basically friend of mine by the name of daniel has been giving me little rules to follow while im in japan. its been 1 rule almost every day for a few weeks now. i really like his rules a lot so i decieded to put um up here. who knows maybe someone will read this and find some of them helpful i dont know. anyway here they are :)
20. Teach them cool "American" things, like phrases or gestures. I taught my lil' host-brother that handshake you do when you cup your hands with somebody else's and then pull them back with a snapping sound. He went crazy over it and taught it to everybody who was at the barbecue they prepared for me. They really are eager to learn; I stopped Sean's host-sis from doing that silly "woooooo" thing you all were obsessed with. Ha ha! :) Teach them things like "oh snap" or "wazzup" (aw man, nobody says that anymore!), as well as when to say it. Don't teach any curse words or crude stuff; keep your record clean. ;)
19. Don't make any put-down jokes. Sure, they're funny among friends who you know well, but you're spending time with people who you've never met before. Thinking back now, one kid in the middle of running laps after school said hi to me and I told him to run faster as a joke; I totally take it back. I should've challenged him to a race. :( You get the idea right? Its better to just compliment people all the time, and again, "explore" them or their areas of interests with the intent of actually being their friend. If someone shows a drawing or something, try drawing it yourself; that kind of interaction. Even if the jokes are barely even mildly degrading, keep 'em to yourself.
18. Film videos often if the amount of memory in your camera is not a concern. You're gonna want to have more than just one video in which you can remember what your friends' and family's voice sounded like. Before you leave, make sure you make one of all of them each giving you their own goodbye speech.
17. DUDE! Take a Pinecrest Tribune newspaper, and take a picture in some nice place that totally stands out from American scenery; choose a VERY JAPANESEY place to take a picture! If you send the picture in, you just might appear on the cover of the Pinecrest Tribune! :D
16. Be good friends with the adults too because being able to communicate and converse with them boosts your maturity more than chatting with a kid your age does. Best of all, adults acknowledge and appreciate this kind of maturity more than kids our age do. Sure, Bjorn's host-brother and I were good friends, but his mom is the one who has been keeping in touch with me. In a way, adults are usually more loyal than kids because they've learned to not take such rare friendships for granted. Best thing is if one wishes you were related to them. ;)
15. Candid pictures are usually the best, but if you're gonna pose, here are some nice suggestions (again, the more people involved, the better):
a) People jumping (caught when they're mid-air).
b) People doing that whoosh-whoosh retarded face I'm good at making.
c) Stretch arm up, aim camera down and get everybody to huddle beneath and look up.
d) Vice versa: everybody looking down at the camera.
e) Posing in front of a big painting/portrait/etc as if you're actually part of the picture.
e) Making out with female statues/mannequins/etc.
f) Imitating face of a statue/person on poster/etc.
g) Prowling pictures (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=644459155&ref=name#/photo.php?pid=30296204&op=1&o=global&view=global&subj=644459155&id=1100880621 )
h) Pictures of people's shadows.
i) Godzilla pics (those in which you pretend to be bigger than things that are actually far away).
a) People jumping (caught when they're mid-air).
b) People doing that whoosh-whoosh retarded face I'm good at making.
c) Stretch arm up, aim camera down and get everybody to huddle beneath and look up.
d) Vice versa: everybody looking down at the camera.
e) Posing in front of a big painting/portrait/etc as if you're actually part of the picture.
e) Making out with female statues/mannequins/etc.
f) Imitating face of a statue/person on poster/etc.
g) Prowling pictures (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6
h) Pictures of people's shadows.
i) Godzilla pics (those in which you pretend to be bigger than things that are actually far away).
14. Make sure your pictures have PEOPLE in it. Scenery pics are nice, but people seldom look at 'em twice. I told Casey King the same thing. Her pics are nice, but compare the attention her album gets to those of everybody else. Don't take too many pictures of yourself holding your own camera either cause the vanity shows. If you wanna appear in pictures, just ask people to take one of you every now and then. If you want to appear with somebody else, then stretching your arm out with the camera is still cool. ;)
13. Don't shave before going into the hot baths. The cuts are gonna burn like crazy when you go in. Shave the day before, or a couple hours before going.
