Is Your Name Pronounced Correctly?

I read an article about applications that help people pronounce names. These are http://www.audioname.com/ and http://hearnames.com/. The former is an application which creates an audio file to email or send by text. Users can record their pronunciation of a name in a little audio file. The latter is a website that teaches you how which helps to say names from all over the world.

I am always asked again when I give my name to workers at restaurants and stores in the U.S. Many people advise me to use a nickname in the U.S. I don’t want to use a nickname because my name, like most Japanese names, has a specific meaning. A nickname doesn’t represent the meaning in my name from my parents.

My name is Masao. It is made of two words. Masa and O. These two words each have meaning. The nickname “Masa” is easy to pronounce, but it doesn’t represent the correct meaning of my name. “Masa” means a director and “O” means a center. My parents named me “Masao” wishing me to be person who would become a decent director. I don’t know if I embody my parents’ wishes, but that is another story.

Because of my experience living away from my home country, I often think about what name would be best for my child. I have no idea, but I do know a lot of Japanese names which are funny to English speakers. For example;

Yusaku: Sounds like “You suck!”

Yudai: Sounds like “You die!”

Ryohey: Sounds like “Yo, Hey!”

These three are common names for men, but their pronunciation gives them totally different meanings in English. In Japanese, “Yusaku” means “a brave and kind man.” “Yudai” means “a brave and open-minded man.” “Ryohei” is “a man who has conscience”. The following two names are common for women;

Saiko: Sounds like “Psycho”

Mami: Sounds like “Mommy”

How does Yusaku feel ?

The 5 names above are quite good names in Japanese. I like them, but English speakers might feel that the pronunciation is funny. The reverse is also true. I know some names in the world are funny when Japanese speakers hear them. For example;

Barker: Sounds like “Idiot” in Japanese

Naming children is a big deal. I’ll start considering for the future.

How to Identify Japanese People

I had a business trip to Japan at the end of October for a week. It was my first trip back to my home country after a year and three month absence. I visited my hometown and saw my family and friends. It was a great trip; I especially enjoyed eating my favorite Japanese dishes.

During my trip, I figured out my own way for identifying Japanese people at airports. I have summarized it in this blog post.

In old movies, Japanese people were typically depicted as people with cameras dangling off their necks. No one is like that nowadays, but I have found some features that represent today’s Japanese people. I’m not sure if it really works, but let us look at three examples.

1.    Men who wear high-cut, slim-fitting pants.

2.    People who put bandannas on their suitcases to identify them.

3.    People who walk with their heads down.

I would say that number one really works, in particular for business suits. In Japan, most suit stores sell only slim fitting pants because it helps to have a good figure. I never see Western people wearing slim-fitting pants as part of a business suits. Japanese people basically don’t have long legs. Tight and slim-fitting pants are really popular. They are popular not only for business suits but also for casual clothes. As for casual clothes, hipster pants and low-rise pants are commonly preferred by Japanese people. Since low-rise pants look best on slender people who are short or petite. Japanese people with short torsos will be able to get benefits from low-rise pants. Of course, I have some, but I don’t wear slim-fitting pants in the U.S.

I often see suitcases with bandannas at airports. I would say this really works for identifying Japanese people as well. Japanese people are really nervous about their luggage, so they often put a mark on their suitcases. A bandanna is commonly used as a mark because various designs of bandannas are sold at around $2 everywhere in Japan.

Number three is a typical way of walking for Japanese. This style of walking with one’s head down was formed from the lifestyle habit. Japanese people used to wear Japanese-style sandals until a few decades ago. Japanese people used to shuffle their feet along. They didn’t walk starting on their heel like Western people. From this habit, Japanese people came to walk with their heads down. Also, Japanese people are likely to use mobile gadgets, such as cellphones and potable gaming machines while they are walking.

As for me, only number three was true for me. I wonder how I looked to foreigners at Narita Airport and San Francisco Airport because I wore a San Jose Sharks hoddie with loose fitting pants and had soft-sided luggage with a Sharks tag…

Salty and Sweet

I had a Salted Caramel Mocha at Starbucks recently. I felt that it tasted kind of like uni (sea urchin). Uni is the one of the most popular and expensive ingredients in Sushi. The drink didn’t taste like raw Uni. It was like the uni flavor that is commonly used for snacks.

Do you have a similar kind of experience? The idea of combining different flavors to make a new flavor is popular in Japan, in particular among younger people.

When I was a high school student, I enjoyed discovering new flavors by combining two or more different foods. The following combinations are typical examples:

Japanese style custard pudding + soy sauce = uni (sea urchin)

Mandarin orange + seaweed + soy sauce = salmon caviar

Japanese people like sushi, but we can’t afford it so often because of the price. So, younger people often try to find flavors that are similar to the taste of sushi ingredients by combining low price ingredients. I’m curious if there are food experiments for finding new flavors in the U.S.

I would say that mixing up sweet with other flavors sometimes results in something I like. In the U.S, I have experienced many fabulous flavors which I was not used to eating. 

A typical example is pancakes. In Japan, pancakes are thought of as a kind of snack and aren’t eaten as a meal. I couldn’t even imagine the combination of pancakes and bacon when I was in Japan. Now pancakes and bacon with maple syrup have become my favorite. Rice pudding is another example of a food that I couldn’t imagine before because the combination of rice and milk is very unusual in Japan. I felt disgusted when I saw it for the first time, but its taste was great. Sweet seasonings are often used in American dishes, especially in meat dishes. I don’t know a lot about meat dishes that have a sweet taste.

Sweet-tasting meat dishes might be a clue to making new flavors from the combination of unusual ingredients. I should try unfamiliar flavors more often. Maybe I will find an unusual combination between American ingredients and flavors that make a unique taste similar to the flavor of sushi ingredients.

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Have you ever seen a ghost? Do you believe in ghosts?

I believed ghosts existed until my early 20’s. I don’t anymore. They might exist or they might not. I really have no idea.

As I mentioned, I used to believe in them. I was frightened by ghost stories when I was a kid. My experience living in New Jersey changed my mind. Living in a different culture from my own altered my point of view.  

How do you feel when you see a cemetery or a grave? To me, the atmosphere of a Japanese cemetery inspires fear in my mind because in Japanese culture it is said that the souls of dead people gather at graves.

In the U.S, I have the exact opposite feeling when I see a cemetery. There was a cemetery near my apartment when I lived in New Jersey. I drove by the cemetery on the way to work. When I saw it the first time, I felt it was pretty beautiful, with green grass and white gravestones. I liked that place and often took a walk to the cemetery on the weekends. I didn’t feel any fear from the cemetery. While I was walking, I used to think about how I would feel if I met a ghost. My English skills then were worse than now. I was wondering whether a ghost showed up, I would be able to understand what he/she wanted to say. I thought that I might not be able to communicate with non-Japanese speaking ghosts and would not be frightened by them. I also thought about what kind of language they would speak because they would not be human.

While I was taking a stroll at the cemetery, I also thought that zombies might not speak Japanese. Since I don’t believe that a dead person can come back to life, zombies don’t make sense to me. I feel weird when I watch zombie movies, in particular when zombies bite humans, and they become zombies. The reason is simple. Cremation is the common way of burial in Japan and burying in the ground is basically prohibited. We don’t have a tradition of burying dead bodies in the ground. Therefore, I would say only a few Japanese speaking zombies exist in the world. Each culture has a different understanding of death.

After I went back to Japan, I went to my family’s cemetery. I didn’t feel any fear anymore. I thought that if I took my American friends there, they would feel it was a cool place.

I figured out that my fear of ghosts was from my Japanese cultural background. When I go to a place which is said to be haunted, I always wonder how those who have a different cultural background feel about the place.

This is one example of how living in a different culture totally changed my perceptions.

Hummingbird and Sparrow

Recently hummingbirds have been coming to my backyard every day. I hung a hummingbird feeder on my terrace two months ago. One month after I hung it, hummingbirds became guests of my backyard. They are kind of like pet hummingbirds. If the artificial nectar runs out, they fly and chirp above my head. I make nectar for them once a week. They are so cute. I love them.

