What's my name again?

Well, I have a first name (henceforth called "I" for simplification), a middle name ("T") and a family name ("S"). Simple, right?

Well, sometimes other people, and even myself, get confused with that in Japan...

Why, one would ask. Well, for starters, in Brazil people usually called me only as "I". Only people from my Japanese school used "T" (since it's my Japanese name) and very few people ever used my family name when calling me. In part because I wasn't in many formal situations; and other part because Brazilians usually call each other by their first names as standard. Even in companies and in some business situation one may see people calling each other by their first names. Guess it gives some feeling of familiarity, smoothing relationships...

In Japan, I usually introduce myself as "I". Most international students and other foreigners know me by that name. When it comes to Japanese people, things get a little more complicated. The first reason is that here many call each other by their family names, even though they are close friends. So, for some, including most people from my lab, I'm "S" (or "S-san", "S-kun" according to the person but I'm not discussing Japanese today).

Also, there are many cases where my first name gets a weird pronunciation (this doesn't happen only when Japanese pronunciate it... I've noticed that some other Asians have some problems with it, too) or spelling. In those cases, I give my Japanese name (or even the family name) to make things simpler. It's also a good strategy when I want to "blend with the environment".

That leads to situations where you're called by different names by different people. And there was at least one occasion when two of those people met and had problems figuring out that, for example, "I" and "T" were the same person.

Well, nothing new until here, right? Guess anyone who ever had a nickname went through this. Even in Brazil I had some nicknames (especially "Madness") that led to that kind of situation.

But it gets better. In Brazil people write their names in the first-middle-family order, thus mine becomes "ITS". In Japan, family name comes first, turning mine into "SIT". There's an extra point here: Japanese people don't have middle names. So, although the usual (and the one I use) seems to be family-first-middle, I wonder if some people don't do family-middle-first ("STI"?). It makes sense in some way... Add to that my Japanese name is the middle one and you have some people thinking "I" is my middle name (some sort of nick, perhaps?) and "T", the Japanese name, is the first.

So what with all those orders?

When you have to register for something, you're supposed to write your full name, right? Well, while I try to stick with "ITS" whenever I can, Japanese forms that separate family and first names always force me to stick to "SIT"... or even "ST" or "SI" when I think it's best to omit one of the names (not in any official or very important document, though). Another option that foreigners sometimes have in Japan is writing their name in Roman Characters, katakana or kanji. Very few, if any, use hiragana as far as I know. Kanji is also mostly used by Chinese and some Korean. But, being Japanese descendent, "S" and "T" may be written in kanji... and I know the ideograms for them.

Since I came to Kyoto I don't use the kanji version of my name much, but some people, especially my Japanese friends in Himeji, know my name in that way. Lately I've been using Roman characters whenever possible, with katakana as the second option.

Guess you might have imagined where I'm getting at. I have my name written in different places in different ways. And among the weird situations that got me into are:

• Someone from the gas/phone/etc. company calls. They ask my name, but I forget which order and type of character I used when subscribing.



• I have to retrieve something on my name. They ask for an ID, but the name in the ID has a different sequence and/or character type than the name written in the package.



• I write my name in the first-middle-last order, but the person understands as the last-middle-first order (or worse, last-first where middle and first names become a single name. After seeing some names around, like Thai, I can understand why). That actually doesn't happen often since many parts of my name have Japanese origin (and I learned to pause between names).

In most cases, the situations are no more than a little embarassing. Some explanations and the problem is solved. But the more official it gets, the harder it is to get away when something is different. Maybe one of the bast examples was when I opened a bank account. I was trying to open it as "ITS", but when they asked for an ID, and, in this case, only the Alien Registration Card would suffice, the ID was written as "SIT". They didn't accept and told that the name must be exactly like the ID.

You know what's ironic? My passport, which in theory the Alien Card is based on, has my name as "ITS". That also got me into some (not serious) trouble once, when they asked me to write my name as in my passport, but it was different than the Alien Card.

So, during my life in Japan I find myself at times wondering what's my name...

Politics: real and fictional

Yeah, I know that politics is something that usually is not arguable. I have one opinion, you have yours, and it's astonishingly difficult for either to persuade the other.

