Ramen Noodles, Anyone?

Ramen noodles...nothing new, right? We all eat them - especially when we're lacking time and/or money. I ate my fair share in a cup in high school and college, and so I wasn't surprised to hear them talked about time and time again.

What I wasn't prepared for, however, was the borderline obsession with them and a variety of other noodles. Ramen isn't just ramen...I've been to the museum and learned about the different broths and noodle varieties. They vary by region and there are ramen restaurants all over. For me, ramen has always been an old standby - but never have I been preparing to go out with friends for dinner and thought...I'm really in the mood for a big bowl of ramen tonight...go figure!

Wild Horses

One of the first questions people typically ask me about Japan is..."how is the food?" I generally have few complaints. I can't lie and say there aren't certain dishes that I miss...or pretend to not notice the difference between burgers here and in the States...but aside from that, few complaints. On a positive note, food here comes in much smaller portions and is generally much healthier than in the US.
One of the main tenets of having a successful international assignment is being open...or so I've read. I'm pretty picky about some food, but in general, I'm open to most meats. So, during my second week in Japan, on a driving trip to Yamanashi, we stopped off at a somewhat traditional Japanese restaurant. Traditional in that we had to take off our shoes and sit on the ground. Traditional in the sense that raw horse meat was on the menu. In an effort to show my new co-workers just how open I was to new experiences, I persuaded them to do the ordering and that I would sample what they choose. I hated the tofu that came out, but surprisingly loved the taste of the raw horse meat....isn't that ironic? I've never been particularly squeamish about raw foods - I'm a big fan of sushi and as long as it's safe...I'll give it a try. After my dabble with horse, I've since learned that I've only scratched the surface of raw cuisine. Apparently, raw beef and chicken are also quite popular here...yum yum!!

Inflexible Flex-Time

Here in Japan, I'm working at a large national company...they own my company in the US and I'm participating in an exchange of sorts. Back home in Pittsburgh, one of the visible benefits of our workplace is the opportunity to enjoy flextime...which basically means you came come in at a time that is suitable for you as long as you are at work within the core business hours and stay the requisite 8 hours. I looove flextime...and I hate waking up early. Even when I do wake up early, I must admit, I still can't get in early mostly because I take the time to eat breakfast, catch up on the news, check emails and generally prepare myself to face another day at work. All that being said, I'm not a slacker and have no problem staying late to get my work done. The beauty of flextime is that you can work around a schedule that fits your life as long as it doesn't harm your productivity. Overall, the work day is very flexible - from when you leave, to when and if you take lunch, and when you leave.

In my preparations for moving to Tokyo and my new position, I asked about flextime and was assured that it was in existence. 8:30 seemed to be the general start to the day, which was ok...I knew that I should make an impression and aim for that time...at least at the beginning. Imagine my surprise, however, when I came in at around 8:50 on my first week after printing out some documents at my apartment (I hadn't yet been hooked up to the printer at work) and was met with questioning looks and a sense that all was not okay. I won't go into detail, but I will say this. If you are coming to Japan, and more specifically, if you will be in my position soon - do not believe the hype. Flextime here does not necessarily mean the same thing it does where you are coming from...do not take that fact for granted.

Flextime for me means being here before 8:30 and taking lunch in the 45 minutes that are designated lunch time - and if I ever forget, the bells and the fact that the lights go down during that period are helpful reminders. It also means, that around at 5:00 when the end of the day bells sound, I am encouraged to leave....interesting take on flextime, I must say...

The Merlion in Singapore

Ok...I'll admit it. Prior to coming to Japan, and meeting some great co-workers from Singapore...my knowledge of the country was extremely limited. I knew nothing about it...except...and this is the most embarrassing part...that in the early to mid 90s an American kid was caned there. I know..it's bad, but apparently I'm not the only one. When I told a few friends and family members that I was traveling to Singapore for business while in Japan...they mentioned the caning incident as well. Ironically, these people were all around the same age as me...so I lack to blame our ignorance on our youth...haha. So, aside from cautions about not chewing gum and doing anything "caneworthy"...I was completely in the dark about the country. I won't turn this blog into a a geography lesson or history lesson, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised! Singapore was great...really great. The weather is amazing...it's located near the equator so tropical weather ALL YEAR ROUND (take that, Pittsburgh)...the food is yummy (I love seafood and tropical fruit)...and they even speak English. Shopping is waaaay cheaper than Japan, and I had an excellent time. So excellent, in fact, that I called my mom immediately and recommended her and the family to put Singapore on the top of their vacation lists. I took a picture of the famed Merlion...and because of the poor quality of my camera (I know...I know...the new pink one should be here this week) you may only be able to see a faint picture behind our smiling faces

For more info about the famous Merlion....go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlion