Most people who have never been to Japan but are interested in Japanese culture and cuisine believe the litmus test for tolerating said cuisine weirdness is an enjoyment of sushi, or perhaps, sashimi. If you can stomach raw fish, you may believe you earned your member's badge. If you've actually lived here, you know that adoring sushi is something only lightweights regard as an
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est things people say. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est things people say. Afficher tous les articles
mercredi 21 décembre 2011
Won't Miss #400 - natto questions
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
Most people who have never been to Japan but are interested in Japanese culture and cuisine believe the litmus test for tolerating said cuisine weirdness is an enjoyment of sushi, or perhaps, sashimi. If you can stomach raw fish, you may believe you earned your member's badge. If you've actually lived here, you know that adoring sushi is something only lightweights regard as an
lundi 7 novembre 2011
Won't Miss #384 - Japanese (whatever) is "better"
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
Even the frozen French fries are better in Japan because, you know, they mix them with mini-weenies.
Upon returning from a trip to Hawaii, one of my students asked me if I thought Japanese watermelon was sweeter than American watermelon. My truthful reply was that I've had sweet melon in both countries and relatively tasteless stuff in both of them. I've probably had more so-so watermelon in
mardi 27 septembre 2011
Won't Miss #370 - being told what is "Japanese"
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
I'm going to blow your mind, and very likely piss you off when I say that Japanese people do not know Japanese culture by virtue of being born in Japan. Don't believe me? Next time the Golden Week holidays roll around, ask your friends what each day celebrates and how it is observed. Or, ask them what a mikoshi is/does. Being of a culture is not the same as being educated in it and sometimes
jeudi 8 septembre 2011
Won't Miss #362 - "my hobby is sleeping"
Posted on 08:00 by Unknown
While talking with my sister and one of my friends in America, I asked, "do people ever say that their hobby is sleeping back home?" Both of them were taken aback at my even asking such a question as it seemed like a fundamentally incongruous thing for anyone to assert. My inability to distinguish the weird things I sometimes hear in Japan from the weird things people say back home spurred
mercredi 31 août 2011
Won't Miss #359 - "you can't/won't understand..."
Posted on 08:15 by Unknown
One of the things Japanese people say to me when they're about to tell me about some cultural concept which they are aware is dissimilar in Western culture is "you can't/won't understand, but we Japanese (do whatever)." I know that this is offered up without any sort of negative connotations, but it is an immensely condescending thing to say. This is their way of saying, "as an outsider, you
mercredi 3 août 2011
Will Miss #348 - being told I'm beautiful
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
I look absolutely nothing like this woman, but I think she's supposed to be actually beautiful.
I've read on some blogs and forums that a lot of the women who marry foreign men are actually considered relatively mundane or unattractive in Japanese culture. I've also been spontaneously told by Japanese men and women (even at the ripe old age of 46) that I am "beautiful". My sense about both of
I've read on some blogs and forums that a lot of the women who marry foreign men are actually considered relatively mundane or unattractive in Japanese culture. I've also been spontaneously told by Japanese men and women (even at the ripe old age of 46) that I am "beautiful". My sense about both of
mardi 12 juillet 2011
Will Miss #340 - "food is fuel", as it is meant in Japan
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Delicious, salted fuel.
It's very easy to misunderstand the statements made in other cultures, and one thing that I often hear American dieters who have spent a short period of time in Japan smugly assert is that the Japanese stay trim by viewing "food as fuel". When a Western person says this, they think this is about minimizing the pleasure of food such that it is diminished to being mere
It's very easy to misunderstand the statements made in other cultures, and one thing that I often hear American dieters who have spent a short period of time in Japan smugly assert is that the Japanese stay trim by viewing "food as fuel". When a Western person says this, they think this is about minimizing the pleasure of food such that it is diminished to being mere
lundi 27 juin 2011
Won't Miss #335 - kisoku wa kisoku da
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
One of the things in life that I'm naive about is the idea that sometimes it's better to lie. That idea has been strongly and boldly underscored to an incredible extent while living in Japan. A big reason for this is that telling the truth will gain you nothing. Lying, even when it's obvious that you are doing so and and as transparent as glass, gets you a free pass. This is because the lie
jeudi 26 mai 2011
Won't Miss #324 - "gaijin da!"
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Spot the foreigner in the mix!
You're walking to the local train station as part of your daily commute and living in the dream world that is your own thoughts when suddenly, you hear someone (usually a child) shout, "gaijin da!" (a foreigner!) Instead of being wrapped up in the relative peace of your own thoughts, you're pulled into the reality that you are a stranger in a strange land and that
You're walking to the local train station as part of your daily commute and living in the dream world that is your own thoughts when suddenly, you hear someone (usually a child) shout, "gaijin da!" (a foreigner!) Instead of being wrapped up in the relative peace of your own thoughts, you're pulled into the reality that you are a stranger in a strange land and that
mardi 24 mai 2011
Won't Miss #323 - talk of "the big one"
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
A cafe window in Tokyo which was cracked in the Great Tohoku Earthquake. The word spelled in tape is "danger".
People seem obsessed with talking about a huge earthquake leveling Tokyo like the great Kanto earthquake of 1923. You'd think that such talk might settle down in the face of the Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, but that doesn't satisfy the need for people to see Tokyo shaken apart.
People seem obsessed with talking about a huge earthquake leveling Tokyo like the great Kanto earthquake of 1923. You'd think that such talk might settle down in the face of the Tohoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, but that doesn't satisfy the need for people to see Tokyo shaken apart.
mardi 21 septembre 2010
Won't Miss #235 - "do you speak Japanese?"
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
Some questions when asked have nothing but bad intentions behind them, and this is one of them. Note that there are only two types of people who ask me this question. One is students in language lessons who are supposed to only deal with me in English and my Japanese language ability has nothing to do with them (as I'm not going to speak Japanese to them regardless). The others are
lundi 30 août 2010
Won't Miss #226 - "why are you here?"
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
As I've mentioned before, I have talked to literally thousands of Japanese people due to the types of jobs I have done and the one question that I am thoroughly tired of answering is why I'm here. I get asked this question both in terms of why I came in the first place and why I keep living here after 20 years. One of the things you don't appreciate about living in your home country is that no
vendredi 4 juin 2010
Will Miss #180 - unexpected bursts of English
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
My husband was walking around the area outside of his office and the employees from McDonald's were milling about shouting about a new burger. Of course, they were shouting in Japanese, but when my husband momentarily made eye contact with one of the women, she shouted (in English), "it's delicious!" There's something delightful about these surprise communications coming at you out of the blue.
samedi 17 avril 2010
Will Miss #156 - bodily function free talk
Posted on 00:15 by Unknown
In one of my earliest experiences in Japan, a student told me that she was not feeling well because she had had "loose bowls" (meaning "bowels", or diarrhea). I was surprised to hear her tell someone who was, but mere moments ago, a total stranger, that she was spending a lot of time in the toilet. It turns out that Japanese people are not squeamish about such things. I'm freely told about
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