Teach Me Something New!

I always find it fascinating how our environments shape us; how we adapt to new situations, new people, and new ideas.

Living here in Japan, I feel that I have taken on certain traits and ways of doing things, unconsciously. The way I respond to a question, or the way I communicate with people here feels quite different than how I might communicate with most people back home. Humor, interests, and awkward moments, do not always share the same interpretations to those in the West. North American humor rarely translates well here. Poop jokes for example are just not funny. Rather, little rubber poop mascots with smiley faces are put on the end of pencils and are seen as cute. Awkward moments definitely exist in Japan. Trying to talk with someone for an hour who has nothing to say in return might feel incredibly awkward, but people here, I feel, remember the meeting with that person, rather than acknowledging how awkward the meeting was. Ideas of beauty also contrast from the North American standard. A big birthmark on the face, and crooked teeth are not necessarily considered ugly, but rather gives the persons face character. What I’ve heard from others is that because the physical features of Japanese people are quite similar to one another, small things like crooked teeth or a larger nose sets them apart, and looks cute or unique. I have never gotten so many complements on my ‘golden’ arm hair, long eyelashes, and pointy nose. Small features like this are the envy in this country, and are often replicated (especially the long eyelashes). I’m yet to see arm hair implants.

As mentioned in previous journals, the ways of getting things done here can be one really big adjustment for people who have not lived in Japan. The Japanese people take very roundabout, passive approaches to get things done, and what you think should be a simple two-second answer to a simple question, can take ten minutes and a third, fourth or even fifth party for a premium, assuring, yet time consuming answer.

As I come to the end of my first year here in Japan without having left the country since I came, I wonder what strange traits I’ve developed in this time without my knowing. Will these new traits and ways of doing things come in handy in other places, or will they be criticized or even ostracized? To put some of these traits to the test, I will be heading out to South Asia this summer, spending two weeks in India, and an additional two weeks in Nepal. South Asia is a melting pot of cultures; religions, languages, dress, and customs, which, by the sounds of it, do not have too much overlap with Japanese culture. Again, I find myself being thrown into a new place in order to experience a new way of life. Traveling: What I like to think of as my mental exercise, used for stretching the mind and used as a reminder that there are many people on this earth, each with a different interpretation of it. I think once you begin to realize that, you begin to develop a lot more patience for different types of people.

I am really looking forward to this trip, but worried that Japan has softened me a bit. Japan, or at least the part that I’m living in, feels like one of the safest places that I’ve lived. It rarely feels like people are trying to rip you off or trying to get something from you. People here are generally quite honest and seem pretty understanding of one another. I feel that once I get off the plane in India, I will be a money target. I have met people in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Cuba that have been incredibly sly in getting what they want, and before I know it, I’m broke. I really need to teach myself how to say No to all its different forms. This will be my next exercise. I hope it won’t be too painful.