Superpowers

My sister used to joke telling that I'm learning the "Japanese hidden techniques" and I'll use them to "take over the world" (Pinky and Brain?). So, just for fun, a list of some "Japanese superpowers" and some of I've "got" here.

Note: the comments are only for fun purposes. They don't intent to hurt anybody. If you feel bad about this post send me a comment and I'll delete it.

• Teleport: you're suddenly in a place like a waiting area or a train station with nobody around. Suddenly the place becomes crowded with people you don't know where they came from... I still haven't mastered this hability, although some friends say sometimes I got out of nowhere.



• Compression: that the Japanese are very good in making things smaller is well known (electronics and ikebana, for example), but not many know their ability to compress themselves or their possesions. For the latter, go to a Japanese house or office and you might find things stored in impressive ways or interesting ways to use space (like a washbasin that can be moved to make toilet vase or shower available in an arnund two square meters space). For the former, enter a train in a very used line (my recommendations are the Yamanote or the Keio Inokashira lines in Tokyo) during rush hour... I'm not good in this one.



• Sonar driving: that is visible when a Japanese is driving a car. Some streets are very narrow, that and some small parking places makes me think if a human being could possibly enter/park there... but they can. And most times without failing. As I don't have a car, there's no chance for me to learn this one, although it's very useful.



• Multiple tasks: one of the surprising things noticed after staying some time here is how people can use their mobile phones or hold their umbrellas while cycling... even elderly people do that (more with umbrellas than phones). With time, I learned to do that within certain limits... I still can't do BOTH while cycling (don't laugh... I've seen it).



• Selective ignorance: In certain situations Japanese act in an incredible cool way, not even paying much attention in things that would stir most westerns. Although there's some kind of good side in this (I don't see so much gossip around, and I've left my house in ways that I wouldn't do in Brazil... and you really have to do something really out of usual, or look like a foreigner, to draw some attention involuntarily) there're strange situations that happen as "consequences". Steff and Shu's blogs have topics with examples. No, I can't act like that.



• Instant sleep: In short, it's possible to see people sleeping in many places. In buses or trains, inside Starbucks, in classes (whoops...)... In part that's due to the combination of their lifestyles (busy with work/studies/other activities so they don't get much regular sleep) and the relative secure society, even so it's surprising sometimes. That's an hability I can say I've mastered. I slept most of the long trips, waking up at good timing to not lose the transfers... slept in the train to Kobe (30 min)... even in the bus to Shosha (20 min)... standing in the train (just once though)...

Changing a little, in the Outpost Nine page there's a list of "gaijin powers" in Japan. Although that post is funnier, most of those powers don't apply if you look like Japanese. So, a few extra "super powers" are below.

• Camouflage: that's usually the ability obtained instead of the "gaijin powers" if you don't look like gaijin (foreigner). You can mix yourself with the crowd and most times (especially if you don't do anything that gives you away) nobody realizes there's a foreigner around. There're good and bad points in this.



• Language shift: that's something you get after living in an international environment so that you're forced to use different languages. I've been in some where I've caught myself shifting between Portuguese, English, Japanese and "Portunhol" (a.k.a. some weird Portuguese and Spanish mix where one only changes some words in Portuguese by similar words in Spanish... and turns out to be none of them... Used by Brazilians who can't speak proper Spanish) at the same conversation with different people. Of course that I make lots of mistakes (like talking in Portuguese with members of the Himeji Gang or saying a word in Japanese in the middle of an English sentence to an English teacher), but that's part of the fun. And the more I'm forced to shift, the less the errors occur later.



• Secret code: that's for having Portuguese as first language. As it's a language that few know, it's some kind of cypher that we use sometimes when we don't want our notes to be understood, our conversation to be overheard, etc. Funny sometimes, but still not that useful. And, on the other hand, as my Japanese is far from good, the reverse can be used against me...

Now... how could this be used to take over the world???

四武道

More about backlog. This time it's the "yonbudou" (四武道) at the University of Hyogo (February 15th, 2006).

