Aliens

Tom says that I post too much, so I'm going to write something just to spite him. I firmly believe my weekly ramblings are required to contrast the profound cultural analysis of Herr Blogger. You see, his posts are so insightful that they each take a month to write.

I forgot to write about the second best* cheeseburger I've had in my life. It was day two of the Kanazawa trip and a group of us were looking for an arcade. We sort of got lost, and saw a sign for a fast food place called "Freshness Burger." With a title like that, we couldn't refuse, and were shocked, not just that the place was 50s-themed, but that the burgers were ... really really good. The beef was delicious, the buns and pickles were crisp, and savoring it was a nearly religious experience. Now, I'm sure that part of my reaction is due to the fact that I hadn't had a burger in over a month, but I think it's safe to say that it was much better than anything I've eaten at Steak 'n Shake or Culver's.

The following weekend, my host family took me to the Denmark theme park, wittily called "Denpark." It features ethnic food, Danish houses, an electric-powered windmill**, and a replica of the Hans Christian Anderson Little Mermaid statue. Now you may ask what Denmark is doing in the Chubu region of Japan - I don't really know, but I think there's some kind of sister-city relationship.

I am now a resident alien! It's still strange to think about that, but I have an ID card and everything. With all my fellow expatriates, we Americans make up a whopping 0.04% of the population. Something I didn't expect is the number of Iranians and Brazilians who live and work in the area. I'm under the impression that Westerners are something of the "model minority" - discrimination against us is rare, and usually limited to occasionally being barred from renting an apartment or entering an onsen - while Southeast Asians and South Asians are treated more like how Mexicans are treated in the States. I was told on one occasion to watch out for the Iranians, because "they sell drugs."

I wanted to write a long post about the different forms of discrimination in Japan, because it's pretty widespread and not very well-known. For example, did you know that there is actually an indigenous population in Japan (the Ainu) who have lived here many thousands of years longer than the ethnic Japanese, who are thought to have migrated from Korea or China at about 300 BC? The Ainu face conditions that are comparable to that of the Native Americans in the US, and the First Nations in Canada. Instead of going on and on, I would recommend those who are interested read the UN Commission on Human Rights report on Japan, or at the very least, look up "Ethnic issues in Japan" on Wikipedia.

And now for something completely different: a view of the area around my homestay.


* The best are the burgers at In-N-Out. Obviously.
** That made me laugh - usually windmills turn to generate electricity, not the other way around.