Due to a swine flu scare, school is out at least until Saturday. One would think I would be like, “Sweet, no school!” but no. For the first time in my life I was like, “Nooooooooooooo!”

Not just because school is awesome, but because it meant that I had to reschedule two meetings that were planned this week (one is going to be over MSN, the other at my house). I also can’t do any DS programming while school is closed. And with an extra week to work on a programming assignment that we get marked on, it means that I have to make it THAT MUCH BETTER because I don’t have the excuse of having no time.

Thanks, swine flu.

Compared to most American and Canadian guys, who at most go for an occasional hug (excuse me, a “manly pat on the back”), Japanese guys touch each other a lot. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen my classmates reach out and casually touch the person they’re talking to; a pat on the arm or knee, clasp the other person’s shoulder, etc.

The stereotype about Japan is that it’s very repressed. While there are aspects of the culture that qualify, my experience of casual touching (often called “skinship”*), which has been reinforced by watching my classmates interact with each other, is not only viewed as natural, but also seen as an integral component to friendship bonding.

I have a few theories as to why the difference between the cultures exists, but that’s a subject for another day (and another blog).