In Japan there're university clubs. From sports to language study, going through games, singing and so on, there're lots of clubs. And I joined the aikido club here.

That said, four martial arts clubs get together once a year for some event. This time was a practice, the aikido, karate, nippon kenpo and shorinji kenpo clubs together. So, participants were divided in 4 groups and spend around 30 minutes in a small training of each martial art.

Interesting exchange between the martial arts. Although it's not time enough to really learn something, it's worth to know the other arts and to meet people from other clubs. And I also learned 3 different ways to punch ^^;

The nippon kenpo has some judo features... namely ashi waza (leg techniques for projection)... shorinji also has some, but a little... on the other hand there're some things that ressemble aikido a little. And about aikido, I still have some problems trying to teach it... thanks to the senpai who helped me...

After the practice, some enbu (kata for those who prefer that way... although the nippon kenpo has not it and they had a match instead) and some kind of confraternization party.

At that party all goes as expected until someone has the idea of "asking" the first year students to go some kind of short gag... ("ippatsu gei" as they call it) ...Nice. I'm still not completely tuned with the Japanese sense of humor (although i'm getting better) and was never good in telling or doing jokes. Fortunetely some other students helped me (the thing was in groups) and things went fine.

Information: we were the third group and did some small gags with Super Sentai series. The first group I really didn't understand what they did, the second decided with rock, paper scissors who'd take a hit of a handful of mustard from all the others in the group... yuck!

Books and access to culture

Starbucks is the rendezvous point for foreigners in Himeji. And also for Japanese people who get along with them.

Last Saturday I met N. there... again I should say, since I don't know anybody who goes there more than him. As usual, he was reading a book, so I asked what was the story about.

It was something about a girl with two boyfriends, and there comes a time when she has to choose one. She chose and married that guy, but years later she meets the other boyfriemd again and he is with a girl that looks exactly like her.

Talking to her, they find out they're the same person, splitted from the point where she had to choose between her boyfriends in the part. And they decide to change places for a time...

That's what I remember. It's surreal, but maybe Japanese like this kind of things... ah, it's a Japanese book by the way, but I forgot the title.

The price was around 400 JPY, what's pretty standard for this kind of book. But he also showed another one for which he paid only 100 JPY... It's used, but not that different from a brand new.

I was astonished by that, and we started talking about prices and availability of books in Japan, Brazil and US.

"One of the ways to measure the education or culture level of an area" he said "is to count the number of libraries and bookshops around." I'd add a little more. And variety of titles is one point too... but I have to concede that's a good point. And Brazil is far behind in this point.

He also mentioned that the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shinbun have the largest number printed by day in the world... Although I'd like to ckeck it, I somehow wouldn't be completely surprised if it was true... There're incentives for people to read here. And most do. One of the consequences of that is that books can become cheaper with good paper quality because they can be printed in large quantities. That's what happens in Japan, where a novel can be cheaper than a good meal and many technical books are way cheaper than a Tokyo-Osaka trip.

There's some kind of concern about copyright of books in Brazil. Especially technical ones that are too expensive and many students can't afford. Here this issue is starting to appear (not surprisingly, the manga industry is the one more affected), but is still way less concerning as far as I know. I believe that making books and culture more available isn't a way only to solve this problem there, but to improve educational level too...

I've posted about it already. Sorry for doing it again, but wanted to input some new data.

Farewell party - Himeji gang

Ok... I had promised myself to avoid posting about this kind of thing until proper time, but I got a reason to do that sooner.

I'll leave Himeji. So, before I left Jo said she'd like to cook something for us (Silvia and me). So, we went to Rezaur's home last Saturday to eat some spaghetti (well, I was in charge of desserts and bought some cakes... but they got a little destroyed on the way because I was late... Why? Murphy's law... and having a last go lesson here...). Yummy yummy yummy!

Next, since we were there, the idea to go to Coast (a sports bar near Rezaur's house) appeared (until that point I can say that it was expected). As soon as we enter the place... Surprise farewell party!!!

