Charlotte Journal: Back to Japan 10/31/2014

Charlotte Journal　　2014.10.31

Two years passed since I came to the US in October 2012. I have been writing about the life in the US almost every month, and this is my final issue. I will go back to Japan in November 2014. Two year’s living experience in the US has changed me a lot, and I’ve got the guts to face different culture. Iam no longer afraid of the people who speak English. I don’t hesitate to ask questions. I’m not surprisedat seeing the people who look different. These may be natural things for some people, but they were the challenges that I had to overcome. I had a complex about my English that I can’t speak fluently. I wasembarrassed about being ignorant and shut-in. I wanted to change myself, prepared conversation topics and motivated myself to speak. I gained self-confidence when I spoke well, but the confidence I gained would shrivel in the next moment. I was gradually relieved from my inferiority complex as I gained living skill or as I got less sensitive.  Or, I might have just understood my limitation. I have come to think it natural that I don’t understand everything. It is also natural that I can’t speak well. It took me two years to overcome the fear to get in different culture.     When I travelled to NY the other day, I took a tour bus to see around the city. There was a guide on the bus, and she was a middle-aged Chinese woman (probably living in NY). She tried hard to explain the touristic spots with a lot of gestures when the bus passed by them. But her English was not good at all. The passengers looked at each other with puzzled, and the children were giggling. Indeed, she spoke with a strong accent, but it was still understandable. I was encouraged as I listened to her speech. Ithought that it should be fine if non-native English speakers don’t speak perfect English - as far as we speak in a sincere manner. I had been trying to speak English with correct grammar and correct accents. I was embarrassed when I made an error. I got upset and would lose track of what I was talking about. I still experience this confusion, but I’ve got used to the feeling and I can keep myself calm. I have learned many things from the life in the US, and it was my greatest result that I had this “experience” to manage the confusion and communicate.     I had a lot of support from many people in Japan and in the US. I would like to express my tanks to those people and conclude my Charlotte Journal. Thank you very much.

Charlotte Journal: Super Bowl 02/08/2014

Charlotte Journal　　02.08.2014

I feel bad about writing about the same thing, but you cannot live in the US in this season without this. So, let me talk about the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the NFL.       The Super Bowl is not only the biggest game of American football but also is the biggest sporting event in the US. The game enjoys tremendous popularity. The Super Bowl has continuously been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year (the viewing rate is over 40%), and “Super Bowl Sunday” is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption after Thanksgiving Day. Not only about the game itself, but people also enjoy talking about which musician plays what in the pre-game and halftime show. It is a proof of popularity for singers and musicians to sing the national anthem of the US in the pre-game ceremonies or to perform the halftime show.  Even watching and discussing the broadcast’s commercials has become a significant aspect of the event. There is a competition of Super Bowl advertisements, and companies develop a new advertisement for this broadcast. Because of the high viewership, the cost of commercial airtime during the Super Bowl broadcast is increasing every year and was $4m (JPY 400m)per 30 seconds this year. By the way, the tickets for the game cost at least JPY 250,000 at the regular price. People still scramble for those tickets, and it is always extremely hard to get one. There was even a lawsuit claiming that the tickets are not fairly distributed and cannot be purchased. The problem is not about the price but that the event is so popular that the ticket cannot be bought for money.   The Carolina Panthers, the American football team based in Charlotte where I live, proceed to the playoff tournament this year. Although the Panthers were seeded, they lost the game with the San Francisco 49ers that came through awildcard. The 49ers were, then defeated by the SeattleSeahawks, and the Seahawks moved on to the Super Bowl. They fought against the Denver Broncos. This was an exciting match between the leagues’ strongest offensive team (the Broncos) vs the strongest defensive team (the Seahawks). It was a big experiment to decide the winner from “a sword that penetrates any shield” or “a shield that blocks any sword”.   I wanted to feel the American culture on site rather than watching the game at home. In the same as I did last year, I went to a sports bar. The game started 6:30 PM. I went to a bar at 5:00 PM, but the barwas already full (they did not take reservation). Everyone had a glass of beer and was ready for the game. I ended up watching the game in a smaller bar. Football fans usually get excited at the home team’s games cheering and crying at each play. The bar I went was rather for the older people, and there were not many people who were enthusiastically watching the game.  The game itself was one-sided. As compared to last year, it was a quieter Super Bowl Sunday. But still, it was exciting to be a part of a big event. It was fun.   I heard many people in Japan had an ‘Ama-loss symptom’ after the popular morning TV drama seriesof ‘Ama-chan’ ended. Now that the season of American football is over, I have got an ‘Ame-losssymptom’. I look forward to the next season.

