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Lost in Japan (2): The Moon

Hello, reader!

Since the last blog, I’ve explored Tokyo, Sendai, Nagoya, and Fukushima. While I am not able to visit it during its prime time in the Autumn, today I want to highlight the beauty of Gifu Prefecture’s 月見の森, the Moon-Viewing Forest. As a country boy, I absolutely love nature. The cities throughout Japan have done a wonderful job of maintaining vegetation. It’s unlike any other cities I have visited. It even beats the small towns. But I will show appreciation to Japan’s dedication to preservation. It’s always nice to look at a bright moon at night, but it “hits different” when you’re doing so without a building in sight. No skyscrapers fighting for attention and no disruptive sirens deafening you. I honestly miss hearing the crickets’ chirping at night. 

The Moon.

It’s the determinant of the tides. It keeps the Earth’s tilt just right. It’s our brightest companion at night. It’s the Earth’s satellite, the companion that will always be there. We are just like the Moon. We have our moments of enlightenment, the Full Moon. But we also have our moments of incomprehension. That’s just a natural cycle. We discover new ideas we’ve never imagined, our curiosity drives us to learn more about it, and then we move on to the next new idea. 

Naturally, not everyone will be on the same stage of the cycle. Cultural understanding is an example of this. For the native, it’s a no-brainer. But for the foreigner, it’s an expedition. It’s common to feel like you’re treading on thin ice. You’re scared that you’ll ask for “capital punishment” instead of an “exam” again. I’m totally not projecting here. 

But that hypothetical is just a language issue. I’ll give an example of my cultural battles: Japan’s hospitality culture, Omotenashi. It’s a warzone everytime I go out to eat at a restaurant. When it comes to strangers- even with customer service- I am very somewhat reserved. I like to keep my troubles to myself. Did I receive the wrong order? No worries, I can’t read my own handwriting. Was I charged incorrectly? Not a problem, my short-term memory is 10x worse. And for the most part, I’ll always tip, not for the customer service but rather because of the sympathy I have for these often underpaid workers. That’s what America taught me. So I always feel bad when I’m out eating with my friends and they shout for the waiter over, order without making eye-contact, and at the end of it all not leave a tip. My friends would say that from the worker’s perspective, it’s already expected. But I’ve already had this idea of creating a connection with the waiter by getting lost in their eyes, laughing at each other’s jokes, and marrying each other after an hour and a half. And then tipping them because of my pity for them. 

Omotenashi is one of the concepts I’ve learned from people I’ve talked to. And these conversations often come attached to a pretty interesting history lesson. Japanese people understand the origin of their contemporary culture really well! So, I’ve never really wondered why tipping in the United States is a staple in the service industry. I’ve realized that responding with “it’s just the way it is” is never a really good answer for anything. 

-Now I’m starting to have this stereotype that Americans like me don’t know anything about our own history. Maybe it’s because we don’t have a good track record of being the good guys. 

That comment is not entirely irrelevant, because one day, I spoke with a friend who told me of a hypothesis for America’s tipping culture. Basically, he said “I think it has something to do with racism.” I laughed. “Whaaaat. No way.” We then both looked at our phones for a few seconds. And we both laughed out loud. It’s actually hilariously shocking! Because the origin of tipping in America IS because of racism…     Of course it is. 

Am I the only one who didn’t know about this? It’s a really interesting read. Give it a try. 

Cheers,

Daniel

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Differing expectations — Wifi deserts

Different cultures have different expectations, this is obvious. But this reality can be truly inconvenient at times. In the US, most venues have an easily accessible wifi connection, at least outside of major metropolitan areas. In Germany, this is actually quite uncommon. In Frankfurt, there may be only two or three cafes that allow connection to a Wifi — what’s more, sitting at a cafe for hours on end may be considered rude if the venue is busy.

I sat down at a bar-cafe and asked if they have wifi, the waitress confirmed that they do. After I ordered, I looked for their wifi, and there wasn’t any. When I asked the waitress about it, she looked at my phone and shrugged bemusedly. She left and did nothing else.

I felt that she had partially mislead me, and was a bit frustrated, because I had want4e dto get some work done as I sat. Obviously, the culture in Frankfurt is that wifi is not expected as part of sitting at a cafe, and so the waitress did not see it as her problem to help me.

The “sunglasses” view of culture is helpful here. I had always assumed that Cafe’s having easily accessible wifi is part of the Cafe experience. But now I realize that I was useing my “sunglasses” and was missing the cultural elament — that is simply the expectation in the US.

I learned that if you are expecting to spend an extended period of time doing something, it is best to ask locals if that something accepted.

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Post 2 – First Critical Incident

Though I’ve only been in Madrid for a week and a half, I’ve greatly enjoyed getting to explore the city and experience Spanish culture. I’ve learned a bit about the government thanks to Sunday’s regional elections, tried tortilla de patata, and (finally) overcome the 9-hour jet lag. 

Madrid has a rather extensive Metro system, which I use each morning to get from my student residence to the school. This in and of itself was rather new to me, as my home city of Los Angeles is not exactly known for its public transportation. However, on my first morning of classes, I was made even more uncomfortable by the feeling that several people were looking me up and down as I got on. I immediately became nervous, wondering if my clothes were somehow inappropriate or I had committed some behavioral faux pas that marked me as a foreigner. 

A couple days later, one of my teachers happened to mention that in Spain, it’s not really considered rude to look at strangers the way it is in the United States. When I told her about my experience on the Metro, she said that was rather normal, especially considering that I have red hair and light-colored eyes (I think I have yet to see another redhead here). Hearing that helped me a lot, and now I think the experience is a funny story, despite how insecure and out of place I felt in the moment.

Although the incident was rather uncomfortable, I think it was an interesting way to learn about a cultural difference in terms of societal norms or expectations. In the U.S., I’m used to a general understanding that you shouldn’t usually look strangers up and down (so when it does happen, there’s probably something out of the ordinary). Also, I don’t think I was expecting to stand out physically so much – it’s been a while since I’ve felt like my hair was so unusual. Using the onion metaphor of culture, I think this encounter reflects a belief or attitude from a middle layer that influences outward behavior (something I could perceive immediately). Now, I not only understand another subtle aspect of Spanish culture, but also feel more confident in my ability to handle these kinds of situations. Though I recognize how much I still have to learn, I’m realizing that experience – even when a bit uncomfortable – is sometimes the best teacher.

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Pre-Departure Post to Radolfzell, Germany

I don’t really know what to expect going into this summer or how I “should” be feeling. I feel nervous, excited, anxious and a blend of other emotions, but I haven’t really taken any action on these feelings. I’ve done a minimal amount of research or planning because I truly just want to show up and see where life takes me. I think that’s the best way I will achieve the most authentic experience possible and through reflection on this authentic experience, I hope to grow interculturally.

I’ve been studying German since the 8th grade, but I’m doing this program because my language abilities have hit a plateau and I need to put them to the test in order to further develop them. I think this will present its fair share of challenges in the beginning and I need to make the conscious effort to use German not English. This is the biggest reason that I chose Radolfzell over a big city. My hope is that since Radolfzell is a small town, the temptation to use English will be less because less people will speak it.

One of my goals going into this summer is to be spontaneous. I’m the type of person who prefers routine, but I know that if I do the same thing every day I will look back on the summer as a missed opportunity to experience new things. While I don’t want to plan out every moment of every day and fill them to the brim with activities, I also don’t want to become content in a routine. My intent is to try something new everyday.