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So here I am thinking about all the nuances of Japan and Japanese people and thought I would share them with you! The
Japanese and Japan are unbelievably clean. Even though
we can rarely find a regular trash can half the time (though aluminum
can bins are everywhere), the bustling, overcrowded metropolis of Tokyo
is always spotless somehow. We love their idea of not wearing shoes inside
many places, as it really keeps carpet and tatami mats sanitary and perfect
for sitting on. Makes sense not to drag the street in onto your carpet,
eh? In many carpeted or tatami mat restaurants, there are wooden lockers
to put your shoes in, and in a fitness center, you should have separate
shoes to wear in the gym that have not touched the ground outside! The reason why we might not find public trash cans everywhere is that trash separation is a full time job. Burnable trash can be put outside two days a week, and then the other types of trash have specified days throughout the month, designated on our trash calendar. We separate unburnable trash, glass, bottles, paper, milk cartons, and styrofoam. You would think this was all very environmental of the Japanese until you see that plastic is on the burnable trash list! Hmmm. Unwanted household furniture is also put out for trash on a designated day, and it is quite a good shopping day for us, as the Japanese tend to throw things out as soon as they are just a few years old. They would rather buy a new item than have the old one fixed or redone. Consequently, we have inherited a nice wood desk, a kerosene heater, and a Japanese style low heater table. All for free!
So life's been fun and interesting and quite relaxing here in Hanno. Brad and I are home often, and have been doing well in our Japanese studies. Brad is slowly getting work, and I am still loving Kidz Talk. Through our town's international society (where we get free weekly Japanese lessons), I also had a few chances to visit a local elementary school and be a guest speaker. My Japanese teacher translated my words for the students, and I told them all about Arizona and America. The students then did reports on my country, and I got to return to see their presentations, where they talked about all they had learned from me! It was interesting to see their views of America. They asked about Abraham Lincoln a lot, mentioned Clint Eastwood as a top Hollywood star, and wondered if Americans still dressed in Native American Indian costumes! I'm off to South Korea tomorrow for 2 nights to get my official working visa from the Japanese Embassy abroad, so I'll have some fun stories of our closest neighboring country when I return! Love and Light xoxoxoxoxox Rebecca
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I
have just stopped at one of the 14 vending machines that
I pass on my 7 minute walk to work (we have fewer machines in our town
than in the city), and the selection still excited me after being here
3 months. Vending machines are really everywhere in Japan, and one can
purchase anything from soft drinks, beer, and cigarettes, to barrels of
rice, condoms, and music CDs. In the drink machines alone, the selection
ranges from caramel macciatos and cafe lattes to green, lemon, milk, or
flavored tea, to coke, fanta, and vitamin loaded sports drinks. AND half
the cans can be purchased HOT!! Yes, you can have a coffee or tea in a
piping hot aluminum can! Our Japanese friends, however, are really surprised
to hear that Brad and I do not like coffee. "EEEhhhhhhhhh???"
they say, "No coffee??? Eehhhh???? Do your parents drink coffee?"
We also get a lot of EEEhhhhhh-ing when they hear us speak some Japanese.
"EEeeeehhhh? You speak Japanese? So good! EEEEeeehhhhh?" (The
noises they make in conversation are really high-pitched and cute) 
And
speaking of heaters, the Japanese are also good about having all kinds
of heating appliances and furniture! Aside of the normal
apartment heating units, they use kerosene heaters, heated toilet seats,
all sizes of tables with heaters built in underneath (kotatsu), and even
heated carpets! This along with the multitude of cheap, cozy scarves,
hats and jackets, has got us really enjoying the winter! It hardly rains,
and Fall (autumn) has left us with the most beautiful red, yellow, and
orange trees, coloring the hillsides like a woven tapestry. Whenever we
go to a different area or park, the vibrant leaves leave us breathless.
