Welcome to Kangae
11/24/07 20:16 Filed in: Personal
Welcome to Kangae.
Kangae (考え) is Japanese for idea. That is the theme for this blog...sharing my ideas on various items, debates, etc. I hope you will enjoy it.
Why the Japanese? Well, for most of the 1990s I lived in Tokyo. There is no better learning experience than to live in another culture. Japan is significantly different than America and truly it stretches you like a rubber band. And like a rubber band you never return exactly to where you started. The biggest difference I learned in Japan was the consideration of others before acting on something. In Japan the group is a dominant social group and if you are too different, then you cannot fit it.
Of course as a foreigner, you can never truly become Japanese. Nevertheless, adapting to that culture leads to a culture shock when returning to the stubborn individualism of America.
Kangae (考え) is Japanese for idea. That is the theme for this blog...sharing my ideas on various items, debates, etc. I hope you will enjoy it.
Why the Japanese? Well, for most of the 1990s I lived in Tokyo. There is no better learning experience than to live in another culture. Japan is significantly different than America and truly it stretches you like a rubber band. And like a rubber band you never return exactly to where you started. The biggest difference I learned in Japan was the consideration of others before acting on something. In Japan the group is a dominant social group and if you are too different, then you cannot fit it.
Of course as a foreigner, you can never truly become Japanese. Nevertheless, adapting to that culture leads to a culture shock when returning to the stubborn individualism of America.
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