Things I like about Japan

Some of the things I like about Japan are that the people are nice and the cities are clean. You never find any trash, litter or graffiti anywhere and there are no homeless people. But one of the things I like best about Japan is the restrooms. They have the neatest toilets!

They have toilets that spray your behind and the stream of warm water is very accurate. They have toilets that spray your front and they’re very accurate, too. They have toilets with heated seats.  They have toilets that have a blow dryer (and they aren’t for your head!) to dry yourself.  They have toilets that play music. They have toilets that make a flushing sound in case you’re doing something that makes noise. They have toilets where you can adjust the pressure of the sprays. They have deoderizers for smelly people.  I have to say that the Japanese know how to design toilets. You will never find one that won’t flush like you do in Europe. I guess being an island makes for good water pressure!


The Japanese also have some conveniences for when you use the toilet. They have a built-in baby-holder where you can stick your baby (and the baby can’t get out!) when you’re busy doing your job. They have sanitizers for the toilets.  On our day trip to Kyoto we stopped at a truckstop where they had a child-size urinal & sink for little boys.

The Japanese also know how to design the hand dryers. They make them so you don’t have to rub & rub & rub your hands under the blower. They make them so POWERFUL that your skin moves around when you have your hands under them. They also make them with a tray underneath so water doesn’t get splashed all over the floor. Imagine that! A tidy hand dryer.

Why don’t other countries design their restroom essentials like Japan?

Another Congress successfully completed....

Can you believe this year was my 9th JCI World Congress!  My how time flies. 

Every year when registration slows down I become the complaint and information booth. I don’t know the answers to most of the questions people ask and some of the questions are just plain stupid. One man from Nepal came and waited in line and when it was his turn he said, “I lost my friends.” I just looked at him, not knowing what to say and finally told him that they weren’t with me. Another guy from Syria came to ask me for a program because he lost his. When I told him that I didn’t have any extras he asked if I could just copy the next two days for him. I told him I didn’t have a copier with me.


Communication can also be a problem. There were over 6,000 Japanese registered for Congress and the Japanese Organizing Committee who we have been working with took care of their registrations but there are several Japanese registering on-site, too. There were these three that came up to me and started speaking in Japanese and when I asked them if they wanted to register they gave me a blank look. I said, “do you want to pay with cash or credit card?” They all started bowing and saying, “thank you very much” and walked away. I couldn’t help but laugh. Needless to say, they came back. I have some sign language I’ve developed. I hold up a business card in order to get a name. If they don’t have a business card I point to the paper & hand them a pen to write their name. When they write it in Japanese I say, “English”. It’s even difficult to get them to write first AND last names. Most of the time the words “cash or credit card” are understood--I guess they’re pretty much universal. When the communication gets to the point where there’s a standoff, I have to summon a young girl who comes out to interpret for me.

I’m happy to report that I didn’t need to use my sign so I’ll be saving it for next year. We’ll be in Brussels, Belgium and I’m sure it will come in very handy!

I'm a big girl now

The first day of registration was yesterday and it wasn't too bad.  Luckily, I had Pedro helping me and there weren't all that many on-site registrations.  It did get a little hairy at first because the credit card system wasn't working but Leandro got it fixed and it worked the rest of the day. 

There are always new challenges every year and I have learned to go with the flow and not get too worked up.  I was under the impression that the weather (and I checked weather.com) was supposed to be in the 60's and sunny.  Nay, nay reindeer!  Although I don't know what the temperature was it felt pretty cold because it was very windy.  The registration area is in front of the Grand Cube and although it is covered, it is still outside.  It was like a wind tunnel with very strong gusts.  You should've seen how we had to hold onto everything to keep things from being blown away.  The delegates weren't too happy about having to stand outside either.  Anyway, I made it through and didn't cry but nobody really yelled at me either.  It makes a big difference when there's a man sitting next to you because people treat you differently.

I am on my second day of registration and there are not too many people coming so now I'm the compaint & information booth.  I really don't know answers to many of the questions so I send people along to the "real" information counter inside.  One man came up to me earlier to "give me feedback" about how he was treated yesterday.  Basically, he was calling me a bitch but with a smile.  I didn't really remember him but I discovered that he had a problem with the wire transfer he sent that we hadn't received.  Unfortunately, he came at the very busiest time and I may have been impatient (imagine that) with him.  Anyway, we solved the problem a little later and everything was fine but he felt compelled to come back and give me his "feedback" today.  I apologized and told him that sometimes I get stressed because people harass me.  After he left I looked up his name in our system and discovered that he was from Austria.  Well, when we had our congress in Vienna some years ago, the Austrians were some of the crabbiest, most sour-pussed, unhappy people (sorry Butch!) I had ever met so I say screw him!  And to prove him wrong I'm being extra, amazingly nice to everyone now.

It's not as windy today but it's pretty cold so I have a heater sitting by me.  You'll have to excuse me now because my lips are very chapped from yesterday and my chapstick ran out so I'm having to dip my baby fingernail in it to get anything out.  Until next time.....sayonara!