After 11-hour flight San Francisco - Osaka, I finally stepped off the plane. I was more than ready to get on the bus, taking me from the airport to the Kansai Gaidai University seminar house, and stare my way out of the window forming very first impressions about Japan. My excitement however was disturbed by 16-hour jet leg, and in less than 10 minutes I was asleep, observing the back of my eyelids instead of this new to me country. When I woke up, the students were already rushing to pick up their luggage. I didn't have another choice but to begin my journey in the international dormitory instead. As I entered, I was asked to take off my shoes. I knew that Japanese people take off their shoes the minute they enter their homes, but in the dormitory? 
The floors looked very clean and therefore I did not mind going barefoot. However, I was asked to put my shoes on of the shelves in the corridor that is accessible to anybody who passes by. My first thought was, "There is no way I am leaving my 60 dollar puma sneakers out of my site!" Nevertheless, I was too tired to argue, and I left my
pumas on the shelf as was instructed. In the past 5 year I've lived in the United States; however, I was born and brought up in Ukraine. If this was happening in my home country, my shoes would be guaranteed get stolen within an hour after leaving them on the common shoe shelf; moreover, there would be a high probability for my sneakers to be gone before I could even unlace them. If you've ever been to Japan, you know that here it is not at all the case. In fact, now I've been here for 3 weeks and it just does not settle in my mind how any human can be as conscientious as the Japanese.
I also had a chance to test Japanese honesty on myself. Yes, my shoes were on the shelf as I had left them, but not only that. One day I was heading to the store when I suddenly I realized that I did not have my wallet. I left it in the computer room more than 40 minutes ago. "Oh no! - I thought - my life is in that wallet! All of my cash, my debit card, credit card, international student ID, and my U.S. green card! If it is gone... " I didn't want to think further, and I ran back to the computer room. My wallet wasn't there, but it was in the Lost and Found. Everything was there to the last hyaku yen. It is good that I am in Japan.
In a similar manner, one of the New York Times articles by Notrimitsu Onishi also describes fascinating to foreigners Tokyo's Lost and Found Center, reflecting well on Japanese culture http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/08/world/never-lost-but-found-daily-japanese-honesty.html.
I once lost a duffel bag full of clothes on the Hibiya Line in Tokyo. Within two hours, it was in the lost and found room in Ueno Station!
ReplyDeleteWhile the Japanese are very trustworthy people, there are few Japanese people in the Seminar Houses. Because of this, you aren't dealing with Japanese trustworthiness there. So be careful with your possessions in there, and be prepared for food to be stolen from your fridge now and then. Your housemates are hungry people.
Joe has some good advice about being careful in Seminar House with your food. Those security cameras in front of the refrigerators don't seem to dissuade hungry housemates...
ReplyDeleteI really like this post as it is extremely human. I think we can all identify with your experiences and preconceptions. Picking up on the virtue of honesty is a positive way to begin your blogging journal. But of course beware, Japan is not perfect. Osaka is infamous for its purse-snatchers; unfortunately there are bad people everywhere it seems.
But please continue to journal your positive experiences as they relate to our weekly themes. I anticipate your blog will be popular and useful for many readers.
Please add a creative commons license to your blog.
Nice blog. I'll be keeping my eye on your writing. Small style notes:
ReplyDelete-Try to make sure you don't have two separate fonts within your post.
-Try to hyperlink articles in-line as opposed to just putting the link at the end.