Day 21: Downtime thoughts
Today I have been under the weather, an upset stomach leaving me lightheaded and with low energy. So today I don't have a story of a new adventure, but small stream of consciousness about a part of my time here so far. By and large I receive two reactions from Japanese people I pass on the streets; I am either politely ignored, as though I do not exist, or I am greeted with bug-eyed stares and/or slacken-jaw amazement. The later of those two reactions is entirely the domain of the very young and very old. Most of the time these looks of shock are with eyes filled with curiosity, but rarely I also see negativity in their eyes. Neither of these reactions bother me, I expected them before arriving. I did not have any illusions of blending in here. You don't show up as a white dude with freckles and a large, unusual red beard hanging off your face and think you will pass unnoticed. Very rarely however, there is a third sort of reaction I get, one of friendliness and cur