You know you are Dutch when…

I want to start this post with a screenshot of one of my favorite websites.

I love this site because it hits the nail on the head every time. For Dutch people it is funny because everything is painfully true and for foreigners it is a great way to understand Dutch culture.

So why did I choose this quote you ask? Because I have an answer to a question Irene asked me! Irene was wondering whether Japanese people indeed all use an umbrella while it is raining. And my answer is: yes they do! All of them. Today it is raining for the second time since my arrival in Japan. (I just like saying that because I know in the Netherlands it must have been raining this whole time). Anyway. When I exited the subway station today during the rain, umbrella’s were the only thing I saw. I think I was the only person without an umbrella. They even opened the goddamn thing for 5 seconds if they had to cross the street. What surprised me the most that there must have been one Japanese person who forgot his umbrella today? Or didn’t know it was going to rain? So I guess you could conclude that Japanese people are indeed made of sugar. F.Y.I., some Japanese people also use an umbrella on a sunny day to protect them from the sun.

As for Japanese toilets, well, I think I will devote a whole post to that topic. However I first have to get a camera before I write that one. Because at the building for international students at my campus there is one toilet with a manual. It explains what every button does and how to adjust the jet strength, seat warmth etc. I would like to photograph this manual so you understand what I’m talking about.

For the rest. How has my Osaka experience been so far? What did I do? What did I see?

It has been good, I think I can wholeheartedly say I have fallen in love with Japan. I cannot yet tell if this is just the honeymoon phase and soon I’ll start hating it, or that my appreciation for Japanese culture will stick. We will just have to find out. However to be honest I haven’t seen an awful lot of Japan yet. I haven’t even left Osaka yet, all though beautiful places like Nara and Kyoto are just a short train ride away. And also in Osaka there are a lot of things to see and to do that I haven’t. But it has only been 3 weeks so still enough time to do all that. For the time being I just spend my evenings walking around the city with a beer in my hand. Watching the hostboys and hostesses.

Love,
Anna