-
Most Popular
-
Author Archives: owwls
On Eating French Fries in Japan | フライドポテトがたべマス
Sometime during the three months I have been in Japan, my pants got too big. The legend of the Japanese diet is so widespread that no one doubted that I would lose weight. There were a number of theories as … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Uncategorized
19 Comments
On Dining Out in Japan | 外食と義理
When it came time to ask for the bill, I couldn’t do it. I sat, and I waited. And then, 10 minutes into waiting, it hit me: I will never stop being American. “Sumimasen.” In the United States, courtesy means … Continue reading
Posted in Culture Shock, Food, Uncategorized
11 Comments
On Taking a Bath in Japan | お風呂
If you are hot, or cold, go soak in a tub. Sitting in a cold bath with a 2 liter of Polcari Sweat after days of suits, airports and 92-degree humidity is euphoric. Now, the cicadas are all dead, the … Continue reading
Posted in Shinto, Shrines
6 Comments
On TV in Japan, Part 1
The TV show started out as some sort of dog melodrama. There’s a really adorable grandmother scooping up a new, tiny dog with gigantic eyes and hugging it with a face so filled with love that the cameraman shows it … Continue reading
Posted in Culture Shock, Weird
3 Comments
On Teaching English as an Out of Body Experience | 英語は儚いです.
Language exists inside of our skulls and escapes through the tongue: What Nabokov called “A fat sleek seal flopping so happily among the familiar rocks.” It’s a chunk of flesh that helps us push ideas out from our squishy insides … Continue reading
Posted in Culture Shock, Teaching, Thinking, Uncategorized
3 Comments
Video/Audio: Nakasu Festival, Taiko Calligraphy
In which I watch 50 women carry a heavy object and two guys proving how calligraphy is totally manly. Continue reading
