subtleties

ignored the lagger today and set out all over creation firing out biz cards. after the first few stops i realized that my zipper was not zipped, and laughingly hoped that no one had noticed. as i cruised the hot blocks i started to compile a list of the little differences between portland and kobe.

1. first, most troublesome: faucet mechanics.
in japan you push the handle down to get water, and here you pull the handle up to get water. might not seem so difficult, but this one combines with muscle memory to F me up at least 5 times a day, putting valuable seconds between the tasty wetness and my dry belly.

2. solicitation.
a bit more prominent here (suppose i could use myself and the activities of my day as an example, but we'll not address that now). on corners in the KōB, there may or may not be someone politely, silently offering you a pack of tissues, but they are always easy to avoid. sometimes at night you'd even get a well dressed person inviting you to a brothel, but they aren't very persistent either. here it's a bit trickier, as you're met with the clipboard/sales pitch combo on most corners downtown.

3. public displays.
i'm perfectly comfortable laying topless in a very large park right now, just soakin it up. both the expanse and the nudity would be difficult things to find in ol' kobie.

4. voice volume.
with the exception of a few young children and political radicals on top of vans, japanese people stay pretty quiet. kind of in line with respect and all. 'mericans seem much more fond of noise, yelling, honking, and so forth.

to be continued? i should probably get some sleep, as my remaining days in oregon-shu promise to be action packed.