Social Barriers & the Train

First thing to mention: I'm realizing that my status is confusing and perhaps uncomfortable to many people. American men are typically depicted as strong, tall, musically talented, good actors, tough, weapons-savvy, and coloured of hair and eye. In some instances, I might fit most of those traits, but none of them all the time. From these ideas (from the media), as well as a general x~e~n~o~p~h~o~b~i~a, I am a little bit scary to men here. Surprisingly, I don't seem to have any intimidation factor on the women, but in reflection it is probably partially because they aren't the gatekeepers of territory. (It certainly isn't the beard!). In addition to this, I have a wide variety problems with my general status. Guests are accorded some level of extra status. However, a guest for a year is hardly a guest. More like a part-timer. But not exactly. Also, the people here that are my age are undergraduate students. I've met 2 people that are graduate students and thus share that status-bond with me. However, both are gone! They've left the University. Further compicating matters is the fact that I am both Huranku-Sensei (the Prof, Frank) and simultaneously Huranku-san (Mr. Frank), student. So what am I? I can't very well be superior and inferior, I'm not sure if that even exists in a way that can be spoken about with typical dialogue of the nation. People just AREN'T students once they are teachers, not really. They are inferior to some other teacher (based mostly on age and sex, generally), and they are superior to all students.

So, I am inferior to almost all teachers because I am perhaps one of the youngest dozen-or-so people teaching university in this nation of about 1/2 the population of the States. My colleagues that would normally turn into friends through work could not credibly befriend someone as low of age/status as I am. To my fellow students (undergraduates), I am about 1-5 years older than, and of a blatant superior class of Sensei. This is in a place where a person can (in documented records) be left out of the inner circles of friends because they simply attended a different high-school that the rest of a faculty, or a better college even. This is especially severe in towns rather than cities where nepotism can only go so far in a business and remain successful. Midorigaoka is officially a "village."

So I will likely find the former trend to have a force in my life as I am here. One of my newest and growing to be my best friends in Japan (next to Tsune) has just finished her year here and is returning to Hong Kong en route to her university in China. People from the outside are my best chance right now, and the international population is being cut back, mostly in the area of my "favourites" category from a number of nations. So I might find September a little lonely.

The Train? I have not yet taken even one train since I have arrived. I have, however, spent about a half-day on a bus of some kind or another in the last month. A bit surprising! But it is slower and more expensive than bus for travelling across the rural landspace, so bus it is!

~A~