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2004-07-10 - 2:09 p.m. Cultural Communication An actual complaint about Japan, folks. Sure, it's rare, but it happens every once in a while that I feel pretty damn lost. Sometimes. Current cause of concern: Lack of Cultural communication. Those people that know a little too much of Japan, myself included I'm sure, learn very early that Japanese culture is considered to be so different from Western culture that no Westerner could ever understand it. Okay, it smacks of Nihonjiron, that slightly antiquated study of the Japanese people that focuses solely on how fucking unique the Japanese are from every other ethnic group in the world, but that's what they say. I'll have you know that, despite the fact that so many people believe this, I think that there is some chunk of bullshit in it. They may be different on some levels, but on others, wholly shit are they like the fuckers back home. You just have to look. Unfortunately for me, this is about one of those layers I just cant get. nce a week or so, I go to one of my elementary schools to teach 5 or 6 classes of English. I like this school, and I love the students, but after I'm done for the day, everytime I'm there, either the liason (one of the 4th grade teachers that can speak English), or the adminstrators tell me, 'You can go home.' This, of course throws me in a loop every time. What do you mean, I think to myself. Or, to be more precise, in what context do you mean it? It could be a command. Or maybe it's a suggestion. Or maybe it's just them being courteous. Or maybe they don't want me hanging around. My contract with my company says, among other things, I have to stay till at least 4:30 in the afternoon, regardless what I do, or don't do. But they say I can go home. I don't know in what way they mean this, but they say this, and I do it. Since I have no clue why they tell me every time I can go home after all my classes are through, but they do. And I'm still confused... The Past - Guestbook - The Future, Too |