Time Travel

June 12, 2006
June13, 2006


More documentation by people of the breakfast buffet which seems slightly excessive. It is a standard American breakfast buffet with a decided lack of cereal and NO cats on the table to offer companionship or commentary. This is slightly sad, but decidedly less furry.

Already I have assisted several people with new digital cameras they have brought – cameras I have never seen before_- mostly to delete pix they don’t want. Next on the agenda will be giving the definitions of really long words or opening jars with tight lids, two of my other specialties. Oh and taking pictures of people with their own cameras; that can’t be too far behind.

I had another minor run in with authorities – this time American authorities instead of Chinese ones – about trying to take a picture of something official. In the SF airport, they have kiosks, sort of like free standing ATM machines, that you need to visit if you are not an American citizen. They have the Homeland Security logo on them. They take info, a digital picture and a fingerprint. They are manned (or womanned in this case) by people in uniforms. I did not see this official until she came up to me, but that could be for any reason. There were also TSA cops around with guns and badges. One of the kiosks I wanted to take a picture of also had an “Out of order” sign on it which of course to me added to the irony. Well, I was politely stopped by an official in a uniform who told I could not take a picture, but that if I had questions I could visit the website. This was posted on a sign next to the machines in several languages. I did not write down the URL, but I think I will visit the website, now convinced that when I do, they will throw cookies into my computer and start reading my mail. Won’t they be disappointed.

I felt sort of sheepish at being semi-busted, however politely, but also am really sort of , well, outraged is the wrong word, confused, frustrated, satisfied that this is just the sort of thing our government and current administration would have a hand in. It makes me want to think more about how free is our country. Ruthie and I were talking the other day about how we as humans are always in a state of war. It is the novel 1984, really. But of course, when I went through the screening procedures at the head of the gate area, I was glad enough to do it, hypocrite that I am.

This flight is 9 hours and 10 minutes long – is scheduled to be. I am ashamed to say that I watched two trashy movies with ridiculous jock heroes (both with much cheering, slo mo, tears, etc, and both boys got the girl at the end) in them and most of King Kong (an abridged version) nearly twice. I felt bad for Kong, and he wasn’t a real ape, just a computerized ape that sometimes looked pretty fake. Except his face. I hated when he died at the end.

So we have passed over the International Date Line and it is tomorrow, while it is still today. I’d like to think this is something about the Zen-like eternal present, but as it turned out, it was a lot more about the eternally present jet lag.

Once we got to Narita Airport, we were greeted with a VERY friendly phalanx of Japanese people with JFMF signs directing us to baggage and then to a greeter who put us in lines according to our city group. The customs line was very long, but very quick. I unlocked my bags in case they wanted to look inside them and worried that my prescriptions were going to paint me as a total lunatic even before ‘I opened my mouth and proved that myself, but we were treated with incredible diplomacy and courtesy.

There has been an emphasis repeatedly and deservedly about how we are in fact guests of the Japanese government. The diplomatic aspect of our mission here is key, and at this stage of the game, it is very much felt by me.

The Japanese people I have observed here are incredibly warm, with a very wry sense of humor that I for one appreciate. The folks who have been hosting us are of course quite articulate, but always with warmth,. I think if I admit it to myself I think I thought that they were not these things, with the possible exception of articulate.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we were put into another series of very efficient and quick lines and given our room keys. My room is on the 20th floor, where the business office also is, fortunately, and has a major view, as do all of them.

I have taken photographs to document the modern amenities here. My two favorite things are the very deep bathtub and the kimono style robes that you can wear. There are fluffy terry American style robes in the closet, but I am trying to maximize that Japan Thang, so I have been using the other robe.

We were assigned to numbered groups of four or so to go out with Japanese students for dinner. On the bus on the way from the airport, we were given 24,000 yen to use as per diem food money. Some of our meals will be provided as part of the program, but we will have many on our own, particularly dinner. The group I was in also connected to another group, as the two young women were friends.

We walked to an area fairly close to the hotel where a lot of male businessmen in nearly identical black suits with white dress shirts were walking. We went to a restaurant that was at the top of the escalator where we had a very brief wait. When we went in, sure enough we had to remove our shoes, remembering not to step back on the “unclean” side of the threshold. We walked in stocking feet to a locker area. Each locker held two pairs of shoes, one on top of the other, and was locked with a wooden key. The key was really a piece of wood about the size of a 3x5 index card that went vertically in to the slot below. It stuck out with a number and a Japanese character on it. I stuck it in a pocket for the remainder of the meal.

We were escorted to a table that sat in a space cut below the floor to walk on. Directly next to us, separated only by a large decorative cloth screen was a large family group, sounding like they were having a celebration. We actually shared our very large table with a party of three businessmen, with the condiments and tray of other accoutrements as a sort of barrier. They were smoking, as many more Japanese folks do, but I have been in much smokier places, and it didn’t seem as bad as it could have been, given the somewhat confined quarters.

The menu was somewhat overwhelming, although each item had a picture. We were also all so tired at this point. In the end, we each indicated to our hostesses what we wanted and they ordered together. Our waiter was a young man with a sort of wireless PDA in which he entered the items we wanted. There was a wireless, silent (to us) bell (Circular device with a button) on our table that you could use to get the waiter. The way the tables were situated, there was no way they could do any sort of circulating to check on their tables' status.

The food was excellent: sushi, noodles, a big bowl of mackerel, shredded radishes, some puffy fried things, salads, etc. We ordered together and tried a little bit of each thing. I was dismayed to see how uncomfortable one of my colleagues was with the food, using chopsticks, etc. but now in retrospect, I guess if you couldn’t eat because of the utensils, and you were hungry, you might be little frustrated.

Before the meal, the girls each bowed their heads and said a sort of formal thank which roughly translates into "Thank you for the food I am about to receive." This is not a really religious thing, just a polite acknowledgement. The meal concluded with one as well.

The meal seemed a little long after a point though. At one juncture, the waiter came back with something that apparently the ladies hadn’t ordered. I was impressed on this occasion, as I had been generally, at how poised they were. They were able to handle the mistake with little to no fuss, as was he. It was as if they had a public persona and a private persona. The difference is that it seemed genuine. This trip includes a fewAmericans who have a smile on their face and seem polite, but what lies underneath may be something else.

Finally, much to our entire party’s relief, I am sure, we got the bill, and walked back to the hotel for bed.