At last, my three-month journey to Japan has come to a close. Last week, my plane touched down in America, and I am finally back in the warm, snug arms of Springfield, Virginia.
By one statistic, one in every 100 babies born in Japan today is considered “mixed race” — or “haafu,” which natives presumably take to mean half Japanese and half foreign. While this number may not sound staggering, it is telling that in Japan, the mixed race demographic can no longer be ignored.
In Japan, there is a famous saying: “Mottainai,” which effectively means “don’t be wasteful.” It is used in a variety of settings, but largely in terms of garbage and food, in a spirit comparable to the “go green” movement in America.
As a philosophy major, East Asian Studies minor and resident of the Japanese floor of the Shea House, I have dedicated a good amount of time to studying Japan and its culture.
