at it. But I am really, really bad at the entire process. I feel so claustrophobic with things scattered everywhere.

:-(
I hate the whole process of moving.

Praise from a terse man

I gave a presentation, about a week ago, to the small group I meet with on Mondays. We discuss papers related to our shared research interest. I had read many of them before but I still learned a lot by hearing my adviser comment on the results. It was certainly annoying to have to make a presentation when I had so much work to do in lab. It was annoying to give up sleep time but the result was worth it. The presentation went so well. I think it began on a great note because after the title, my adviser asked me if I knew what the Urochardata organism was. I could answer yes and that my next slide was all about them because I had to research what they were to put their unique muscle regulation into context. They are a super-bizarre organism that begins their life as a tadpole-like swimming organism with a single eye. They later anchor themselves to a sea floor surface and begin the sedentary stage of their life by digesting their ganglion (equivalent of the human brain). They are also known as the Sea Squirt, perhaps you have heard of them. While reading about them, I read reviews that they are eaten in Asia but taste like "rubber dipped in ammonia." It was funny, that my adviser's wife mentioned that they are delicious (my not having mentioned they are eaten).

After the presentation, my adviser complemented how great the presentation had been. Complements from Japanese men are especially-rare. This alone would have been nice but he then later kept saying it to me/ everyone in lab back when we were in the office. It was nice. :-) I'm glad I made sacrifices in my recreation and sleep time for such a positive result. Upon first read-through of the paper, I found it poorly-written/ unclear about the links between topics because they kept changing the names of the protein/ organism. I was exhausted by my whole experience here and annoyed by the added work of a presentation that I was so tempted to blow it off.

Osaka- the big commercial city

With my 65+hr work weeks becoming too tiring, I decided to take the departure of my adviser and supervisor as an opportunity to get out of town for the weekend. I took the super-fast Shinkansen train and arrived in Osaka, Japan, 50minutes later (having made one stop in Kyoto along the way). I met up with Ev' at the train station and along with his supervisor, we walked toward where the fireworks festival would take place that evening.

Along the way, we stopped for dinner and beers. I had a delicious sandwich and met 4 more graduate students in Osaka. I tried a locally-brewed beer, on tap, Yuzu. It was one of the most delicious beers I have ever had (outside of the Porter family, which would not be hot-summer appropriate). As we left, I bought another locally-brewed beer (can't remember the name) to take for the road... since you can have open containers of alcohol outside in Japan. We walked, and walked, and walked to reach the fireworks. The long walk and the crowds were both worth it because the hour-long fireworks display was a series of what felt like finale showings. There was also a period of cute fireworks: cats, smiley faces, candy, fish, etc.  Check out the cute video Ev' took!

After the fireworks, Ev', his supervisor, and I walked to the "floating garden:" a circular platform suspended between the tops of two high buildings. As we took the long escalator up, his supervisor informed us that the last time he had been there, he was with an ex-girlfriend. Having been there, I can see why! The entire place is designed for couples: from the little elevated pods for two people (facing the city view), to the "couples area" where you must ask permission to go (a separate deck with a giant heart and private bench). The view of the city lights is spectacular from this vantage point. I think it is the result of Osaka having such a high-density of city buildings for such a long distance. I may never again see anything that compares to it... and I am okay with that :-)

View of the river

They had black lights :-)

The next day Ev' and I met up with J'. I know J' from undergrad; she is now living in Osaka, after having come to Japan for the JET (English teaching) program.  We went out for a traditional Osaka dish (for lunch) and then walked around the shops of Namba. The area was very commercial, with a lot to see. If I lived in this city, I would certainly be spending more of my paycheck each week.

This man is the official commercial symbol of Osaka. 

BUY OUR BEER

Japan has a creepy obsession with looking like dolls with giant eyes. 

