Disequalibrium

Have you ever flushed the toilet and then washed your hands atop the toilet as the toilet tank recharges for the next flush? Me neither. It's a trip. Our apartment in Ashikaga City has all kinds of crazy gadgets straight out of some 007 flick. I think there's some interior design/architect dude somewhere in Japan with so much seniority that nobody dares tell him, "Sorry Tyko San, that idea bites, what else you got."

Seniority is a serious issue here in Japan. Take for example Veronica's school principal and my school principal. They've been in the school system for so many years that once they've attained their principal position, they basically earn the right to delegate most of the work to other people in the school, like the vice principal for example. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that, but it is interesting.

Veronica went to her school and met all of the staff on Monday. I went to my school today (Wed.) to do the "meet and greet" with the principal and others. After having some gold flaked dessert cakes and tea (I'm serious, there were actually gold shavings in the cakes. I was told by the principal that it helps one achieve optimal brain function. I smiled and nodded.) I introduced myself and recieved many smiles in return. Not smiles that say,"Oh, Hello." but smiles followed by a "Are you serious?" type of look. You see, when I say "Watashi wa Jonathan desu." it kind of sounds like "My name is Jon San." You see, people don't refer to Themselves as "something San" because that's someone elses job to call you that. Otherwise it sounds like you're full of yourself. After a minute or two of explaining by my company rep things were cleared up and we moved on. This only made me ponder what else I might have done or might do that was/will be taken the wrong way. I think that's what Veronica and I worry about the most. We don't plan to offend anybody, but there is a good chance that we will do it on accident more than we know.

This type of thing tends to put a person on edge just a bit. Speaking of which, Veronica and I have been getting some headaches from trying to understand the language day in and day out. I guess we could have studied Japanese a bit more seriously before we arrived. That's okay I guess. Perhaps we're just reaching our cognitive disequalibrium quicker than we had planned. What's that you ask? It's what teachers would call the phase in which the learner leaves their comfort zone, reaches a noticeable level of discomfort, and enters the optimal learning environment. River Heights students, if you're reading this right now (I hope you are) think about that for a second. Basically, it means that if you're always comfortable and relaxed when "learning" then you're probably learning at the slowest rate possible. A person forms their most vivid and exciting memories in life when this disequalibrium is in effect. Adults reading this, take note as well. If there is anything that you've been puting off doing because it would take you out of your normal, comfortable routine (a.k.a. Your baby blanket) make plans to make it a reality. Veronica and I have probably said, "I'm so glad we did this." to each other at least maybe...twenty times since we arrived here last week. Needless to say, the rewards outweigh the headaches. That's all for now. 'Til next time you little bloggaholics. Class dismissed. Jon San out!