Brazil

I had never given Brazil much of a thought, that it, until the other night when we had a video conference with the woman, whose name I can't remember, who represented the Museum of the People, in Brazil.

Now that I think about it, Brazil is a huge country, in population, ethnicity and size. I remember reading somewhere, I think it was BBC News, that a study was done in Brazil about racial origin and what they found was something like 90% of Brazilians are racially mixed - and this represents a diverse history and culture.

So with that in mind, Brazil is probably an ideal place to house a meuseam about people.

3 Day Observation

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After about three days of scouting the are around my train station, this was the best I could do...

Study Questions

1.) The concept of nature in Japan verses, say, America differs by about 180 degrees; the Japanese are very much concerned with intricate aesthetic and minute details, without ever seeing the broader picture: for example, in Tokyo a beautiful Japanese garden will probably be situated next to something abrasive and ugly.

Nature is very limited in Japan verses America where there is thousands upon thousands of miles of emptiness, so it is therefor understandable that their idea of "nature" is not what Americans would consider to be "nature."

2.) Space in Japan, especially Tokyo, is extremely limited - in fact there is no space. During the morning rush hour people are herded on to trains like cattle, people have no personal space and one will pay $1000 a month for a hole in the wall.

I originally came from upstate New York, a place where there was nothing but open space and very few people in between. I lived in Kyushu for two years, so I thought I was used to the crowded-ness of Japan but Tokyo was a complete shock to me - I'm still not able to fathom the amount of people this city homes.

3.) For the most part I have found Japanese people to be very reserved. I've noticed that usually when people are talking to one another they tend to use very little body language, whereas Americans tend to use body language all the time.

4.) The physical layout of Tokyo is very much like a village. Tokyo, originally, was a group of small villages that later merged to form a city and remnants of this can still be seen today. Areas such as Ueno, Shinjuku, Asakusa and Roppongi all have their own distinct characteristics that make them different.