Styrofoam Cups

I drink coffee a lot regularly. When I drink coffee from a Styrofoam cup with a lid, I really feel that I am living in the U.S. I especially like ordinary Styrofoam coffee cups with lids that have a removal tab on the rim. Most donut shops use these kinds of cups. These don’t exist in Japan. There are only a few types of disposable cups with lids in Japan. I think it is because “To go” has become popular only quite recently in Japan. I don’t think coffee cups for takeout were popular before Starbucks launched their business in Japan.

One day, I bought coffee at a donut shop and brought it back to the office. The coffee was in a Styrofoam cup. I put the cup on the desk. After a while, I saw there was coffee on the desk. I thought I had spilled it accidentally, so I wiped my desk and cup. A while later, I found spilled coffee again and wiped my desk and cup again. After that, I briefly glanced at the cup, and I noticed there were small brown spots on the cup. I looked at the cup carefully, and I was surprised. Coffee was oozing from the polystyrene cup!!

I have no idea what could have caused this phenomenon. I would at least like to know whether the coffee or the cup were factors. I took a picture (See below). If you have any idea why this happened, please let me know.

Night Visitors

What do you do if you have a door-to-door sales offer?  What if it is at night? To me, I always decline any door-to-door sales offers. The other day at 9:30 pm, someone was standing at the door and pushed the buzzer over and over again. I looked through the peephole and found two men were there. Basically, I never open the door when a stranger comes to my house, but I opened the door that day because I thought that these guys might be my neighbors. Since they were dressed in suit, it seemed like they were on the way home from work. I know most of my neighbors but not all of them.

When I opened the door, a guy a started sales pitch about carpet cleaning. The other guy didn’t say anything. He just stood behind the guy who spoke to me and watched me with an eagle eye. He offered me a free trial cleaning. He said if I accepted his offer, he would check my house and give an estimate right away. I didn’t let them in. I didn’t want to show my house to strangers, let alone at night. I declined his offer. After they left my home, I watched them. They got into their car without visiting any other neighbors and got into their car. Their car was a sedan and there was no company name was printed.

I can’t help thinking they were suspicious. A night visitor, in particular a stranger, is reminiscent of a crime. I remembered name of the company which he said, so I looked up the company on the Internet, but I couldn’t find the website of cleaning company. Some skepticism has lingered in my mind. Is the door-to-door sales offer at night common in the U.S? What do you think about this?

Car and Sandwich

It seems there is no relation between cars and sandwiches, but I really feel a big cultural difference between the U.S and Japan when I think about these two things. What kinds of options are available to customers when they purchase a new car in the U.S.? What kinds of toppings are available to customers when they get sandwiches in Japan?

The purchase of a car is a big deal. The car dealers in Japan don’t have an inventory of new cars. The car manufacturer starts building a car for a specific customer after the sales contract. Most car dealers usually offer a basic model which is not fully equipped. A customer chooses not only interior options, such as the car audio system, navigation system and seats but also exterior options. Many people really look forward to their car after they have ordered it, and it’s exciting to purchase a car in Japan. I was surprised when I went to a car dear in the U.S. They sell a lot of inventory of new cars and most options have already been implemented. Also I was astonished that a customer can drive home right way after the sales contract has been signed.

Speaking of sandwiches, I can say that the opposite is true. In the U.S, a customer chooses the bread, toppings and dressing, but most bakeries in Japan provide a prepared sandwich and the customer doesn’t have extra choices.

Which country is more likely to be picky? As far as I’m concerned, Japanese are choosy about cars. It is not necessary to have a car in Japan, in particular for people who live in the big city. Since most Japanese regard cars as a kind of entertainment, they tend to be choosy.

As for food, I really have no idea which country is pickier about it. The one thing I can point out is that Japanese are more likely to rely on the restaurant’s recommendation for the best buy.

Haircut

Before I came to the U.S, I had a plethora of concerns about my life in the U.S. Take the barber shop, for instance. I really felt depressed just at the thought of getting a haircut. When I lived in New Jersey, my English skills were even worse than now. I just said that I needed my hair cut short. As a result, my hairstyle was a very short crew cut all through the year. I don’t like short hairstyles.

By the way, here is a short explanation of a typical Japanese barber. The customer will have a haircut, shampoo, shave, shoulder rub and blow dry. Most of the barber shops shampoo twice, before and after the haircut. It costs 3000 - 5000 yen ($35 - $55), but the service is excellent. I usually got a haircut once a month paying 4000 yen.

When I went to a barber shop in California for the first time, I looked up a lot of words associated with haircuts beforehand, such as trim, leave, top, side, back, sideburns, thin out and so on. These words didn’t work because the barber asked me the blade number for the electric clippers. I really had no idea of the blade number, so I picked number 3 at random. The barber cut my hair with the electric clippers without even hesitating. Eventually my hairstyles became one third shorter than they were in Japan. It was not too bad. I can’t imagine what my hair will look like until the haircut is finished, but I’m enjoying all the different hairstyles I have gotten. I’ll try a number 2 blade next time.