Charlotte Journal: Doraemon 08/10/2014

This is an English translation of my friend's Japanese blog.
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Charlotte Journal 08/10/2014

I'll talk about cartoons this time. Do you know that Doraemon has been on air in the US since this July? I was waiting for the series to start, and watched the program right away. I felt uneasy when I first heard "Godzilla" pronounced in an English way, but "Doraemon" is pronounced almost in the same way as we do in Japanese and sounds all right. Since I have a complex about my poor English, Nobita (Nobby in the US version) looks rather sharp when he fluently speaks English. He does not look to be the same person that cannot catch up classes at school.      Well, what I was bothered about in the series was that Doraemon has been "localized". This US version of the cartoon was made in Japan, but many scenes were changed to fit into the life-style in the US. For example, the characters have a meal with knives and forks instead of chopsticks, and eat pancakes instead of omelet-rice. A Dorayaki, which is a Doraemon's favorite bean-jam pancake, is called a Yummy Bun. As a marketing strategy, it's good to localize products to increase the sales (or the number of audiences for this case). But this time, a Japanese TV company is exporting Japanese culture. I wondered why they do not export Japanese culture, life style and dietary habits as they are. If children in the US watch the program and see the characters eating omelet-rice, they may want to know what it is. They might be interested in Japanese foods and want to travel to Japan and try them. They would also be interested in eating foods with chopsticks and ask their parents to buy them. By exporting Japanese culture, we can sell various Japanese products associated with it.      Cupcakes appeared in SEX and the CITY attracted public attention, and they became a fad in Japan. It's become a common style in Japan to walk in the city with a Starbuck’s takeout cup in hand. No one tries to replace cupcakes with traditional Japanese Daifuku cake because we are less familiar with cupcakes. As I see the Doraemon’s case rather critically, the US, which always exports its culture, is trying to avoid foreign culture to be imported. I imagine that there were a lot of difficult negotiations made in exporting Japanese cartoons to the US, but I want Japan to take pride in disseminating Japanese culture. I want to say it aloud here, because I often find in the US that Japanese culture is confused with the other Asian culture. A word "Dorayaki" already exists in English although it is not well known. I want Dorayaki to be as popular as cupcakes. Besides, you cannot say that Doraemon is a character who likes the sweets called Dorayaki if they are called Yummy Buns.

 

 

Charlotte Journal: Doughnuts 01/04/2014

This is an English translation of my friend's Japanese blog.
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Charlotte Journal 01/04/2014

  

   I have a box of doughnuts in front of me, so let me talk about doughnuts today.  Two things I got hooked on in the US are doughnuts and American football. Dunkin Donuts has chain stores all over the US, and you find the stores everywhere. Krispy Kreme doughnuts became a fad in Japan a couple years ago, but you can buy them even at the supermarkets. In other words, there are doughnuts all around. I try to resist them, but I just can’t help myself.

　

   Just as the same can be said of any foods, doughnuts taste the best when they are freshly made. There is a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store just at a 20-minute-drive from my apartment. I have memorized the schedule when doughnuts get ready in the store, so that I can get to the store just in time to buy the freshly made doughnuts hot from the pan. That doughnut shop turns on a red neon light when they have hot doughnuts. Drivers seeing the neon turned on are lured to get in the store - just like the ants swarming to sugar.

