Random tidbits

Jennifer and I seem to have ended up on different sleep schedules. After a long day of trekking under a hot sun, I am ready to retire by 9 o`clock. Particularly because in this heat it is difficult to muster any hunger. It is all I can do to stay awake until my head hits the pillow. Jennifer, on the other hand, seems indefatigable.

...unless I try to wake her at 4am when I wake up. So I decided I would use a bit of this early morning time to catch up on some thoughts.

Despite everyone's assurance that there would be culture shock, there hasn't been. Perhaps because Vancouver has such a sizeable ethnic demographic itself. Or perhaps because we took the time to familiarize ourselves with much of what we might see.

There are differences, if you look for them, but most are more a difference of convention or aesthetic. The eavestroughs, for example: instead of aluminum tubing to channel rain water from the roof, many buildings have small inverted bells, daisy-chained to allow the water to cascade gently. I cannot imagine such a device would work in Vancouver, due to our incessant rains, but it is certainly an attractive solution to an omni-present event.

The trains are distinctly familar. We rode the local train yesteday to Miyajima. Most residents use the local trains, due to the comparatively high cost of the shinkansen. At every stop, the canny, experienced riders would innundate themselves through the crowd of human obstacles and find an open seat with casual alacrity; in their wake, dark glances from those whose supposed seats had been usurped. We could have been riding the skytrain or bus back home.

We have tried a variety of local cuisine. Much of it was seafood, naturally. Some I would not eat again, but most has been rather pleasant. In particular, I am fond of Japanese pastry - the pastry here is not so sugary or sweet as back home. It is probably no more healthy for me, however.