The Awesome Adventures of Hannah and Emma

The more time I've spent here the more similarities I've found between the eccentricities we laughed at on the Tokyo subway and the ones that have chuckling here in Edinburgh. At first I couldn't quite see it, maybe because I expected the UK to be "Canada with an accent", but in truth it really has much more in common with Japan, half a world away, than it's former North American colony. The love of fancy dress/cosplay (extravagent theme parties!), the superiority complex (domestically and abroad! oh the drama!), the constant drinking (no complaint here!), the obsession with food (or maybe I'm projecting?), and tea! So much tea!

At one time, both Japan and the UK were great powers in the world. And let's face it, while their actual prestige may have declined, they still like to think they are Jack on the Titanic (you know, "King of the World"?). They have this strange love-hate relationship with their monarchy/class system. While they publicly love to wax poetic about being classless, there is still great reverence for the old ways that are so ingrained in society. The national anthems are all about the Queen and the Emperor (or so I'm told...). And let's not even get into the bizarre fact that literally a 2 hour car ride to a different town can produce a change in accent that makes the locals completely incomprehesible.

Maybe it's the fact that they are both island nations that have cause them to evolve in such a similar way. But then again, you don't see the Bahamians starting and ending every day with a cup of tea and the Jamaicans are not exactly known for their stiff-lipped avoidance of emotion. Maybe being trapped on a tiny floating land mass without the ability to chill out on tropical beaches is what has made them so special/uptight/ambitious. I'm just glad they have replaced their shared penchant for expanding their empires for a common love for reality television (Japan may have the most intense game shows, but England has "My Fat Gypsy Family").

In the end, what I love most about my two fave countries is that they both have so much character and history. Everywhere you look there are castles, and churches and temples (soo many freaking temples!) - the legacies of two great and inspired nations of peoples... with a whole lot of time on their hands. It almost makes you wonder what the history of the world would have been had they just had a bit more sun...