 

   Well then, what are those “doughnuts” that attract the Americans (and me)? Doughnuts have a long history. They have their origin in Europe, and have been in existence longer than the country of the USA. It must have been the early immigrants to the US who brought in the recipe, and they were already in the US at the time it was founded. The Americans know the taste of doughnuts by their genes before they were born. However, oil and sugar to make doughnuts was quite expensive in the old times . They were not the casual foods as they are today but were special treats for special occasions. People generally like specialty items, but it is probably because of the sugar that makes us obsessed about doughnuts. Doughnuts in the US are, as you can imagine, very sweet. When you eat doughnuts, you feel as if the sugar was pasted thickly on the receptor which feels sweetness. Your sense of taste is paralyzed and you are no longer able to feel the sweetness.  Doughnuts have a lot of sugar, and sugar is thought to be addictive.  As I said, the sweetness should be the source of the charm of doughnuts. The price of doughnuts is reasonable. At Krispy Kreme doughnuts, although each doughnut has a different price, a dozen of them usually cost around eight dollars.  By the way, when you buy lunch at a cafeteria in the US, salads cost the most, and hamburgers and desserts are surprisingly cheap. The price of a high calorie meal with a lot of oil and sugar is low, and I think it is one of the reasons why the obesity rate is higher among people with lower incomes. I know I should not have too many doughnuts for my health, but I think I am already addicted to sugar, and my tongue and brain are sending wrong messages.

 

The slogan of Dunkin Donuts is “America runs on Dunkin”. Isn’t it scary to be addicted to sugar?

Charlotte Journal: BBQ 06/10/2014

 

Charlotte Journal 06/10/2014


Suffocating hot air brushes my face when I go out, and tells me of the arrival of summer. The rooftop pool at my apartment building is always packed in the summer. More people jog and walk with their dogs in the parks. And, a good smell drifts out of nowhere. Yes! It is the season of BBQ. So, let’s talk about BBQ now.


　BBQ has a deep root in the life of the US, and its popularity in the US is no match for Japan. Almost every family has at least one BBQ grill. Even those living in an apartment have a grill installed on a small balcony. BBQ grills are not only owned by individual households but are also placed in the public parks so that anyone can use it as they want. My apartment has BBQ grills in the front yard and the poolside for common use. The residents invite their friends and hold raucous parties. The smoke and the savory smell of BBQ drift all over. The whole city is indeed in an uproar with BBQ.


　

  The South is referred to as the home of BBQ, and the Southerners are more particular about BBQ. BBQ sauces at the restaurants are home-made with their secret recipes. Many people like to have Pulled Pork with BBQ sauce, and I tried it several times. It is tasty indeed! But it’s heavy with strong flavor! I get full with a few bites and become strangely thirsty. When you think of the BBQ sauce that MacDonald’s in Japan serves with its Chicken Nuggets, the BBQ sauce in the US is completely different stuff in terms of its density and depth of the taste. But everyone looks so happy when I look around. Waiters talk to me with an angelic smile on their face: “How do you like the BBQ?”, “Isn’t that good?”, “You made a great choice!” I would rather have BBQ with soy sauce, but it is not so bad to enjoy the taste of outdoor camping easily in a restaurant.



By the way, when you have BBQ at home, it is the father’s work to prepare it. Whether people call for gender-free or whatever, families rely largely on fathers to make a fire and grill foods in the smoke. It will be Father’s Day soon, and many families have a BBQ on Father’s Day. When I asked my colleague what he usually does on Father’s Day, he replied to me one word “grill”. Father’s Day is supposed to be a day to say thanks to fathers, but the fathers in the US cannot rest quietly.

Charlotte Journal: the South 06/10/2013

Charlotte Journal 06/10/2013

It is early summer. It is hot enough to get sweaty when you walk outside. There are many squirrels in the trees in the US, and I see more of them these days. They play in a group cheerfully chasing each other. For the first time, I saw a baby squirrel coming out of the trees for the nice weather. I wanted to share a photo of those squirrels, but they are very cautious and move quickly. It is hard to take their photos. Instead, I send you a photo of Chimney Rock State Park I went the other day.  It felt very good to go out hiking in early summer.

