I had heard fables about Japanese teenage social retardation, but I wrote them off as a stereotype.
So thursday, I'm sitting on the train, and this Japanese kid, maybe no older than 17, walks up and just starts staring at me. He is about a foot away from me and just staring. I look at him, he smiles and nods, I smile back and try to go about my business of riding on a train. Finally, he says something. All I heard was "Are you ....." I say "what?" He says "oh, nevermind," and starts to wander off. 3 seconds later he comes back asking me things like if I'm a student and whatnot. Thankfully his stop was next. I wouldn't have minded talking to the kid if he just wasn't so damn awkward about it. Just walk up and say something, don't stare at me for a full two minutes. I give him credit for his courage at least.
That's leads to another point. A lot of the exchange students thought the Japanese kids were stuck up and didn't want to talk to us, or had a racist mentality, or some such bullshit. What I guessed, and have learned, is that they're more intimidated, and shy. They'll just kinda stare or glance at you, but if you walk up and say hello, they suddenly brighten up. It's neat to watch it happen.
On another note, my birthday is saturday. The party is tomorrow. Thankfully the typhoon only lasted a day and the rain is gone, so plan A is on. We're going to go buy a bunch of booze at a convenience store, and go to that mountain with the beautiful view I mentioned a few posts ago, and stay out all night. Which sounds like nice, cheap fun. If rain got in the way, we probably would have gone to downtown Osaka or Kobe.
And yes, I'm going to have a blast tomorrow, and I love my new friends and all, there's still this unfathomable void in my heart. I miss my friends. It won't be the same without you guys.
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