LIVING AND WRITING IN TOKYO

It´s been 7 months since my family and I arrived to Tokyo. As I mentioned before, my wife is Japanese. She is the main reason for us coming back to her home. And the kids too, of course. In the end, they are a third American, a third Colombian and a third Japanese. Just in case you are wondering, yes! They can already speak three languages. The truth is, I am the odd one out in this whole enterprise. I don´t speak the language, I can´t work as a writer yet, but that´s ok. I am happy and I will adjust as long as the family is together. In the end, that is the most important thing.

(I feel a bit like this duckling)

That is also one of the main reason for starting this blog. It is my way to cope, to adjust to this new life. Also, this is a project that I had been postponing for a long time. Having your blog, having a website, is a way to broadcast and show yourself to the world. ´You´re a writer, right?´ A producer friend of mine asked me once. ¨Of course.¨ I replied. ¨Then let me see what you´ve written. Where is it?¨ I didn´t know what to say. She smiled and said, ¨Show the world, Diego. Show the world what you can do.¨ She was right, but I didn´t budge. I was comfortable. Like I´ve said, in Colombia I was part of a group of producers, writers, directors, actors and we always kept each other busy. Well, now I am alone, in a place where I can´t speak the language, trying to fit in. So, this is my way to open up to the world. I am old enough not to be afraid to do it, and to understand that this will become my calling card. So here I am, writing.

Japan is an incredibly exotic country. As much as it is advanced, it is full of the old. Its past, its history is everywhere. Where I live, you can´t walk a few blocks without seeing a temple, a shrine, an antique shop. Every time I see women wearing a kimono, I still have to do a double take. I think they look so beautiful, so enchanting as they glide past in those colorful dresses, tightly wrapped, an engaging contrast to the loud and intense life style of a city like Tokyo.

And so, part of my focus at the beginning on this blog is to give my first hand perspective about life in Tokyo, the people and its customs. I came up with a specific idea on how to do this as I was riding the subway on my way to work. The idea was; what could I learn about the Japanese culture as I sat there day after day, not doing anything, just looking at them? 😜

First, they love their phones and trough their cellphones, their privacy and space. I am going to start with this one because it is one of the most obvious. The train slowly comes to a stop at the station. The doors open and several commuters come in. Quietly, very quietly🤫🤐 they search for a place to seat. Two

サラリーマン - sarariiman - sit in front to me. At this point I stare, but don´t stare. You know what I mean? But since this is my sociological research, I have to every now and then, take a peek. What is amazing is how perfectly choreographed they are. First, how carefully they sit, then they go into their coat pockets, take out their cellphones, adjust themselves to their seat and start clicking away. Quietly, very quietly. Have I mentioned this before, (whispering) how quietly everything happens? 😂🤣

Courtesy and respect for others around you is part of the set of unspoken rules that we all must follow. The signs on the train inform you to put your phone on マナーモード - manaa moodo - which means ´silent mode´. It also tells you to refrain from making or receiving calls. So the only sound you hear is the train riding on its tracks. Realize that I come from riding trains all my life in NYC, where loudness and craziness and people speaking and laughing and selling stuff and playing music and dancing and begging etc, is the norm. Hell no, you will never see this in the Tokyo subway.

(NY Subway - You can´t make this stuff up! 😂🤣😂)

Added bonus 23 years ago, when I first came to Tokyo, the focus was on reading manga books. It was interesting to realize, as I took another peek, that they are still doing the reading, but on their cellphones.

So, there you go. My first of several sociological, cultural, interesting observations that I have recorded as I go on my duties as an English teacher in Shibuya, Tokyo. I have a list of about 20. So get ready because I am bringing a bunch of them to you.

Thanks for coming.