A blogger with too much time on his hands? - an exclusive interview with South of Reality

On January 20, 2008 in Interviews

Hi All. Today I have a treat for you, South of Reality has given DailyJ an interview.

DailyJ: What motivated you to start South of Reality?

SouthOfReality:Too much time on my hands.

I wish I had that problem! Then I could contact more bloggers

DailyJ: Tell me more about your site. Why it excites you. What you love about it. Don’t hold back from telling us your story.

SouthOfReality: Well, it’s a chance for me to share information about Japan with other foreigners, who are either living in Japan or would like to come. I have made some friends through my site and have been able to offer others help. A lot of what I post seems to point out the negative goings on in Japan, but for me it’s a kind of therapy. I mean, I love the place; Don’t get me wrong. It’s just that when you live somewhere for awhile and you call it home, you tend to want to bitch about what happens in your own backyard because it significantly affects your existence. It’s hard for me to bring this stuff up with my Japanese friends because they either get defensive or just plain offended. And, when I’m out with my fellow ex-pats, we want to have a good time, not bitch about the shit that pisses us off.

DailyJ: What posts/content are your favourites?

Hard to say. I’d like to start posting more positive stuff, though.

DailyJ: Actually I kind of like the negative news stories (maybe I have a morbid curiosity). Part of me likes the focus on violent crimes committed by Japanese. I guess that is a reaction to the old “gaijin hanzai” magazine (I’m fairly certain that violence is Japan is mainly Japanese).

SouthOfReality: Supposedly, MacArthur called Japan a nation of 13-year olds. When watching TV here or chatting with people, I’m often surprised by the naivete. I know that I don’t know everything, but Christ! It’s unbelievable how shallow so many people I’ve met here are. I don’t know if it’s cultural or what, but I almost feel sorry for them when I consider how much paranoia and fear of the unknown they have to live with. Why they have to live with it is something I’m still trying to figure out. I guess it has a lot to do with the homogeneity of the people here.

This is just the first post, but I want to go ahead and thank SouthOfReality now for this interview. Drawing you out with questions and then listening to your answers (which have been really interesting) has been fun. And you were patient with me despite the delay, thanks for that!

I hope all of you liked the interview too. Be sure to click here and check out South Of Reality. And then stay tuned (subscribe via RSS) to hear what SouthOfReality has to say about Eikaiwa.

Next time

On DailyJ

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