The first pangs of loneliness

I walked to the nearest grocery store, as indicated in a hand drawn map by a previous tenant that would have embarked on the same type of training. There was a whole booklet of loose scarp paper all tossed into a book. It was if everyone before me had written something to help the next teacher have an easier adjustment than themselves. But no matter how much research or stories you hear, I am convinced that the Japan experience won't start until physically landing here. No amount of preparation can account to what the culture shock I was feeling. But alas, my main reason to come to Japan to be thrown off and in the process explore my inner-most, deepest thoughts, to figure out the post university graduate's question of, "What the heck am I supposed to do with my life!"

I had a similar grocery experience to the one in Osaka. Rap music blaring, profanities shouted while  people shopped around, humming innocently along to something I could almost guarantee they didn't know the meaning of. I grabbed a few items and suspiciously glared down the cute ridden candy aisle cursing it for my previous shopping binge and willfully marched past it. I couldn't resist the liquor aisle though-I did after all deserve a drink after the day I had had (the start to how easily it is to become a raging alcoholic as a foreigner here)! I walked back in the pitch black darkness, although it was only 5:00. The five vending machines I passed, on my ten minute walk back (there everywhere!!) was the only light guiding my way back (even with the amount of night pollution in major Japanese cities, you'd be surprised how many very dark streets or pathways there are). I dropped my bags, made some noodles and squatted down next to something familiar-the TV.

Japanese TV is completely different from what we are used to. There isn't any reality dramas and people don't plan TV as much into there schedules, as we do back home, to make sure to watch the latest Survivor or Bachelorette episode. I would give a fair prediction that 90% of Japanese TV has to do with food. Cooking it, eating it, commenting on it or exploring its uncooked natural state..it's all there! I'd say out of that, the majority of the cooking programs have to do with eating and commenting on the food and there isn't much variety in the reactions: "Mmm, Oishii-Delicious, Sugoy-Great and other such scrumptious eating noises. There is also usually on the top left corner a little square box with audience reactions to the interviewer at the restaurant trying it. Still to this day this box puzzles me. Is the box there for other the viewers at home to know how to react? Or is it another group solidity psychological need to continually check back on what the whole group thinks? I'm not sure but this box can be annoying, especially when the cameraman films the same old Japanese man pretty much falling asleep on camera or stares expressionless ahead. And it's one of those things you don't want to pay attention to but you end up staring at that more than what's happening in the show (or maybe that's just me)! Japanese TV is very vibrant, with every colour splashed up against the backdrop and every light turned on full brightness. It almost appears like anime except with real people (even though many of the Japanese woman on there look like perfect cut outs of dolls...jealous!) walking around on set. It's such a mind trip!

I've found something somewhat similar to what I'm talking about on youtube, but it's not quite Kitakyushu (the area I'm living) TV but it has the quintessentials; an overly cute Japanese woman, a ridiculous backdrop, a very enthusiastic host and a build up to the no fail "Oishii" response. You also get the treat in this rare case of karaoke, which usually isn't incorporated, but nonetheless very entertaining part of the show!