E' and I were curious about Pachinko: the game that many Japanese men play for hours. We went to go give it a try. The atmosphere has a very similar feel to Las Vegas slot machines (right down to the heavy-smoking) but the game also has elements of pinball. I do not think either of us completely understood the goals of the game but it is along the lines of: turn the knob the correct amount to shoot the tiny metal ball into the center region, the ball bounces around and you want it to fall into a certain slot, at which point things spin around and you want a certain combination of ? number/symbols. If you achieve this, you win more metal balls. The balls are able to be redeemed for prizes; it is illegal to exchange balls for cash. At one point, more balls spilled out but I couldn't tell you how I achieved this. We quickly lost all of our marbles :-p I still do not understand how to play but admission into this strange land for 100yen was well worth it. No cameras are allowed inside... just like in Vegas... 

Then Ev' and I went to take a ride in the GIANT karancha. It was sunset at that time and the sunset reflecting off of the tall buildings made the view even better. I could see the Osaka Castle from all the way up there-- an efficient way to see a big city in 30 hours.

Viewing the Osaka Castle from up high, basically like viewing it up close...

I love the reflection of the sunset on the sky scraper. 

Then we went for dinner. Poor E' was so starving he was shaking. We headed to a "San Francisco style" burrito restaurant that J' recommended. I figured that I couldn't find good Mexican food in A-T-L so it would be good to try the best in Osaka. It was delicious!

Science in another country ain't easy

A member of my program (T') had a some sort of nervous-breakdown, mental psychosis, it is hard to say exactly. He started saying crazy, nonsensical things, and having erratic behavior/ disappearing. He has been removed and sent back to his home in The States. Living in a high-pressure environment, in a foreign country, isn't easy. Who knows if this summer abroad played a part in this break in his mind. Who knows if he would have been fine, forever, if he had just stayed home. V' works with him back in The States and she was talking about how/when he began to exhibit strange behavior here.

This same man was already the topic of a scandal during orientation: when he asked the foremost expert in a Japanese folk instrument, he referred to it as "basically just a banjo." The gasps from the audience were audible. I hope the hard time he was given for his culturally-insensitive comment did not have too large a part in his mental breakdown.

He had this "poem" about starting out in Japan without a map, having someone give him one, feeling like a wrong turn would leave him with nothing, he found his stride, and then that the shoes were too big to fill.

Thinking of him.
Hoping he is okay.

Kyoto: old and new

If I could choose a place in main-island Japan to live for a summer, I think it would be Kyoto. The city has a great mix of both old and new.

I visited Kyoto with E', a great gal in my program, who is actually from A-T-L also. We traveled from Nagoya together. First we made a stop at Nagoya Castle, since she hadn't seen it yet. It was our first time trying to navigate Kyoto also so it took us until the afternoon to arrive at our destination (too late to visit temples). We met up with our lovely hostess: V'. Along with C' (who had been visiting for the weekend but would be leaving that evening), we had a delicious dinner of noodles in the Uji region of Kyoto. 

C', E', and I went into Kyoto to visit the Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺) temple and walk around the cute shopping area. Unfortunately, after walking out of one store, they all began to close their doors (which in Japan is equivalent to pulling down a garage door). Everything closes at 6pm! The temple we visited is famous because you can view the city of Kyoto from its balcony high in the mountains. We were fortunate to be there around dusk/sunset. They say if you drink from the fountain, you will gain intellect... so I drank two cups ;-) 

Then we headed into downtown Kyoto for the Gion festival: one of the top 3 festivals in Japan. Each of the 32(?) districts in Kyoto made a float (some are assigned to be of the tall and some of the shorter variety). For three days before the parade, the floats are displayed at night: the lanterns are lit and the floats are manned (many of them playing music (chimes) all night. The streets are crowded with people and vendors. I tried some fried octopus balls (which is the "specialty of Osaka," so I was kind of cheating on Osaka). I also had some candied cherries and shaved ice. 

When the night concluded, E' and I took the train to V's old apartment. She was moving so she had both her old and new apartment. Her old apartment had two beds so both E' and I had a nice place to sleep. It was generous of V' to let us stay. She offered to let us stay for the week but we both had to return for work. 

