ayano's blog

2007-01-11T18:14:00.000-08:00

In this chapter, White wrote about sexuality in Japan and America. I was interested in two things.
First, she mentioned about sexuality of young Japanese teens. She said that boys and girls become more conscious of each other when they were second year students in middle schools. Girls act more like burriko, and boys try to act cool. However, when boys are not around, girls revert to normal and vice versa. I think that this is true. When I was a middle school student, my classmates acted like burriko in order to be liked by boys. They spoke slowly in high voice and pretended that they could not carry the heavy box. Now, the same thing happens in elementary schools. When my sister who is younger than me by three years was an elementary school students, her friend had already acted like burriko. I was really surprised because I did not be conscious of boys when I was in elementary school.
Second, she stated that while Japanese tend to separate private and public things such as love and work, American do not separate and mix them. In fact, I think that Japanese hide private things in public places. For example, they do not talk about love and sex with coworkers and friends except close friends. They also tend not to talk about it with their family. However, I think that the fact is gradually changing. The number of people who talk about private things more casually is increasing. For example, I talk about love with my friends and my family. One of my friends talks everything such as work, school, friends, love and sex with her mother.
The actual fact about sexuality in Japan is changing and different from what White thought. If there is an opportunity, I would like to know more about the actual fact in America.

2006-12-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

In this chapter, we discussed friendship of young people in Japan and America. There were a lot of things that I did not realize.
I learned that there are two kinds of friends, “group friends” and “best friends.” I did not notice this difference, but I certainly distinguish group friends and best friends and the way I spend time with group friend is different from the way with best friends. I spent a lot of time with group friends in junior high and high school. We talked, played and studied together. However, I was cautious in expressing myself. In the class, most students made groups and spent most time with friends of the group. So, if I was disliked by the group, it would be really difficult to have a happy school life. Therefore, I did not express my true feeling and spoke not to be disliked by my friends. I thought the content that I would speak before actually speaking not to hurt group friends. In addition, I had to speak ill of a person who were disliked by my group friends. It was necessary to have the same opinion with them in order to be friend with them. It was very hard, but it was the best way to get along with group friends. On the other hand, I spoke anything to my best friends. They know my character well because we are friends from the time of the kindergarten. So, we say what we want to say without reservation each other and can share both best and worst. Even if I say the opinion different from my best friends, we have never disliked each other. I also do not have to try to be a hero in front of them. It is very comfortable to be with them and I can relax.
I also realized that the shape of friendship is like an hourglass. In fact, I wanted a lot of friends in elementary school. I thought that having many friends meant that I was one of the most popular persons in the class. However, I want not a lot of friends who associate shallowly but a few ones who can talk anything each other after entering university. I came to feel that the most important thing is not how many friends I have but how close relationship with friends I build. I learned through my experience that even if I have a lot of friends, I cannot enjoy my life. I can spend a happy life only after I have close friends. This chapter made me recall an important thing.

2006-11-30T06:57:00.000-08:00

In Chapter5, White mentioned the materialism in America and Japan. The marketing industry tries to shape trends and to influence teens to buy things. I would like to focus on some examples of this in Japan.
One example is magazines. There are a lot of magazines and they have a big influence on teens in Japan. Magazines have a variety of information about trends of the year. Most teens, especially girls read them, and research trends and decide what they buy. Teens who live in Tokyo or surroundings can buy anything which is the same one in a magazine because shops are concentrated in Tokyo. However, there are few shops where teens can buy things printed in magazines in the countryside. So even if teens want to buy it, some of them cannot. Therefore, the editors of magazines put the email address or the telephone number of shops in order to have teens buy things using telephone or Internet.
Another example is the use of cute characters and popular stars. A lot of products have their original cute characters to catch people’s attentions. For example, “Namacha” which is one of the green tea’s names have a cute panda character, or “Namachapanda”. Using this character can attract much more people since as White mentioned in the textbook, cute goods are very popular in Japan. In addition to this, companies often use the popular stars to advertise their products. For instance, companies of cosmetic, clothes and jewel use beautiful actresses. Many girls want to become like them, so they tend to buy the same things which beautiful actresses use or wear. Thus, the marketing industry tries hard to sign a popular person. After discussing this chapter, I realized that we are influenced by a lot of things. I read magazines to research what the trend of this year is and I want to buy things such as cosmetics used by actresses. This is the actual circumstances in Japan. White wrote little information about in America, so I want to know modern materialism in America more.

