As some of you will already know, November’s Japan Blog Matsuri will be hosted here at Narrative Disorder. Chris did a wonderful job stepping in at the last minute for October as you can see here and I look forward to finding out just how big a job it was!
The most public part of the job of host is, of course, to set the topic. I’ve racked my brain trying to think up a fantastic theme which would inspire a bevy of posts full of keen observations and ever-so-clever witticisms which would teach us all something new and wonderful about Japan and which, and this is key, hasn’t been done before… In the end, my brain and I have decided that turn about is fair play:
This month, I’d like to hear about what Japan has taught you about yourself.
Funny or serious, good or bad, whether you are an expat already living here or just loving Japan from afar - what have you learned about yourself in your interactions with Japan and/or it’s culture and what was it that gave you that insight (that’s the essential Japan bit for the Japan Blog Matsuri 
)?
For example, I have discovered that I’m okay with bowing to people as an equal and even as an inferior to my husband’s superiors at his work but when the teenage porter at a hotel bows low as I enter a lift and stays bent right over looking at his shoes for the full hour and half it takes for the lift doors to close I get increheheheedibly uncomfortable.
If you are reticent, or it’s just not your blog’s style, to write about such personal insights then a post on what Japan has taught you about your home country (and how it has taught you that of course) would also be fine
** Edit: The blog carnaval site is back up and running so in the sidebar you will find the widget to make submission easy (though emailing me the link or putting the link in the comments to this post is also okay) Last moment for submission is 21:59 on November 20th!
So fire away! And if you find yourself procrastinating on it (as I have done the last two months that I have been aware of this Matsuri 
) think about me and my fellow NaNoWriMo-ers who have committed ourselves to writing a 50,000 word novel, from scratch, in November and send some good vibes our way before getting back to it!
Entries (RSS)
Let me just add that you can normally submit your entries through the Blog Carnival widget here, but emailing Danielle or leaving the link to your post in this comment section will work equally well.
This should be a good matsuri! Great topic!
Thanks Nick, as soon as the Blog Carnival site is up and running again I’ll add the widget to the post. If you get yours written before then (silly me was assuming noone would) then justemail me with the link or, as Nick said, post the link here. Happy Writing!
Great topic Danielle and interesting to hear your bowing comments. When i went back to AU last Xmas i knew i was doing it and it was noticed by friends and family that whenever someone entered the room i would bow, even if ever so slightly, becoming a force of habit i guess. I know what you mean with feeling uncomfortable with the excessive duration and even the angle of the bow too …. i’ll never get used to that.
LOL Neil! I bet you didn’t live it down either, “home” being Australia - we are ruthless!
Funny, I was in the middle of a post on a self-realization I made when I read your post here. Because of my time in Japan, I discovered that I am a “task-oriented” guy. Read a better explanation on my blog:
http://badatjapan.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/self-realization-have-you-had-one/
Great topic! And convenient timing, too!
[...] sidebar at Narrative Disorder. Post deadline is before 11:59 on Nov 20th The topic can be found at http://www.narrativedisorder.com/2008/10/30/november-japan-blog-matsuri-begins/ [...]
I purposely wait until department stores here close and the staff line up on either side of the exit aisle and bow while saying “Thank you” to the customers as they walk through and out. Makes me feel like a rock star. Sometimes I even sneak back in and do it again
Ah Billy-sensei, I have so much to learn…
[...] Blog Matsuri - I can’t wait to read them all! Once again the topic can be found at http://www.narrativedisorder.com/2008/10/30/november-japan-blog-matsuri-begins/ and the widget for submission is in the Narrative Disorder sidebar (though emailing me the link [...]
Ack! Is it really that time again already? I’d better get hoppin’ on this one. One thing that Japan has taught me about myself is that coffee, like revenge, is best served cold. Wait … that’s not about me …
Hmm … I can’t seem to find the right link to post my submission
Either way, here it is: http://www.j2fi.net/2008/11/15/what-has-japan-taught-me/
Hi, Danielle! I can’t get the widget to work for me, either so here is my submission:
http://ieatmypigeon.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/coming-of-age-day/
It’s a post I wrote almost a year ago, reflecting on my year in Japan. Hard to believe I’ve almost been here for 2 years now!! If you’d like me to submit it via email instead, please let me know and I will ….
Hi guys, thanks for the thoughtful entries - here or the widget is cool.
I have noticed that the widget doesn’t always extend fully on first page load but if you click one of the other tabs (e.g., future hosts) and then click the top one again it will extend and you can see the “submit” link near the bottom. I’ve had an entry via it in the last two days so it is still working
My link for this month’s blogsuri post for November
http://thesoulofjapan.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-japan-has-taught-me.html#links
[...] is my last minute entry into November’s Japan Blog Matsuri. I was going to skip it this month, as the question, “What has Japan taught you about [...]
[...] article was entered into the Japan Blog Matsuri which is being hosted by DBR at Narrative Disorder this month. Tags: Food, History, Japan, Japan Blog Matsuri, religion, seasons, [...]
The anticipation! I can barely stop checking your site to see if you’ve posted it yet!