Mr. Smith

I’m taking an English class twice a week after work. My teacher says that mistakes are important to becoming fluent in English. Without mistakes, we cannot learn. I really agree with his idea. I’m learning a lot from my mistakes. One day, I learned the word “wordsmith” in his English class. This word reminds me of one mistake I made a long time ago. I leased a car when I lived in New Jersey. I had a bunch of terrible experiences related to that car. I got a flat tire 3 times. Someone broke into my car. The car broke down in the middle of an intersection. I especially remember one episode.

One day, I went shopping at Woodbridge shopping center which was the nearest shopping mall to my apartment. When I returned to the parking lot, I realized that I didn’t have my car key. I looked around everywhere, but I couldn’t find it. Finally, I found my key on the passenger seat of my car, but the door was locked. I had locked myself out! I began to panic. I walked around for a while and calmed down. I decided to call the car rental company. I called up the salesperson who was responsible for my car. I explained my situation. Since I didn’t know the expression “lock oneself out,” he hardly comprehended what I meant. Eventually he understood and told to me that he couldn’t help at all, and to please call Lock Smith. I simply hung up and I called the car rental company again. The conversation was as follows:

Me: Can I talk to Lock Smith?

Reception: There is no one here who is named Smith.

Me: I heard from Mr. XXXX. He said that I should call Smith.

Reception: I’m sorry. I don’t know of any Smith in this office. Are you sure XXXX told you to call Smith?


I explained my situation to him again. All at once, he burst into laughter. I couldn’t understand what happened. He started to explain the meaning of a locksmith to me and told me the phone number of a locksmith. I called the locksmith company and asked to have it opened. A guy from the locksmith company was really kind, and I told him my story about the previous 2 hours. He said that he hoped he would not see me again in his business. I learned many things that day by paying $70 to a locksmith. I made a lot of mistakes in speaking English, but in the end everything turned out to be fine.

Japanese Grocery Stores

I usually have a Japanese meal for my breakfast and dinner at home. I cook Japanese cuisine myself. I often use an American supermarket. There are some Japanese foods, so I get most of the ingredients at an American supermarket. As for some ingredients such as tofu, rice and soup stock made from dried bonito fish, I can’t get authentic ones at an American supermarket, so I sometimes go shopping to get these ingredients at a Japanese supermarket. There are three Japanese grocery store chains in the Bay Area: Mitsuwa, Nijiya and Marukai. I like Marukai the most because Marukai has a nice store brand tofu. This tofu is good for pan-fried cooking and it tastes like the traditional tofu in Okinawa. One more reason I like Marukai is that they not only have Japanese food but also Hawaiian foods. I can get Lion coffee, Minato dressing and Alaea Red Sea Salt at Marukai. I really love Hawaii. When I stand at the Hawaiian food corner, I feel as if I were in Hawaii.

Here is what I always get at Marukai: Marukai Tofu (store brand tofu), Yakult (Japanese probiotic drink) and Spam. I think that the price of Spam at Marukai is lower than at American supermarkets. The price is less than $3. I often cook “Goya Chanpuru” at home. Goya is a bitter gourd. Chanpuru means stir-fried dishes which are regional specialties in Okinawa. Goya Chanpuru is stir-fried bitter gourd, tofu, egg and luncheon meat. So I cook Goya Chanpuru with Marukai tofu and Spam which I get at Marukai. Unfortunately, there is no goya in Marukai, and Nijiya is the only store which sells goya. I have to go to at least two Japanese supermarkets when I cook Goya Chanpuru.

Dunkin' Donuts

I lived in New Jersey for a year about 10 years ago. I worked with a venture software company in New Jersey on a joint development project. From this experience, New Jersey represented my impression of the U.S. In particular, my specific impressions of New Jersey were Dunkin’ Donuts and Bruce Springsteen. There were three Dunkin’ Donuts stores in the town where I lived in New Jersey. On the way to work, I often stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts and got some coffee and donuts for my breakfast. While I drove and ate them, I always listened to WPLJ New York airplay. At that time, Bruce Springsteen’s songs got played a lot, so my impression of the U.S was Dunkin’ Donuts and Bruce Springsteen.

After I came to California, the most surprising thing was that I couldn’t find a Dunkin’ Donuts store. There were as many Subway stores as Dunkin’ Donuts in New Jersey! I checked the official website and Google maps, but I couldn’t find any stores from the store locaters or maps. I just found their coffee beans at a supermarket. It seems that the stores used to be in California. I don’t know when they disappeared from California.

I’m not disappointed because there are some local donuts shops in Campbell. I especially love Manley's Donuts and Bascom Donuts. They are not only yummy but their staff members are very friendly. Now I enjoy donuts while I’m driving and listening to Katy Perry’s songs which are got played a lot. I’m sure I’ll miss these shops after I go back to Japan.