duppiteedee, duppiteeder and sometimes huff

I said I would write about how I'm actually doing but that seems so boring and I don't want to repeat myself to you loyal readers who get regular updates from me anyway (oh hi Kate!). So instead, to give a taste of my daily life, I'd like to describe in excruciating detail something I do everyday - ride the train. The walk to the station usually takes me about 10 minutes, but in the morning when I'm going to school I usually walk with Asian girls who (I hate to generalize BUT) walk really slowly. On the way to Kamata Station, we pass Mary's Chocolate factory. There's rarely any visible activity. Once, I saw men in white jumpsuits with hoods like people checking airports for swine flu wear going in, and Jess reports seeing men in suits setting up chairs in the parking lot on a rainy day. Mysterious. Anyway, next to the chocolate factory there's a little park with swings, benches and a couple of trees. Sometimes there are groups of old people hangin out or a couple of kids playing catch, but in the morning it's usually empty. Past the park, there are apartment buildings and some kind of industrial workshop from which hammering and not totally pleasant smells emanate. A couple of more blocks and we pass an elementary/middle school. I always smile at the groups of uniformed kids with their matching backpacks, whether they're staring at me or not. Then, as we get closer to the station, we go through the "entertainment district" of the neighborhood. During the day, it's less noticeable, but at night it's all lit up with neon. There's a karaoke place, several titty bars with solicitous men in suits standing outside, Pachinko (a slot machine hall) and more and more bars. Finally we're at the station! Whew, I'm starting to get sweaty. Outside the station there are always people handing out promotional pamphlets for hairdressers, cell phone companies, etc., and very conveniently, travel packs of kleenex. I don't know why kleenex are such a popular vehicle for advertising, but it's nice to get them for free. Up the crowded stairs of the station, round the corner - be careful not to trip over the 3-foot tall old lady with purple hair - through the barrier - ping! - and down the stairs to platform 4. In the morning there are a lot of people on the platform. When the train comes everyone lines up semi-orderly on either side of the doors to let disembarkers off. Then we all get on. If the train is packed enough, as it usually is during rush hours, as you get near the doors you don't really need to walk anymore, you just get pushed on by the crowd. Once you're comfortably sandwiched between several salarymen/women the doors close and we're off. It's pretty quiet. Some people read or play on their cell phones, a lot of people have their eyes closed. I don't know if it's because they're sleeping or they're desperately trying to imagine they're somewhere else. At first, we foreigners chatted, but then we realized we were the only ones making noise, felt uncomfortable and stopped. Each station on the JR, Tokyo's above ground rail system, has it's own special tune that plays when a train is leaving and arriving. Some tunes have a special significance to the area, for a example, the theme music of a movie that was set near the station, and some represent the name of the station - Ebisu Station, named after the beer, has a lively, happy beer tune that is my favorite so far. The pre-recorded announcements about which station is next, giving up seats to people who really need them and making sure to hold on are given first in Japanese, then in English, which surprised me, but I guess Tokyo is a pretty international city. The newer trains have two screens above the doors: one lists the stops on the line, lines with delays ("accident" means someone jumped in front of a train....), etc. and the other one plays a loop of advertisements. There's no sound, but my eyes are always drawn to the movement, and I like to try and read the characters. If I "watch" TV at breakfast, and then the ads on the train I start to feel like a Child of My Generation - always bombarded with products and subliminal messages. Sometimes there's also a loop of daily horoscopes. Thankfully it plays a few times, otherwise I'd never know the punchline of my day. After a 20 minute ride we arrive at Tamachi Station and let out a deep breath as we are released from the sweaty embrace of strangers. Then it's another 10 or so minute walk to campus but oh god I'm bored of writing about this, I can't imagine how you feel. If you know the significance of the title of this post you're probably my mommy and I love you!