Instead, I'll just make comments about something that must be my karma...

I finished my posts about my round the world trip. And for some reason, almost all the countries I went to were during election campaign... I cannot say much about Canada, England or Germany. Although I've been there, my daily routine was mostly touristic. I wasn't really paying attention except for one news at the airport or some outdoors.

In Brazil, there was the campaign for mayor and aldermen (vereador in Portuguese). Returning to Japan, there is some election... have no idea what it is for. Nevertheless, I notice one annoying thing in common:

I don't know if there's an specific word in English, but I'm talking about those cars who have a reasonably powerful sound system aimed at making announcements. In this case, political propaganda... or in other words, "vote for me". You're there watching a movie or chatting online with someone and there comes one of those things next to where you are...

It makes some sense in Japan, where propaganda restrictions prohibit any kind of propaganda that could aim at more than some percentage of the public. That includes TV or internet. It forces the candidate to walk around. I've seen some around. In Brazil I met only one, running for alderman, at a road crossing.

Plus in Brazil there are not so many of those around when it's not election time. In Japan there are others. Some recycling trucks, neighbourhood patrol are examples of useful ones. Ambulances, fire trucks and police cars also have a sound system, very useful to give warnings or just to warn other cars about a turn. Of course, some also use it for religious and other sorts of propaganda.

Another point where I'm more confortable with the Japanese side: when they do political propaganda, they usually say something. Most time it's some stuff like "for our children" or other sentences not really giving any idea of any project or giving any "real" reason why someone should vote for that person. Still, in Brazil, or at least in my hometown, the situation is worse... Most use it only for jingles. And those stupid things are hard to forget!! The worst situation was close to a shopping mall. There was one of those cars who just parked in front of the place playing the jingles almost all day long. I felt very sorry for people who work around that area and have to listen to it all day.

Going on to fictional politics, comedy about politics often have nice skits. One that was famous in Brazil was when Seu Creysson ran for president... and he could have at least surpassed some real candidates if elections were not already electronic at the time. Another Brazilian one that I liked was Branco Nulo, but that requires some understanding of Portuguese to really understand the jokes. (Well... coming back to the reality for a second, in some cases reality is funnier than fiction...)

Around the globe, Chaser's War Against Everything, Jeff Dunham and many others have already made jokes about politics. I don't see much of that in Japan. But after a Japan Times article, I was interested in a show that uses politics just as a background. It actually is about relationships. "Renai Shinto" (恋愛新党) is the name of the show, and quoting part of the article:

"The president of Renai Shinto, Masato Sakai, is played with flair by the actor Masato Sakai — with the use of his real name adding to the slapdash skit feel of the program. He believes only love can save Japan; declining birth rates are thrown up as one of many forms of evidence. The only problem, he says, is that in contemporary Japan love must contend with many obstacles.

'We, Renai Shinto, vow to abolish things that would impede love!' he proclaims.

It turns out there are a lot of them, especially in the form of women's trends. And therein lies the program's exquisite irony: 'Renai Shinto' launches assaults on the very trends that Japanese television generally thrives on."

So the humor is a little different than usual for Japanese TV. And that's a good thing especially now that Japanese TV is becoming famous abroad for its weird shows that are reproduced in YouTube. As a sidenote, some people asked me in Brazil if most Japanese shows are like that... The answer is no, but the average is not much better anyway. (As a counterpoint, Brazilian TV average is not that good either...)

About his arguments, the show usually focus on how women are imepding love (especially on the first shows), although there are some punchlines criticizing men too. The arguments are exaggerated (on purpose), but sometimes they hit the mark. I haven't seen them all, still my favorite is the one about make-up (part 1 and part 2... Japanese without subtitles only). His point? Most men like women to use make-up and look pretty, and many women use make-up (I'd say that in Japan it's very hard to find a girl wearing no make-up). Still, many women become unable to meet people without make-up. Worse, that make-up fever is also affecting children.

Vancouver, Canada

After resting and enjoying Brazil, it was time to go back to Japan... Still, it's at the other side of the planet, so why not stopping somewhere else on the way?

