Before I die...

  At first, I became a little sad because the presenter's way of talking was quiet and emotional. I was moved by her presentation.
 In the middle of presentation, she shared us her project that people write "Before I die I want to..." on  a big blackboard. It's  interesting. I think what people want to do before they die is what people think important, precious in their life, or something that people haven't done yet and regret  not having  done it in their life.
 Thinking about what I want to do before I die, I can notice my sense of value. In my case, I want to tell my thanks and love to people who I met in my life. This is because I have grown up with help of people around me. My family love me and my friends and teachers taught me manythings. They said to me many "Thank you", and I was happy to hear that. By being given many "Thank you", I have tried to do good things to others. So, I want this world to keep happy circle of "Thank you."
 In addition, I want to eat my favorite food before I die:D

News Stories

In the news he mentioned, the news about pig flu interested me the most. Once news broadcasted on TV, it spreads to millions of people at once. News often confuse people. It has very very big power.

One news I remember well is a news about "banana diet." In a TV program, the diet to eat a banana in the morning was introduced and many women went to supermarkets to buy bananas. Then, the problem lacking of banana at supermarkets happened in Japan a few years ago. This news is a example of valualess news.

Mango Street "quiet war"

 When I was a junior high school student, I went to a cram school. The teachers gave students lots of homework everytime. I'm not good at math and I dislike it, so everytime I left math homework till last. Every week, I did math homework the day before math class. I often asked my mother when I had questions about homework. She tried to answer difficult questions and she taught me how to work out. However, I rebelled against her because I hated math and I didn't want to think about math questions. I said to her "Why do you work out that quwstion like that? I don't know the reason. Please tell me more clearly." or "Why do I have to study math? I think I don't need such studying to live." I rebelled her from the feeling of impatience that I take math class and listen the lecture carefully, but I can't understand math.

 After I graduated junior high school, my behavior has changed. (Of course I din't like math even I became a high school student.) Math became more and more difficult, and I noticed that my mother can't teach me math anymore. I stated solving my problems by myself.

Internet

 I can't live without the Internet. By cell phone or smart phone, we connect to the world everyday, every time.
 I often think about how the world following the Internet will be when our generation got older like 70 or 80 years old. Recently, many older people can use computers and the Internet. My grand mother can do,too. She goes to computer school and learns how to use it. While she develops her computer skills, my grandfather can't use it and he hates to even touch it. Getting back to today, there is no one who has never seen and touched a computer before. In elementary school, we had a class at computer lab. When we get older, will we use the Internet? I think the answer is "Yes."  Please imagine the world every older people has i-Phone or i-Pad and they use it in the train. They may listen to the music downloaded from websites. That's cool!!

 We use it to research thesis at university and to send emails to friends, co-workers, and business partners. Also, checking SNS like Twitter, Facebook may be a habit for many people these days.
For people who grow up in such a situation with the Internet,  the Internet is part of their lives.
 As long as people use the Internet, lots of new services will be created and the Internet and us won't be divorced forever. I want to see how I live life with the Internet in the future...

Endangered Cultures

 I agree with Wade Davis's idea.
 From the experience of studying abroad, I feel that I have broaded my horizon than before. I stayed in Canada for about 3 monthes and I met new knowledge, new way of thinking.
 If the world is almost same because of the globalization, what is the reason we travel? Why are there wars? Why do anthropologists exist?  Is it diffrent from Tokyo to New York? Because the buildings and cafes on streetes are same. I think we should be careful about globalization. It can lose many precious culture.
 As I was watching TED, I was so surprised to see the native people who don't know newest technology know how to mix plants and make medicine. And the medicine has same effect as developed countries make.

Fitting in

 When I was 1st grade in elementary school, there was a small bullying.
 One day, one transfer student joined in my class. She has lived in America for some years, so she was so-called returnee student from abroad.
 Now, if I meet a returnee student, I try to understand his/her background and I'd like to know what kind of experiences he/she had in the life.
 However, it was elementary school age. We were just kids. We didn't try to understand her. In addition, almost all the classmates couldn't accept her who is a returnee student and didn't grow up same as everyone. 
 One day, in one class, we studied by ourselves because the teacher was busy to do something. Untill the teacher came back to our class, we were told to study Chinese character, kanji. We had one word which was difficult to read for everyone(The word was「文字」. We said we could read this「ぶんじ」though it was「もじ」). Then, she, the transfer student could read the word and she taught us how to read it. Actually, she was a clever girl and her answer was right, but we didn't agree her. We said "That's strange." or "I can't believe you." No one helped her. I feel sorry for her now.
 I think children are kind of conservative. They can't accept things or people that are different from themselves.

 Bullying is so spread because it became habitual, frequent thing maybe. If others do a thing and it is thought habitual, people don't get to feel it's bad thing, and it spreads around at once. To riduce bullying, adults can help. The lecture of young person who experienced bullying at school days may affect positively to student's thinking about bullying.

Equality in the home

 Wives can be paid for doing housework!! At the same time when I was surprised at the system, I was envious of Taiwanese women.
 However, after I consider well, I found that housework is made up of the feeling comes from love for family. For example, feeling like "I want to make delicious dinner for my cute children and tired husband." or "I want to make the room clean for my family to be comfortable at home." Wives do housework for family, not for money.
 I think the system can't work in Japan. Traditional custom will disturb it. I searched the Internet and found that even today, about 80% of men agree to women doing all the housework. In such a situation, husbands won't pay money to their wives.

