Life in Japan is getting better, with the exception that I was stalked for a bit*, got lost, and have to make a speech in front of 900 students. I enjoy public speaking probably more than a good majority of humanity, but the fact that it is in Japanese diminishes the fun factor to around zero.
But I digress, (I'm prone to digressing as of late, it seems). My third day in the country I got a cell phone, which is pretty awesome –except that it is pink and my plan is ridiculously awful. You see, Japanese phones don't have minutes, but rather just give you a very low rate for each minute. In the case of my awful plan, I pay only .03 cents US for 30 seconds. However, texting is totally free which isusually where the America phone companies get you. I guess it is a trade-off then.
The interesting thing is picking a phone company when you have no real exposure to any of the previous advertising. In the end I chose Softbank for two reasons: that many other JETs have Softbank (thus, free calling), and their advertising is, quite simply, amazing. Their mascot (a talking dog) has gotten such a following in Japan that he will soon have his own show. It is kind of like the Geico cavemen,with the exception that this show won't suck.
Softbank (formerly Vodaphone) is the
Japanese distributor of the iPhone. Walking into the store I fully understand why Softbank was designated as an iPhone carrier as the store felt like a copy-paste Mac store. White, clean, everyone was wearing uniforms. Hell, even the packaging of the Softbank phone looks suspiciously familiar. Yet for all they had done in the store to make it clean and interesting, I couldn't help but notice the giant spider web (and spider) in the corner. For god's sake; why wasn't that cleaned up? Itwas, quite frankly, disgusting (and freaking me out a great deal). Seeing the web destroyed all that I believed the store was– this was no Apple copy. I could only see how a spider web in an Apple store would go over.
But then I noticed a trend: these spider webs were in every damn store. It wasn't just in the Japanese stores, but American based chains as well (the local Gap, Starbucks, and McDonalds). What was with this?
In Japan, spiders (and their webs) are considered good luck, especially in the way of money and businesses. Destroying the spider web can be akin to breaking a mirror.
Some think that Globalization destroys cultures, but if anything, I think it can make for some interesting mash-ups.
* To combat this, I have decided to lie profusely when anyone sketchycomes to talk to me again. From now on my name is Cynthia, I am 26 and live with my husband Jack in Osaka (as people seem to always begin conversations with asking how old I am and if I live alone).
(NOTE: This post was written by Lauren and posted by Mel Doug)
