"Modern" Convieniences

Maybe it's my western mind, but the lack of insulation in all Japanese buildings seems rather fruitless. Sure, you save money in the beginning by not using as much materials. But during winter and summer you pay who knows how much heating it back up. For a country that did the whole Kyoto protocol thing, they sure do use a lot of resources making up for their lack of insulation. Like downstairs; the cafeteria is heated, but none of the halls are. So basically the hot air is just going right out as soon as it leaves the skimpy Japanese heaters. If I turn off the heater in my room, in 5 minutes it will be cold again. And this all works with air conditioning in the summer. With all the marvels in technology here, the insulation thing must have been bypassed for the much more neccesasry technology like heated toilet seats.

Today was the last day for Japanese Thought class. It was a big deal for them I think, all these random people from various parts of Hosei came to sit in on the class. It was an interesting class, but we never really discussed christianity in modern Japan. Sure that is the title of the class, but in Japan things are rarely truthful upfront. We still have a paper to write and the teacher gave us the assignment about a month ago and said to "feel free to turn in early". Then today he told us what the topic would be, previously it had been a free choice. Then when I asked for more specifics on the paper I didn't get an answer really.

"So is the paper supposed to be 3 or 5 pages long?"------------->"Hmm, yes."

I think there is some sort of hidden amendment to the constitution of Japan that makes it illegal to give a coherent and precise answer.