 In my family, almost all the housework is done by my mother. My father has been a business bachelor and he lives near Tokyo now. If he lives with us, he can help cook lunch or dinner.  Yesterday, I asked my mother about housework. She said "If I don't work, it's O.K. to do all the housework, but if I also works all the day, not as a part-timer, it's hard to do housework by myself." Actually, my mother is busy worker recently and she seems to be tired to do housework like cooking dinner, cleaning. I have to help her more!!!

When I got married someday, I want my husband to do some housework like taking out garbages in the morning or cooking lunch or dinner on Holiday. Anyway, I'd like to spend my life happily:)

Japanese Gender Issues

 I'm going to write about b)  what you've heard about the situation in Japan through news stories/ brief Internet research.

 I rhink I've never treated badly because of my gender at school or elsewhere. Maybe that is because I am a woman.
 Women have lots of advantages compared to men. For example, women can watch a movie for 1,000 yen  on Wednesday. It is called "Lady's day" service. In addition, if women go into a restaurant, they can eat good lunch called "Lady's set" which is often including dessert. Also, there are women's university in Japan. Only women are allowed to enter the university.  And, when you take a train, you will see "This car is only for women." Men can't ride in the car.
 For women, these services and system are good and no one complain about it. However, these may be discrimination for men. Why can't men watch a movie cheaper? Why is the "Lady's day" service only for women? Why is the service's name "Lady's day" instead of "Men's day"? Through the Interner research, I found men feel that these are gender discrimination.

 At first, the services are made by businesspeople to get more profit, and they actually make our society better. Women can enjoy movies easily, and they can take trains peacefully by "only for women cars". It is difficult to say these services for women are gender disctrimination or not.

Japanese Subculture

 Do you know Kyarii pamyu pamyu? She's a popular Japanese fashion model and also a singer. The picture below is hers.

 I think one of Japanese subculture is Harajuku fashion culture originated in Harajuku which is a downtown in Tokyo.Lots of young people (many of them are teenager, maybe) gather at Harajuku. On the street, there are many shops of clothes, shoes, sundries and foods. A crepe shop is famous at Harajuku and people enjoy window-shopping with eating the crepe.

 Harajuku fashioned people wear unique, original clothes. It's far from simple, but they are cute. Also, they dye their hair blond, light brown, and some people have their hair highlighted. One of the trend is to change the color of under part of their hair. Like the second picture below shows, 90 % of her hair is blond, but the rest of her hair is red!  I saw a girl whose the hair is like this at KGU.  In addition, some people dye half of their hair black, and the half  blond. They're unique and conservative people will be surprised if they see the hair like her.

How do you think of this Harajuku culture?
I enjoy seeing their fashion and I like it:) I'd like to see Kyarii pamyu pam!

My future plan

 Recently, I often think about my future because I'm going to start the job hunting this December.
 One of my future plans is to work at a hotel. I'd like to treat the guests with special hospitality. I've had this drem since I was a junior high school student. The experience at Tokyo Disney Resort made me to have this dream. The people at the hotel near Disney Resort were so nice and treated me and my family very kindly with smiles. I felt so comfortable and love to stay at the hotel.
 In the 10 years, I hope I can get a job as a hotel worker. I may be working at Tokyo Disney Land hotel. I really hope so!!

Neighborhood

I have 2 types of relationship with my neighborhoods ever.
One is traditional and the other is so modern.

Until the 3rd grade of elementary school, I've  lived in an apartment house.
In the apartment, I had much friends as same age as me, and I played with them outside riding bicycles or running together almost everyday, so I had very good relationship with neighborhoods living in the same apartment.
My family also had good relarionship with neighbors. My mother used to visit neighbor's house and had some tea together and enjoy talking.
Although my father was busy worker during the day, and he doesn't know so much neighbors, he said hello to everyone:)

When I was 4th grade, I moved. Unfortunately, there was no one who were around same age as me in neighborhood, and I got to not play outside.
Then, the relationship with neighborhoods became weaker.
Of course I say hello to my neighbors when we meet, there are not so strong relarionship with them.
It is modern Japanese realtionship with neighborhoods.

Compareing Esperanza and myself

 Esperanza's background and personality is so different from my own.
 First, she has moved often, while I have moved only once in my life, besides, I haven't changed my school. I 've moved to near area.
 Second, she is realistic and understands truth even white lies from parents. I wasn't realistic when I was a child. I was thinking everything my parents told me is right.
 Third, she feels people don't understand her. When I was a girl like her age, I didn't even imagine whether people understand me or not. She is wise and precocious.

 Most of her background and personality is different from mine. However, there is one thing that I can share with her. It is the truth that she loves her mother. Same with her, I also love my mother!

Japanese culture

 I'm proud of Japanese traditional art culture which is taken over from long long ago. For example, clothes called "kimono",which is very bearutiful. The design is delicate and everyone who wears kimono looks good in the clothes. I like Japanese detailed design. They are so nice.
 Also, I like Japanese pop culture like manga, which means comics. I'm proud of that I am Japanese to know many manga are popular all over the world. One Japanese manga, "ONE PIECE" is my favorite. I strongly recommend you to read it if you've never read it.

 I like most of my culture and I feel comfortable in my culture, but I don't like so much about one Japanese culture, that is: people are not so friendly, especially in the cities. I know that is because many Japanese are shy, and it doesn't mean they are not kind.  I just hope people will be more friendly.
 I heard that in Mexico, people talk each other a lot even if they don't know each other. It's so noisy in the trains or buses because people talk a lot. It's interesting. Compared with the culture in Mexico, people are so quiet in Japan. I think it's difficult for Japanese to be like Mexican, but if our culture became like them, our country and culture will be more attractive.