Yup! That got me off-guard... (For those who thought I was less emotional than I should there, that was because it took a little longer to really realise what was happening, in Portuguese idiom "cair a ficha") What can I possibly say... Guess there're no words to really express it...

All the "Himeji Gang" together... maybe for the last time. And with a farewell cake made from scratch by Jon himself! Thanks! Also thanks to Meg for her present. An anime DVD that I longed to watch... Still can't do that (don't have a DVD player), but I'll make sure to watch it as soon as I can. Thanks also to Steff and Jo who organized the whole thing, and everyone for being there.

I said previously that what I miss most in Brazil are my friends... I believe that it'll be the same when I leave Himeji... Thank you all for making my time in Japan better!

---
「いずれは、それぞれの道を歩み、それぞれの人生を生きていく 。けれどそれは別れでなく旅立ち…終わりでなく始まり…だから、少し寂しいけれど我慢しないと…」
- 「るろうに剣心」（和月伸宏）より

"Sooner or later, everyone will go through their own path to live their own lives. Nevertheless, that's not a farewell, but a set off... That's not the end, but the beginning... So, it's a little sad, but something we must endure..."
- From "Rurouni Kenshin" (Nobuhiro Watsuki)

"Cedo ou tarde todos irão trilhar seu próprio caminho para alcançar seus ideais de vida. Só que isso não é um adeus, mas sim uma partida... Não é o fim, mas sim o começo... Por isso é algo um pouco triste, mas é algo que temos que aceitar..."
- De "Rurouni Kenshin" (Nobuhiro Watsuki)

Christmas

Since I'm talking about especial dates that are not official holidays, I'll go back a little and talk about Christmas.

Christianism is far from being Japan's main religion, but they celebrate Christmas... in a different way. I've heard sometimes in Brazil that "Xmas is losing it's original meaning (that I guess is celebrate Christ birth and unite people) and becoming too commercial"... They don't know Japan.

Here it's really a mainly commercial event. There's some focus about presents, and, although the union meaning is mentioned, it's not that important here. The media works on it extensively. (It was annoying to hear every single day the music "Christmas Time" outside Starbucks.) Another thing is that asking for a date on Xmas Eve is a sign of real interest... or something like. So, like Valentine's, Xmas is somewhat dedicated to couples.

One interesting experience was when I was invited to watch a "Xmas Concert" to some kids. One of the events was telling a story to the kids. So... what kind of story? Christ, the Three Magi and all? Not here. It was some kind of "Three Little Pigs - Xmas party version" where the pigs are going to do a Xmas party, but the wolf want to eat the pigs... he ends up sick, is helped by the pigs and helps them in the end. Strange, but interesting.

On the other hand, New Year is the most important holiday in Japan. That's for another post, but it's like the "values" of these holidays were reversed in Brazil and in Japan.

As I said before, I spend my Xmas in Nikko. It's in my backlog and I'll post about it someday...

Valentine's

February 14th is Valentine's Day in Japan. But, unlike most western countries, in this day woman are supposed to give chocolate to man. Well, another thing is that chocolates aren't given only to the person one loves. Although it's the time of the year when it's said that a women "can declare her love", there are various meanings in giving a chocolate other than love. For example friendship and giri (that would be roughly translated as "obligation"). Examples of that would be an OL (office lady) giving "giri choco" to her coworkers or a student giving to some senpai (roughly "senior").

I personally don't agree much with the giri concept that's also found in various parts of the Japanese culture (I don't accept well giving presents, inviting to events people one really doesn't want to), but on the other hand I also can't agree completely with the Brazilian culture anyway... As I'm here I'm coping that and learning from it.

So, the weeks before Valentine's are filled with choco ads, besides all the usual "romantic propaganda" (that may be the only time I may regret a little not having a date). Men are supposed to "repay" that on White Day one month after giving women (usually those from whom one'd got chocolate) a present. Now I've heard two versions for that. One says he's supposed to give some sweet/candy with marshmellow (so comes the name). Other says that the present can be almost anything material... flowers, rings... I don't know which is correct, and I'd appreciate some hint from someone in the known.

