Dear Travel Diary,
My experience in Japan has been nothing short of amazing!
As I write this, I'm in a bar with a bunch of drunk screaming people. It's astonishing how Japanese have the ability to be their authentic self around alcohol but very abiding to the basic laws of the society when without.
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| Photo by Ramon Kagie |
I came to Japan after being awarded a scholarship and little did I know that I would be introduced to a system that belittled my academic capabilities with their high-level performance standards. Also, not forgetting to mention that teachers treated me like a 5 year old child.
We couldn't use or phones or be late, we were scolded if we weren't 100% attentive in the classroom. The pressure was very evident when you weren’t performing 'up to standard'. This was all new to me and these standards were nothing like those in my home country.
So... guess what…
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| Cheese! |
No worries though...
I would later be invited to attend a special 7:30 a.m. class for the students that needed a little extra help and needless to say, I made the most of that opportunity (after dragging myself out of bed of course and trust me, this was not very easy to do) ...
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| The Soulmate |
Now for those of you that are still reading, if you ever want to visit Hokkaido, they have great seafood but BEWARE because the cost is as lovely as the taste.
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| Rebel with the dance moves |
It's a very beautiful place, super safe and the people are forced to be polite by social standards (so you should be too). You won't have to worry about a thing if you’re visiting but on the other hand, if you plan to live here, you need to be aware of the 'blatant ignorance' that passes as racism or the norms that contribute to the stagnant nature of Japan's society.
Visit and enjoy the view but know that there's so much beyond what you see. Japan is a beautiful place on the surface.
Written by a sincere drunk.
Love Renée.
