Born in a “barn”
I’m two weeks from my departure from Japan, and I’m joyfully reminiscing on the great times I’ve had here. I’m so happy to say that despite having experienced my fair share of “cultural feux pais” and “societal differences,” my bitching about Japan can be summed up in one easy phrase: Japanese people were born in a barn. Or maybe they were born in a country that proliferated the use of automatic doors. This is the more likely explanation. Japanese people just don’t close doors, hold doors, or ever think that there might possibly be a person following them through a door.
I don’t care about the fact that Japanese people are indecisive, and beat around the bush like champs, and the girls are shy and laugh into their hands when I try to speak Japanese (I live in the countryside, by the way.) These experiences don’t bother me one bit, in fact, I love these wonderful differences. These are the differences that have made my time here interesting and “foreign.” I’m often in the company of other foreigners who complain about these differences like we’re competing in a sport, each one outdoing the other with a better “crazy Japanese person” story. Why do these people come to foreign countries if they are only to mock them when they arrive? No…Japanese people are great. They have been warm, friendly, and eager to share their fascinating country with me. I just wish that the doors would open a little sooner, close a little faster after we walk through them, and could possibly be held for courtesy’s sake every once in a while. That’s it, bitching finished. Otsukaresamadeshita.
Tags: Japan
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