Today, I would like to talk about the State of North Carolina where I live. For Japanese, it is not easy to tell from the name “North Carolina” where it is located.  It is in the southeast of the US and bordering the Atlantic Ocean. North Carolina is geographically grouped in the South. Historically, the economy developed based on the plantation style of agriculture, and it was a part of the southern Confederation during the American Civil War. I am told that there is a Southern accent in the language. As I am not very proficient in English, I do not know how it is different from the other accents. I talk to the researchers from all over the world every day. I notice their French accent and Chinese accent more than the Southern accent.  

The Americans say that the South has a unique distinct culture. When you order iced tea in a restaurant in the South, you are likely to be asked, “sweet or unsweet?” – that is one of the Southern features. The Southerners like sweet foods and beverages, and they like the sweet tea with a lot of sugar in it. So, we get this question when we order one. I tried that sweet tea once, and experienced the sweetness that I had never had in Japan. I heard sweet foods are the special treats in the hot areas like Africa because people need more calories to live in the heat. I thought it might be true in the South.  By the way, when you order a coffee at Starbucks, you will be asked if you want to add any sugar, any flavor or any milk. If you say you would like to add some milk, they will keep a little room in a cup for milk. The Americans customize their coffee a lot. I have not ordered anything outside the menu or customized my order, as I had a bitter experience of getting a cold cappuccino on a cold winter day although I ordered a hot café latte. This photo is my favorite Mocha Cookie Frappuccino. This is one of those I had never had in Japan. I am already poisoned a bit with the sugar culture in the South.

The people in the US are generally friendly, and I think it is especially notable in the South. When I am walking, it is quite common that I get greeted by a passer-by. If a supermarket of a coffee shop is not crowded, customers often chat with a cashier over the counter.  I went to some big cities like NY or Boston for work and for holiday. I frowned at the store clerks busy talking to each other and neglecting the customers, but I do not remember seeing them having a chat with the customers. I was surprised at the sight. This friendly attitude of the people is a distinctive feature of the South. When I first came here, I was puzzled when some small talk started out of nowhere. But once I got used to it, I came to think that it is a good custom.  When you are with someone in the elevator, you make small talk. A sales clerk puts her work aside and tells you proudly about her daughter. When you buy doughnuts at Dunkin Donuts and have the box, people will naturally ask you if you like doughnuts, if there is a doughnut shop in Japan, or tell you that Krispy Kreme is better. It may be the Southern camaraderie you cannot have in the metropolis. The Americans focus on the use of language and words as a vital tool to communicate with and understand each other. I think the Southerners focus more on the importance of verbal communication. I want to find out where this cultural characteristic comes from. I will share this with you when I find out.

Even in the US, there are regional differences which I have not been aware of. I want to learn and get better understanding about the American culture little by little.  

Charlotte Journal: Gluten Free 05/05/2014

Charlotte Journal　05.05.2014

When you walk around the supermarkets in the US, you will see a lot of shelves reserved for a variety of “Gluten-Free” foods. “Gluten” is a protein component of grain such as wheat flour. My image of “Gluten” is that it is the source of the stickiness of dough. I had no idea why it is good to avoid gluten, but realized that a Gluten-Free diet is booming in the US. 　 Gluten is an ingredient contained in the grains such as wheat, barely or rye. The Westerners who live on these grains have a higher chance of getting an allergenic disease called “Celiac Disease”. (The chance of having this allergy in the US is one out of 133. Surprising!) Those people with this disease are encouraged not to ingest gluten. Gluten-Free flour and the other Gluten-Free food products are developed as a component of a daily diet to cope with this disease. It is unknown how it spreads, but Gluten-Free diet has gained popularity even among the people without the allergy as a way to improve their physical condition and to lose weight, and the diet is booming in the US. If I want to make a rather piercing comment … there should be no valid reason for the majority of the people without the allergy to go on a Gluten-Free diet, but it is important for them to believe that they will become healthier because of this eating habit. You might as well say that raising health consciousness itself is good for health.  Looking back, the Fat-Free diet boomed in the 1990s. There was a Carbohydrate-Free diet boom in the 2000s, and here now is a Gluten-Free diet boom. It just seems to me that the health food boom is simply one fad following another. In Japan as well, we talked about cocoa, then about polyphones being good for our health. Every time I see Gluten-Free products at a supermarket, I cannot but think that it is a common rule around the world that we always want to have a new fad of health foods. 　By the way, these Gluten-Free foods are pricier than the normal products. In the US, where there is a wide range of income levels, the people with higher incomes would probably buy more of these products. A high-end supermarket known as “Whole Foods” in my neighborhood is an equivalent of “Ikari Super” in Kobe, and deals in quality foods from around the world. Many different types of Gluten-Free foods are offered in the store. When it comes to flour, for example, it is rather difficult to find ordinary non Gluten-Free flour. You also notice that the customers of this store are mostly slender or athletic. It looks as if you are observing a grand socio-economic experiment in which a person’s economic condition reflects one’s health.      Do you know about a Gluten-Free diet? Japanese people live on rice, and rice does not contain gluten. A Gluten-Free diet fad may not break out in Japan.

