Occasionally, I will look around my surroundings and realize that I am the only white person in the room, and on top of that, a fairly stereotypical blond-haired blue-eyed one at that. It's a weird sensation, this remembering I'm a little different business, but it passes after a few seconds...
In other situations, I have started to feel that maybe I am blending in a little too well. Recently, I went to an izakaya and had the odd experience of being called onii-san (brother/mister) by a fellow customer. Then I was almost ignored when I got on the karaoke. What, no Oh! Look at what the foreigner can do!s? Outside of the usual interview,* and the master's fake American accent used to talk to me, I almost felt like one of the gang.
One of the reasons I had an interest in Japan is that I thought it was a country for and of quiet people, but that is another post.
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* the interview: Where are you from? No, I mean which country? What part of America? I've never heard of that state, where is it? What? How do you say it? How long in Japan? Do you teach English? What do you think of Japanese girls? How's your sex life? Please give details. Do you know a foreigner I met 5 years back in Hokkaido? Do you speak Japanese? It's hard, don't you think?
If I am missing any, make a comment.
Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
ReplyDeleteCan you eat sushi/sashimi/nato?
Are you married?
Do you like drinking?
Just some questions I get asked often.
My two best friends in Japan are both half Japanese, one looks full Japanese, so they both fit in quite well but have both made mention of the fact that they stand out a lot more around me!!! I think people pick up on the fact that they are "foreign" when they are with me where as nobody notices them when they aren`t.
I usually get, "Do you have a girlfriend?" and "Why did you come to Japan?"
ReplyDeleteCan you eat Japanese food?
ReplyDeleteDo you/can you/have you tried Nutto? I used to get that one as well.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a girlfriend/boyfriend is also common, but I used to ask that back at them.
Can you use chopsticks? My question back to them was Can you use a fork? Sometimes they would look down and say no.