How far is Japan?
I was talking with my co-worker Tomoko about Japan the other day. She was telling me about how Japanese – Japanese really are.
When she was in Japan with her husband and their daughter, they were constantly being asked where they were from. Geizein, meaning Foreigner, is what Caucasians are called. If you are not Japanese, this is what you are called. It is also derogatory in some instances.
Anyway, she was telling me about how I was going to become a Celebrity, more or less, because I was not Asian, From America, and not Japanese. Though if I was a Blond American, then I would be a GOD. They rank Blond as being GODLIKE. Maybe because all Japanese look the same with eye and hair color. Hummmm, interesting!
Please note that there is a caste system in Japan. Japanese are at the top, Americans are second, and anyone else is considered more or less, the untouchables. This includes Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese. If you are Japanese and your will be getting married to another Japanese, the family will hire a detective to do a back ground check of your family history to make sure none of your family members where from the untouchable group. If they are, you will not be married. There is a word for it ‘BARAKUMIN” and if you ask about it to the Japanese, they deny the word and pretend that they don’t know what your talking about. It is Taboo to talk about it. My Japanese friend loves to pick on her culture. She grew up in Japan and then moved to Bolivia and England. She tells me a lot of stuff I am not able to read about in books.
I am totally getting off the subject. Anyway, she was telling me about when her husband was there with her and they were walking down the street to go shopping. Up the road a ways, a Japanese woman was riding her bicycle and when she got close, she saw that Tomoko’s husband was Geizin and lost control of her bike, fell off, and ran away. She was afraid of him. She said that for most other people, this woman being the exception, usually will stop you in the street and ask you where you are from. This is very important to them. She said that little kids use to hound her daughter. When she would ride her bike, kids use to run along side screaming Geizin, Geizen!!!
Walking Mount Fuji was also and interesting story. There are so many people that walk up and down the Mountain on a daily basis. From all over the world. For the Japanese, Tomoko’s husband told me that when they see you they say “Hello” and Not Konichiwa. No matter if you were Scandinavian, they assume you are American. For the tourists, they come up and down the hill saying Konichiwa. There seems to be a strange element going on here. All tourists try to be locals and all Japanese assume everyone is American……cultural differences? I think so.
I was talking with my co-worker Tomoko about Japan the other day. She was telling me about how Japanese – Japanese really are.
When she was in Japan with her husband and their daughter, they were constantly being asked where they were from. Geizein, meaning Foreigner, is what Caucasians are called. If you are not Japanese, this is what you are called. It is also derogatory in some instances.
Anyway, she was telling me about how I was going to become a Celebrity, more or less, because I was not Asian, From America, and not Japanese. Though if I was a Blond American, then I would be a GOD. They rank Blond as being GODLIKE. Maybe because all Japanese look the same with eye and hair color. Hummmm, interesting!
Please note that there is a caste system in Japan. Japanese are at the top, Americans are second, and anyone else is considered more or less, the untouchables. This includes Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese. If you are Japanese and your will be getting married to another Japanese, the family will hire a detective to do a back ground check of your family history to make sure none of your family members where from the untouchable group. If they are, you will not be married. There is a word for it ‘BARAKUMIN” and if you ask about it to the Japanese, they deny the word and pretend that they don’t know what your talking about. It is Taboo to talk about it. My Japanese friend loves to pick on her culture. She grew up in Japan and then moved to Bolivia and England. She tells me a lot of stuff I am not able to read about in books.
I am totally getting off the subject. Anyway, she was telling me about when her husband was there with her and they were walking down the street to go shopping. Up the road a ways, a Japanese woman was riding her bicycle and when she got close, she saw that Tomoko’s husband was Geizin and lost control of her bike, fell off, and ran away. She was afraid of him. She said that for most other people, this woman being the exception, usually will stop you in the street and ask you where you are from. This is very important to them. She said that little kids use to hound her daughter. When she would ride her bike, kids use to run along side screaming Geizin, Geizen!!!
Walking Mount Fuji was also and interesting story. There are so many people that walk up and down the Mountain on a daily basis. From all over the world. For the Japanese, Tomoko’s husband told me that when they see you they say “Hello” and Not Konichiwa. No matter if you were Scandinavian, they assume you are American. For the tourists, they come up and down the hill saying Konichiwa. There seems to be a strange element going on here. All tourists try to be locals and all Japanese assume everyone is American……cultural differences? I think so.
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