Hummingbirds live in South America and North America including Alaska. I had never seen a hummingbird before I came to the U.S. However, I knew the name “Hummingbird” from my early years. I learned the term in English class at my junior high school. On the other hand, I didn’t know the English term “sparrow” until recently.

Sparrows are commonly seen everywhere in Japan. Even though it’s a popular bird in Japan, I didn’t know its English name because I had not had an opportunity to talk about sparrows in English until recently. I never learned the word “sparrow” during my school days.

I have many experiences like this. I know a lot of English words for things I have never seen. Here are animals I can name in English, but have never seen:

Anteater, hippopotamus, platypus and so on…

Here are animals I saw often in Japan, but couldn’t name in English before I moved to the U.S:

Wild boar, raccoon dog, flying Squirrel, mole, and so on….

When I explain Japan or Japanese culture, I sometimes stumble over English words. “Sparrow” is one of typical example. I think that most Japanese people who are acquiring English skills are probably like me. During my school days, I studied English more than 8 years. I focused on reading articles because reading skills were the most important for passing the university examination. These days, I really think that I should have interacted with native English speakers wherever possible in Japan and tried to explain something by myself. To me, English was just a subject needed for getting a good score on entrance examinations and regular examinations. If I had kids, I would give them an English education as a communication tool.

Extremely Thick Ramen Soup

If someone asked me what I would like to eat first when I go back to Japan, I would answer ramen. When visitors from Japan ask me what I would want if they brought something from Japan, I would say ramen. In the beginning of August, a friend of mine visited from Japan to California. He brought some vacuum-packed ramen.

There is a unique and famous Japanese ramen chain restaurant. The name is “Tenkaippin.” This name means “out of this world.” He brought Tenkaippin’s vacuum-packed ramen. It was really great.

The reputation of this ramen is quite controversial. This is one of those “love it or hate it” items. Of course, the reason is its taste. The soup, which is made from a strong chicken broth, is extremely thick. The texture and viscosity are like turkey gravy. The company’s ad says its thickness is from the natural collagen that comes out after chicken bones are boiled for more than 14 hours.

Among my friends, the reputations are literally “love it or hate it.” Many of my friends are hooked on the soup. Also many of my friends never want to eat it again. Can you imagine this taste? What does it taste like to me? It’s like potage. Try it! There is a branch in Oahu, Hawaii.

I tried the packed ramen and soup at home. The taste was almost the same as at the restaurant in Japan. It was amazing. I crave this packed ramen pretty much on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, it’s not exported to the U.S. I had not eaten this for about 2 years. Once I have this after a long time, I am increasingly eager to eat it. I think I should take a vacation to Hawaii or Japan to eat this ramen. Hawaii sounds great!

Tipping at Restaurants

Tipping is one of the most difficult customs in the U.S. for Japanese people. In Japan, service fees are included in bills or are free. In America, tipping is confusing. For example, I’m confused about what percentage I should tip at restaurants. Also, where should I leave my tip, on the table or at the register?

One day, I discussed tipping with colleagues while we went for lunch because one of them recently had a bad experience in Orlando, Florida. He said that the restaurant had charged him 30% gratuity even though he was in a small party. The service there wasn’t great, and he didn’t want to pay 30% gratuity, but he paid it. He also said that he was asked for gratuity when he left a buffet restaurant even though no waiter/waitress served him.

Another guy said he still doesn’t have the right answer to tipping at Sizzler. Sizzler customers order and pay first at the register at Sizzler. Sizzler is a kind of buffet. Customers take their meal from the salad bar by themselves. If they order meals, waiter/waitress will bring them to the table, but if they order only the salad bar, customers will not be served by a waiter/ waitress.

From our conversation, I found that tipping is sometimes difficult even for Americans. It was an interesting discussion because everybody in my office had his/her own idea about tipping. One person said 7% was for beverages and 8% for the meal. Another said 10% for bad service, 15% for normal service, and 20% for good service. In my case, I always pay 15% for gratuity when I sit down at a table and someone comes to take my order.