With that thought, I had also put Vancouver on my list. The only thing I miscalculated was the need of a visa. Since I was going to stay more than 48 hours, a transit visa wouldn't suffice. And a tourist visa is a little annoying to take when you don't have any specific business, are not part of any travel agengy trip and don't have friends at the place who can vouch for you.

Add to the fact I didn't know there was a document certifying I was receiving a scholarship from the Japanese government, so I submitted documents without any clear indication of income. My first reply after I applied through the Canadian embassy in Japan was negative.

The second time was in Brazil, and I couldn't afford any more mistakes, so I submitted many extra documents that might have been unnecessary. At least I got the visa.

This was the bad situation before arriving. On the good side was that my mother mentioned we have a relative there when I was looking for a hotel... A distant cousin, nevertheless a relative. Too bad I only found this out after I submitted things for the visa. Anyway, I'd have some help there!

Then, after leaving Brazil on September 16th and a transit in Toronto, I arrived in Vancouver on the 17th (morning). And after riding a taxi to "I" (my cousin)'s apartment I realised that years in Japan made me forget an important unwritten rule in countries like Canada and Brazil: tipping.

Japanese usually don't give tips. And when working also don't like to receive them. That's one thing I like. If you like the service or the place you can just go back often or buy always with the same clerk. Nevertheless, it's not true in other countries... and I only noticed something was wrong after I paid the taxi and got no change back, giving the driver less than a dollar tip... Whoops! (Just for the note, the "standard" in Canada seems to be 15% tip)

It was not part of the plans staying at "I"'s place, so after some settling down, we went to look for a hotel, since he knows some cheap ones around Downtown...

... We just forgot it was still high season. Therefore, hotels were full, and even the ones who were not increased its prices to something two to three times more than my cousin thought. Solution: I ended up staying at his place.

Since it was "I"'s day off, he decided to guide me to some places on the first day. He has some experience in recommending place to Brazilians in Vancouver (although it's not his job). Sightseeing begins!


The first spot was Grouse Mountain, one of the mountains at the north part of Vancouver. It has a good view of the city (but the weather was not perfect for that kind of shots) and changes a lot from summer to winter (when it becomes a skiing spot).


Then we went to Canada Place, home of, among others, the Vancouver's World Trade Centre. It's also the a cruise ship terminal for the region, where most of Vancouver's cruises to Alaska originate.


End of one day, beginning of another. The last one I had for walking around. And the first point chosen was Stanley Park. And it's huge! About one third of the whole Downtown area. A nice place to exercise or just relax. Visit the Vancouver Aquarium inside the park is also an option. After seeing Okinawa's Churaumi and Osaka's Kaiyukan it's not so impressive, but it's nice and has some presentations at scheduled times.

After that, I went to UBC looking for its museum of anthropology some people recommended. I walked around the campus, but couldn't find it! Damn! But thinking about it I was very stupid... I could just have asked someone...


Back to Downtown, I decided to spend some time strolling around and going to Chinatown to see the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the first of its kind outside China. And one curious observation about that Chinatown, it doesn't have that many Chinese. Although it sounds weird, I've heard that's because price of properties in that area became too expensive, so Chinese immigrants and their descendents moved to the suburbs. Stores with Chinese and Japanese ideograms are noticeable on the path from the airport to Downtown.

After that, meeting "I" and J ("I"'s roommate) after the former left work and go dinner some ribs and watch "The Last Samurai" in Blu-Ray... And the quality is VERY impressive.

September 19th. Time just for packing and saying goodbye before going back to the airport and returning to Japan on the 20th afternoon.

Impressions about Vancouver: it's a nice city I would live in. The atmosphere and people are nice, with a nice mixture of ethnicities and there are good spaces to exercise and enjoy the day or night. "I" mentioned that although the usual diet is not necessarily healthy, people exercise often preventing the "Super Size Me" effect.

Another thing is there are many Asians around. While Chinese and Filipino are usually residents, there are many others, especially Japanese, who go to learn English. It was clear when I was at UBC and could see many Asians, some of them speaking Japanese (and not looking like they were raised in Canada).

