Greetings from the land of "No Excuses"

Tim here, I realize that Ruth just posted yesterday, and that after such a long posting drought it may be odd to see posts on two consecutive days. They say that when it rains it pours, and it looks like Ruth and I got the writing itch at about the same time. Since it looks like Ruth pretty much covered everything that is happening in our lives (really, there is not much to tell), I thought I'd talk a little bit about a major difference I've noticed between American and Japanese culture (a difference that has caused me no small amount of grief and anxiety).
The difference I am referring to centers around cultural attitudes toward excuses. Or, to be more precise, the difference between a reason and an excuse. I think that the idea of making excuses has a bad wrap in just about any culture, as well it should as the idea of an excuse connotes a certain air of shadiness and illegitimacy. That said, in American culture I think there is a subtle but important line drawn between an excuse and a reason. That is to say that, in America, if you do something that requires explanation, it is acceptable to give a legitimate reason for what you have done. If that reason seems unacceptable, then it becomes something less savory, an excuse. In Japan, however, the line between excuse and reason does not exist in the same way. This might seem unbelievable, so to illustrate my point I believe a brief Japanese lesson is in order. In Japanese the word for reason is wake (pronounced wah-kay). This is commonly used in such phrases as sou iu wake de, which means "for that reason". The word for excuse, on the other hand, is iiwake (ee-wah-kay), which, if translated literally, means "a reason that you say out loud". Therefore, there is really no such thing as the reason/excuse distinction one finds in American culture; in Japan, no matter what the situation, a reason becomes an "excuse" the moment it is given.
As a world-class excuse maker (or I prefer to think "reason giver") myself, navigating this prickly cultural thorn bush has been no easy task. I always find myself biting my tongue whenever I want to give what I see as a reason for something, knowing that it will be interpreted as an excuse. With that in mind, I've been trying hard to keep my wake to myself, afraid that they'll come rolling off my tongue in the hideous form of iiwake. Who knows, not being able to make an excuse for two years just might make me a better person (although I wouldn't count on it).

It's been a very long time, I realize that. The funny thing is that I check other blogs regularly and silently curse their writers for not updating often enough. It would be easier to update more often if we lived more interesting lives, but then of course we might not have time to update. That paradox very well may be the lamest excuse you've ever heard (or read), but it's the best I can do. Anyway... nothing much new here... Tim and I spent Christmas day on the phone with our families and opening gift boxes that our families were kind enough to send. The snacks and DVDs and books made Tim's New Years break from work very fun. New Years Eve we spent with friends and then at midnight we headed out to the Shinto shrine for some sake and a prayer. I really dislike sake, but I can drink it without making a face if I really try. Tim likes sake, so he was glad to hear there would be free sake at the shrine for New Years. The sake at the shrine is non-alcoholic, served warm, sweetened with sugar and has mushy rice floating in it. It tasted alot like the malt-o-meal "porridge" that my Dad and brothers used to eat for breakfast. I didn't like that either, but I can see why some people might enjoy it. Anyway after the Shinto shrine we tried to go to another midnight ceremony at a Buddhist temple, but they had already closed up shop by the time we made it there. I wish I could tell you that I had pictures from New Years, but sadly I don't. The one photo I took was so blurry and distorted that I deleted it right away. After that one photo I noticed that no one else had a camera out and decided that flash photography during a religious ceremony might not be appropriate.

We went to the movies for the first time since we got here and saw Body of Lies with Leo from Titanic. Since the movie had just come out in the US, it was shown in English with Japanese subtitles which was good for me of course, and good for Tim too, since some of the dialogue moves quickly. He said he enjoyed reading the subtitles and seeing how some slang and technical military jargon would be translated. What a nerd :p Who tries to learn even at the movies? Right next door to the movie theater is a video rental shop and a supermarket. We've been back to this new supermarket a few times, but we have yet to rent movies. A friend lent me season 1 of Heroes and 5 or 6 seasons of 24, plus we got The Office and 30 Rock for Christmas so we're still catching up on our favorite TV shows. It's nice to know the video store is nearby as we've missed alot of movies these past 7 months. Maybe once it warms up outside it will be easier to take the 30 minute walk there and 30 minutes back just to rent a movie, but that hasn't happened yet!

I'm sure most of you have heard but we've decided to stay for a second year. It was a really hard decision to make, but really it was the only one we could make. There are alot of reasons we want to go home, but even more reasons that we really need to stay. Fortunately Tim really enjoys teaching and he is able to recontract for a second year. Unfortunately Japan's economy sucks right now too, none of the private English schools around town are hiring, and most are actually cutting jobs so the chances of me finding real work look bad. Fortunately Tim's job provides us with enough money to pay our bills and still save a good chunk for the future. Right now we are just hoping that the economy back home turns around because we are coming home after two years no matter what! *knock on wood* The good news for all of you back home is that you now have until July of 2010 to come visit Japan and have a built in free translator (Tim) and a free "Japanese food for those who aren't sure they should be eating Japanese food" guide (me)!

We lent the 1993 film Groundhog Day to Keiko and Chie in honor of a recent American holiday by the same name. They said that Bill Murray looks like Tom Hanks. I can see it, a little. Tim and I both love that movie, it was when I saw that he owned a legitimate copy on DVD that I knew we'd be together forever. As a child we had a copy that movie, recorded onto VHS off of network TV including commercials that I must have watched a thousand times and it never got old. For the past three Groundhog Days Tim and I have made it an annual tradition to watch the movie together and then quote it for days after the fact... "Well what if there is no tomorrow? There wasn't one today!"

Happy Birthday Johnny! The big 11, It's all downhill from here, your legs start to go, candy doesn't taste as good any more... sorry this old timer does ramble on sometimes.