I’ve already written a bit about various cultural nuances, so consider this post a mishmash of observations that I want to document before I forget.

1) Elevators

Everyone stands in silence. No talking. And they jam in as many people as possible without any body parts touching. Everyone faces forward and when your floor is reached people kindly step out of the way so you do not need to push past someone to exit. This image is on the inside of the elevator doors at the office.

Say hello with a smile

2) Landscaping

The landscaping around the exterior of the office is beautiful. Here’s just one tree to give a sense of the exterior.

3) Running

Women in the office seem to run a lot. Part of it is the deferential culture, so when they are asked to do something by a colleague or superior, they want to do it quickly to please. So despite the office being very quiet, there’s the occasional instance of a female running. Same holds true in restaurants.

4) Hand washing

In addition to using hot towels to clean hands before dining, the country is now shifting to using cold towels for the warmer months. Even with take-out food there are wet wipes provided. In the bathroom, I’ve written about ways to conserve waste with everyone having their own small handtowels. I recently realized the faucets are set up to only turn on for a VERY small amount of time since they dont want their hands in water — only rinse. The soap that can be dispensed is very liquid – not thick – and therefore suds immediately when you put it on your hands resulting in hand washing without water. Then the water can auto-turn on very briefly just to rinse.

5) Family Mart

If I had more money, I would spend a chunk of change in the Family Mart. It’s like a 7-11 but sells all kinds of packaged snacks, some small toys, drinks, sandwiches and probably 100 beverages.

Baked goods aisle at Family Mart

Here’s a look at the “baked goods” aisle along with a close-up of the unrefrigerated German hot dogs.

Unrefrigerated German hot dog at Family Mart

Family Mart is also where I purchased two items for lunch yesterday since by the time I was done with meetings the cafeteria had closed. First, a triangle of rice wrapped in seaweed — I forget the name of this popular snack. The packaging is ingenious…you unwrap the snack and there are thin pieces of plastic separating the dried seaweed from the moist rice. When you pull out the thin pieces of plastic, the seaweed adheres itself to the rice allowing you to eat it “fresh” without the seaweed getting soggy.

The second item was two thin pink cake-like round pastries that I guess could be similar to donuts. Filled with jelly and cream…..super yummy.

Thursday lunch

Seaweed rice snack

Jelly and creme filled thin pastry