[BratGaki]

I do want to visit Japan someday. Badly. Yes, I do like anime and manga, but I am no otaku. These are the things that attract me to Japan:

Education - I went to a private Catholic high school where tuition was $6,000 a year. Of course, with my parent sacrificing like that and because of me being, well, me, I couldn't help but get top grades in my class. But I saw more than enough people throwing their education away, never taking it seriously. I read a book on how the Japanese systems and approaches to teaching are different from American styles. I read about how education is highly placed in their culture. I was shocked to read a stasictic that the WORST scoring Japanese schools did better than the BEST schools in America. Wow. I love learning new things and Japan looks like they do too.

Crime Rate - Crime happens in Japan. So do freaky murders. But compared to the US? It's a walk in the park. I live in a sub-ghetto area. It's not safe to walk around past the evening, and its not safe to walk in some areas at all. My boyfriend lived in Japan for a while and he said it was safe to walk the streets and allys of Japan into the wee hours of the morning. That's something I can't do here. (Unless I want to get shot)

Econimal Living - The Japanese learned to live with minimal resources and minimal space. They take the time to sort their trash out in the appropriate labeled bins. Most people take the train, walk, or ride a bike. I like the idea of living economily. I'm not a going green nut. There's this odd sense of survivalism that goes with living off of as little as possible. It attracts me. It makes life interesting for me. One of the last things I would want is the typical "American dream" house and life.

Nihongo - It's a complicated language that follows logic and it's an art form. I'm all over that. Their language puzzles me yet fascinates me at the same time. I'm teaching myself basic Japanese in order to communicate with people when I travel there. I also want to learn it because I'm studying to be an Illustrator and concept artist and there's that 0.0001% chance Square Enix or some other Japanese company would want me. I can dream!

My Boyfriend - He was a foreign exhange student for a few months in Japan and he LOVED IT. Heck, he didn't even have an official place to stay. He slept in those shoe-box bed things that busy business men sleep in for his stay. He actually wants to move there after his exchange experience. But for now, we have college to worry about and learning the language.

If anyone can comment on the above, I'd love to hear it.