Japan

I worked together with Heidi Emilie and Eline while learning about Japanese culture.We decided to watch some japanese anime to learn about the culture. The culture is reflected in the anime, though it's very overdone. However, we watched some episodes of a comedian anime. Afterwards we discussed what we had seen and what we thought was different in the japanese culture from the european. For example, we thought that homosexuality is much less a tabu in Japan than in Europe. Neither is cross-dressing.

Also the Japanese seems more straight forward and not as "cold" as europeans. They show their feelings much clearer than we do through the way they talk and body language. Also I have the impression that japanese girls are very girly. They're very interested in hair dues and nail design. After all japanese(and Asia) is quite famous for their imaginative nail designs. The west has recently started to adopt this trend, though it's not a big hit yet.


Also the Japanese has a quite unique fashion culture. Ever heard of Lolita for example? But also, the japanese are very found of the western fashion.
Also the japanese food is very different from the european. We have already adopted the sushi, but there's still yet to come! Pocky is one example. Really tasty Japanese candy which can be bought in a few "foreigner" stores in Norway.
In Japan they also have the Sakura season, which is when the cherry trees blossom. This is a very popular time to visit Japan and therefore also quite expensive. But very beautiful! They also have the hot springs which are very different from the western standard spa. And the school uniform is very common as well.

So all summed up, the japanese has quite a different culture from us europeans. I know someone who is studying there right now, and she wrote on her blog that the first time she arrived in Japan she was shocked. It was so different and weird.

I think the way we worked on this was great, and I would not have chosen any other way! :)


Pictures:
[link1] [link2] [link3]