I know more about tipping at restaurants now than I did last year, but I’m still confused about what to do at a hotel, for example what do I tip housekeeping, room service and the porter service. I don’t have exact criteria for what kinds of situations I should tip. In addition, I’m not familiar with face-to-face tipping. From my Japanese cultural background, I feel that handing money directly is not polite.

I have heard a lot of opinions about tipping at restaurants from colleagues. Next time we go to lunch, I should ask them about tipping at hotels or airports.

Are Japanese Kanji Characters Cool?

I often see young people wearing “Superdry” clothes in California. Superdry is a fashion apparel brand from the U.K. Japanese Kanji characters are often used in their designs. The company’s logo is “Superdry (極度乾燥しなさい) .“

For many Japanese, the term “Superdry” reminds us of one of the most famous beers in Japan, “Asahi Super Dry.” When I saw a guy wearing a Superdry T-shirt at the Los Angeles International Airport, I thought he worked for the Asahi Beer Company. “極度” means “super,” “乾燥” means “dry,” and”しなさい” is the imperative form of do. If I translate it into English literally, it means that you should “dry it extremely.” The sentence doesn’t make sense, but Japanese people can imagine that it’s a play on words related to Asahi Super Dry, which is the name of a Japanese beer.

Several days after I saw this guy, I learned that Superdry was a brand. I also found a retail store near my house and took a look at their products. They looked funny to me. To be honest, I didn’t think this brand looked cool because many strange Japanese Kanji characters were used in their designs. I asked some of my Japanese friends for their opinion of these products. All of them had the same idea as me. They said that the designs were funny. I have no idea how it looks to non-Japanese speakers.

I sometimes see tattoo designs with strange Japanese characters in California. For example, on the street in Berkeley, I saw a lady who had a Japanese Kanji character tattoo which was spelled wrong. I think she wanted to get a tattoo meaning “love.” “Love” in Japanese is "愛," but her character was backwards. That was awful.

I think Japanese Kanji characters look exotic to Westerners, but Japanese people don’t often use it in fashion design. Meanwhile, Japanese people like to use English in their designs. I guess native English speakers might find a lot of strange English characters in Japanese apparel. I’ll post some examples in another blog post.

A Delivery Person

I don’t expect excellent service from delivery companies. Recently, on-line tracking services have been better, but I still experience delivery delays and losses.

One evening, a delivery person came to my house and pressed the doorbell. He had a big package and asked me if the package was for me. I checked name and address. The name which was printed on the label was not mine or the previous resident’s. The shipping address was correct, but Apt C was written on the label as well. My place is not an apartment. I told him that it might be wrong. He took it back.

I was surprised at his work. He thought that something was wrong with the address of the package. Most delivery companies leave packages on the porch or in the mail box and basically don’t request the customer’s signature. I have received packages with incorrect shipping addresses and names. In his case, he thought the second part of the address Apt C, might be the wrong. I can’t help thinking that even this small thing is excellent, and that he is smart. A mistaken delivery might be a small thing in the U.S. However I really want to avoid getting into delivery trouble because a third person has gotten involved in the realignment of the delivery. I don’t know the delivery person, the sender or the receiver, so it’s hard to communicate with these people on the phone.

I told my landlord about this. He joked that someone might live in the loft or the basement as Apt C. One day after that event, I was able to figure out what the package was. A lady came to my house. She asked if I had mistakenly received package. She lives across the road from my complex. Her address is quite similar to mine.

I’m not sure she will be able to get her package, but I hope she will be able to get it quickly.

Do You Support a Team or a Player?

My favorite Sharks hockey player Devin Setoguchi was traded to the Minnesota Wild. I didn’t imagine that he would be traded because he was awesome, especially during the 2010-2011 playoff games. This happened one day after the Sharks announced a three-year contract extension for Setoguchi!  I can’t understand what the contract meant.

Facts are facts. I’m still a fan of the Sharks, so I’m wondering what I should wear when I go to the Sharks games next season because I own a Setoguchi Sharks jersey. Should I buy a new one or wear the Setoguchi Jersey?

Question 1: What is my favorite team?

Of course, the San Jose Sharks.

Question 2: Who is my favorite player?

Of course, Devin Setoguchi.