About myself, I got some chocolates and thank those who gave them. Before some start becoming too happy, I got giri and friendship chocolate only as far as I know.

And that might be of interest to some people. In Brazil, Valentine's Day is on June 12th (no White Day... the usual is man giving presents to the woman he loves or couples exchanging presents... as far as I know). One possible reason for the change is because it's close to the day of the "wedding saint" (Santo Antônio) in Brazil.

SPring-8

Before I forget that... last week in backlog as always.

First, I went to the other aikido dojo again. I don't know if that's because I've practiced aikido with the university club before or if that's because their "style" is closer to the way I practiced judo in Brazil, but I feel like getting the basics a little faster (still very poor though).

One thing that I noticed... the way ukemi (the way one falls when thrown, more a less...) is taught differently in this dojo than in the university dojo. and they're also different from the way I learned in judo. Only slight differences, but one way isn't completely correct in the other method... not that it matters that much. Just an interesting point.

Second, a Japanese tea ceremony (茶道). I've been in those before, but that was the first time there was a "tea master" (or something like it) and some relics whose details he could explain (some things were from the Edo period...). My legs hurted, but it was nice ^^;

Last, but not least, a visit to SPring-8. I'll quote part of the site as explanation:

"Synchrotron radiation is extremely powerful light which is used for studying the structure of matter at the atomic and electronic levels and in various physical and chemical processes in a number of research fields ranging from materials science to life science.

SPring-8, which is the largest third-generation synchrotron radiation facility in the world, provides the most powerful synchrotron radiation currently available. The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) started construction of SPring-8 in 1991, and with support from Hyogo Prefecture, universities, research institutes and industry, completed the construction and opened the facility in October 1997.

Since the completion of the facility, management, operation, upgrading of the facility, userservice, and R&D on SR science and technology have been performed by the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI), which was designated by law as the sole institute for the management, operation and development of SPring-8.

At SPring-8, many researchers from around the world are making efforts to unlock the secrets of nature using synchrotron radiation as the key."

Nice trip to get my scientific self awake again. Too bad I lacked some knowledge to know further about the thing.

Sorry for making it so brief, but have things to do. Check the site for more information. The SPring-8 system and work are interesting...

Anime song ranking

Getting rid of stress after a test, I found a tv show presenting a ranking of popular anime songs.

The differences between that ranking and one that would be done in Brazil were visible (although I would refrain from using that as an "official ranking"... many of my Japanese friends disagree with that one).

First, many popular songs in Brazil didn't get high positions. 「残酷な天使のテーゼ」 (Zankokuna Tenshi no Teeze) from Neon Genesis Evangelion was around 25th and 30th, 「そばかす」 (Sobakasu) from Rurouni Kenshin was in 22nd. No music from Naruto ou Doraemon animes ranked.

Second, some songs that few may know in Brazil ranked high. Mostly from series popular in Japan, but not famous abroad like Max Heart (this one seems to be recent and I believe it has a chance to appear in Brazil. It's Sailor Moon-like), Hokuto no Ken, Cutey Honey and Touch (ranked 2nd). I've heard some of these musics in Japan... either in stores or in karaokes.

Even so, somethings were similar (to a certain extent). One Piece ranked between the top 5, Gundam also ranked high (hum... maybe I should have included this one in the "different" part) and 「CHA-LA HEAD CHA-LA」 from Dragon Ball Z was in 3rd.

They considered live actions as "anime" too, so Kamen Rider and Super Sentai also entered the rank (as groups. The opening of the first Kamen Rider and the Magiranger ending theme represented the groups). When talking about the Sentai series they mentioned the Power Rangers, but only as an American version of Zyuranger with American actors/actresses in some scenes. They thought it was strange... yet they don't seem to really know the real extent of the change (like it's been done to all series after that).

In time, I don't know when the program was recorded, but Kageyama Hironobu (DBZ) mentioned a trip to Brazil "this year" and praising how everybody was singing along, even though he was singing in Japanese.

