Let’s
face facts.
I’m
a foreigner.
In
every way shape and form out here.
And
as a foreigner coming from halfway across the globe, there have been times
where I’ve scrunched up my face and asked myself why the native inhabitants of
this land do the things that they do. And it’s to be expected really. I’m an
outsider looking in and the customs, characteristics and what have you are
obviously going to be much different to what I’m used to. So I try to make sense
of it because I’m sure that in the same way that thousands of foreigners have
had to make sense of the UK and it’s primarily “British mannerisms”, I’ve
simply got to stick my ore in and make sense of everything around me.
People
like to look good here. Whether it’s the smart looking thirteen-year-old in
school uniform, the polished salaryman
on his way to work, or the aspiring fashionista prowling the streets, looking
good and dressing well makes a lasting impression. And don’t get me wrong,
there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good. What I don’t get however is
when wanting to look good crosses
outside logic. In fact, I’ve had this disagreement with a good friend of mine
who’s very much into fashion also, but right now it’s rather cold here in Hiroshima.
I’m reminded of London every time I set foot outside my door. So I can’t
understand why anyone would walk the streets without a coat or why any woman
would walk the streets in a miniskirt (without tights mind you) simply at the
expense of making a statement. And don’t get me wrong, people in the UK do this
as well but I tend to find that this is more apparent when people have the
intention of getting completely sloshed. Maybe alcohol numbs the senses; I’m
not sure. In Japan however, it could be eleven o clock in the morning, raining
ice cubes and someone somewhere will be “making a statement”.
The
same could be said about high heels. Now Japanese women are known for being short
and heels are known to elevate, making one’s legs look longer and provide women
with a little elegance in their step. So I get it. Really, I do. It’s the same
for women in the west. We wanna look taller, thinner, sexier, a little more
lady-like…etc. Nevertheless, I also run on the side of logic and wonder why
anyone would buy a pair of heels that are clearly impossible for them to walk
in. Now irrespective of my height, it’s on occasionally that I wear heels and
usually it’s a low heel as I feel comfortable walking in them. In Japan, it
seems that the taller (and sometimes thinner) the heel the better. I’ve seen
women struggling across a straight terrain or walking up stairs as if pulling
themselves through mud. It does not compute to me why anyone would desire to
put themselves through such aggravation.
In
the UK, when you join a mobile phone company, most companies will have tariffs
which allow you to contact other people who might happen to be with different
networks. This is of course as long as you don’t exceed the minutes within your
allowance (note: this doesn’t usually apply to premium rate numbers; I was
caught out before). In Japan, they have a thing about loyalty. Take me for
example. My mobile provider, Softbank, will allow me to call any other Softbank
user free of charge (between 1am and 9pm only) but will charge me ridiculous
amounts if I even think about contacting their competition e.g. Docomo, AU….etc
and other premium numbers. What makes this kind of redundant is that most
people in Japan use this handy like app called LINE which not only allows you
to send free texts but also, allows you to make free calls (video calls as
well). So all I can think of really is why one of the “big three” doesn’t offer
a loophole for network-to-network communication because I’m pretty sure they’d
have customers flocking in their general direction.
Got
a runny nose? Feel that line of mucus creeping along your nasal cavity? No
hanky available? Well it’s perfectly acceptable to sniff that booger back in.
Perfectly acceptable in the UK too. But people don’t just sniff here; they
snort. And sometimes very loudly as well. I’ve yet to find a woman that snorts
(although I’m sure there’s one somewhere) so I’m dubbing this is a male-only thing.
Nevertheless, I’m already aware that blowing your nose out in public is a
little bit taboo here and I think it’s because it’s considered bad manners –
maybe because of the sound it makes. But what I don’t get is that if it’s the
noise that’s genuinely the issue, why is snorting – which makes an equally loud
noise – seemingly acceptable here? Or maybe it isn’t and people turn a blind
eye to it which is also, common here. But it gets me thinking to myself…what?
It’s
pretty universal that when you’re standing at a zebra crossing and the green
man appears, as a pedestrian, you have right of way. Japan is no different in
that respect (compete with bird noises). What I’ve found however, is that if
you’re standing at a junction and you have right of way, a car can turn into
the road that you’re walking across even though…you know, you have right of way. Oh certainly, they’ll wait for you to cross
(although I have nearly been ran into once already), but being from the UK, I’m
not so used to having to deal with this unless I’m purposely crossing the road
when I’m not supposed to. Because fundamentally, back home, if a car is allowed
to turn into the street, the red man will remain as a warning whereas the green
man signifies that cars are barred, at least for a little while.
Now
I can’t generalise. I’m sure there are plenty of people that don’t snort, or
that full out refuse to wear seven inch heels, but it’s difficult not to make
connections and associations when you see things occur time and time again. I
guess this is how stereotypes come about but that’s another topic for another
day. I simply can’t help but go “huh?” from time to time however, and I suspect
they’ll be other instances that make me cock an eyebrow in surprise and/or
curiosity. All I can do however, is deal with it. I’m on new terrain now and as
they say:
When
in Rome….
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