Reasons

As promised, a post on the reasons why I choose Japan as my research topic.

Have you ever thought about why do you like to eat chocolate so much? Why you can't seem to take your eyes off that guy sitting at the other side of the class? Why your name is Chucky (you must really hate your parents for that)?

 I have never really wondered why I like Japanese culture so much, until I was asked by some Japanese exchange student. I don't really have an answer to that, but I thought about living there and the feeling was quite comforting. Perhaps Singapore is just too 'sub-cultured'. By that, I meant the 'rojak culture', Singlish, Kiasu and stuff. Don't get me wrong, I do love my home country. I just find living in a place where the public transport being late is a valid reason for you to be late for work or school comforting. Try telling your boss or teacher "the bus was late" in Singapore. 90% of them will tell you to take the earlier bus next time and sort of blacklist you for that.

In Japan, the buses and trains are hardly late. If the bus or train is scheduled to be at a certain stop at 7 a.m, they will live up to their promise. I was told by my tour guide that the total amount of times for a bus or train to be late is an average of three times every year. Every time a train or bus cause a commuter to be late for work or school, the commuter can request for a letter to give it to their employer or teacher to be excused for being late. Try beating that.

That is just one of their culture that I am totally in love with. Others like being respectful and responsible adds up my love for the Japanese culture. I guess I am quite strict with traditions and laws.

One of the other reasons I chose Japan is that I have made myself some interesting friends when I participated in the Chingay Parade 2010 as a dancer in the Japanese Association of Singapore. There were five Japanese, a German and a Canadian who have to live in Singapore as their husbands' company had dispatched them over here for a rather permanent period. They have induced me with all of their own culture and I have indeed had a rare experience.

Four of the Japanese mothers lived in Chiba back in Japan and one of them is from Nagoya. I have heard many stories of their past and it sort of enticed me to want to know more. Therefore, I have decided that this is a great opportunity for me to get to know the Japanese better and at the same time spend more time with my new friends. Trust me, the information I get from them is so much more valuable than Wikipedia.

I will try to keep this blog updated everyday from now. "Try" being the active word in the sentence, since this is getting really exciting for me. I am taking it as a little adventure of mine now, with some stress in doing it though (since, I can't mention enough that, this is a school work). Let's just hope this does not look like 'nothing' to my tutors. I have tried to introduce some of the Japanese culture here and there even in these two random posts and hope I get my message across, because I am usually, really, bad at that.