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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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 Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2004 2:18 am Post subject: |
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| kaimana wrote: |
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| Please be careful when throwing out the word gaijin. To some of us, it's offensive or at the least, irritating. Gaikokujin is more polite and proper. |
Sorry about the use of "gaijin" I've been reading this forum for about a year and I've never seen anyone use Gaikokujin. I'll incorporate it into my very limited vocabulary.
Thanks for all your responses...keep 'em coming! |
Just so you know, the 'correct' term is gaikokujin or 'person from a foreign country, while its contracted form 'gaijin' means 'outside' person.
To Japanese it means a foreigner but it has a much stronger force of a person being not Japanese or an outsider to Japan. I can be born here, have a Japanese passport, raise my kids here, and still be considered a 'gaijin' while Koreans are considered 'Kankokujin' (people from Korea) and Chinese are considered 'Chukokujin' or Chinese people. People who come from Australia America or Canada etc are still called Gaijin no matter where they come from.
They are still 'gaijin' but the term has a pejorative meaning for most foreigners here which means they will never be accepted here as 'outsiders' or non-Japanese. It has much stronger meaning than just 'foreigner' in Japan. When foreigners use 'gaijin' in a sense they are using a discriminatory term to decribe themselves- its a bit like calling yourself a Yank or a Pom or a racist term. |
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azarashi sushi
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 562
Location: Shinjuku
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| Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2004 2:44 am Post subject: |
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| I've been reading this forum for about a year and I've never seen anyone use Gaikokujin |
You're absolutely right! "Gaijin" is the most commonly used term even by other foreigners. It's so frequently used that it doesn't have strong racist overtones ... in my opinion.
The whole thing about being Japanese... Unfortunately, it all boils down to the blood in your veins and not what's stamped in your passport.
Even if I had a Japanese passport and lived here for a LONG time... I wouldn't consider myself Japanese either.
It is sad though when I've met Koreans who were born here, lived all their life here but have difficulty renting property on the grounds that they are "gaijin".
I will admit it is a little annoying that all foreigners are just lumped into the one "gaijin" basket. In all fairness though, in my home country a lot of people would probably lump all Asians into the one basket.
I hope you have a great time when you come here. As Paul and Glenski said, the gifts you're bringing are not necessary... But I'm sure they'll be appreciated. |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2004 3:58 am Post subject: |
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On a side note,
I think its quite funny that when Japanese travel overseas and come into contact with a local person from that country they will consider that person to be a 'gaijin' or a foreigner "let's ask the gaijin to take our photo....', I felt strange to be surrounded by so many gaijins etc'
forgetting it's them thats the 'gaijin', not the local person.
Japanese will say '...we are not gaijin, we are Japanese' even when travelling overseas and speaking to non-Japanese people. |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2004 4:21 am Post subject: |
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Paul, I saw a gaijin today in Canada. He was Japanese and I talked to him a bit and asked him how he felt to be a gaijin. You would have loved to see the look on his face. 
I recommend bringing some spices and anything you think you might need for your computer. Also something from home to show your students. |
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king kakipi
Joined: 16 Feb 2004
Posts: 353
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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Quite seriously:- front, side and back photos of my hair after my last haircut before I left `home`. Trying to explain how you want it cut in Japanese can be daunting; photos would help a lot.
Pictures, videos/dvds and cuddly toys of any of your native fauna will also help (espicially if you end up teaching kids) |
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JimDunlop2
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Posts: 2286
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 7:57 am Post subject: A couple of answers... |
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Personally, I wish I would've had either: enough space/weight in my luggage for more of my CD collection; or more time to convert said collection into MP3s...
Otherwise, I only miss a few, random personal posessions... But I get over that quickly. OH.. wait! I REALLY regret not having brought an X-L bottle of X-strength TYLENOL... Cause you can't get anything but ibuprofin (sp?) or aspirin here... Heck, even a few T3s would've been nice to pack along.
And one word of warning about packing massive quantities of deodorant... I use "Old Spice" which is a stick-type.... And I was quite shocked when, after I ran out of a stick, I opened my handy-dandy "survival kit" only to find that the sucker SHRUNK down to about half size! I mean -- the deodorant inside the round tube was actually compacted so that there was a good 1/2 cm of space between the stick and the tube, all around the entire circumferance. It's as if it had "dried out" -- I know -- rather hard to believe considering the extreme humidity in this country. I had to have a new couple sticks shipped from home for me. I also don't know how to stop that from happening. Maybe someone has experience with this sort of thing...
Take that for what it's worth. