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 [learn] What Did(n't) I Learn? Last updated 
14 Apr 1999 

chuui - warning
I am not an expert on Japanese culture. I conducted no scientific surveys. I am a fallible human being wearing American-tinted glasses. Please forgive me if I make a statement which doesn't seem 100% sensitive. The text that follows is meant to be somewhat entertaining, not profound.

What is the purpose of this page?  
This page gathers together a small number of my remarks on Japan -- a sort of a "conclusion" to Dan in Japan (even though the Dan in Japan Web page is nowhere near finished, my stay in Japan is almost over). There's quite a lot of text here, and not many pictures, so this is where I talk about some of the stuff that you can't take pictures of...

What's not so great about Japan is that... What is so great about Japan is that...
It can be old, dirty, and unadvanced
Everything's so expensive
Japanese is not nearly as colorful as English
Nobody speaks to strangers
You don't have as much personal freedom
It'd be hard to bake your own cake
You might have to hold back
It's beautiful, and it has tradition
It's got railroads, subways, and no tipping
Japanese is far more logical than English
Harmony is Japan's middle name
You are expected to be responsible
Japan was based on healthy food
You can get naked and relax

I expected...  
People to eat sushi and other raw things every day
That everyone would be a technophile
That everyone would love animation (anime)
That ALL Japanese people would be very smart
People to say "sayounara" for "goodbye"
To be taller than everyone
That I could learn it all

I never expected...  
So much pornography and things of that sort
Such a lax attitude toward alcohol
Music CD rental
Our words instead of theirs
That public urination was something people would do
Pre-wrapped jellied bread

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