2006-11-09T06:39:00.000-08:00

In this chapter, we discussed a school in Japan and America. There were a lot of differences between Japan and America and they surprised me. In particular, I was impressed at three things.
First, I was surprised at the club activity in America. In Japan, most students belong to a club and practice almost every day. When I was a junior high school student, I belonged to a tennis club. I practiced tennis every day, of course on Saturday and Sunday. The practice was really hard, but I and my companion participated in the practice actively and got over the hard time. On the other hand, students in America belong to a club, but they do not practice every day. The club activity seems to be a more serious thing in Japan than in America.
Second, I was envy of the school rules in America. My high school had the really strict rules. For example, we could not dye our hair and wear accessories. We especially had to obey rules related to the uniform. Every morning, teachers stood in front of the main entrance and examine how we wore the uniform. If we did not obey the rule, teachers recorded our name and gave us a lecture. In contrast, Colorado students said that there are not so many rules in their school. They can do almost everything except it is harmful. I think that the rule in Japanese school is too strict. It is necessary to give students more freedom and take responsibility on their own. As a result, they will be able to develop themselves much more greatly.
Finally, I was interested in the system of entering the university. It is a mainstream to take the entrance exam in Japan. However, students do not have to take it in America. They can enter the university by the grade and attendance in high school. When I learned this system, I thought that it is an effective way. It encourages students to study usually. Most Japanese students tend to study only for a year before they take an exam. After exam, they forget almost everything that they studied. It is really useless. I think that it is a good system.
Through this lecture, I could learn a lot of things related to the school in two countries. I hope that both countries will admit a good point in educational system each other and make a better educational system in the future.

2006-10-26T04:38:00.000-07:00

Through this lecture, I could learn a lot of things about family in Japan and in America. There are both similarities and differences between families in two countries. Also, I noticed that the family in the 1980s was very different from the recent family in Japan. There are a lot that I was surprised and interested, but I was really impressed by three things that follow.
First, I was surprised to know that the working mothers in 1980s were seen as the first cause for any problems related to “family conditions.” In the past, it was a common thought in Japan that fathers work outside and mothers do housework, but now, there are many working mothers and it is common for a family that mothers work. In fact, my mother has a job and I do not think it cause any problems.
Second, I was amazed at the actual conditions of the divorce in America. According to the comment from an American student, many Americans have experienced a divorce and become to adapt to the idea how common it is. In addition, I heard they keep contact with partner’s parents or siblings after they divorced. I was very surprised, but I think it is nice! And, it is good for children to meet parents after divorce.
Finally, I think it is unexpected that the father and daughter are much closer while the mother and son are much closer in America. In Japan the mother and daughter are much closer. And the teenage girls often do not like fathers. Actually, I and my mother are much closer, but I do not talk so much with my father. I think it is not a good thing. Hereafter, I want to talk with him more and build a good relationship.
I enjoyed this class because I could learn a lot of thing I did not know. I want to learn much more new things and understand the America through this class.

はじめまして☆

2006-10-11T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hi! I'm Ayano Shiina. I'm a freshman of WASEDA university.
I like watching movies. My favorite movies are "The Green Mile", "The Shawshank Redemption".etc.
I also like watching sports games. I watch any sports but my favorite is soccer.

こんにちは！私は早稲田大学国際教養学部１年の椎名　彩乃（しいな　あやの）です。
私の趣味は映画を見ることです。お気に入りの映画は”The Green Mile”と”The Shawshank Redemption”です。
スポーツを見ることも好きです。いろんなスポーツを見ますが、一番好きなのはサッカーです。
よろしくお願いします☆