I don’t really understand how Americans can be optimistic about marriage and children. It’s possible, even probable, that it won’t work out, but you do it anyway. I don’t get it. We don’t idealize family life. We never had a Japanese version of ‘The Brady Bunch.’

Quote from an interesting article from the NY Times (I assume you’ll need to sign-up for free…which segues to another point: why do I need a password for free information?) about so-called “Parasitic Singles”: unmarried Japanese women who still live with their parents. In this arrangement, they have basically 100% disposable income and are therefore able to live their lives in as decadent a way as possible (I can’t say I blame them).

At any rate, the story is an intersting peek into the sociological differences between our cultures.