The next day E' and I visited the Byodoin temple in Uji, Kyoto. It is famous for being on the 10 yen coin. The temple has a lake and "garden" area. It is very beautiful and my favorite temple, thus far, because of its old-style beauty and lack of crowds. 

We headed into downtown Kyoto to see the Gion Festival parade the next day. While they were the same floats, they had a completely different feel while moving down the streets. None of the floats were engine powered. Instead, the tall ones were pulled by ropes and steered by wedges (to adjust the wheel angles). The shorter floats were pushed along the sides, by a much smaller crew. 

After the parade, we took the bus to the golden Kinkakuji (金閣寺) temple. It was beautiful but a bit gawky/fake looking in its golden paint. It was also extremely crowded. Still, it is a must-see. 

We also visited Ryonji (龍安寺), which had beautiful grounds and a rock garden. It was suppose to be the place where people trained with "zen masters." 

I had such a joyful time during my visit to Kyoto. The great city. The great festival. The great company. 

Japan adviser's going-away dinner

We had a dinner the final night my boss and his wife were in Japan. They left for their summer holiday in Germany and Switzerland. They stay at the same hotel in Switzerland every year... for an entire month. If I was going to take a month off and spend so much money, I don't think I would visit the same place every year. There are so many other places in the world to visit still! They like to walk around the Swiss Alps each summer.

Before going, we were asked if we were interested and asked for a 2,000yen donation for dinner. That is around $25 :-o I thought "this place must be nice." I don't know by how much but the dinner must have been subsidized. It was a traditional Japanese restaurant with a set menu; you choose the number of courses you want. We had 6.

My favorite was the fish with tomato sauce. I wish I had the recipe. It was so delicious!!!
Note the progression of drink levels ;-)

F'-san asked if we could have the expensive sake. It was good but I didn't think this particular sake was so much better than others. It tasted a bit like rubbing alcohol. I have had better. It was fun to see what all the fuss was about though :-)
My adviser informed me that rice grains are surrounded by a shell of protein. The shell must be polished down/ removed to have the most control over flavor. The general rule is: the more polished down the shell is, the more expensive the sake.

I had a BALL with my lab that night. I wish we could have more time together outside of lab, especially time that involves a small amount of alcohol to help them loosen up. It was a real silly time.

Japan vs USA in the Olympics?

Japan plays France and US plays Canada in the women's soccer semi-finals tonight/tomorrow morning. The Japan game begins at 1am my time and the US game begins at 3:45am. I'll try to stay awake for the Japan game but need to wait to watch the US game on Replay tomorrow. Nobody tell me the results!

I would LOVE a Japan vs US finals game in soccer! That would be so fun, I'd have to find a way to watch it with Japan folks. Not sure how...

Sparkers in the park

F'-san said it is a Japanese tradition to play with sparklers in the park during summer. Myself and four lab members met for a night in the park last Saturday. We stopped off in the grocery store for snacks first. They wanted to buy sushi rolls as one of the snacks for our picnic. It was a striking contrast to what a typical American would bring for a night of fireworks in the park; I laughed... inside.

There were two other groups in the park with fireworks but neither were obeying the laws. One group was shooting off areal fireworks/rockets. We got to watch them too. Another group was shooting fireworks at each other, across the parking lot. Good idea guys... real safe. Neighbors complained about the noise, causing the police to show up. The park was far from any apartments, I was really surprised by the noise complaint. When the police came, I knew we were not doing anything illegal but I had this moment of panic as I was holding a can that contained alcohol, in a park. A panic thought of "where am I going to stash this to hide it from the cops?!"

F'-san and M'-san get the party started

Super heroes, just like Onpanman
The fireworks came with special glasses so you could see little Onpanman in the lights. 

Onpanman came to join us! (on the left)

It was a joyful night with some great folks. Thank you for the memories.