Adventures in Japan: Cover Your Navel and Don't Kill the Spider!

As I close in on my two month mark here in Japan, I've been reflecting on my experiences here as I adjust to the Japanese way of life and I've come to realize that while life in general isn't that different (wake up, go to work, eat meals at the same times, drink at happy hour, etc), it's the several little things that truly remind me that I am living in a foreign country. Here are some interesting "Did you know"'s that have popped up since I moved here.

Did you know...
that when it thunders in Japan, you're supposed to cover your belly button? The word thunder in Japanese is "kaminari" (雷) and we've had our fair share of thunderstorms in the past couple of weeks. While I would usually be awestruck when I hear the crash and boom of thunder and stare out the window looking for traces of lightening, I've grown accustomed to it. A couple days ago, we had one storm come through that was particularly disruptive to the workday: instantaneous downpour that was louder than the keyboard clickings in the office and thunder that made that windows shake. After the second crash of thunder, Keiko and Makiko (two of the amazing people I work with) made an (*o*) face and covered their stomach. I gave them my typical Jessica-has-no-idea-what's-going-on face and they proceeded to tell me the story: Kaminari is the name for the god of thunder and Japan typically experiences these thunderstorms during this time of year (cold rain, humidity...remember the weather unit in science?). Since it's quite warm at night, children are apt to kicking off the blankets while in bed. The parents, quite worried that if their children are not covered at night they will get sick, tell them that Kaminari will come and pick out their belly buttons at night if they don't cover up; hence, the practice of covering one's stomach during thunderstorms.

Did you know...
that the kanji for heart and mind are the same? I found this particularly interesting for two reasons. First, the Japanese are not known for being exceptionally romantic. PDA and any kind of loving gesture in public is typically frowned upon, even if the couple is married. While this may be a very big generalization on my part, I think it's semi-safe to say that the Japanese think logically when it comes to the matters of the heart. Therefore, the idea that the kanji for heart and mind is the same totally makes sense. Second, I also thought about it from the American point of view. We tend to keep the heart and mind very separate and when it comes to making a decision, a person is forced to choose: think with my heart or my mind? Well, by combining the two meanings into one kanji, I guess the Japanese just simplified it for us. Well done, Nihon.

Kanji for heart and mind

Did you know...
that it's bad luck to kill a spider in your house? Now, this one was VERY interesting to me because I hate critters of all kinds in my place of living. Patrick had warned me when I first got the job (but well after I had signed the contract and mailed it back) that the apartment is prone to creepy crawly visitors, but it's bad luck to kill them. While most things in Japan are smaller than in the US, the bugs are most definitely NOT. They're huge! I saw a moth the size of my palm the other night and the flies here can outweigh some of the cats (not that neither of these were inside the apartment). There were a few teeny weeny spiders on the walls every once and awhile, but I had gone about 5 weeks without seeing any visitors of the 8-legged jumbo-sized variety so I thought I was doing pretty well. That is, until one morning...I was getting ready for the Nebuta Festival and as I passed through my living room, I saw the biggest spider yet with orange legs (any time a spider is any color other than black or brown, I freak out). Well, keeping in mind that I had been told that it was bad luck, I contemplated whether or not I should ignore it, go out for the day and come home hoping it decided that the outside was more interesting than my apartment. When it started crawling down the wall towards where I was, I decided that it needed to go, but I had never killed a spider before, let alone a spider that size. I called the first person I thought of (Patrick) as if he could do something about it. After instructing me to grab a shoe and just slam it against the spider as I came close to tears, I finally did it (guts went everywhere, in case you were wondering). I couldn't stand the thought of having to go through that again and being worried about my luck, so I asked the girls at the office if the story about killing spiders is true. Their answer? It's something they tell children. Oh really? Well it's a good thing I don't have kids in the house then because from here on out, any spider that crosses that threshold is fair game.

I hope you feel that much more enriched by these tid bits of information. But, an entry is never complete without adorable pictures of the hoikuen kids. This week we celebrated August birthdays and the hoikuens go ALL out. The entire school goes into the common room and those with birthdays are adorned with crowns and given a commemorative "plaque" with their picture and handprint on it. Each birthday kid gets up, introduces themselves and talks about their likes and favorites in life. The whole school proceeds to sing happy birthday (the Japanese version, of course) to each kid and then everyone skips (literally) out of the room and back to the classroom to the beat of some very happy and bouncy music. At Takko Hoikuen after the birthday festivities, my class (they're called Sakura class - Cherry Blossom) had a jump rope exhibition, which was very impressive, and then sang and danced to "Head, Shoulders...". I totally got credit for teaching them the song, even though they already knew it by the time I got there (don't worry, Pato chan, they mentioned you too).