Comments on: Criminal

By: XO

XO — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:59:06 +0000

Well, my wife has to be in this area to care for her elderly family. That is why we are here. Sooner or later we will go back to the States.

I used to think that if I just tried harder to learn more Japanese, read more about the culture, know the society, eventually they will treat me fairly. Now I think the more language you know, the more you try to fit in, the more success you achieve, the more they dislike you. Close friends and family may be exceptions to this, but generally I think it holds true..

By: Deas

Deas — Sat, 31 May 2008 05:33:00 +0000

XO – I’ve heard people say things before about it. Things like, “Japan is a wonderful place to visit for foreign people, but it isn’t the best for long term stays.” I’m inclined to agree with you about the neighborhood, though. That can really make or break your experience. Considered moving?

By: XO

XO — Fri, 30 May 2008 11:33:14 +0000

“Seems like the more you uncover the less romanticized it is”

Yes, that it what happened to me. Now I am at the point that I am really really tired of it. I think some of it has to do with the neighborhood you are in. Where I live now is less sekai-teki, so I get more paranoia over crime etc. .

By: Deas

Deas — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:56:00 +0000

Tom – it’’s funny, but telling that your comment evoked two almost separate responses from me. The first was, “Yes! That’s my point! It’s not as bad as you’re lead to believe at first! I’ve become conditioned to expect bad treatment tot he point where I’m pleasantly surprised when it doesn’t happen. How messed up is that?” But then you got to the point about Japanese language ability and I thought, “Well, that is true too. I was blissfully ignorant of much more when I didn’t have the vocabulary or cultural knowledge that I do know. Seems like the more you uncover the less romanticized it is… Though, that’s probably true everywhere.” Know what I mean?

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:30:16 +0000

Maybe I’m not as perceptive as others, or maybe I’m just used to it, but I don’t think I get treated particularly differently as a foreigner. At least, not nearly as much as I was led to believe I would.

Obviously I do in a lot of ways, but I’ve never been made to feel as if I was freakishly different or unwelcome in any way just because I was a foreigner.

Of course, that might all be because I don’t speak much Japanese and secretly everybody is saying horrible things to my face but I just don’t understand!

Toms last blog post was: “Travel is only glamorous in retrospect” – Part the First

By: Deas

Deas — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:21:34 +0000

XO – Well, I’m glad you started commenting! Ha ha. But feel free to lurk, if you prefer. I know there are others doing the same. And I lurk on a bunch of sites on my own blogroll! Saitama, huh? Do you cheer for the Urawa Reds? I used to hit Urawa once in a blue moon on the weekend when I lived in Tokyo, because there was a church with a cool college group there. Ages ago, really. Anyway, it’s nice to have you aboard, and I hope you find this site mostly non-trollish… I’m trying!

By: XO

XO — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:59:06 +0000

Yes, currently I am in the US on some business, but I live in Saitama, near Urawa. I have been reading the blog for a little while, but I did not have anything to say before now. Sorry about the troll comment, but I usually post on boards that have a lot of tension about the discrimination thing. Some people can admit the obvious!

By: Deas

Deas — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:03:28 +0000

Hi XO, and welcome to my blog. I usually don’t automatically spit out generic troll responses…so there’s no need to tack on preemptive replies. You live in Japan? (Just curious – you appear to be posting from America…) You’re right – the little incidents even when they are small can wear you down and make you upset. That’s natural, though.

By: XO

XO — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:58:44 +0000

That’s great, and I am always surprised when I walk into a store and they actually treat me like anyone else. It actually happens more often than not. But let’s say you have 100 encounters a day. If only 10% make a big deal about you being a foreigner, such as refusing to speak Japanese to you or clutching their children when you walk by, then 10 times a day you are being hassled. And 10 times a day is enough to make you miserable. And the percentage may well be over 10%. So, yes, most Japanese are not obsessed with cultural homogeneity. But it actually does not take much to get you down.

And for the guaranteed troll response to “go home, if you don’t like it”, I cannot leave, because I have a family here.

By: Deas

Deas — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:54:28 +0000

Clay – the Normals are the scariest ones… Ha ha. Eccentricity can aid you with most of them. But then there are the Supranormals. And they seem fascinated by, nay, even drawn to eccentricity. Shriek!