Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

One of Uzbekistan's most evocative sights is Registan, a trio of 14th century madrasas that are famed for their beautiful blue tile work and geometric decorations. As Uzbekistan open up to foreign tourists, it is becoming the major draw to the city of Samarkand, a major Silk Road city frequently mentioned in Western classics on the topic of Central Asia. And sure enough, on a Saturday, the complex is full of tourists from across Asia, Europe, and America getting a firsthand look at the famed destination.

The "tech bro" way of dressing for work is becoming a global phenomenon. The idea of T-shirts and jeans have gone from the image of the broke college student to the newly minted millionaires of the IT sector, making what used to be considered sloppy dressing a symbol of technological sophistication, hard work, innovativeness, and wealth that does not come from old money handed down the generations. "Dressing down," along with corporate welfare in the form of perks like free food, massage chairs, and "play-working" facilities have become hallmarks of successful IT firms.

Often, communication among people of different countries, unfortunately, boils down to "it is like this in Country A, but it is like that in Country B." People quickly just to country-to-country comparisons, utilizing overgeneralized stereotypes that assume everyone in a particular country follows a certain set of norms universal yet unique to the country. Such assumptions quickly bring down in countries where different cultures coexist, especially in migrants-dominated societies like the US and African countries, where borders are arbitrarily drawn by colonists ignorant of local cultures.

Talk to people well-versed in pop culture of the 1990s and early 2000s and one would find few people that have not heard of Pokemon. The Japanese anime became a global phenomenon, sparking countless translated reruns of the original (and still ongoing) TV series, video games, and movies. But even the most celebrated piece of pop culture reaches popular fatigue after some time. For Pokemon, despite the continued introduction of new characters, the tired storyline of adventuring Pokemon trainers seeking new friends and victories can no longer excite some of the original fans.

To ask people about their favorite foods can often be a very personal experience. One would find many people from around the world to be very particular about what they find to be delicious (perhaps with the exception of rural Africans ), based a set of ingredients and cooking methods that are peculiar to certain cultures. But more than the sum of ingredients and cooking methods, people define a delicacy based their personal encounters with the foods in question, often laced in memories that are not easily replicable. Stories of mom's cooking and hidden restaurants in unknown destinations do not converge among different people.

To say Okinawa represents a subset of Japanese culture is to ignore how the local culture is influenced by its historical relationships with its other neighbors. Even today, such influences are felt in daily lives. Foods with distinctive Chinese names like s anpin (香片, jasmine tea) and  chinsuko (金楚糕, lard cookies) are not found in the local cultures of other Japanese regions, while the tendency to eat meat as they are in big pieces (pig feet and pork belly especially) reminds visitors more of Southeast Asia than the meticulously processed cuisines of mainland Japan.