Ah... of course. The 1st one... that was the Yamato opening theme, for those who know it.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Reading some articles on the net, I found one talking about changes in personality when changing languages. The original article is here for those who'd like to read it. But I noticed that after one week one should register at the website to be able to see it... If you feel like it...

Anyway, the article says that some people may turn into completely different persons when shifting languages. Someone who is "all smiles" when talking in a language and antisocial in another, for example. Usually, the "friendly self" is when one's using a foreign language that one may have some hability, but still far from mastering it.

Some possible causes mentioned in the article are:

"It's a matter of compensation. Your Japanese is good, but not that good. You have holes in your vocabulary and slack in your comprehension speed. Yet, toss in some gestures, a hearty laugh and a flood of hollow phrasing, and you smudge makeup across both those flaws.

You take cover behind this blind of exaggeration until you can figure out what's going on, and this performance has been become part of your language skills. But it's not just you. The same thing happens with lots of learners who have not quite nailed the language down."

Or

"Japanese expect foreigners to be loud and expressive. It's part of the reason that they themselves will bubble over when using English. They are not just adapting a language, they are acquiring a role. To a degree all second language learners are like actors upon a stage. We try to follow the requirements of what we sense is a larger communicative script and really do step beyond our truer selves. We act different because -- outside of our own language -- we are different."

Maybe a little of both. We usually are more friendly when talking in a language we're still not very good at, but when assimilating a language we also take in part of the culture within it. I've noticed that I change, too, when I shift languages... and some friends say it too. Especially when shifting from English to Japanese. I've heard that in Japanese I speak softer and humbler, and that I'm more friendly when speaking in languages that are not Portuguese...

The explanation for the former would be that Japanese culture values those characteristics, so I show them more when speaking in that language (article explanation #2). That also explains why the changes would be more visible when the shift is from a western language (Portuguese or English) to an oriental one (Japanese). Cultures in Brazil and US aren't so different as if we compare to Japan (although lately the difference is diminishing, I should say...), so that would explain the degree of change.

I've read a book that mentioned some differences about languages and its relations with cultures. One interesting example that I couldn't check was watching someone when talking in different languages. An example the book mentions is a video of someone making speeches in Greek, Japanese and English. It says that it would be possible to recognize the language the person is talking (and noticing the shifts) even without listening (mute), only by watching his gesticulation.

And the explanation for the latter... guess I just have to agree with article explanation #1 in this case...

Final comment: I noticed that I do change when talking in different languages... but I also noticed that some people change less than others, and some appear not to change at all.

Baka gaijin returns

As I was requested, this is the sequence of the short funny stories series...

• When I first looked at my house address I just thought "How can someone find the place based on this information?". The Japanese address system is confusing, especially in places with lots of small streets connecting with the main ones in an irregular way, to the point that some places look like a maze (like the place where I live, where is not very simple to specify a block) or they use strange sequences for the numbers, like buildings are numbered according to the order they were built... My doubts were cleared a little when I noticed that usually police officers, post offices, etc. have GPS or electronic handbooks who tell the location of a place based on the address...



• Sometimes I look at somebody around and mistake him/her for a Brazilian friend... some really did look alike, especially from afar. Now sometimes it just happen that I mistake some of my Japanese friends sometimes... (of course, usually I realize the mistake before calling or something like...)



• Giving presents to Japanese... When I gave a Brazilian T-shirt I was asked what was a "G" written on the label. By impulse, I simply answered "G size, of course!"... Then I realised that "of course" he'd ask that! Here the large size is given by "L"... (Information: in Brazil, "large" is "grande"... that's the reason to use "G".) My bad.



• Well, I wonder what's my real Japanese level... I usually can keep a conversation with my Japanese friends in Japanese. Although I know they're being very kind with my mistakes, in the end they can understand what I say... I hope. But when I have to talk to some company employee, especially by phone, I'm lost... That's mainly because of the Japanese polite language that I don't understand well. For example, one day somebody from the laundry called me. She was trying to tell me something about one of my clothes I sent there but couldn't get it, so I just said that it was ok and to ignore the problem (whatever it was). When I recieved it back the lady explained me that the problem was about a piece of the zipper that fell out... (By the way, it was loose a long time ago.)



