Ask a foreigner

[Mee]

@somerandomguy, that’s something I can empathise with. Someone I was once friends with online from the Midwest told me she had never a met a Jew because none lived in that corner of the world. We were planning to meet up so I was looking at her city online and saw there is a synagogue just a few blocks from her home. How would she know if she had met Jews? Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I weep. I don’t get too upset about that sort of thing I just know I have those things too. As you say experiences between continents can differ hugely, and I think Jewish experience, from my adjacent experience is a really interesting example of that.

 

[Friday]

That juxtaposition between ancient history, and modern cute-heavy animated characters seems very much present in the Japanese culture

Yep.

Maneki-Neko! :D From the Edo Period in Japan (1603-1868). There are a helluva lot of legends about how they came about (sometime in the 17th century), but the bottom line is that they’re lucky & bring good fortune. Like dolphins and sailors. Everyone I knew had a beckoning cat, as a kid (the markets have them in rows by the thousand. My mom says my sister’s and mine are identical, we strongly disagree. ;) Mine, is clearly better, btw. No matter what my sister says.)



I don’t know if you can tell by the photograph, but this one is actually a piggy bank. Not all of them are. It’s still got some Yen & Thai coins that were too big to fit through the hole in the bottom. It’s also cracked in the back, because at 10, I proved that empirically. And my mom glued it back together. Any house with me in it kept various kinds of superglue near at hand. Physics was not my friend.

@Sideways ...Maneki-Neko may be hundreds of years old, but you can think of Hello Kitty as a “cool” way to attach some luck & good fortune to your kids. Like if Catholic Saints had action figures in addition to medals.

 

[Sideways]

@Friday - those beckoning cats are even creepier, no?

Did a load of Mandarin as a kid and learnt about the veriable shopping list of things that are good luck to the Chinese.

Ain't nuthin but rain clouds seem to be good luck here in Australia:cautious:

 

[Friday]

@Friday - those beckoning cats are even creepier, no?

Nooooooooooooo.

They’re awesome :smug:


ETA

Speaking of marrying ancient and modern? :sneaky: Catbus! (My neighbor totoro)

 

[siniang]

Love me some Maneki-Nekos :inlove:



Fun fact (and if I don't completely mess up that memory): They bring different kinds of luck depending on which paw (left vs right vs both) is waving

 

[blackemerald1]

marrying ancient and modern

Oh that's gross - looks like some strange devil/demon with a dick? :sorry: But extremely creepy ugh..

And.. what's the glazed gleeful look about - stoned? And what sort of cat has a turtle back and eight legs? hmm...

 

[Friday]

Oh that's gross - looks like some strange devil/demon with a dick? :sorry: But extremely creepy ugh..

And.. what's the glazed gleeful look about - stoned? And what sort of cat has a turtle back and eight legs? hmm...

But... but... but... It’s CATBUS.

A cat. That’s a bus. The best way to get anywhere short of flying. :smug:

...done in ancient woodblock print style of a Maneki-Neko.

To be fair, a woodblock of a muppet or any other icon of childhood -out of context / not part of one’s childhood- would probably look creepy and sexualised, too. But it’s not. It’s Catbus :sneaky:

(It’s so weird hearing this movie in English)

 

[Sideways]

To be fair, a woodblock of a muppet or any other icon of childhood -out of context / not part of one’s childhood- would probably look creepy and sexualised, too.

Nup. Big Bird and Snuffeluffugus would look awesome in almost any artform.

Blows my mind they haven't been immortalised in bronze by now.

 

[somerandomguy]

:singing: Who leaves the seeds for you to find ... Follow them and you will find a treasure there ...

 

[Friday]

Nup. Big Bird and Snuffeluffugus would look awesome in almost any artform.

Totally with you on Snuffleupagus! :D Best. Bester. Besterest. Bestest. Ever.
(Absolute schmabsolute ;) Snuffie can defy the laws of grammar as well as physics)

But I have 1 word for you :cautious::shifty: ...Gonzo.

 

[Innordinate]

They told me we are just more rude about it! :laugh::roflmao:

when they talk about "Europeans" were they including brits?
ever been to florida in the summer? disney or anything? u can hear brits coming from miles away... once at a show and couldnt understand or hear a single thing that was going on because there were 7 brits on the opposite end of the stage that were laughing so loud and commenting on everything that they drowned out everything else ?
noticed that a few times .... ok all times... ive been to international destination spots...

 

[Muttly]

@somerandomguy, that’s something I can empathise with. Someone I was once friends with online from the Midwest told me she had never a met a Jew because none lived in that corner of the world. We were planning to meet up so I was looking at her city online and saw there is a synagogue just a few blocks from her home.

I've experienced this before. It's funny because apparently quite a few people at work didn't know I was Jewish. I don't remember why it even came up, but it did. I didn't get as many questions as I sometimes. There was a lot of joking around.

The question I often get, that perplexes me the most, is "Do you celebrate Thanksgiving." (I'm in the US). Why would I not celebrate Thanksgiving? I mean, there's issues with the holiday related to Native Americans but it's not a Christian holiday.