My semester here in Japan is nearly over. Final examinations and graduation ceremony still to come. Now it’s actually very good time to stop a while and think and memorize all different experiences that I have been through.
In my first blog post I described my journey to come as Mr. Maslow in his pyramid of needs. Fist stage were accomplished after about one month, I got used to Japanese mattress and could find and recognize good products from grocery store. Weeks went by very fast, some days I really missed my family back home.
From Japanese people I have actually learned a lot. To outside they look nicely dressed and neat. While I have been here I have figured out, that Japanese are professionals when hiding their emotions and feelings. At the time of nuclear and tsunami catastrophe, people were acting amazingly calm and not nervous at all. Foreigners might think if they even care those victims of massive destruction at all. Answer to this is; of course they cried and felt bad, but they helped victims and their families the most, if they just stayed calm. Panic would have been the last thing they wanted to create.
When I got here, first I figured out how polite and nice everybody was. Every house’s garden are so well done and full of flowers, though it was early spring time, plants were taking cared of. Still I always try to peak to peoples’ beautiful gardens. People are always nice, they care for each other, they take others into consideration, flora and fauna are important to them… This all felt almost too good to be true. In visual anthropology class we watched a film called The Cove, after he movie I knew what was wrong, everything is not what it seems. Japan has amazingly various and versatile culture with long history. It won’t open to everybody, it is very complicated and sometimes even possible to understand.
I’m more than thousand ideas richer now when I leave here. I have learned much about myself, Japanese culture and Japanese people. I definitely have walk hard way, when conquering the top of the pyramid. Now I can say I have found my creative side more clearly than I could ever have expected.
