Compared to the states, the walls surrounding tracts of property in Japan are impressive. This is just within the Kansai campus and it looks like a wall to protect against a horde of barbarians.But every little home is fitted in much the same way. There are concrete barriers six feet high, then another foot or so of wiring to make it almost eight feet of defense. Some families even have a roll down steel door to cover large windows. It's something one might expect in a dangerous place...
But it conforms with the rest of what I have run up against. The Japanese love of rules and dogma. The seminar house has rules slapped on every wall about what can and cannot be done to/with said wall and who can/cannot pass by such a wall. I find it a bit condescending. Do I have to think? I guess only if the rules permit me!
The high prices are quite astonishing. I was definitely expecting it, as Japan must import everything it consumes. It's painful to look at these prices for beer, which is my comfort "food". With the exchange rate, that six pack cost $15.
However, fun can be found when you brush by the silly preponderance of rules. As one of the jolly fools in the photo, we got rather sauced on a thursday night and jammed out to Queen, Vanilla Ice, Milly Vanilly, Diana Ross and various other long dead artists. It was more fun than I have had in months. Moving from the seminar house to homestay was really sad because now I am clear across town. Between me and my homies stand many massive hills that have no sidewalks to ride my bike on. But I will survive, hey hey.
I think the walls you show in your picture are designed to mask sound. But privacy is an important aspect in Japan, after all, uchi is uchi and soto is soto...
ReplyDeleteYou can thank your sempai for all the (proactive?) rules posted all over seminar house. Problems from the past have been solved for the future through new rules and regulations. But we see this in the Japanese public as well. Some feel there are so many rules signs and announcments that Japanese people tend to ignore them.
Anyway, you will get much more out of your homestay in terms of language and cultural learning. Did you come to Japan to sing Vanilla Ice and Milly Vanilly songs?