Dismay and Delight

Though I was officially briefed about it before embarking on my visit (in June '09), but it did little to alleviate my astonishment during my stay. The way they look at life, reactions and behavior, mannerisms (with specific ways to sit/stand/talk/wait), honesty, discipline and ultra-politeness (at times, artificial), ultra-cleanliness, addiction to work as well as video-games and cell phones, pervasiveness of electronics in daily life, with folks in trains either engrossed in their mobile phone or reading something or just with eyes closed and ears plugged to media players, the variety of food (preparation and eating manners, thanking everyone from the farmer to the fish being eaten), their handling of extreme stress  and their lovely music - it was a series of observations. My stay in the US was not that shocking even though the culture is very different from India. Also, it was not just differences but even similarities in culture that surprised me in the land of Fuji-san. My parents, my spouse, and myself have been brought up in different states in India and I am not new to culture diversity, but in Japan, I was impressed, awed, and fascinated at things - made me think deep about the global evolution of humans and how  values of a society reflect in the norms of the land. I discussed these with my spouse staying in the UK and compared this with my previous experiences with US, Indonesian and Burmese friends. My daily interactions with my Japanese teachers only strengthen my awe for a culture built on philosophies and thoughts of the highest good. And after all, there is so much similarity between the Indian aspect of higher thoughts and the Japanese aspect.
How thin is the line between dismay and delight!?
Life is a beautiful amalgamation of everything nature can provide us and the notion of right/wrong, and culture dismay/delight looks so relative to our thoughts!!

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