• Still about Japanese language politeness. There're also different kinds of polite language, used when you talk to someone "superior" or "inferior" than yourself (in hierarchy, of course). So, when talking with teachers, for example, they usually use informal language and I'm supposed to use formal language (because a student would be inferior than a teacher... of course one may be allowed to use informal language after becoming closer). But I'm used to reply at the same level of formality as I listen, because that's the way I do in Brazil. Then I've been in many situations like talking informally to a teacher I first met or trying to use the "super-formal language" that attendants use (considering the customer "superior" than themselves) when talking to one...



• So, in 2005 there was a governor election. Watching the advertisements (by the way, ads about the election... there's not political propaganda on TV like in Brazil, thankfully), one thing that seemed strange was a word always present that I couldn't understand the meaning. A word that I was reading as wagoto (和事), but checking the dictionary it was written that the word was something related to kabuki. Ok... then what an election has related to kabuki??? Asking (one of) our Japanese teacher(s), she said that the word we were reading was actually chiji (知事), which means "governor"... Ouch! Big kanji mistake!

Cycling in the snow

Quick post. Today, when I was cycling downtown, it started snowing. Only small flakes, in a considerable quantity, but not enough to cover the ground. And I found out that's nice cycling in this conditions, the snow falling makes the landscape more beautiful. I should try again when I notice this kind of snow...

Very beaitiful indeed, but there's always a flake that insists on falling right into the eye... That's not very nice when one is cycling where there's no sidewalks...

Game Videos

Today I was half studying, half procrastinating in my lab, when someone started showing some game videos he'd found on the net...

This one is a Super Mario 3 time attack. I simply can't believe that's humanly possible... If you ever played this game you'll probably agree with me... It's almost as he can predict the obstacles... 有りえへん！！

This one is a King of Fighters 2002 100% combo using Yashiro. Way less impressive (especially because it seems that was not used in a real fight) than the first one, but even so something very hard to do...

Talking about combos, this one shows very impressive Marvel vs Capcom 2 combos. I'm not really good in this game, but have some friends who are... So, what do you think of it?

And this one is a Dance Dance Revolution video, but the guy there dances while juggling... and the music is not that easy (although it's not what some friends can clear in crazy or nightmare modes in the Pump it Up game).

Yeah... I may not talk much with the people from the lab as I could or should, but someway I feel I'm with the right people...

And for a friend of mine (he will know when he reads the message): Now, who is the madness?

Books

Well, the second semester final exams start today. Although I'll not have tests until next Tuesday, I still have to study a lot, since the tests will be in Japanese, and some of the subjects I don't have much knowledge about.

Looking for sources to study, since the textbook itself isn't enough (because first it's about subjects I have some interest about and second I don't really have that much time or patience to study in Japanese now), I went to the university's library looking for other reference books.

And in times like that I love being in a country that valorizes education. Although, because of that too, most of the books are in Japanese, even so they still have a good variety of books in English. After finding the books I needed I decided to dig a little more... And why haven't I done this before!?

So, I found many interesting books about a variety of subjects. Mostly technical, but not only. Wow, nice! Guess I'll try to return a little to my "bookworm" self until the end of my exchange program... I wish I could read better in Japanese to really enjoy the variety they have here...

Talking about "a country that valorizes education", in Japan there're surely incentives to reading. It's possible to find books about almost any subject in Japanese... While it's a pain to find a book in Portuguese about many technical subjects we study from the third year on in Brazil, for example... And still about Engineering, there're even more books in English in the campus library here than in my other university...

When it comes to bookstores the difference becomes even clearer. I consider my hometown in Brazil and Himeji cities of similar proportions... and a big bookstore here has a huge variety and quantity of books. And they're unexpensive if we compare it with the prices of other things in Japan.

I believe that a better country is built with better education, and that's a point that still have to be improved a lot in Brazil. The difference in book availability is a good exemple of that.

Ok, enough of procrastination. Back to study...