Finals & Racism

So summer in Japan starts in about a month, and finals are coming up at the end of July.

I am mostly worried because it feels like I am not doing much work in the classes. For example, I never do anything in the English class I am taking. The teacher doesn't even ask me questions. Instead, he asks the Russian. It is a bit confusing and upsetting, since I am a native English speaker, from America, and many questions are about American english.

Another is Psycholinguistics, where I also do nothing. At the end of the semester, however, papers are due, so at least I know there is something that will be graded.

Aside from those two though, I am not too worried. I have recently encountered a lot of racism, and not even in the "trying to be helpful" way. For example, I was buying items from the Lawson store on Campus, and the clerk said, in Japanese, "stupid foreigner" instead of "thank you very much." When I told the school about this, they ignored it. In addition, most Japanese women around the area that I live are very similar to American men - which is a bad thing.

As a result, I spend more time with the Chinese population on campus, or Japanese who are not from this area - who also agree that this area is very different from every other part of Japan.

Japan has a lot of wonderful things about it, such as the nature, food, and (in most areas), very very polite people. However, just as in America, not everyone is this way. I am surprised that my Japanese teacher recommended that I live in this area.

On My Mind

(Written: Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 7:07pm on Facebook via Mobile)

I just got my new glasses. They are nice. Black frames instead of silver. I will post a picture later. But now on to the main point of this post.

I have had a lot of people asking if I am home sick or suggesting that I am because I am trying to make friends or find people to hang out with or things to do. It was silly at first, but now it is just annoying. There is an American here who reminds me daily why I hate America.

Which leads me into my next topic: The American. He can be funny and is occasionally fun to hang out with, but he does not understand how to hold his tongue. He will call me a Creepy American. A lot. It does not help in the meeting people process.

But today, he did something that trumps all: he started telling me that his friends think I am creepy. Now, what bugs me is that he tries to justify them being ok with saying that. “Well, you know it is true.” If a fat lady knows she is fat, should you bring it up constantly? Should you tell her that people she has never met think that too? It just reminds me why I hate America.

Which brings me back to point one: I want to make friends, but when I try, people accuse me of homesickness.

So, there is a good reason why I am having issues and end up depressed sometimes.

Some other random things that annoy me are his use of “Nya” and other general American-Otaku words, and the fact that if would rather spend his time reading Manga than exploring Japan.

Friends & Strangers

(Written April 28th, 2009, ~10pm)

I have had multiple people tell me that they miss me and want me to hurry back to the states. While my FRIENDS saying this is nice, when people I hardly know, or don't know at all, start saying this, it is weird.

For example, one person, like many do, asked how long my stay would be. After finding out, they said that we should hang out when I get back, if it is before a date, which is not even half my stay here. I do not know that person, never met them. I know OF the person, but only because she is...I guess, well known? At my home university, that is.

Now, to some people, this may sound wonderful, but this stranger messaging me, privately, and encouraging me to see her when I get back - trying to get me to come back early so she can see me, on top of it all - it is a bit odd.

I do not want to worry about returning to America yet. I have been here less than a month, and when my friends want to talk or find out about my stay, they can ask, read this blog, watch my videos, or even them saying that they miss me is fine. But when a stranger messages me and encourages me to return early, it is weird and creepy. Especially when this is something that I have wanted since I was a little kid, watching Godzilla destroy this country - Japan.

I am more worried about my night out with some people (Kendall, Take, and one other [her friend, Saaya]) Thursday, than I am about America and whether it will even still be around in a year (seeing as all I hear about is how it is falling apart). I am enjoying myself, and have offered my shelter to many friends, if they have the time and money to stay. The only snags I have found are people wanting to bring friends and/or family too. My apartment could not house more than two people. It seems as if they want more than I can offer - and rather than saying "that's ok," they want to push the envelope and see how badly I want to see them.

My offer is free shelter, TV, a fridge, microwave, toilet (western), tub, washer (you have to dry your clothes outside), and someone to help them find the best food nearby (Q!). It does not sound like much until you factor in a hotel in Japan being around $30 a night (capsule hotel) - American-style hotels being $70-$100 per night - and the fact that they can stay as long as they like, the only condition being that they will bathe daily.

So for ~$2,000, or ~¥200,000, they can buy a round trip ticket and stay for a couple of weeks (a month if they stretch it) - most of the money they bring being used for food. The more $$, the longer they can stay. Sure, they will have to sleep on the floor like I do, unless they are willing to buy a bed, but they would be in a different country. So many people claim to want to come, but when the price is reduced to the point that a college student could even do that. Hell, last year, I came for 2 weeks and it cost me ~$5,000. I had to squeeze my money pretty damn tight. So to me ~$2,000 sounds amazing.

So in conclusion, I do not have plans to return home anytime soon - but I do enjoy knowing that people miss me. And to my friends, my door is currently open if you are interested in visiting. I do not know how long it will be (exams are at the end of July, so I might need to close it for a month) - but I am sure we can work something out.

Americans Are Not Rapists

(written today, April 21st, 2009)

Despite being a Gaikokujin (foreigner) from America, I find most others (from America) to be very immature and annoying - most, but not all. Just because some Americans are jerks does not mean all are. I hope that is understood.

For example, a girl from my University back in America keeps going around, reinforcing the idea that all American men are rapists and only want to talk to asians for sex - whether it is a girl to get in her pants, or a guy to get in his friends/girlfriends pants. It is annoying and ends up causing a lot of problems when people are trying to make friends. After talked to a few people about this, I asked her to stop in the nicest possible way (Which was basically, 'Can you please stop telling Japanese people that we are rapists? It's very troublesome), to which she responded, "If you are having issues, it is not my fault. You are just coming off as creepy."

Rather than addressing the fact that anytime she sees a Gaikokujin talking to an Asian, she tells them that he is only after sex, will go to any lengths to get it, and that they should avoid talking to him - rather than addressing this, she says that it is their own fault (because it is not just me I am complaining for) for coming off as creepy.

Now, I am a big, scary guy as it is, so her telling people I want to rape them is a bit troublesome when I am trying to introduce myself to people and make friends. But when she starts claiming that about people like Guy, who is a pretty awesome person who does not want sex with anyone (he does not have time for a relationship), she is just being a バカだよアメリカ人 (stupid american - no idea if I did that in the right order though).

Luckily, she is in a different prefecture (Aichi Prefecture, I believe), so I don't have to deal with this like I did last May (during my visit to Japan via a University class). Also, the reason I am writing this is more for my own future reference, but I thought I would share it with you.