Hi there! I hope you had a great weekend.

10/24 in Washington state near Seattle,  happened a school shooting again.

In Japan, we haven't guns and our international students are afraid of guns.　So I don't want to go outside especially at night alone.  Some people open carry and many people also concealed carry. It is such discomfort.

American always says we can protect you. But perhaps they can kill me easily. I think GUN is most different about our cultures.

Today, I will tell you how many people are killed each year by guns.

There were more than 30,000 gun deaths in the US in 2010 – about 1/3 of them murders and 2/3 suicides.  Out of the 30,000 deaths, about 6,200 of them were young people between the ages of 15 and 24. In fact, by next year, they project that annual gun deaths for young people will surpass that of annual motor vehicle deaths, which has been on a decline for the last decade.

Many people mention the need for “self-defense” when discussing the necessity for gun ownership. But guns in home INCREASE risk of gun deaths – rather than for self-defense, guns in homes are 22 TIMES more likely to be used in suicides and accidental shootings. Breaking down the number 22, for every self-defense use, there were 4 accidental shootings, 7 murders, and 11 suicides.

I want to wrap up my blog by saying that guns themselves are not evil, nor are they a pure mass-murder weapon. But in the 21^st century, I believe guns have no place in homes – most likely, it would result in accidental deaths, rather than self-defense.

Unless you are a HIGHLY trained military personnel who can remain calm, assess the situation, and take aim at the assaulter precisely in a highly volatile environment, a gun owner has almost no chance of actually defending himself or his family in such a situation.

If you care about your family's well-being and safety, I believe the best thing to do is NOT keep guns at home, but rather install home security systems and have a family emergency plan for any contingencies.

 

That wraps up this weeks post, I hope you found it interesting and compelling.

Hello again.

I would like to talk about Japanese and American school systems and students fashion.
when I come in Washburn, I thought students fashion are very casual.

This is Japanese students

We wear nice dress and big heal.

You know why?  We don't study in college. College is just fun place for us.

Japanese studies hard before going to college, then they stop studying once there.  Those going to a third-tier school don't study at all before or after getting into college.

Until we go to University, we attended a cram school five days a week,taking classes on English, literature, and history, in preparation for college entrance exam.

The cram school isn't open on weekends, but there was a room available during that time, so we all there on weekends to study there.

There were other people who studied even harder!!  Those who failed to get into university preciously attended the cram school as if attending a university, staying there from 8-10pm.

For Japanese people, getting into a top-ranked  university is very important, and one must do so to get a good job after graduation.

I was never found of such a college system in Japan, and because i believe one should play while growing up but study hard after growing up, I came to the U.S for my studies.

HI,there!!  

Japan has incorporated many components of American life since the end of World War II.  We eat American food on a regular basis, use English words in daily conversation, and appreciate all things American.  When I was in Japan, I thought I had a decent understanding of what American life is like.  However, after coming to Kansas, I have realized that my “understanding” was completely off the mark.  Now, I understand that Japanese culture is indeed totally different from American culture.  I hope that as I spend more time here in Kansas, I will be able to understand American culture more thoroughly, and perhaps even form a “cultural bridge” between Japan and the U.S.

strange country Japan

Hi there! I hope you had a great weekend!!
I slept all day for most of the weekend.. I am so lazy by the way!!

Anyway, today I will write about Japanese food.

Japanese eat cuisine from various countries around the world. 

When I was in Japan, I often ate Korean, Chinese, Italian, and so on.  Hence, you can eat food from practically every region  in Japan. 

Another thing to note is that Japanese food is quite complicated to prepare.  Making Japanese food requires you to boil, steam, roast, fry, etc.  In my impression, food in Kansas is relatively easy to prepare.  

I have been eating American food almost everyday, and sometimes the lack of variety makes me crave cuisine from other parts of the world, especially Japanese food.  Because Japanese food is healthy and more flavorful.  Also, because the Japanese eat a wider variety of healthier foods they have an average life expectancy of 85 years old, but American is 79 years old.

They should eat healthy food and lose weight if more people had a healthier diet and exercise.more, then their life expectancy would go up.

For Japanese, the food must be presented beautifully.  In America speed and quantity seem to be more important than presentation and healthiness.  

Here are examples of Japanese and American foods.

Hello again!

Since arriving in America, I have been in a constant state of culture shock.  Although Japan and the U.S. share many similarities, Japanese culture is in fact totally different from American culture, especially when it comes to customs.  Hence, based on my experience so far in the U.S., I would like to explain the differences for each of culture below.

First, bowing is an important Japanese custom. Japanese always bow when they greet someone.  For example, we usually bow if we catch someone’s eyes; businessmen bow even when they are just on the phone.  When we say goodbye, we bow over and over again.  Also we have basically 3 types of bows.  When you greet someone, you should bow by dropping into a 15-degree bend from the waist. When you return a favor, do 30-degree bend from the waist. Then when you apologies someone, do 45-degree bend from the waist.
But in my impression so far, Americans greet each other simply by saying just “Hi” or “Hello”, very simple. They definitely don't bow to each other, nor do they give seasonal greetings, as the Japanese often do.