The Not
Doing an opposites lesson recently, I had to explain that Ams think sour is the opposite of sweet. Japanese consider bitter to be the opposite. And when I said I agreed with the bitter preference, my JTE chuckled and said "Yes; you're Japanese."
This isn't the first time a teacher has commented on this. Expressing my enjoyment of watching snow fall while in the onsen. Enjoying certain foods. Certain habits. Appreciation of aspects of Japan. Knowing certain phrases or terms.
On the surface, this seems wonderful and welcoming. Hey, they think I fit in; I'm one of them!
But then you come up against the problem-- they don't think of you as an American, at least in that area. Which means they don't see you as an example that other foreigners can do Japanese things, enjoy Japanese culture, be culturally sensitive. Or, if they can, it's only because of the influence Japan has exerted on them. No one from another culture could possibly understand the uniqueness of Japan without being Japanese. When I first arrived, a JTE said of my pred, "Oh, yes. He understands everything. He's Japanese." To which I said, "Well, he studied a lot and worked hard to understand Japan, but he's a white boy from the Midlands." "NO. He's Japanese."
posted by Marlene n Aaron @ 8:48 PM
3 Comments:
MMMMM.....very interesting. I have noticed that when talking with someone raised in China or Japan they act, and are not afraid to say, they are superior to foreigners. Interesting that even though you've been there two years, if they see something they like about you it is Japanese, not a good trait from a foreigner. God forbid(!!!) Americans actually have intelligence and manners.Suprise, Suprise
We're pretty lucky in that we don't encounter too many of these "Japan is soooo much better! Your country sucks!" Instead, we have a lot of people who when presented with a possibility that we might not like Japan's -- best, their face grows long, their voice trembles a bit and they say "Oh, but isn't Japan's -- the best??" This is especially common with food. Our kaiwa students were all very disheartened when we said we preferred Thai curry. So they countered with "Which is better? Thai rice or Japanese rice??" Since we'd already dismissed their curry, we lied and said "Japanese rice." Oh, they looked so happy.
Japan has turned us into fantastic liars.
I totally know what you mean!! So many teachers at my school say "oh, Colleen? She is a Japanese woman" when there are examples of me being polite, responsible, or quiet. Cause it's impossible for Americans to be any of those things, right?!
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