Why I love cultural diversity...

So this post is about some of the "interesting" things that I've observed (and, in some cases, have had to adjust to) during my travels so far...

In Oz:

• you say tomato "sauce", not tomato "ketchup"
• they drive on the left side of the road
• you say "how are you going?" instead of "how are you doing?"

In Japan:

• you can buy ANYTHING from a vending machine, and they're everywhere!
• everyone rides bikes, even little old ladies
• people won't try to steal anything from you, except maybe your bicycle or your umbrella
• they give you towels to wipe your hands before meals at restaurants (I love that)
• cashiers have special trays for accepting your money and for giving you back your change (I love that too)
• you take your shoes off and put on slippers, which are provided for you, in offices, cafes, bars, etc
• public toilets have bidets and volume controls!
• it's rude to blow your nose in public
• it's okay to drink alcohol in the streets
• there's no real anti-smoking policy anywhere
• you can get arrested for theft for taking an item from one level of a department store to another

In India:

• you'll be hard-pressed to find toilet paper in the public toilets
• merchants never have change
• autorickshaws!
• men hold hands as a sign of friendship
• it's okay to belch in public
• men have no qualms about urinating in public
• everyone calls you "madam"/"ma'am"
• there are separate queues for men and women for ticket sales
• the Indian concept of a "queue" is quite different from the Western convention - it's more of a mob than a line
• waiters are quite willing to "serve you" your food (dishing your food unto your plate for you) but take forever to take your order or bring you your bill
• everyone expects "baksheesh" (tip) for everything
• you can get almost any kind of medicine without a prescription
• cows
• everyone wants to know "where you're from, madam"
• everyone has a cell phone, and I mean everyone!
• two people will give you completely opposing directions to get to the same landmark

Nippon

I had an awesome time in Japan and I wish I had stayed longer! Thanks to the help of another Spelman sister of mine, Tiffany Tyson (gotta love the Spelman network), I was able to find someone in the Greater Tokyo Area who was willing to take me in for the month as a "tenant". Engle Thompson, an American lady who's teaching English through the JET Program in Kasukabe, a suburb of Tokyo, allowed me to share her apartment during my stay. We ended up having quite a bit in common - we both attended HBCUs (she's a Howard alumna), we're both travel addicts, we both love Black men (a favorite late-night topic of ours - ha ha), and we were both in the process of applying to law school - so we hit it off, which was essential because we were living in very close quarters (anyone who's been to Japan will know exactly what I mean).

Unfortunately, the cold that I'd contracted at the end of my Oz trip had turned into bronchitis by the time I got to Tokyo, so I was out of commission for a good week or so at the beginning of my trip, and then I got bronchitis AGAIN during the last week...yeah, and the fact that everyone smokes there didn't help either...So basically my research time was cut down to about two weeks. Nonetheless, I was able to hook up with two salons: Room 806 in Roppongi, and Hallelujah Salon in Harajuku, and I frequented both during my two-week stint.

Room 806 was the first salon to offer Black hair care services in Japan and was opened by an African-American ex-pat. They now have two locations - the other's called The New Sanno. I got a chance to interview the manager at 806, Lee, and he gave me some insight into the Black hair industry in Japan. Apparently, the young people in Japan are just loving Black hairstyles - cornrows, extensions, locks, and even WEAVES! But one of the most interesting things that he told me was that Japanese braiders are giving African braiders in Japan a run for their money, and when he showed me the portfolio of the work done by his Japanese braiders, I could see that he wasn't lying! Their braiding was so incredibly neat - I couldn't believe my eyes - and their styles were hot, too!

At Hallelujah Hair Salon, which is Japanese-run, I got to interview the English-speaking stylist, Shintaro, and he introduced me to the concept of the Japanese Black hair magazine -- in Japan, they have Black hair magazines just like the ones back at home, only the models are Japanese! And they advertise Black hair care products in them too! That's when I realized that the Japanese are really not playing around when it comes to braiding - lol - so I bought a copy because I figured people wouldn't believe me when I told them, and that's been the case so far...The day I interviewed Shin they were giving this Japanese girl some really crazy extensions, incorporating colored yarn and such, but of course, I had left my camera battery charging at the apartment - I was so heated!

I didn't do street interviews like I did in Australia because I was intimidated by the language barrier. In terms of day-to-day life, the language barrier wasn't as much of a hindrance as I had anticipated - I quickly learned how to convey messages using a combination of body language and "Nipponized" English (again, anyone who's been to Japan before will know exactly what I'm talking about); furthermore, all of people that I encountered were extremely patient - even when they had absolutely no idea what I was trying to tell them - they'd always give me enough time to figure out another way to get my message across to them, so that really helped. Also, after a while, I was beginning to recognize important Japanese characters (like the name of my town - oh-so-important for train travel- ha). So even though it was sometimes harder to get things done than it had been in Oz, it really wasn't that bad - what really held me hostage was the yen...ugh

Off to Tokyo...almost...

My life wouldn't be mine if everything ran smoothly (lol)...and, of course, I had problems getting into Japan from Australia - I was under the impression that since Canadian citizens aren't required to have a visa to visit Japan for less than 3 months, that I wouldn't need to fulfill the visa requirement of having an onward ticket to enter the country...Well...I was wrong, and was promptly turned back by Qantas Airlines when I tried to leave Sydney for Tokyo. My roomies were pretty surprised to see me back at Regent Street an hour after we'd said our goodbyes, after thinking that we wouldn't see each other again for years!
I tried to buy a ticket out of Japan from Qantas that night but the cheapest one was going for about $1000! So the next day I went to good ol' STA Travel, where I was able to purchase a cheap ticket from Tokyo to Delhi, and headed to Tokyo that night (thankfully, Qantas didn't charge me for having to change my departure date)...what would Watson be without some adventure, right?