Charlotte Journal: English 05/10/2013

Charlotte Journal　　5.10.2013

 

It was a pleasure to see Dr. M, Dr. N and Dr. K in Washington DC when they visited the US to attend a meeting of American Academy of Pediatrics. I enjoyed talking to them in Japanese over good meals. There is no Japanese in my workplace or in my neighborhood, and I do not have a chance to speak Japanese.  I was especially happy to have a dinner with them speaking in Japanese. I had not spoken Japanese that much for a while. Well, but it does not necessarily mean that I can speak English much. I will talk about English this time.   Japanese language has a group of foreign words called Gairaigo for the words originated in the Western language. My Chinese colleague who studied in Japan tells me that Japanese language is good as we use Gairaigo words with the original sounds and those Gairaigo help us understand the meaning of foreign words. He says that, in Chinese, all foreign words are translated in Chinese. Indeed, we learn dozens or hundreds of English words from daily Gairaigo words without realizing that they are English words. We often use a word “Innovation” in Japanese today. I learned that word from the TV.   Those Gairaigo are good as they increase our English vocabulary, but they are also confusing because many of them often have a meaning and a sound different from the original words. For example, ”claim” usually means “to complain” in Japanese, but it means to make a demand for money in English. When I receive a letter and a document with a word “claim”, I still wonder if I have done anything wrong to be accused, and I feel uneasy. A “concent” does not make any sense in English either. A little part at the end of the cord of an electrical device for making an electrical connection is called “a plug” in English. There was also a case that I thought it was an English word but it wasn’t. I realized a “marron” is not an English word when I saw the person I talked to stopped and looked at me in wonder. A “marron” is derived from French as I looked it up in a dictionary, and it is “a chestnut” in English.   The pronunciation of Gairaigo is also confusing. My colleague did not get it when I said /shu re’ daa/ for a shredder. “Collagen” is not /ko raa gen/, and “a catheter” is totally different from /ka tee teru/. There are Japanese doctors fluent in English and proudly use the original sound of Gairaigo. But I have never met anyone pronouncing a catheter in an English way. They don’t say that in the English way because Japanese people don’t understand it, or are they fully accustomed to the German style pronunciation that the Japanese medical world has been using since the Meiji Era?   These are the bad effect of having Gairaigo words in Japanese. We are rather shocked when we notice the confusion, and it leaves us an episodic memory. It can be an intellectual wordplay to enjoy the difference.   I have many more stories about the confusion of Gairaigo words. Lastly, I will share with you the most hilarious episode of mine. It is about “oh ta san”.  “oh ta san” means Mr. Ohta in Japanese, and Ohta is a fairly common name. When my boss and I were talking about the laboratory work, he repeatedly said “oh ta san” and “oh ta san”. I did not understand what he meant by “oh ta san”, and was a little panicked. I could only think of Mr. Ohta for that word, but there was no Mr. Ohta. I could have guessed from the context, but I was caught by the image of Mr. Ohta and could not think of anything else. Especially, when the word is of the main topic that I should be familiar with, I get more panicked but stuck by the first image of the word. Can you guess what the word was? The answer is “ultrasound”. Well, I could have got it if I had known the word. It is not commonly use, but may be worth remembering.