Kayoubi: Tuesday 1/12/10

After catching a train at nearly 6 in the morning, we follow a bustling crowd, all armed with wicker baskets, through the intersections of Tsukiji to the fish market.

From 5 to 6:30 fishermen auction off their catches to local vendors. After that, the primary selling items are produce. Almost any kind of food is found in these busy markets, but the fish is overwhelming. The Tsukiji fish market supplies Tokyo with all of its fish. After a quick stop at wikipedia, I can confirm that it is in fact the largest fish market in the world.

Constant mopeds, tractors, and cars are speeding by, so you have to constantly be moving. Everyone in the market moved with such intent, it was hard not to feel in the way. We stopped at a small restaurant for what was, needless to say, the freshest sushi breakfast I have ever had.

We walked the Hamarikyuteien park while we waited for a shuttle to Asakusa. 

The shuttle provided us with a beautiful view of some of the more metropolitan areas of Asakusa. 

We began walking deeper into Asakusa, visiting some of the ancient shrines the area is known for. The roads were lined with vendors, where I was able to practice my Japanese and buy a much needed umbrella as the weather took a turn for the worst. 

The most famous in Asakusa is, of course, Asakusa shrine. The large complex has multiple temples surrounding its courtyard.

After succumbing to rain and poor sense of direction, we hopped in a cab and came over to Ueno park. After a turn at these orange arches, we stopped at a traditional Japanese lunch house. The experience was jarringly sophisticated and different from our own. Every step in the meal was made blindly and with caution. I can't help but think the waitress was amused by our efforts.

Despite the bad weather, the park, a sight of street performers, university campuses, and museums, was a beautiful walk with plenty of more shrines along the way.

Getsuyoubi: Monday 1/11/10

We woke up to get our first glimpses of the view at daylight. What was just outside our window was fairly indicative of the rest of the city. The old and new architecture seem to exist harmoniously and every inch of space is efficiently used.

 The area we are staying in is Akasaka. It is a bit quieter than most other areas of Tokyo, with its main attraction being the Tokyo Broadcasting System building. Where Shibuya is a Time Square, the TBS center is a Rockefeller Center, ice-skating rink and all. We caught a subway and headed over to our first sight of the day, the Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Gardens exist as an ocean of gravel and grass within the city. We did a full walk of the historic areas, dating back to when this land was the Edo Castle. The Imperial Grounds are off limits to civilians on all but two days. New Years, and the Emperor's Birthday (December 23rd.)

By far the most beautiful view was of one of the guarded bridges leading to the Imperial Castle. After a quick visit to the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art, we caught another train to Ryogoku to catch day 2 of the January Sumo Tournament

We had lunch at a restaurant attached to the Edo-Tokyo Museum (which we would return to later), only a few feet from the Sumo Stadium. I also had my first opportunity to test out my hiragana here. When you walk into the restaurant, you have to write your name on a sheet of paper to reserve your spot. After a moment of panic, I wrote the closest thing to my father's name that I could. When they called us, we stepped forward, slightly shocked that it even worked. The waiter immediately began speaking to us in Japanese. After only a moment with our mouths open and faces stunned, he said "Upstairs?"

The Sumo Stadium was already packed. It was only 2:30 and the highest ranked bouts didn't start until 4:00.

After struggling to find our seats, we watched a few of the earlier fights, then decided to head back to the Edo-Tokyo museum until the big fights started.

The intensity in the stadium was incredible. Fan were cheering loudly as their favorite wrestlers circled up around the ring before the next stage of fights. Each match had higher ranked sumo fighters than the last. Hakuho ended up being unbeaten in his 38th straight match. The stakes are high, there are almost eight hours of fight, and each fighter only gets one fight a day, lasting as short as ten seconds. With the highest ranking wrestlers, they will approach the starting line, step back to their corner, and approach the line again at least five times before starting the bout. They will grab salt and throw it into the ring as a sign of good luck. After a train back from Ryogoku, we were still jet-lagged, and ended up falling asleep right away. Plus, we needed to wake up early for the Tsujiki fish market tomorrow morning.

Nichiyoubi: Sunday 1/10/10

Well, here we are! Finally in the hotel room. It's small, but already feels like home. We left early in the morning, bags packed and ready. I was very excited to use my new suitcase, only to be rejected by a TSA officer. She made me put my bag into a metal case to prove it's dimensions. It fit, but it was still too tall apparently. No huge deal, we checked the bag and got on our connecting flight to Atlanta. We were on the waitlist for the flight, and after a close call, managed to get on as the last people for the flight. We ended up flying business class since we were using passes (courtesy of my uncle, a Delta Pilot), and these were the only seats open. Well worth the luxury in my book. Alas, when we landed, it seems that my luggage didn't make it off the waitlist with me. It only had my clothes thankfully, nothing I really needed immediately, and we should have it back tomorrow. Still, can't help but think back about that one TSA agent who wouldn't cut me a break.

