One thing that many Japanese people are curious about when it comes to me is my ability to speak English. Japanese people who are really confident with their English skills will speak English to me no matter whether I respond in English or Japanese, but those people are few in number. Most people use English as a conversation starter and from their proceed to ask where I'm from and what I'm doing in Japan. Many people also tell me it's considered "cool" in Japan if one can speak English. Then again, most of the people who are telling me this are young people. People who are older than I am, working-age people, don't tend to want to practice English with me, but they like to share with me their past experiences with studying English. My host mom tells me how she despised studying English as a child, but now she enjoys it despite how difficult it is, and she wishes she had studied English more when she was young. And tonight, she requested that I practice some English with her in the form of reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which I thought was a fun experience. Her accent isn't perfect, and it makes me giggle at times, but she can understand much of what she's reading, which is especially impressive with a book such any of those from the Harry Potter series due to the made-up works and unusual names that often pop up.

One thing that I am curious about when it comes to Japanese people is the choice of school uniforms. Elementary school boys seem to always be wearing shorts, no matter the time of year. Most girls from elementary school through high school wear skirts, and sometimes they wear knee socks, not tights, which leaves their legs exposed to the cold. I feel that this is bad for the children's health, but it's the decided uniform, and there is no way to change it. Still, I feel cold myself just looking at the school children walking around with bare skin on January days when the temperature sometimes stays below forty degrees Fahrenheit!