Too bad I couldn't stay too long in Vancouver. There are a lot more of things to see and do. Naming just the main touristic ones: Victoria Island and Canadian Rockies. But each of those would demand at least one whole day to visit.

Special thanks for "I" and J. Sorry for stopping by so suddenly and hope we see each other again!

For those who think the pictures here are not enough, check my Picasa album for more.

Londrina, Brazil

To close my posts about Brazil, I still have to talk a little about my hometown.

Londrina is the second largest city in Paraná State; and its name comes after "little London", name given by some British entrepeneurs due to the presence of fog similar to London's (although it's rarely seen nowadays). Its fertile soil (terra roxa) contributed to the city's development beyond expectations (some say Maringá was planned to be the largest city of northern Paraná, but was outgrown because of the coffee economy) during the period Brazil was the main coffee exporter to the rest of the world.


Lago Igapó (Igapo Lake) is an artificial lake that became one of the main postcards of the city, especially after a revitalization project took place. Its name comes after Tupi language meaning "flooded forest" (transvazamento de água).


Catedral Metropolitana de Londrina (Metropolitan Cathedral of Londrina) is an archdiocese and suffered one reconstruction and one expansion since its first version built in wood. Is a common reference point for having a characteristic structure and being located downtown.


Zerão is a park with a running track, sport courts and an amphitheatre. Its nickname (the real name is "Área de Lazer Luigi Borghesi", but almost no one knows the place by that name) comes after its oval running track that delimits the park.

The city has also some other points of interest, like the Terminal Rodoviário de Londrina (inter-city bus terminal), projected by Oscar Niemeyer and considered one of the most beautiful in the country (at least project-wise); Museu Histórico de Londrina (History museum, focused on the city's History), formely the city's train station; or UEL (State University of Londrina). I didn't take pictures of those places, though.

Also, other places like Praça Tomi Nakagawa were previously mentioned.

For those who think the pictures here are not enough, check my Picasa album for more.

Japan in Brazil

2008 is the 100th anniversary of the Japanese emigration to Brazil. It's also marked as the year of cultural exchange between Brazil and Japan. Therefore, my trip from Japan to Brazil wasn't totally unnoticed.

I'm not saying anything about media. Just about peers, friends and relatives asking lots about Japan. Maybe even more than when I came back from Himeji. That was part of the reasons I thought of writing a faq... idea discarded afterwards. There are lots of other sources for observations about Japan. For Portuguese speakers, Muito Japão II is one I particularly enjoy reading. The writer has a very good eye to notice interesting points about Japan.

Nevertheless, one question that I thought was really relevant was: how were the 100th anniversary celebrations in Japan?

To put it short, way less celebrated than it was in Brazil. I won't say that there weren't celebrations. There were. Official and not. Big or small. The ones I've heard about or went to were nice (the previous link has more information). Still, I have the feeling that it was more celebrated in Brazil.

One interesting thing is that most Japanese celebrations were concentrated on the day Kasato Maru left Japan, while in Brazil it was when the ship arrived. Both points of view make sense, and it created funny situations like friends from Brazil asking how are preparations for the celebration after they happened in Japan, but before the ones in Brazil.

Changing the topic, I should write someday about the view some Brazilians have about Japan... especially considering I already did the opposite. Maybe some other day. Anyway, Japanese culture has been popular in Brazil during the last years. In good part because of modern Japanese culture, especially manga and anime. The interesting thing is it often leads people to look for other parts of Japanese culture, like language or traditional Japanese culture (tea ceremony, martial arts, bonsai). And in some cases they become interested in that as well.

But imported culture usually is filtered, adapted and/or slightly modified. From that mixture may come lots of good things. Brazil benefitted from the different origin of its inhabitants.

Still, I really wasn't expecting otaku to meet emo...

Yes, it's happening. Or at least it was my impression when I went to the places I used to buy Japanese manga. And that fusion, although makes some sense considering the stereotypes of these two groups, is a little weird... or is it just me?

Last, some Japanese-related stuff in my hometown...