After filling out the necessary paper work for my missing bag and stopping at a few information centers, we got on the Narita Express train to Tokyo. Aside from a minute of confusion when using my first restroom (buttons to open the door?), this was my first cultural faux pas. The Narita Express has assigned seats, something I somehow didn't catch from my ticket which was completely in Japanese. A Japanese man politely told us we were in his seat. I wish I could have seen the look on both of our faces as we stood in the aisle looking at our tickets confused and embarrassed. The same man took a quick look at our tickets and pointed to the aisle across from him. It's always nice to have the kindness of strangers, especially in a foreign country. The train ride was a nice look into some of the more rural areas of Japan. The small towns we passed appeared strangely familiar, most likely though various Japanese tv shows, movies, and video games. Or maybe it was the Vicodin sinking in for my tooth pain. Fairly quickly though, the quaint houses and pine trees, became neon-sign and fluorescent apartments. We got to the Tokyo Station and exited into the city. A taxi brought us to our hotel, the "b akasaka," giving us a glimpse of the city at night. So far, I am ecstatic. I can tell this will be a trip to remember. Things are different, and even easy things will be difficult. I think that's part of the enjoyment. Out to dinner now. More photos can be found on my Picasa account through my profile. Konbanwa to sayounara!

Death and Life of Languages

I will not be posting tomorrow since I will be packing and preparing for Japan! I leave on Sunday and will post each day there one, exclusively on Japan. I have some good post ideas for the future. For now, excerpts of a Q&A found in the New York Times with french linguist Claude Hagege, the author of "On the Death and Life of Languages."

Who says English is going to dominate forever? Last I checked, India and China are ascendant and the US is in decline … – Brian Bailey

Hindi (the most spoken language in India) and Mandarin Chinese might replace English as dominant languages some day. But two reasons at least lead one to think that the process could be long:

(i) Hindi is not widespread outside Asia, and there is presently no special effort to promote it worldwide. As for Mandarin Chinese, it is true that a great number of Confucius Institutes are scheduled to be built by China in various countries, but we cannot know today the result of this decision;

(ii) The publications (books, internet, etc.) in English cover all domains of knowledge, let alone the presence of English in all other activities. These traces of the worldwide spread of English will not disappear.

The Dangers of South Asia

The Middle East has had national attention as a trouble spot (to say the least) for thousands of years. It is a cross-roads between three continents and the home of our three major world religions. From the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia, to Alexander the Great, to the Umayyad dynasty, to the Ottoman Empire, to the inception of the state of Israel, it has been heavily contested, even more so with our growing dependence on oil.

However, with a great number of troops moving from Iraq to Afghanistan, is our geo-political focus shifting? As Al Qaeda operatives began moving across the southern border, Pakistan has come into focus, argued by some like Newsweek columnist Fareed Zakaria to be of utmost importance in U.S foreign policy. The U.S Government has been executing drone bombing in Pakistan, which has already resulted in civilian casualties. The Pakistani government insists it is on our side, but with internal population issues, government inefficiencies, and an unfolding military coup d'etat (one that is Al Qaeda friendly), it is difficult for them to execute the job we need them to. Militants moving in from Afghanistan in the regions of Swat and South Waziristan have caused the Pakistani Army to intervene, displacing more than 2 million families from the region, only adding to the turmoil.

Trafford Publishing Presents: 'Globalization from Genesis to Geneva'

Trafford Publishing Presents: 'Globalization from Genesis to Geneva' -- GENEVA, Jan. 5 

The opening quote of of this article I think speaks a lot about the current issues in globalization.

"...arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity." - Kofi Annan

More effort needs to be put into understanding globalization and using its forces for the greater good instead of hopelessly trying to resist. Ray Woodcock's new book "Globalization from Genesis to Geneva: A Confluence of Humanity" acknowledges this. In fact, our current globalization is actually considered a period of "new globalization." We observe the changes in technology around us a rapidly revolutionizing our world. However, the period just prior to WWI had the most rapid period of globalization ever seen.

Technorati Claim Token

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This is posted here temporarily until I can confirm my Technorati account.

Skype and Globalization

Skype will now have a presence in the living room


If this isn't a world flattening force then I don't know what is. For those of you who haven't read Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat", you should. Friedman, an innovator of globalization, argues that certain forces, 10 to be particular, are flattening the world, or making it more accessible. These forces are

1)The Collapse of the Berlin Wall
2) Netscape
3) Workflow Software
4) Open Sources
5) Outsourcing
6) Offshoring
7) Supply-chainging
8) Insourcing
9) In-forming
10) "The Steroids" (cellphones, iPods, IMing, Facebook, etc)

Realism in Indochina

This is an excerpt of a paper I wrote on Realism and the French Colonization of Indochina for my Contemporary International Politics class.


The realist interpretation of imperialism is that the urge to dominate is intrinsic in human nature and politics. Powerful nations tend to be imperialistic by their nature, and the system of international anarchy permits them to do so. This human drive means that the struggle for power is the essence of politics. This was in observed France’s use of power in West Africa and is seen here again in Indochina. In both cases France used its military might, using soldiers to expand eastward from West Africa, just as they presented the Siamese with two options at the Mekong Banks, surrender Laos or be destroyed. England’s holding in India and Burma were largely unthreatened through the 1880s, with Siam separating them from French holdings in Vietnam. Siam was naturally drawn into this bi-polar conflict for the sole reason that it stood between France and England; if France didn’t move in first, England would.

