The critical incident I will reflect on using the dive method happened the day after July 4th. As a preface to the incident, July 4th is my all time favorite holiday and I was a little upset to not be spending it in the states. To make up for this fact, I decided to celebrate the holiday as if I were in the states. I took the day off of school to BBQ by the lake, read, and relax listening to country music. Not quite the same as being home for the holiday, but I was content with the day. My teacher didn’t see it the same way.
Describe- I entered the classroom the next day and the teacher asked where I was the day before. I said that it was an important holiday for my country that I wanted to celebrate and described what I did to celebrate. He said back in a demeaning tone, “Oh yes it was your countries Independence Day, but that is absolutely not a good enough reason to miss school.”
Interpretation- In the moment I was very taken aback, angry, and defensive. I didn’t even have words to speak back because it was not the response I was expecting to get when I was simply describing to him the nice holiday I had.
Evaluation- After further evaluation, I realize that this interaction probably boils down to a stark cultural difference between Americans and Germans. As a generalization, I find that many Americans are proud to be American. Thus 4th of July is an important holiday that we highly value. On the other hand Germans are not openly prideful about being German (unless it is at a soccer match). I was able to verify this with my host family. They said that because of history most Germans do not show any pride about being German because it can be mistaken as supporting Nazi ideals. After having this explained to me, I can better understand why my teacher did not see my reason for not being in school as valid.
After staying in Amman for a few weeks, I have had several critical incidents during this time studying. In a way, Amman is exactly what I expected while also shattering all of my expectations and presumptions. I have found the people to be extremely kind and open with everyone. My classmates from across the world have been interesting and have many of the same interests as myself while also being some of the kindest and gracious people I have met that are my age. My teachers and those who are put in place to help us have been very helpful and have been willing to offer advice on what to visit and what to see in their city and region. Overall, I believe that the people have been my most favorite part so far in this experience.
One interesting experience I had quite early was the difference between a day in the United States versus a day in the city of Amman. I already knew that Americans typically eat and sleep early when compared to other cultures, but I was shocked at the difference nonetheless. When my friends and I walk to school, usually around eight in the morning, not many people are out nor is the city lively. But when we would stay up late or eat late, we found that the city began picking up and became lively past nine at night. The day did not begin for most Jordanians until late at night. I would encounter people receiving haircuts, eating, elderly women gossiping, and an entirely different city at night rather than midday. I began to question why the city was so much more alive at night versus the day and presumed it to be a question that could be answered culturally. As the summer began to continue, I realized just how warm the city remained until nighttime. People have lived continuously in Amman for a long time far before the invention and mass production of air conditioning and their days adjusted to respond to this heat. This was in stark contrast to America which relative to Amman is quite young and structured their days around when it was warm.
I found that the day was structured to allow people to be people and interact with each other more than they could following a model that I was familiar with. Watching the families of grandparents and small toddlers all spending time with each other at hours of the night that I would be asleep if I were home was oddly such an interesting site that I never gave much thought to. In all honesty, I would do the same thing in order to spend more time with my loved ones and I found that to be the most interesting part of Jordanian culture so far. It is odd that it is extremely culturally acceptable to be out with your mother at three in the morning on a weekday, but I have found it to be one of my most favorite parts of Jordanian culture so far.
A giant ball of gas that imploded in on itself and somehow created an even more intense ball of energy…
Now, I believe in 99% of science. I believe in vaccines. I believe in the wheel. I believe in contraceptives’ efficacy. I believe in calculators. My mom said I am the cutest boy, so add that to the list. All of those are sciencefacts. But that remaining 1% is this star-propaganda. How does a bunch of lame old gas become a huge, sexy star?
I’m just being an envious hater. The creation of a star is truly a marvel! If there were an objective metric for meritocracy, I would place stars at the top. I guess the point I’m trying to make is: things are not always what they seem. We have fixed ideas in our heads that blind us from the reality of the situation. We are always fixated on the end-product, but never on the process. Some things are better than they seem, and others are too good to be true.
So, as a foreigner in Japan, allow me to share with you one of my misinterpretations. A broad one that changed a lot of my views. I went to Kabukicho (in Tokyo) alone at one point and I was immediately in awe of the nightlife. I discovered so much about Japan’s red-light district. I wasn’t expecting prostitution to be a blatantly obvious business on the street. After all, it is illegal in Japan. But I as I went about my stroll and discovered host clubs, love hotels, and maid cafes, I noticed that some women on the streets handing out fliers and calling pedestrians’ attention had pimps close by. Sex work. Out in the open.
I thought the streets would be filled with other types of patriarchal, sex-adjacent businesses selling overpriced food and drinks served by pretty, young girls. I never imagined that sex work would be so above board even though it was illegal in the country. I didn’t have to look hard at all. (To be clear, I was not purposefully looking for it.) It just so happens that there are work-arounds for these laws that allow this to happen. From that point, mid-journey, I couldn’t not ignore the street-side advertisers selling massages while the pimps made sure no photos were being taken.
Some days after, I spoke with some guy at a club in Roppongi about my discovery. And I received quite an interesting lecture. Naturally with this situation, it has been difficult to statistically verify these claims. But the logic follows the same economic trends of other countries. Basically, women engage in prostitution to escape poverty- something you rarely see in Japan (in public); immigrants are more likely to be coerced into the industry; and it’s extremely profitable with money not reaching the workers. I then read a Vice article about a well-known spot in Japan for this industry, Watakano, that confirmed some things.
It’s surreal that situations like these are so well-known but not heavily emphasized. But we’re back to that idea about presenting only the good things about ourselves to others, aren’t we? It’s not uncommon. I just never imagined that Japan- the utopia- would have these kinds of issues out in the open. (Please don’t confuse my story with a view of anti-sex work. I actually believe that prostitution is a much safer industry when it is legalized.) And don’t get me started on work culture in Japan. I’ve been avoiding that topic as well, so I am part of this “let’s-ignore-the-elephant-in-the-room” problem.
Don’t get me wrong, this country boy has absolutely loved his experiences in Japan. But, honestly, I sometimes miss being back in my hometown and staring up at the sky. As beautiful as the city life is, I can’t get over the fact that I cannot see the stars at night.
I guess nowhere is perfect. It’s always good to be aware, though…
My critical incident was that I was walking alone at night back to my house outside the city gates of Siena and I thought I was being followed. I was pretty convinced of this. Basically as soon as I saw that a man I didn’t know was walking behind me late at night, I was concerned. However, I became especially worried when I crossed the street and he crossed the street after me. This heightened my concern and I rushed to get home (home was the only thing on my mind at that point). Worst case scenario images crossed my mind.
Honestly, when I look back at this situation I think my description of the situation remains worrisome and I think I had good reason to be alert. I think it did reveal a sad assumption though that many women have that alone and with a man they don’t know they are fundamentally vulnerable. My verification of this incident is that I’m fine and got home safely, and also that Siena as I have experienced it is really quite a safe city. For this situation, I wouldn’t say the DIVE example was particularly useful since there are many examples of women getting hurt in situations like these.