Praça Nishinomiya is a Japanese-themed square in front of the airport that have been the stage of some activities related to Brazil-Japan exchange. Nevertheless, in 2008 another square was built, in part as part of the centenary celebrations: Praça Tomi Nakagawa. Prince Naruhito was present during the inauguration ceremony, although only briefly.


Then, from September 5th to 7th there was a Japanese festival called Londrina Matsuri. Although it used to be held at Praça Nishinomiya, this year it happened in Parque Ney Braga. That's the same place where some months before there was a huge event celebrating the centenary of Japanese immigration (IMIN 100). I wasn't there, but all comments about the IMIN 100 were very positive.

The matsuri was obviously smaller than the IMIN, and for those who had been to both, comparing both events was unavoidable. Perhaps the greater loss was it not being an open event anymore. Now it required an entrance fee and was in a more distant place. One of the reasons for the change was perhaps security, since an open event in Brazil may attract the wrong kind of people... At least the there was more space and the stands for shops were better than at the square.

I went only on the 7th to, among other things, watch a performance of my former ballroom dance academy. There were also other performances, like Okinawan dances (one of the leaders is a girl who went to Okinawa the same year I was in Himeji), taiko and music.

But the most expected attraction was obviously the Matsuri Dance. It's a little hard to explain... Pick bon odori, put some band (or playback) playing J-pop and substitute the choreographies for something that may vary from funk carioca and axé to awa odori... Popular among some young people, especially Japanese descendents and/or anime lovers.

Anyway, guess a video is the best way to show what it looks like.

It has changed since I used to be in the middle of the crowd as well... It looks more and more like a band show since most people don't bother keeping the circular movement (characteristic of bon odori) anymore. Plus, the choreographies are becoming more and more "Brazilian like" using more popular J-pop songs. Guess that's evolution... can't stop it.

Sorocaba

The only "trip" I did while I was in Brazil and also the only thing I had scheduled while I was in Japan: go with Willian to visit Juliano and Simone. I haven't met for latter two since Florianópolis. Since then, they've married (I was asked to be a groomsman, but I was in Japan and couldn't go to the ceremony) and moved to Sorocaba.

So, shortly after returning to Brazil, from August 22nd to 25th I joined Willian and his family for a car trip.

The first stop was in Bauru, where a friend of Willian's family owns a Japanese restaurant in a hotel. We also went to a local shopping mall and a gym (someone's addicted... not me) before dinner... sushi better than those of kaitenzushi. Hehe!

Anyway, on the next day we went to Sorocaba to meet Juliano and Simone. And it seems he promised my mother that I'd put on some weight there... or so he said. I admit I lost weight compared to when I left Brazil last year, but I probably never ate so much like those two days...

Since Willian's father had been driving for two days (not all the time, but it's demanding nevertheless), we decided to give him a rest in a hotel recommended by our locals while we did some major catching up. Among chatting, joking and mocking we had planned to go to a LAN gaming center, like the old times. Unfortunately we couldn't find a suitable one open, so we turned to video-games instead. Warcraft would still have to wait...


August 24th. The only whole day we would have there. Someone had suggested going to Hopi Hari, but really... it's been years we haven't met and we would go to an amusement park!? Instead, our hosts suggested the Sorocaba Zoo to see some animals like the dancing elephant (!?).


Another special thing was the place where we went for lunch. All-you-can-eat restaurant, as expected from Juliano. Still, the food there was VERY good and had good variety. If the expression "eating until you explode" was ever accurate it was during that lunch.

We spent the rest of the day going to shopping malls, visiting the hotel where Willian's parents were staying, watching Juliano and Simone's wedding ceremony DVD (LMAO of a certain "compromising situation" someone was filmed at... hahaha! The eyes really look at things one think are interesting...), playing video-games and... eating.

On the last day, I was sleeping while Willian and his father went to a gym Simone knows and scaried the hell out of some people there as far as I've heard. Well, they're quite muscular... and it's not something common for Asian descendents. And when one starts lifting an absurd amount of weight and the other asks to punch him on the abdomen... I can imagine the scene. Hehe!

Why didn't I go together? First that beside those two I'd be less than nothing. And something weird happened to my right eye. Later I found out it was nothing serious, but when I got up on that day it looked like I was punched in the eye... We even told jokes that Willian wanted to go to the gym so badly that he was dreaming he was training and hit me in the eye while sleeping. I wouldn't doubt that... haha!

