Quote:
Originally Posted by Skuu
Thanks to all for the advice. What I get from pretty much everyone is relatively the same and I totally agree. However my life plans have actually changed now and I can see how I'll be fine just being in England. If I still had a strong long-term desire to live in Japan or become fluent ASAP then I'd agree that it would be worth sticking it out, but I feel I'll be fine at home.
As Nyororin rightly pointed out, this isn't a defamation of Japan in any way. If I liked rural areas more and had prepared more I would probably be enjoying myself, perhaps with a more hospitable homestay. In that way maybe it's a good recommendation not to get tied down somewhere with duties until you're sure you like who you're living with?
Nyororin@ this was the problem actually, I didn't really know what to expect at all. As I said I wasn't really a japanophile, I was prepared not to like everything and for it to be hard. I think the main thing was just that I expected a city, so when I suddenly was left outside all day with no internet, no food to suit my diet and no easy way of meeting people, I got really emotionally strained.
The main difference in my thinking is simply noting that Japan doesn't necessarily equal progress for me. Japanese isn't my life so much anymore. However there are people much more enthusiastic about it than me and I just wnated to help them make sure they were practically prepared for whatever they might experience in Japan.
Oh just a few things I dislike about Japan (in comparison with what I'm used to in England). Again this isn't even a critique of Japan, just a description of what didn't suit me personally:
1, smoking is more widespread. In England I'm used to the inside being a smoke-free zone. I'm currently in a net cafe and have wofts of it going over me.
2, even in the city, less acknowledgement of alternative diets like my veganism. Forget about it in rural areas.
3, 'over'abundance of commercialism. There're always annoying advertising songs and people trying to sell you something, even outside of shops. I often wake up to political slogans being blasted out of cars.
4, rigidly respectful services and personal relations. In England I could talk to my boss almost like I talk to my friends, and not much different to shop assistants. I significantly feel the loss of this in Japan.
Again, you could easily come to England and compare it to another country, listing its negatives and ignoring its positives. This is soley for the purpose of description from my own set of values. If you disagree then you're probably right, I'm not interested in an argument.  |
You are correct that lots of people in Japan smoke. In some restaurants I can't eat as the smoke is so thick it burns my eyes. Luckily this is beginning to change. In most places in Tokyo now it is illegal to smoke in train stations or while walking on the sidewalk.
Yes, there are lots of advertisements. Advertising is big business in Japan. Even the insides of buses and trains are full of posters and hanging banners, and shops pay to get their business names mentioned when the bus driver announces the next stop.
Vegetarianism is uncommon in Japan, even Buddhists who claim to be vegetarian usually are not. As for vegans, Japanese people tend to think of such people as absurd. It could be worse though, you could be staying in China right now where, as the saying goes "they eat anything with legs except chairs, and everything with wings, except airplanes".
As for the last part, there is a rigid social structure in Japan, though things have become minutely more casual in recent years in some fields. When I first arrived here I was amazed at the amount of respect that the staff showed the head teacher and principle, little different from that which I used towards superior officers in the Army. It take a little getting used to, and I don't necessarily see it as a bad thing.
The next time you go overseas on an extended trip, you should choose a place in the third world. It'll change a lot of your opinions and perspectives, and usually for the better.