I’ve been studying the people in the streets of Japan. I love how different and interesting the culture is from what I am used to, and I am surprised by how much of American culture they find interesting, amusing, and often desirable. American fashion is big in places like Harajuku–specifically things related to Hip-hop and American sports. What caught me entirely off guard was the development of American styled and themed suburban enclaves. That isn’t what I expected from a proud and traditional people such as the Japanese, but with the power of the American media, what else should be expected. We are a culture that is infectious in a multitude of ways. Not all of what we spread is going to be postitive.
Some Thoughts:
- Turns out I am past the point of wanting to take family vacations. They don’t feel good. They feel thankless and entirely about pleasing the kids without giving any real time or attention to personal want/need. I knew going into this trip it would be like this. It was designed to be like this, but I did not suspect I’d feel so empty and angry throughout.
- I’m struggling with finding that balance and, especially, with finding that sense of self in any of this lately.