Question 3: Do I like the Minnesota Wild?

Not so much, but I don’t hate them.

If the answer to the above question #3 were yes, it would be pretty easy to answer. I would become a fan of the Minnesota Wild. If I had another favorite Sharks player, the answer would be easy. I would buy a new Sharks jersey that had name and number on it.

Setoguchi is a special hockey player to me. He is Canadian Japanese. I cheer for him because we have a common heritage. For now, there are no Sharks players who are Japanese or part Japanese. From the perspective of my identity as a Japanese person, Setoguchi is the only player who I really want to support.

My wife said she would buy a Minnesota Wild Setoguchi jersey and go to Sharks home games wearing it. She is more likely to support a player than a team.

In one colleague’s case, his favorite player was traded from the Sharks several years ago. He wears the Sharks jersey with the ex-Sharks player’s name when he goes to the games. He said that he liked both the Sharks and the player and would not buy a new the Sharks jersey.

I don’t have my answer yet. Honestly, compared to last season, I have lost my enthusiasm for the Sharks. I have mixed feelings about the Sharks. Of course I love the city of San Jose, but I’m not a real San Jose local. I guess my desire to cheer for a player who is connected to Japan is stronger than my love for the San Jose Sharks. I think I will be able to figure out my answer while I’m watching the Sharks play the Wild next season.

By the way, products with Setoguchi’s name were being sold at half-price at the Sharks store. My wife and I bought more than 20 T-shirts. My new year’s resolution was to avoid buying things on impulse…

Car Wash

My wife’s relatives recently stayed our home for a week. They came here for vacation. We took them to Yosemite, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and a few other places. They enjoyed their visit in California. One day, my wife took them to the car wash. This is what impressed them the most during the trip.
They were amazed by the car wash shop system. The car wash process was efficiently divided into several stages. Different staff were assigned to each stage:

- Take the order
- Clean up the interior
- Collect payment

- Wax the car

- Wipe the car

They said that they would like to get this service in Japan, but I don’t think this business will work in Japan. There are 2 reasons.

The first reason is quality of car wash. In this car wash system, many people are involved in the car wash process. This system helps work simplify the work and increase simplicity, but I don’t think that this system keeps high quality finish. In addition, automatic car-wash machines are used in the car wash process. These are likely to make scratches on the car. To many Japanese, a car is a kind of luxury, so they are likely to be nervous about scratches on their cars. Some people are extremely obsessive about hand car washes. Quality is the first priority for Japanese car lovers.

Washing a car by hand is definitely hard work, so a new automatic car wash machine has been popular in Japan recently. It’s called a brushless car wash. It uses extremely high pressure water, strong blowers and forming cleanser. During the car wash, no one touches the car including the machine. After the automatic brushless car wash has finished, owners wipe and polish their car as they like.

The second reason is weather. During the dry season, we don’t have rain in California. Once we wash our car, we can keep our car clean at least 2 weeks, so we don’t need to wash our car very often. I don’t feel that it’s expensive to pay about $20 for a car wash every 2 weeks.

In Japan, they have rain frequently throughout the entire year. It’s hard to keep cars clean for a long time. I guess many people can’t afford to have their car washed regularly. In order to keep their car clean for a reasonable cost, they have to wash out the car by themselves or use a self-service automatic car wash.

I think the car-care business is closely related to climate and culture. I haven’t seen the same kind of store in Hawaii. It’s one of the interesting business models in California.

By the way, I’m very curious what kind of work the car wash staff doing during the rainy season in California.

Room for …..

When I go to a coffee shop, I often order a café latte. The other day, I ordered regular coffee. It had been awhile since I had last ordered regular coffee. The staff asked me whether I would need some room for cream. I said that I didn't need it. He poured coffee up to the brim of the cup and handed it to me carefully. It’s common to see really full cups of coffee at coffee shops in the U.S., but I have never seen a cup which is filled to the brim at a coffee shop in Japan.

Every time I see a coffee cup filled to the brim, I recall the first time I was asked if I needed cream at a coffee shop.

