1) Vending machines
Vending machines in the U.S. sell Coke. Sometimes Pepsi. The life expectancy of any Coke machine left outside after dark, anywhere, would be maybe 15 minutes. After that it would be graffittied, tipped over, pummeled, looted, and set on fire. So you don't find many vending machines standing around outside in the U.S. They're too street smart.


But Japan's clean, perky and always well stocked vending machines can be found anywhere, day or night, and offer a wide variety of goods, from drinks and snacks, to batteries and underwear. They are ready to serve you, wherever you may be. Up in Miyagi once, I was walking around in the middle of the night, and I saw a strange glowing light in the middle of a lonely rice paddy. A UFO? Nope. Suntory. Nice! An opportunity for green tea, just when I needed one.


Even better than their ubiquity and variety is the after purchase care the vending machine companies provide. Once I had a 50 yen coin get swallowed by a machine in Sendai. As a joke my girlfriend said, "Hey, you wanna call their number?" which was printed on the machine. So we did. Their customer service rep apologized profusely, and then asked us to stay where we were; someone would deliver 50 yen to us immediately. We said thanks but we don't have time. So he got our address and mailed us a 50 yen coin.


Imagine that happening in the States. "The machine ate your quarter, huh? So whaddya want me to do about it, send ya a new one? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!" Click.



2) Yelling in restaurants (and not tipping)
I'm not a fan of all the excess noise that there is in Japan; for a country that prides itself on preserving harmony and 'wa' there sure is an inordinate amount of needless racket--from the blaring loudspeakers on the tops of those election trucks to the early morning traffic outside my paper-thin walls.


But one place I wholeheartedly approve of noise is in a restaurant, where you can just yell whenever you need something. Gosh, no more soy sauce. "Excuuuuuuuse me!" you holler. The waiter scurries over dutifully, not the least bit miffed that you just shouted at him from across a crowded room, nor that he was just on his way to take a much needed break.


Actually, he might have been seething with anger for all I know. But that's the other great thing about the service in almost any restaurant in Japan: they keep it to themselves. He could have just lost his entire fortune on the stock market, but he won't let his personal stuff interfere with giving you top notch service.


And you don't even have to tip! What a great country. Japan is a country where the waiters and waitresses should, by law, receive a 25% gratuity just for being so great, but they don't expect a thing for it. I wish there were some way I could show my gratitude for their terrific service, but my gratitude is not wanted. In fact, I once thanked a waitress for the beer she brought me, and she got really embarassed and tried to run away. They feel bad if you notice!


Now check out the situation in the United States: First, any yelling will get you booted onto the sidewalk; it's got to be the discreet two-finger signal with the eyebrow nod or they ignore you completely. Even so, she's likely to be pretty irked--and showing it--if you caught her on her way for her 20 minute smoke break (the third one today). And whoa be unto you if the full 15% tip isn't on the table when you leave! You're liable to get a dagger in the back as you exit the place.


I guess I could have written this under just one thing heading: Japan's great attention to service. It's such a wonderful thing. Sadly, the U.S. seems to have forgotten about this sometime in the past 50 years of rising prosperity and comfort. To me, it's one of the hallmarks of Japan's Japaneseness. People always fret about how Japan is losing its traditions, becoming westernized, etc. I don't really think it's such a big deal. I mean, who cares if more people prefer jeans over kimono? But if Japan ever loses its attention to service, I'm going home.






▼▽▼▼Markの過去の記事を読む━━━━━━━━━━━
・【How Are Japan and the United States Different?】2008.10.03 (Fri)

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There's more than one way to skin a cat
Why is it that you do better in some classes than in others? Of course there can be several reasons, but your individual learning style may also affect your performance.
Test questions like anything else can be tackled in a variety of different ways - all of which can lead to the correct answer. Some people may understand a problem explained verbally, others may prefer a visual explanation, while others may prefer to work through the problem by themselves. Some people see learning as a means to an ends and just don't like it at all!


Identifying your own learning style can take some time and effort and unfortunately as we get older we tend to get more and more stuck in our old ways. There are a number of pop quizzes available online such as MBTI and Multiple Intelligences which can help you glean a feel for your most predominant style but the most important thing to do is some self-analysis. (If you want feedback on the MBTI quiz you can get it here.)


