So, most of you probably don't know that the Japanese American population is dwindling.  Most of you probably don't know that people of Japanese descent have the highest rate of marrying out of their ethnicity.  Most of you probably don't know that there are only 3 Japan Towns left in the United States, and they're being slowly bought out by corporations.  Most of you at least..

And even with the Japanese American's (JA's) that do take pride in their heritage, most are unable to really grasp their culture.  For example, I cannot write, read, or speak Japanese, and 95% of my JA friends can't either.  As much as we joke around about it, it's quite depressing to know that we're becoming the most "white washed" asians.  When the Japanese came to America, they faced indescribable prejudice and racism, and so they tried to assimilate into the culture as best they could.  Perhaps they were so eager to do well here that they let go of their identity too quickly.  Sometimes I wish I could go back a few hundred years and grow up in Japan, just so I could understand and appreciate my roots.  Even those who aren't Japanese have taken a recent fascination with the culture, going so far as to become anime freaks and dress in cosplay.  Horrible.  Horrible.

 

So if we're so willing to give our culture to others, what do we have that defines us?  I'd rather not say hamburgers and a Coke.  If the only way to characterize Japanese American is through the facts of being born, raised, and live(d) in the United States, we might as well just call ourselves "American", right?  Should this trend of not knowing who we are continues, since it's already effected us for so many generations, we will just come to accept being American but looking Asian.  So where are we going Japanese America?

It doesn't help much that the Japanese American population is so sparse.  I remember in high school, there was me, my best friend, and one other kid who could claim the JA title.  That's it.  Three guys in a 4,000+ school.  Great odds huh?  I think it's a general trend among Asian parents to want their kids to "marry within their race", and it's no different for me.  Well, actually, it is.  I don't know why, but it's incredibly hard to find a Japanese girl, let alone one that you find attractive and would want to marry.  And I'm not talking about the kinky type of Japanese girl that almost all guys seem to drool over, but just someone semi-normal and not involved in the porn industry.  Guys, you might want to stick a few ice cubes down your pants lest you like your keyboard sticky.

So why exactly IS it so hard to find a dateable person of the opposite sex within the same ethnicity?  I'm not being judgemental or anything, I've dated Australian, Latina, Chinese, etc girls.  Yet, it's still a nice little bonus if you find out some fact about the girl you're going out with that would have your parents drinking Soju, sake, or some kind of rice wine and singing.  Speaking of which, what do you think is the most orgasmic?

             

         Soju                                              Sake                                  some kind of rice wine

So, seeing as how this has included some "anime", porn-y girls, and alcohol, I'm pretty sure most of you Asians out there are pretty happy by now.  But one last time: Where are we going Japanese America?

As we all lead our boring, materialistic lives, the world is going down in flames.  We've already set it on a destructive spiral going down, down, down.  I'm not talking about some foreign war that most of the people don't even pay attention to anymore.  No, I'm talking about the despicable society we ourselves are culminating.  We let our children go out and experiment with drugs, sex, and violence.  We obliterate the planets resources and wonder why it retaliates.  Everything but Nature has been conquered on this land of ours, and despite its impossible elusiveness, we still try to fight Nature and obtain the upper hand.  This world we are living in has become a savage place once more.  It's no longer a place for people to travel and pursue personal happiness, no, it's a place where the arms and legs of children are cut off just for some beggar's change.  You and I contribute to these problems by pretending they don't exist.  For who would, in their right mind, want to sacrifice their own pathetic life to make a nonexistent dent in cutting down the problems.  I am not apologizing for how I live my life or yours, just merely opening the horizon for exploration.

The school term has come to a close once again, and just like always it is a hassle to pack your entire life away into one seemingly shrunken sedan.  I soon realized that I hadn't done nearly as much as I had hoped to, so I've decided that shall be a goal for next year.  It was also a bit grotesque how many dust bunnies and hair clumps that my roommate so graciously left me with; not to mention all the other random boxes and papers.  Packing everything up was nostolgic and I felt like I was in a slow, dream world, but that may be attributed to being rudely woken up.  Loud pounding on the door and a "get up and get out, or we're kicking you out" is not usually my alarm clock of choice.  I always wonder why they're so eager to kick people out, they don't do anything with those rooms over the summer.  Perhaps they just enjoy exercising their power and seeing the tired, red-eyed, hungover residents finally leave.

It feels weird coming home.  When you go to a private university, nobody else is out and ready to chill.  I felt like the past two days here have just been a waste of time.  I've done NOTHING.  I suppose that may be the purpose of summer, but I can't help but feel restless.  I want to keep moving forward.  I have yet to unpack so that's probably what I'll end up doing today, but what about tomorrow and the next day and the day after that? 

I've decided to teach myself Japanese this summer.  Its been one of my goals for such a long time that I'm finally going to go all out.  I'm not sure where to start and how to make sure I'm doing things right, but I'm going to make it happen.  One of the first things people ask me when they find out that I'm Japanese American is "Do you speak it?".  Speak what?  American?  Cause that's an equally important part of my culture.  After this summer, I'll be able to grace those naive enough to ask with BOTH languages.  Talk about mixing it up.  It's been a lifelong dream to live in Japan for a few months minimum, so I feel like I'm doing something to get me closer to that goal.  At least now I'll be able to find the bathroom and some food, the two essentials. 

Well that's all I've got for now.  Till next time, peace out Xanga World.