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From a foreigner’s point of view Japan is a country for some very interesting observations, which hint at a very different culture to your own. Once you actually start writing them down, you realize there are so many more; the Japanese obsession with food (which Eline and Rens also enjoy eating very much), the Japanese comic “manga” magazines read by grown-ups, people in deep sleep whilst standing in a moving train, coiffured and dressed up dogs walked around in buggies, heated toilet seats with many unusual functions which unfortunately do not come with an English manual, the beauty of the countryside, the sereneness of the Shinto shrines and bustle of the Buddhist temples, the friendliness of many Japanese once they get past the initial shock that you speak some Japanese, the obsession with cherry blossoms (rather like skating on natural ice in Holland I would say)… If you are interested in seeing everyday pictures of Japan, please have a look at my website: Foreign Eye.
Even second time round there is still a lot to be discovered and now we are once again in the ‘middle’ of the globe with my sister Gwen and grandmother in Holland, my brother Lennard in Australia, my parents Leo and Edith in Turkey, we hope to see them and friends come and visit soon!
Barbara Kolff van Oosterwijk
Yokohama, Japan;
May, 2009 |