The staff asked me, “Do you need room for OOOOO?” I was not able to catch the word OOOOO. Since the coffee shop was packed and most of the seats were taken, I thought that he had suggested there were no tables. I answered him, “No problem. I’ll take it to go.” Of course, I didn’t know the expression, “Do you need room for OOOOO?” The staff paused for a second with a surprised expression and asked me again “Do you need room for cream?”

I understood what he needed to know! I answered, “No thanks”, blushing in shame. He handed me a coffee cup, which was filled to the brim. Needless to say, I took it to go.

It’ not common to fill beverages to the brim in Japan, but there is one exception. At a Japanese-style pub, sake is served in a glass with a small saucer. The staff fills and spills the sake on purpose.

Here is how to drink it.

1. Watch while the waiter/waitress pours sake into the glass.

2. Make sure if the waiter/waitress spills some sake. If he/she doesn’t, you should request some more.

3. Drink sake from the glass first.


4. When there is enough room in the glass, pour the sake which was spilled on the small saucer in to the glass.

5. Enjoy the remaining sake.

Making good use of sake is the basic idea of this custom. It’s not only a gift for the customer from the pub but also lets the customers express appreciation to the brewers and the farmers. Many Japanese people enjoy this custom at the end of a day.

Unfortunately, this Japanese custom doesn’t work for me. Since I’m not big drinker, I can’t handle a glass of sake. Instead, I’m a coffee lover. Every morning, a full cup of regular coffee makes me happy.

Farmers' Market

There are many farmers' markets in the San Francisco Bay Area. The term “farmers' market” is suggestive of fresh food and reasonable prices.

Before I came to the U.S, I read about the San Francisco Bay Area in some travel magazines. There were articles about farmers' markets in all of the magazines. The pictures were great and the articles strongly recommended going there.

When I went to the farmers' market for the first time, I was really excited. There were many vendors which were selling vegetables, fruit, seasonal foods and beverages. Because of the full-of-life atmosphere, I bought a lot that time. After I came back home, I checked how much I paid. It was almost double compared to the prices at the supermarket. It was even more expensive than the average prices at an organic grocery. How was the taste? The taste was good but was nothing special.

What was shocking was that I found the exact same products, for example breads, honey, pasta, and olive oil at the organic grocery. What’s more, the price at the organic market was low!

I like the atmosphere of the farmers' markets, but I’m more likely to be cautious after that experience. I think many people have had the same experience. I recently read an article about a farmers' market in a Japanese community magazine. They said that farmers' markets do not always sell good quality and reasonably-priced products. In terms of content, it was a totally different article from the travel magazines which I read in Japan. It was written from the viewpoint of consumers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I quote the definition of farmers' market from Wikipedia. “Farmers/producers sell directly to consumers, minimizing profit loss by circumventing the middleman”.

According to this definition, it seems that one of benefits of the farmers' market is high profit for farmers. Are the farmers’ markets farmer-friendly or consumer-friendly?

Unlucky Number

Every culture has unlucky numbers. For instance, the number 13 is regarded as an unlucky number in many Western countries. Many people avoid using unlucky numbers in their life. It’s not unusual to avoid room number 13 at a hotel.

I have one episode in which I saw a big cultural deference between Japan and the U.S. and California in particular.

After I purchased my car, I needed to apply for a new license plate by myself because the salesperson at my car dealership was too lazy. When I purchased my car, the front license plate wasn’t attached. Normally, a dealer is supposed to apply for the missing license plate to the DMV, but he totally forgot about it. I think I could post an entire blog post regarding this episode, but I’ll stop this time….

I went to the DMV, and I filled out a lost form for the license plate. The DMV officer was very kind and friendly. She said that she would choose a lucky number for me. She looked into her inventory for a minute and handed me the new license plate, saying, “Here is a perfect number for you!” I was surprised when I saw the number because last two digits of the license plate were 49.

In Japanese, “4” and “death” are pronounced with the same sound, and “9” and “suffering” are pronounced with the same sound. Because of the pronunciation, it is said that the combination of the number 4 and the number 9 is the worst unlucky number in Japanese. In addition, it is said in Buddhism that 49 days after death, the soul of a dead person will head to the afterworld. It’s common to organize another funeral ceremony 49 days after death. That’s why the number 49 is reminiscent of death for many Japanese.

