a small rant about the elderly
often times, i feel like the japanese elderly just plain don’t like me. i’m western, i’m loud, and i’m flashy – by their standards. i believe there is still wide-spread prejudice and dislike of foreigners, and i think that japanese culture is partly to blame. the youth of japan are starting a revolution of sorts, but the elderly are still pretty traditional. the youth are breaking conventions and becoming more comfortable with public contact. the japanese aren’t really into touching. i remember i hugged the office lady, takimoto san, at my school after getting back from thailand last year, and she called me rude, albeit laughing through it. she may have laughed, but i could tell she was disturbed by my simple gesture. particularly with the elderly, there’s often not a whole lot of interest in globalization and rubbing elbows with foreigners. as one of the roots of this, japan was a closed country for about 100 years in its past . the shogun almost completely isolated japan, forbidding traveling abroad and foreign books within the country. the people weren’t allowed to be interested, and this mind set hasn’t completely dissipated. whereas world travel and education is important in the states, you’ll find many elderly people here that haven’t left japan not even once. in fact, most of them grow up and stay in the same town or city their whole lives, barely ever making it another part of japan. of course, things are inevitably evolving, and i speak mainly of the older generations.
i walk or ride my bike down the streets of my city, and many times, all eyes are on me. i’d like to think that it’s because i’m looking smart and sassy, but i know it’s not. it’s because i’m a foreigner. the eyes seem fixed in a scowling face - they always just seem so disapproving! of course, i’m a subject of interest because i’m different. i look different, i dress different, and i’m shaped different. people stare. depending on my mood, i’ll call out a playful konnichiwa or else i avert my eyes in the other direction, pretending not to notice. sometimes i feel uncomfortable being scrutinized at the grocery store or on the train. it’s always a fun trip to the local supermarket because all the elderly are constantly peeking in my basket to see what gaijin (a less than polite term for foreigner – although not all together rude) eat for dinner.
when i first came last year, i was mostly oblivious to the intricate and complex culture structure in place. standing out, i walked down the street probably breaking several social codes, unbeknownst to me.
the most uncomfortable i feel is the quasi-frequent trips to the japanese onsen. an onsen is a natural hot spring of extremely skin-reddening pore-opening hot water. japanese people onsen often – which i think is an attribute of their fabulous, young looking skin. well, after you wash in a separate shower, you lay around in the hot spring baths, many of them filled with natural minerals and smelling of sulfuric rotten eggs. you do all this naked. you can imagine the covert, darting eyes when the gaijin walk in completely nude. fair`s fair however, as i have of course stolen several secretive glances as well.
as time went by, i started to feel that whenever i was out in public, i was doing something wrong. there’s so many proper rules and social details in place, it’s hard to be aware of them all.
and, at this point in time, i finally feel like i’ve gotten the japanese way down in public - quiet, subtle, and humble. hahaha, me, you ask? somewhat of course, we still make quite a stir often; we’re given a little slack because ‘we just don’t know any better’. at least i don’t feel like i’m doing something wrong all the time anymore. but who knows, the old people are probably still shaking their heads and wondering what’s wrong with those damn foreigners!
of course, these are all my opinions, i’m sure japan’s chock full of gaijin loving old people. here’s one!
this gentleman was at the arai matsuri (festival) that i went to over summer vacation. he was really nice. or perhaps just drunk. i’d rather believe the former than the latter, and since the tell-tale sign is missing (the japanese get really red faced after drinking alcohol), i tend to believe he was just plumb friendly
i walk or ride my bike down the streets of my city, and many times, all eyes are on me. i’d like to think that it’s because i’m looking smart and sassy, but i know it’s not. it’s because i’m a foreigner. the eyes seem fixed in a scowling face - they always just seem so disapproving! of course, i’m a subject of interest because i’m different. i look different, i dress different, and i’m shaped different. people stare. depending on my mood, i’ll call out a playful konnichiwa or else i avert my eyes in the other direction, pretending not to notice. sometimes i feel uncomfortable being scrutinized at the grocery store or on the train. it’s always a fun trip to the local supermarket because all the elderly are constantly peeking in my basket to see what gaijin (a less than polite term for foreigner – although not all together rude) eat for dinner.
when i first came last year, i was mostly oblivious to the intricate and complex culture structure in place. standing out, i walked down the street probably breaking several social codes, unbeknownst to me.
the most uncomfortable i feel is the quasi-frequent trips to the japanese onsen. an onsen is a natural hot spring of extremely skin-reddening pore-opening hot water. japanese people onsen often – which i think is an attribute of their fabulous, young looking skin. well, after you wash in a separate shower, you lay around in the hot spring baths, many of them filled with natural minerals and smelling of sulfuric rotten eggs. you do all this naked. you can imagine the covert, darting eyes when the gaijin walk in completely nude. fair`s fair however, as i have of course stolen several secretive glances as well.
as time went by, i started to feel that whenever i was out in public, i was doing something wrong. there’s so many proper rules and social details in place, it’s hard to be aware of them all.
and, at this point in time, i finally feel like i’ve gotten the japanese way down in public - quiet, subtle, and humble. hahaha, me, you ask? somewhat of course, we still make quite a stir often; we’re given a little slack because ‘we just don’t know any better’. at least i don’t feel like i’m doing something wrong all the time anymore. but who knows, the old people are probably still shaking their heads and wondering what’s wrong with those damn foreigners!
of course, these are all my opinions, i’m sure japan’s chock full of gaijin loving old people. here’s one!
this gentleman was at the arai matsuri (festival) that i went to over summer vacation. he was really nice. or perhaps just drunk. i’d rather believe the former than the latter, and since the tell-tale sign is missing (the japanese get really red faced after drinking alcohol), i tend to believe he was just plumb friendly
posted by Unknown at 9:47 PM
1 Comments:
liz.
i'm so happy to have read this entry because you really hit the nail head on with this one. i often feel exactly as you do. ARG! GAIJIN GRIPES! sometimes it's nice to know we're all freaks here, not just me.
hope to see you soon girl,
xo justine
ps: good work with the word verification. i started to get spam that would piss me right off, like "hey! i like your blog! how bout coming over to my MENTAL HEALTH BLOG and checking it out!"
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