12. Ask tons of questions. People will know that you're interested, and having such a curious person is always entertaining. On top of that, you won't give off the impression that you're waiting for people to ask things about you so that you can talk about yourself. Sure, answer their questions about you, but keep the focus off of yourself and on them instead. Besides, don't you feel honored when people want to get to know you better? Be the one to make them feel this way. ;)
11. Don't isolate yourself! In fact, don't even take your iPod or any video game console of any kind. Don't even use it in bed to go to sleep. Let the sound of an authentic Japanese setting put you to sleep. ;)
10. Do things that will make strangers happy, even if they never see you again. Yeah, you know what I mean: smiling and doing bunny-ears in their photographs. Helping strangers out, like the ryokan lady or that lady in the wheel chair who was trying to get into the bus, makes great memories too. Ha ha! I'm remembering that on our first day in Kagoshima, I smiled and waved hello to a lady driving next to our bus; she laughed back. :) Just knowing that some person I don't know might be laughing and smiling right now at the thought of what I did feels great. :)
9. Don't go on the trip with the intent of getting laid. You're not old enough, you're not married, you're student visa (or whatever document it is) will get damaged, your reputation will be at stake and you'll be the cause of many unpleasant consequences and regrets in the future to both you yourself and the girl.
8. Don't bother filling up your bags with toiletries from here. Buy the toothpaste, floss, disposable razor, shaving cream, deoderant, shampoo and whatever else over there. It adds on to the whole Japan experience. ;)
7. Do not say that you don't like something and that you're not open to try what they like. I regret saying that I wasn't interested in Narnia because I later found out that a group of friends went to watch it. You're not there to pick and choose the activities that suit you, but to try out the things the people over there enjoy doing. Sure, don't do anything dirty, but give the things that you think will be boring a chance when it is offered. Best way to make friends is to be open to their interests rather than enforcing your own upon them. ;)
6. Even if you're not catching a single word of a conversation, look as though you're trying to understand what the people are saying, as if you were one of them yourself. They'll know you're really putting effort into trying to get what they're saying, and chances of them including you into their conversations will be greater. Even if you don't say a word, turn your head to the person talking and actually listen to what they're saying. Don't look confused/lost though; smiling will leave them sympathizing for you and admiring your efforts. Sometimes, smiling, laughing along and showing an attitude of being interested in what people are saying are enough contribution to any enjoyable conversation. But smile and laugh sincerely; make your facial expressions match the tone of the conversation. Anybody would look like an idiot if he were smiling when everybody around him is obviously upset.
5. Adding on to the gentleman thing, make the girls' lives nicer. If you make a paper fan, be the one who fans her. If she flunks an exam, make a card encouraging her to do better on the next one with some drawing that she'll find cute (NOT random-weird!). Don't be obsessed with wanting to help her out with everything because it can scare her, but let her know that she's lucky to sit next to a guy who makes his neighbors' life more pleasant. In fact, be like that with everybody you're with; be the one to serve whoever is next to you. Yeeeah, that means helping your host-mom wash the dishes, or the Ryokan lady clean the hotel. This is probably the best advice I can give ya, not just to use during your trip but to apply to life in general. Believe me, being humble pays off BIG time. ;)
4. If you sit next to a cute girl in class, be a gentleman. You remember how hot school was right? Make a paper fan and fan her during class. Drawing things that are designs of her belongings, like the cartoon characters on pencils and folders, will flatter her. Besides, everybody likes to be acknowledged; she'll be excited to know that you noticed something of hers that is given little attention to. If you sit next to a dude, draw something cool that's relevant to whichever boring subject you're currently zoned out of. In my case, there was a history quiz in which the only word I picked out was "Sparta." :D Don't draw random weird; draw relevant cool. ;)
3. Try to know at least one Japanese song by the time you go; the more popular it is the better. I didn't have the chance to do it, but I've got GreeeeN down for the next time I do go. Everybody knows "Aladdin" before, so I think learning the Japanese version of "Whole New World" would be awesome, especially if there are girls with you; that way, one can sing the Jasmine part with ya. Aside from that, sing popular American songs, but not the heavy rock ones because the people there are into pop music (I almost sang Chop Suey; that would've been so awkward). Choose the more mellow songs, but if you sing an upbeat one, sing a catchy one or one that is associated with westerners, like Elvis or The Beatles (they loved Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"). Again, there were no guys at karaoke with me, so I was singing "awww-how-cute" songs like "Hey There Delilah" and "All My Loving." Try to choose styles similar to what they are singing.
2. Come up with something to always say given a situation; something people will expect you to say when the occasion comes up. It'll be like your motto or something. In my case, I always said 食べてみます ("I'll try eating it") when somebody offered me food or asked if I liked what they were giving me. Soon enough, they were repeating what I'd say before I had a chance to answer. :)
1. Wear something that will catch people's attention and that will be associated with you; it makes you stand out, and people will think of you every time they see similar kind of what you're wearing. It can't be begging for attention, like an outrageously flamboyant shirt or a silly hat; its gotta win people's affections without it looking like its trying to get attention. Like a yellow hat; I have a red Hawaiian-styled flower cloth tied to my backpack just for decoration, but that people compliment me for. :)