After they returned it was already time to go. We'll probably won't be able to meet again anytime soon, but this meeting, although short was well worth it. I'd say only those four days were worth already the whole trip to Brazil.

See you space cowboy!

Back to Brazil

After London and Munich, I finally arrived at the place that is the real reason of the whole trip: Brazil. After all, it all started as a trip back home to see family and friends I haven't seen for one year and a half or more.


So I stayed in Brazil from August 19th to September 16th. Basically one month... that went very fast. Most of the time I stayed in Londrina, my hometown and the place where I have more friends around... although many have left the city looking for a job or studying.

Talking about friends, one month wasn't enough to see all of them. Due to problems with schedule or simple lack of luck I couldn't meet some...


I'll write some more posts about events that I think are worth a separate post. For now, I'll write some general comments.

• I said I enjoyed Brazil a lot... and I'm not kidding! Ate a lot and at almost all the restaurants I like, slept well, played a lot with the Wii (family's new video game)... More than enough to satisfy my homesickness. Still, I realise it was a vacation. When I lived there the routine was different.
  
  
• When in Japan, I miss things in Brazil, but the opposite is also true. Sometimes I was wondering how friends in Japan were doing, reading about what they did and wishing I could be there too, missing being able to walk carelessly at night (or even during the day)... My conclusion is after you live aborad you'll never be complete again. There'll always be a part missing wherever you go, wherever you are.
  
  
• One of the things I've decided to do while I was in Brazil was to visit some of the places I used to go. That included my former high school and university. Especially at the high school I had some surprises and good reminiscences. Although it was reformed and looks completely different, many of the teachers I admired are still there. And it was interesting talking to them now, years after you were their student. More impressing is how many still remembered me, considering they have more than a hundred students per year and some eight years have passed since then...
  
  
• Also, going to those places was a nice thing to know how old friends were doing. And listening to some stories made me a little jealous. A former high school friend is now a nurse at that same high school; some classmates at university are employed by a multinational and did a course in Germany; another high school friend is now working or studying in the US (and her major is Physics!); other opened his own business... Guess I should keep moving too. At least I have good examples around for inspiration.
  
  
• Besides schools, I went to other places like my former judo dojo, dance academy and met the guys who played futsal together (those who are still around). Doing all that again made me sure of something I was feeling already: my physical condition reached an all-time low! Gotta do something from now on!!
  
  
• Talking of physical conditions, other skills are very rusty. I was never very good at snooker, but after losing 5 matches in a row to a friend and -worse- 3-0 to my younger sister(!), I guess I reached the point that I suck.
  
  
• Another of the places I had to go was my grandmothers' grave. They died last year, leaving me with no grandparents alive. One of them I particularly loved very much, and not even being able to go to her funeral was a strong blow. It was probably the only time I ever considered abandoning everything in Japan and going back to Brazil...
  
  
• There was a big costume party while I was in Londrina, Metamorfose. It says it's the largest of the world... I'm still not sure. I didn't go for some reasons (most of all I had people to meet; and that takes precedence considering I had limited days in Brazil), but it's worth checking pictures of it (click "Fotos").
  
  
• The thing I missed most in Brazil by far were family and friends. And meeting them again, by previous scheduling or by pure luck, was the very highlight of the trip. Some I haven't met for almost a decade, and it was really enjoyable catching up with each of them...
  
  
• I mention strange things in Japan, but some things in Brazil are also weird. For example, campaigns to reduce use of plastic bags are also happening in Brazil. Some supermarkets encourage customers to bring their own bags. But in Brazil you can't carry bags, backpacks, etc. in places like some libraries (we had to put it in lockers before entering the university's library), stores and supermarkets. So when you bring a bag to avoid using a plastic bag in a supermarket, you have to keep it sealed until you reach the cash register... sealed in a plastic bag!! Go figure...
  
  
• I thought of writing a faq with things almost everyone I met in Brazil asked me... but gave up. I wouldn't like to write some of the answers anyway. Some things are better said than written.