Yesterday I took the train down to Stockholm to attend the last meeting at the embassy of Japan before our departure. We got our passports returned (with a visa in them) and we got to listen to a lecture about 'communication over cultural boundaries'. It was very interesting. We also got to talk to a former grantee (though they could only get a hold of one, since everyone else had stayed to work in Japan apparently), and we got to see our time of departure.
After everything was done they brought in sushi!
I will be going on the 1st of April (just like I hoped) and will be flying with Finnair (just like I hoped!) which means the only plane switch I have to make is in Finland which is like an hours plane flight from Sweden. After that it's straight to Kansai airport. It seems like I am the only one from Sweden going to Osaka this year, and everyone else to Tokyo.
Next long trip I make will be to Japan.
gud lord mah strength is waning
ReplyDeleteI would also like to talk about communication across cultural borders.
Because everything else in this post is like a 4 year old trying to achieve maximus sleepinus.
In which case, outstanding job.
Cultural boundaries are a man made thing. It is thus no wonder that they are constantly changing, and constantly adapting to the current world.
Created by the norms and traditions of the locals in countries, cultural boundaries have existed between individuals, groups, and of course, between countries for millenia.
This is no surprise, of course, and there is only one way to address such a problem.
Some people advocate breaking down such barriers by creating scholarships such as these to improve the relations between countries, in turn removing cultural stigmas and stereotypes of other countries, allowing for deeper relations and communication and understanding.
Of course, this is obviously blasphemy and only something uneducated humans would do.
The only clear and obvious solution is to create a new country, free from all cultural relations, unbound by mere pitiful preconceived stereotypes and petty history.
Such is the beginning of the new world.