Realism and the Northwest Flight 253 to Detroit

President Obama, in his intelligence meeting on Tuesday, should recognize that our system of multiple intelligence agencies is a bureaucratic mess. Interagency rivalry is inevitable. In turn, the natural consequence is a lack of effective intercommunication.

The web of quasi-autonomous agencies should be radically simplified. There should be a single intelligence agency whose head reports directly to the president. This agency head should maintain a unified file of suspect names, and all intelligence related to a name should be attached to the name. This would automatically “connect the dots.”

If such a structure had been in place, the knowledge in one agency about the Nigerian’s stay in Yemen would have been in the common file. It would have been available to those who compile the watch list and those who control visas.

Herbert Fingarette
Berkeley, Calif., Jan. 3, 2010

An Essay on Globalization

Ever since we opened our doors to trade, we have become increasingly interdependent with our trading partners. In recent times, this phenomenon is exacerbated by the supply chain economy we co-created around the world. So, the world is at our doorstep and the global village is no longer a concept. The physical distance among people is getting shorter everyday. However, are we really getting closer to each other?

Our business strategy around the globe is often tied to our foreign policy. And our foreign policy is dictated by the way we see ourselves. The U.S. culture is mainly an individualistic culture. We see ourselves as lone rangers. Our movies are often about an individual "hero on a white horse" that comes into town and saves the day. We believe that we are the only ones who can save the world from its demise. As a "superpower" of the world, we believe our way is the right way and our values ought to be universal ones. Since the rest of the world has been adapting to us for so long, that made it easy for us to see our privilege as a birth right.

My Japanese Coach

So, this title may be misleading. My Japanese Coach is in fact a 4 inch digital Japanese woman named Haruka. My friend lent me My Japanese Coach for the Nintendo DS when he learned I was going to Japan. If he does end up reading this, many thanks! Since I just got my wisdom teeth out, I might have what some people would call down time. Through mini-games and exercises, you are able to progress through the Japanese language with the help of Haruka. I'm only on lesson 6, but the game seems to be pretty effective as long as you stay consistent with it. Through everything from word-searches to whack-a-mole, I've learned some basic words, the numbers, colors, and days of the week.

2010

I feel there is no better way to start this blog than with a new decade. Here, I simply hope to chronicle perspectives on our changing world. With this decade coming to a close, everyone is either naturally looking backwards or forwards. No time is as uninteresting as right now, everyone would much rather hear about what will the technology of the 2010s be and what were the the top ten artists of the 2000s.

In looking back at 2009 alone, it has been marked for me with one singular experience, college. 2009 was about applying to schools, picking a school, graduating, and attending. Even from the beginning of middle school, our computer usernames ended in '09', a benchmark that seemed eons away. But even then it set the target in sight. Especially in our world of uber competitive academics. I, myself, was obsessed with the college process. It became a method of justification and reward for all the years of work I had done, culminating in my senior year. Although I am not where I had hoped, I am very happy at Johns Hopkins. I thought this next article was particularly interesting, considering I myself wrote a "Why UChicago" essay, I almost decided to attend the school, and I was one of thousands of high school seniors posting on the infamously neurotic College Confidential.

UChicago

To outside readers, the responses of students and parents probably seems like an overreaction. I am in no way surprised. I know that if this was posted last year, at the peak of my obsession, I would have been all over that thread. Chicago's a quirky school (check out their essay prompts), and once I was accepted they always did treat me well. In retrospect, they always did seem to convey a great deal of care for their applicants...well, the ones who were accepted. Maybe it's because they knew how neurotic we all were. Maybe when I realized how neurotic I am, that's why I didn't go there. It hasn't cured me, but I think I've made a step in the right direction.

I was talking about this with my mom last night. While this was such a difficult year for so many people, it as an incredibly enriching and transformative one for me. I got to enjoy my last months as a high school senior, and begin my college experience. Anyone who has gone through this time period understands how exciting this is. I am not surprised to see my friends lament the passing of a great '09, while most parents seems ready to move on. My case proven...

However, it is good to know that the American people remain resilient. Most people agree that 2009 was terrible, and that 2010 will be better.

Lastly, I realized this decades ends my childhood. More so than any decisions I've made, how much I've grown, or the fact that I can be legally tried as an adult. 2000 - 2010. I went from 8 to 18. I started it as a "big boy" but now I'm supposed to be an adult. I'm not complaining, but it's just intimidating! Of any decade, this will be the one where I have grown the most. And now, this next decade is where I have to specialize my studies, pursue a graduate degree, and get a job in that field? I have to begin to clearly define my political, social, philosophical, and religious beliefs, no more bs-ing around opinions. It's like you're actually an adult by 18, but they give you another ten years to do it. By the time you are 28, you really have no excuses. If you haven't set your life in order by then, society pretty much labels you as a failure. I also can't help but feel that while the last decade was defined by learning at home, I will define this next decade by the places I go and the experiences I gain. On that note, my flight to Japan leaves January 7th.