grr

Sometimes I think it would be better if I couldn't speak any Japanese. At least then it would save me from having the same exact conversation in Japanese over and over and over.


はい、すしは好きです。よく食べます。実は、最近アメリカにもすしは人気があります。

はいはい、箸使えます。子供の時から、アメリカの中華料理屋とか他のアジア系のレストランで使いました。

あ、靴は３０センチです。うん、ちょっと不便です。身長？身長は１９２センチです。そうそう、頭は気をつけなくてはいけません。

ううん、まだまだです。日本語は話せますが、大学を卒業したらたくさん忘れていました。今、漢字あまり読めません。

Sure, I like sushi. I eat it a lot! Actually, these days sushi is very popular in America as well!

Ah, yes, I can use chopsticks. Ever since I was a child I used them in Chinese or other Asian restaurants.

Oh, my shoes are 30cm. Yeah, it's kind of inconvenient. My height? I'm 192cm tall. Yeah, I have to watch my head.

Oh no, I still have a while to go. I can speak Japanese, but since graduating college I have forgotten a lot. Right now, I can't read very many kanji.


Every single enkai and every single elementary and kindergarten visit I rehash this conversation, perhaps mixed in with comments about the weather and "un, nihon wa naratteimasu." I can grin and bear it when I'm introduced to new people. After all, my job is just as much about cross cultural sharing as it is about teaching English to middle school kids. But man, when I have the exact same conversation with the exact same kindergarten principal 2 times in 3 months...

My other concern is that I may just be reinforcing most of the stereotypes Japanese people have about Americans. I can't help it if I'm bigger than all the other people in this country. And dammit, steak and hamburgers are tasty. At least I don't have a thing for guns...

I really want to work on making friends with Japanese people, at the very least so I can move beyond the small talk bullshit. Luckily there are some cool people in Takahagi, but I have to make more of an effort. I think most people here are too shy to actually call me up and do something, and for me its much easier to just call up one of the other JETs or my friends from America. So, I think I will have to make the effort myself to accomplish my goal.