Tag Archives: Cultural Differences

The 999th Reason Why I Hate Kanji

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Reannon Muth

I woke up this morning at seven, stepped into the shower, and sleepily pushed the button that turns on the hot water heater. Or so I thought. Suddenly the bathroom erupted into chaos. Sirens blared, an automated computer voice started … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Differences, Culture Shock, Japan | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Flower Girl

Posted on April 3, 2009 by Reannon Muth

There’s a new celebrity in town and her name is Sakura. She’s tiny, delicate, a pale shade of pink and every one’s clamoring for a chance to be photographed with her. She’s the new Paris Hilton and she’s got this … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Differences, Culture Shock, Japan, Weird and Wacky Tokyo | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Are Japanese and American Children Really all that Different?

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Reannon Muth

I spent all of last week shuttling back and forth between my old job teaching (mostly North American) pre-schoolers at an International school, and my new job, teaching ESL at a Japanese after school preschool program. The whole experience was … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Differences, Japan, Teaching English in Japan | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Follow the Crowd

Posted on November 28, 2008 by Reannon Muth

I’ve been reading a lot of about “groupism” and “the follow the leader syndrome” in Japan and it’s all sort of mind -boggling. I was reading, for example, that this ice cream company in Tokyo actually hired people to form … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Differences, Japan, Weird and Wacky Tokyo | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Teacher Barbie

Posted on November 15, 2008 by Reannon Muth

I tend to treat my private lessons with my Japanese teacher like therapy sessions. I’ll tell her about how one of my student’s is abusing me. I’ll show her the bite marks and the bruises and share horror stories involving … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Differences, Teaching English in Japan, Weird and Wacky Tokyo | Tagged , | 8 Comments