Monday, April 10, 2006

After Japan II

It's been so long since i posted anything. Almost 4 months.

I came back last week from Japan... So predictably this post is goin to be all about japan and my experiences there...

Japan's an awesome place and i just don't know where to begin. I've been there once before... in may of last year. But i didnt like it that much the last time. Guess all my focus was on something else. I spent 3 months there this time and just about fell in love with the whole place.

The language. It's so much fun to learn a new language. Our co-ordinator in Hitachi didn't know much English. And we needed to interact a lot with him.. So it was mostly gestures and the ever-present Atlas (a translation tool for Japanese to English and vice versa for those unfamiliar... ) but as time progressed i began to understand more and more of what he said. Of course given the high quality of our software, most of my vocabulary ended up revolving around bugs, defects, problems, quality, target, degrade, regression etc.. lol.. ;-) The language bug is still with me. I've joined the JLPT classes in office.. should be writing the exam in December. I'll let you know what happens then.. ;-))

The men!! I found so many japanese men attractive this time... Although i don't quite know what it was about them!! To name a few.. this guy on japanese tv who played a superhero.. he was awesome.. !! but then i guess super heroes are universally appealing ;-) Many of the guys working in Hitachi.. especially in the Server team.. ok let's not go into names here.. But there was this particular guy in the Server team who was hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.. sigh.. about the cutest guy i ever met! He was not much taller than me.. with dark eyes that seemed to have the slightest green to them.. He had a wonderful smile.. (we were always smiling at each other.. !! don't ask me why!!!!)

The service - Japanese service is an experience worth making a special trip to Japan for... Whether it's your local lawson shop attendant, whether it's a taxi driver or the yodobashi attendant.. they are supremely polite and just waiting to help you.. !! it doesnt matter if you dont know much japanese - the gadget friendly always have a translation tool in easy access. They flash it out and smile at you apologising all the while for their ignorance of english. Their apology makes things doubly embarassing - you're in their country and you don't know a word of their language.. !! When you come back to india and walk through Indian customs to meet the surly customs officer, you land back on earth with a bang.. !!!

And the sakura.. !! Now most people must have heard of this one - sakura is japanese cherry blossom. A beautiful delicate flower that blooms in spring and falls in just a few weeks reminding us that the most beautiful of things don't last long.... In fact their short lifespans make them all the more beautiful..

Hmm, i guess this post is getting too long.. Don't know how many of you people had the patience to get this far.. !! Comments, please.. !!

4 comments:

Caffeinism said...

Its good to know what you think...always..I think I have missed it for a very very long time..keep writing..and i will keep reading and commenting..thats a promise.

Ravindran Ganapathi said...

Gaget friendly!... mmm really i have missed being there :(
ok, dont say it as buggy language capabilities, call it as techy.
How strange, being at my hometown never i have realised the season changes in land, maybe i have to blame it on the concrete jungle or the terrain itself, here too things are contrasting... herald of spring is real :) when i read the story scarlet of pimpernel i couldnt relate how it would look like, now i can :)
about language part, i guess have to write a separate post lot to tell...
atlast u dint tell about asian girls, okie i will catch up with pisth !!!

Vidya said...

Am simply glad your focus was on Japan this time... He he he!!!
And you really write very well HARINI!!!

Harini said...

>>>ravi
scarlet of pimpernel...??
haven't read that one.. !! guess i'd have to read that to understand what you mean... ;-)

>>>vidya
he he he.. thanks, di..