I asked the officer why the number 49 was a lucky number. She explained that the gold rush in California started in 1849, and many people believed the number 49 was a lucky number. She explained that there were a lot of things which were named using the number 49, such as State Route 49 and the San Francisco 49ers.

I didn’t refuse her proposal for the license plate. Since I live in the U.S, I thought that I should believe that the number 49 is the luckiest number in California. Different people have different customs.

Are you finicky about lucky and unlucky numbers?

I don’t care anymore.

Negotiation at the Airport

As of the end of April 2011, I have been in California for a year. At this time last year, I had a lot of things to do.

-       Apply for a Social Security number

-       Open a bank account

-       Find a house for rent

-       Purchase cars for my wife and myself

-       Buy car insurance, health insurance and home insurance

-       Get my driver’s license

-       Set up gas, electricity, water, home phone, cell phone and Internet service

-       Sign up cable TV

-       Buy furniture

To me, even going to a gas station was an adventure at that time. I was exhausted from setting my life.

Nowadays, I am settled. I’m enjoying living in the U.S. However, I still feel uncomfortable about air travel. I don’t like connecting flights because they are often delayed. When a flight is delayed or cancelled, it’s still hard for me to negotiate for an alternative flight or a hotel for an overnight stay. Even though the delay is not my fault, I need to explain the situation to the airline over and over again. I hate that.

Recently, I realized that my way of negotiating was wrong. In the past, when I requested flight change or hotel compensation, I used to explain my situation first and then asked for compensation. I think it was the wrong way of negotiating. Furthermore, I’m not a native English speaker. The airline staff needs to know first what I want. I should request first what I need and then explain my situation.

When a fight is cancelled or delayed in Japan, if I just show my flight number to the staff person at the boarding gate, he/she knows the flight status and offers an alternative proposal without negotiation. The airline culture and the number of available flights are totally different in Japan.

Now, when I need to negotiate something at the airport in the U.S, I give my request first. Since I changed my way of negotiating, the outcome has gotten a huge time-saving.

To me, an air travel is still high adventure. I hope that no schedule changes will happen to my flight. 

Misunderstanding Makes Me a Sharks Fan

As of today, I have been in California for one year! I’m enjoying the life in California. I’ve gone to San Jose Sharks hockey games 5 times this regular season. I’m a big fan of the Sharks. Here is the story of how I became a Sharks fan.

One winter afternoon, one of my colleagues whispered to me, “I have hockey game tickets for tonight. Call your wife and see whether you can go. Okay? ”

I called my wife and told her, “One of my colleagues invited us to the Sharks hockey game tonight. We should go.” She totally agreed, and I told him that my wife was really excited because it would be our first time to go to a hockey game.

Then, he said, “Oh My God! That’s your misunderstanding. I would go with you. I have only 2 tickets for the game tonight.”

Everybody except me knew that he was a big fan of the Sharks. He has season tickets for 2 seats. Everybody longs to get the extra one ticket from him. Since I didn’t know that, I thought that he had 4 tickets, and we would go to the game with his wife. When I discovered my mistake, I declined his invitation, but he gave us both tickets! This is how I became a Sharks fan.

I have another story about a misunderstanding which is related to hockey. My favorite Sharks player is Devin Setoguchi because he is fourth-generation Japanese Canadian. When his name is announced on the ice rink, many people say “Boo.” When I first heard this, I felt bad and couldn’t understand the booing from the spectators. I asked one fan why people booed him. He said, “No, No, No. Everybody is saying Gooch. It’s his nickname.” To me, it sounds like “boo.” Now I know his nickname, and I wear a jersey with his name on it when I go to the game, but I cheer him using his full first name “Setoguchi (瀬戸口in Japanese character).”

Hockey games are awesome. One reason that I became a fan is the music during the game. I love music. In hockey games, music is used to warm up the spectators. I especially like the opening of the game. Once the Jaws theme has played, the players are displayed on a big monitor and they come toward the ice rink. The tension of spectators runs high at this time. Then Metallica's “Seek and Destroy” is played, and the players skate out a statue of a shark’s mouth. The Sharks fans’ cheering reaches a peak!

