Cringe

At my farewell enkai, the teachers were all waxing poetic about how Japanese I am [see previous entry on this and its complimentary status]. So when one teacher asked which city is my favorite, another teacher replied "Oh, it'll be Kyoto, of course!" But when I declared my love for Kobe, the teachers wanted to know why. "It's beautiful, sandwiched between the mountains and the sea, there are many interesting shops, I like the museums, and since there have been foreigners there for some time, people don't stare at me so much."
"Ah, since there are other foreigners, you don't have to feel so ashamed."

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Talking with a few wonderful friends who are planning to come visit Seattle. Japan is a cash society, with most people carrying hundreds of dollars in their wallets at any given time. My friends know that Americans use credit cards, but they weren't sure what they were going to do... "Well, we can't bring money in the suitcase, in case the luggage is lost. And we shouldn't carry it because someone might rob us.... But Seattle has a lot of Japanese people, so I'll feel safe there."