Start by looking at your past learning experiences and reflect on both the positives and negatives. What were your study habits? Which worked best/worst? What was the environment like? How much time did you spend studying? Next, move to the present and analyze what you need to change to improve your learning efficiency to emulate your ideal learning conditions. Finally, draw up a plan, stick to it and review it regularly.


Plans and routines are great but it is also important to note that you shouldn't be afraid of exploring new ways of learning from time to time. Although you may feel you are comfortable with a certain routine that you are 'used to' sometimes it can be beneficial to try a different approach and step outside your comfort zone to explore an alternative way of doing something. The classroom is the best place to take risks, make mistakes and try out new strategies, as this will better prepare you for whatever it is you hoping to achieve outside the classroom.




▼▽▼▼Paulの過去の記事を読む━━━━━━━━━━━
・【The Pareto Principle】2008.10.15 (Wed)

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そう、あれは新緑萌える2004年の5月初旬のことでした。大学を卒業し、就職という選択肢を捨て英国大学院留学を目指し専門知識を勉強するとともに英語を勉強していた頃です。実家にパラサイトし魚屋アルバイトとして生計をたてる私の手元に一通の封書が届きました。


イギリスからの郵便であることを示すスタンプが押してあるその封書にはUniversity of ****と印字してあります。おそるおそる中身を取り出し内容を確認。


あいたたたた。


１度しまって、そっと机の上において客観的に眺めてからディープなブレスをテイクしてからもう一回確認。。時間をおいても内容は変わらないみたいなので目をそらす。...hmmm, well,,, I think it's O.K as long as... といいながらもう一度かぶりつく。


｢まあ、君はあれだ、なんていうかまあ英語の力が少し足りないみたいだからあれだ。もしIELTSで****以上のスコアとったら入学を許可（Conditional Offer）してあげる。｣と手紙。IELTSって何？と私。


TOEFLしか知らない私はさっそくインターネットでIELTSなるものを検索。IELTSという英語能力試験があり、英国大学院留学ではTOEFLの代わりにこれを求められるのだという。しかもこのテストで一定以上のスコアを取得しないとOfferはConditionを充たすことができず、無効になるという。IELTSなんて全く知らない、まずこのテスト名どう発音するのかわからない。でもあのスコアさえ取得することができれば、大学卒業後｢ストレート｣で院に進学することができる。｢ストレート｣を諸事情で諦めかけていた私によぎったひとすじの光。


TOEFL-CBTとは違い、1ヶ月に一度しか受験ができず、しかも受験日を自分で設定できない。受験会場は東京と大阪と名古屋しかない。今日は５月20日で8月中旬くらいに渡英しないとコースに間に合わない。それまでには結果を取得する必要があるが、結果が出るまでには1ヶ月かかる。なるべく勉強時間をかせぐために受験日は後の方が良いが受験日を後にもってくれば書類の再提出が求められている日までに結果を通知することができないおそれもある。条件は厳しい。選択肢形式のTOEFLとは異なり、全てハンドライティングでスペル一つ間違えても減点だという。さらにTOEFLにはないスピーキングテストが必須であるという。対策は間に合うのか。


考え得る要素をシャッフルしながら悩んだ結果、7月の受験がいちばんの候補に挙がった。島根県から毎月会場に赴いて小手調べをするほど金に余裕はない。夏はうなぎ商戦の時期だ、魚屋は忙しい。決戦は７月10日名古屋、一発で決めるしかない。


｢やるしかない｣。そのとき、勝部は、決心した。（BGM:｢地上の星｣プロジェクトＸより）


あと1ヶ月半でどこまでできるのか。TOEFLの勉強法となにが違うのか。スピーキング対策には何をすれば良いのか。スコアがとれても出願には間に合うのか。バイトをどのくらいまで減らせば生活ラインぎりぎりを保ちつつ勉強できるのか。いろいろな事を考えながら最初で最後のIELTSへの試験対策を始めた。


いまだかつてあれほどまでに勉強したことはない。｢今までいちばん勉強した時｣が幕をあけた。（次回に続く）






▼▽▼▼勝部さんの過去の記事を読む━━━━━━━━━━━
・【英語と仕事】2008.10.06 (Mon)

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