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Report From Nagano
Postscript
by Eric Wenocur
Date: 1 Mar 1998 11:18:13 -0500 3/1/98 I decided to add a few more words about things I've noticed since returningto the States. The flight back was great; once again business class and Ithink the food on this United flight was actually *better* than onNorthwest! Arrival at JFK was smooth until I went to get the terminalshuttle bus. Here I've got this big suitcase on wheels, with this huge,overstuffed Nike duffel on the top and my carry-on bag, and people justwould not get out of the way. It was raining and crowded at the curb andeveryone around me was oblivious or rude. Just for a second I thought, "ifI were in Japan people would be hopping over themselves to help out!" Now, this is probably not entirely accurate; for one thing, when I was inTokyo station I noticed many Japanese, especially businessmen, justbarrelling through the place with no regard for anything in their way. This fits with what I observed about the Japanese in general, that is, asindividuals they are very polite, but in groups they become surly andaggressive (and this includes driving cars). Speaking of trains, theJapanese know how to do trains! The Shinkansen from Nagano and the NaritaAirport Express were great: smooth, quiet, comfortable, on time. Even thelittle subway in Nagano was good. I still find myself trying to use some Japanese words out of habit. Iguess when you are concentrating on the language it becomes ingrained veryquickly. How better to express agreement than with a quick, "hai!" The anti-jet lag experiment appears to have been a rousing success! Admittedly, it is hard to tell whether the last 36 hours of the trip, on 6hours sleep, contributed to wearing me out past the jet lag stage, butsince coming back I have been sleeping fine back on my normal schedule. Iexperienced about 1.5 days of slight space-out, but none of the sleepnessnights or waking up at 4am bullshit. Let's hear it for the night shift! For anyone who cares, my theory on the ex-patriots I met in Nagano is this: they have discovered that they can make a good living doing whatever theylike and, more importantly, they married Japanese women that have beentaught to let them do whatever they want! These guys stay out to all hoursdrinking and carousing, have various affairs with other women and stillhave a wife to come home to. They never have to grow up! That's mytheory, and if you know MEN you know there is a grain of truth in it. That's all I had left. It's good to be back, and my pictures prove it wasnot just a weird hallucination. Thanks for reading and keeping in touch! -- Eric Copyright 1998 Eric Wencour, all rights reserved.
From: Eric H Wenocur
To: editor@s2n.org
back home in Silver Spring, MDFor pictures documenting some of the highlights of Eric's trip, check out this Web page.