I bought many sharks clothes, such as jerseys, T-shirts and hoodies for my wife and myself. I also made a deposit on playoffs game tickets and next season’s tickets. Thanks to my colleague’s kindness and my poor English skills, I have spent a lot of money on the San Jose Sharks. I guess I might spend more next season.

Tomorrow, I’ll go the playoff quarter final 5th game!

Hard or Soft?

I would say you can understand culture from priorities. Every culture has different priorities. You can see this in strange places. I discovered this in my luggage.

One day, I went to a luggage store to get luggage to carry on my domestic flight. Since I have hard-sided luggage that I check, I thought that I would buy hard-sided luggage for my carry-on luggage too. In the store, there were only a few models of hard-sided luggage, but there was a large variety of soft-sided luggage. I didn’t get anything that day, but I did start to figure out what kind of luggage is best for my business trips in the U.S. In addition to my trip to the store, I also researched carry-on luggage on the Internet and consulted U.S review websites.

As you know, traditional luggage comes in 2 major types, hard-sided and soft-sided. The former is molded from materials like polypropylene and polycarbonate. The latter can be made out of fabrics such as microfiber, leather, nylon or polyester.

There are a plethora of reviews online. I looked into the advantages and disadvantages of hard-sided and soft-sided luggage and made a table of comparisons. According to the reviews, soft-sided luggage is better than hard-sided luggage due to its versatility.

	Hard-Sided	Soft-Sided
Durability	Good	-
Versatility	-	Good
Weight	Good	Good
Protection for fragile items	Good	-
Stain resistance	Good	-
Packing friendliness	-	Good
Cost	-	Good
Style	Good	Good

A commonly observed opinion is that the benefits of hard-sided luggage are mainly durability factors, such as extreme durability, long-lasting protective structure, stain resistance and waterproofing. On the other hand, soft-sided luggage is seen as packing-friendly and versatile. In terms of drawbacks, I couldn’t find any crucial problems with soft-sided luggage on the Internet, but some reviews pointed out problems with hard-sided luggage. Compared to soft-sided luggage, hard-sided luggage is vulnerable to stress and strain. This means that hard-sided luggage might be broken by unexpected. As one blog mentioned, “Really hard hits or drops can, in fact, crack the siding. Unfortunately, once this happens the suitcase is ruined.”

This feature is contradictory to the durability of hard-sided luggage. As Luther Davies explained, “Put under pressure or stress, hard-sided bags have a tendency to get deformed or broken.”

I was confused by these reviews. What should I buy for my carry-on luggage? I decided that I would not worry about these reviews. Instead I decided to figure out my own priorities for my luggage. My first priority is style, followed by weight and durability. Even though it has the disadvantages which I mentioned above, I chose hard-sided luggage for my carry-on luggage because versatility is not important for me.

From my analysis of luggage, I found that priorities partially explain why hard-sided luggage is not popular in the U.S. While hard-sided polycarbonate luggage is quite popular in Japan, it’s rare to find it in the U.S. If you were in Narita International Airport, you would see a lot of hard-sided luggage. Also, there are many kinds of hard-sided luggage at stores in Japan. I was surprised that the exact opposite can be seen in the U.S.

I’ve thought a lot about the reason for the different luggage preferences between Japanese people and American people. Here is my opinion. Japanese people consider the bag’s capability to protect fragile items; meanwhile, American people have a preference for packing-friendly luggage. I guess this tendency among Japanese people is due to the content of their luggage. Japanese people tend to bring a lot of gifts for others on their trips. I think the popularity of hard-sided luggage can be attributed to this. As for American people, they seem to prefer flexibility in their luggage. I think this is because their first priority is to take care of their own things.

My research didn’t help me choose the best luggage, but it was good to learn about cultural differences between the U.S and Japan. I think that preference for a certain kind of luggage is an example of a common cultural difference. Now I know that my first priority isn’t necessarily the first priority of others. It’s an important idea for boosting mutual understanding among cultures, especially for me, since I live in a different county from my own.