Japan "constitutionally guarantees" education to all students, which means that teachers are not legally allowed to kick a student out of class no matter how rude or ignorant they are. This results in students freely talking - not whispering - through the entire class. There are times I cannot hear my professors. On the first day of classes, girls sitting in the front row, sprawled their arms across the desks, put their heads down and unabashedly slept just a few feet from the professor. Last week, 11 students were sleeping in my class 35 minutes into the period, the class only has 23 people. That's just shy of half the class, taking a post-lunch nap.
lol this is funny stuff!!!
If you ever visit a Japanese home, do not be alarmed by the minimum of 26 hard, plastic eyes patiently watching you do your business. The best phrase I heard to describe this (and other really freaky cultural phenomena) was "ubiquitous cuteness." Cute paraphernalia has permeated EVERY aspect of Japanese life, even the crapper.
again... hilarious!