Sometimes I think the ice cream truck is coming because I hear melodic tones being broadcast in the street from a moving vehicle. Nope. Reality: my garbage pick-up truck plays classical music as it does its rounds. Pretty useful, actually. The only person I see doing the mad last-second dash when they hear that tune, however, is the local gaijin: Yours Truly. Everyone else must just have the trash days memorized (it's quite a complex system).
When Japanese people go to the beach, they sit on blue tarps. No beach towels for them, no siree. In fact, they think beach towels are WEIRD. Junko-sensei asked me about it the other day. She explained at great length how senseless it is to sit on a towel on the sand. A towel. On the sand. I didn't know what to say, because she was basically challenging all of my intrinsic values. And she really wanted an answer. So I told her that we're all just crazy, tarpless Yankees. Couldn't think of a better answer. "Wouldn't a blue tarp get really hot and stick to your ass when you sweat?" Was what I really wanted to ask. But something from all that orientating in Tokyo had stuck with me, and I kept my mouth shut. Maybe some day I'll get to try out a tarp for myself. See what it's all about. Maybe spread the word in the States when I get back.
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That towel-fact falsificates Douglas Adams and his thesis of a multifunctional towel. Nearly everywhere in the whole galaxy you can use a towel for everything, and everybody think you are a well-eqipped hitchhiker. (In S-Germany you also need a pocket-knife for beeing armed for every occation *g*) But maybe not just you yankees are strange, also are we europeans. Its really weird - but good to know! Please tell us your experiences with the other solution.
Burki
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