[Anonymous December 12, 1996 at 11:33 pm Post count: 93172]

#1057741

Being 3/4 Japanese, I resent that statement. Sake? Are you CRAZY????

On going to Japan: Hey I went there about three years ago. That’s when I was hyper but not too hyper. I went there on a vacation/student study of the children and especially the preschools of Japan. I did a lot of walking, and walking and walking.
Boy, I must have walked at least 3 miles per day from where I was staying to the train depot to all of the other places that were exciting to see. The water tastes just like it does here. People do dring sodas a lot, but then again they also drink a lot of tea: green, barley, brown and black.

The diet is a good one, unless you are one of those “Westernized” Japanese people who eat beef and a lot of stuff with fat in it. The portions are small and I did a comparison on the diets: (I eat this way too, by the way.. starting this year)
Lots of Starch
Lots of Veggies
Not too much Beef, but some do eat a lot
A lot of Fish and Seafood
Not too many sweets (that’s what my mother says)

They do excersize a lot. I lost ten lbs just by walking. I wish I could go over there again.

For recreation, they go to a lot of places. Okay, one of my favorites is going to Onsen, or a bath house (Hot Springs) to relax. Yes, this is great for stress from the daily life of a Japanese.
The doctors: When medicine was first practiced over there it was a mixture of Chinese,Potugese and Dutch medicines. I just learned abouth that from a documentary.

Oh, by the way,
The first Japanese people who lived in Japan were veggie eaters and Seafood eaters. The Portugese gave them Tempura aka Tempora (Portugese). Teas were introduced by the Chinese.
Flan (custard) and Pan (bread) were also imported.

If you want any more info, I’ll have to keep watching my TV shows.
Oh, another thing- ladies, some of those soap operas that they have are in English subtitles. And if you like crying or getting emotional, those are the ones to watch. My favorite is “The Ugly Duckling” which is about a
teacher who tries to teach his pupils about caring. Hey, I get sentimental sometimes.

[Anonymous December 12, 1996 at 11:37 pm Post count: 93172]

#1166816

I can’t imagine having sake right now. I’m half Japanese. New Year is coming
up, which means that I’m going to have to have a celebratory toast with it.
Yuck. Anyway, my grandmother is always trying to get me to eat all kinds of
weird things, saying that they will make me better. The thing is, most of
them contain a lot of iodine, which isn’t such a great idea for me right now.
Anyway, the hot springs that were mentioned are really good for relaxation.
I love them. I wish we had them here. The Japanese soap operas are very good
at bringing on the waterfalls, if you like that mushy stuff. I do. Tea makes
me feel better, as long as there isn’t a lot of caffeine in it. People in Japan
tend to get more exercise. It’s probably all that running around the subway
stations, pushing tourists like me out of the way…

Caroline

[Anonymous December 13, 1996 at 8:42 am Post count: 93172]

#1166817

Isn’t it interesting that lots of things in the diet contain lots of
iodine? The thyroid books I have looked at said to avoid iodine, yet
the Japanese have a higher remission rate…. Makes you wonder!

The extra exercise has to help! My Endo said it actually releases excess
adrenal hormones from your tissues (which makes you feel better). I
try to do aerobics or ride my bike every day (one thing good about living
in FL, it’s not too cold for that). I noticed that if I’m feeling
particularly tense or jittery, the exercise chills me out.

Ann, I’m truly sorry if the sake remark offended you. I’m Irish/
Lithuanian and have dealt, good naturedly, with potatoes, beer and Russian
jokes all my life. If I thought there was a high remission rate in Ireland, I’d
been serving potatoes every day!!

[Anonymous December 13, 1996 at 2:30 pm Post count: 93172]

#1166818

That’s okay. In the Japanese community, I am not Japanese, but a “white” person. I don’t think I look white, but when I hang around white people, they think I’m Japanese. Go figure. I have been put down because of this ongoing “memory loss” since I was little.
Well, at least I don’t look like a “skunk” like my brother does/he has a white streak on the left temple (hair). My other brother doesn’t look like he’s of either race. He looks as if he was Polynesian. Sort of reminds me of Don Ho..ha ha ha.
Well, I do know that if you did go to Japan, it would be a wonderful experience. Although it gets a little bit dirty around the train terminal.. all of those butts (cigarettes) near the edge of the track.

A little while back I said something about the Hot Springs. They have one here in California that was run by a Japanese person. It’s called Gilroy Yamato Onsen. They are currently rebuilding some structures and will be open in a couple of years.
I usually go there just for the baths. It’s a great feeling. You might want to try it out.

Well, gotta run. I have a final exam today and I don’t want to miss it.
Ann

[Anonymous December 17, 1996 at 2:57 pm Post count: 93172]

#1166819

Pam-
Hmmmm, makes ya wonder huh? My aunt is a nurse in NJ.
She doesn’t have too much experience with GD, but she read
recently that GD in the U.S. was more common in the northeastern
region. I’m in Boston now, but grew up in the South.Even though
the study didn’t speculate why, I find all these little bits of
info interesting.

Hope you have a good day,
MichelleD

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