April 21, 2003 - page 2

had lunch in the cafeteria with different groups of people. As of yet, my new friends are all girls, as the boys are still very shy. My lunch conversations have been pretty straightforward, usually talk of where I am from, how long I’ll be in Japan, and how I like Japanese food. I’ve now become automatic in my responses to these questions, whether they come in broken English or Japanese. Speaking of con-versations, good ole’ Kentucky Fried Chicken has proven to be a great conversation starter. KFC is one of the few American food chains here in Yamaguchi, and it’s quite popular. Until this point, I was unaware of the KFC in Yamaguchi, and it’s comforting to know that if ever just need a break from Japanese cuisine, I’ll have somewhere to go. I’ve also noted that my new-found Japanese friends often inquire as to how many guns I own, or if I eat meat at every meal.

These questions have made me curious as to what the image of a “typical American” is here in the land of the rising sun. While I haven’t been here long enough to accurately discern this, I hope to report back to you in the coming weeks about what the Japanese really think about us.

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Some of my friends also took me out this evening after class for my first trip around town. Our first stop was the Yamaguchi Doumon or shopping arcade. I enjoyed looking around all of the shops, and the open atmosphere was charming. We then made some stops at some car dealerships. The Big 4 car manufacturers, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Mazda, reign supreme here as far as sales go. However, our stops were at some of the American and European dealerships. I asked for a picture in a Porsche coupe, but the attendant didn’t like the idea. As I mentioned earlier, the compact cars here are very popular and you should get an idea from some of the pictures just how small they really are.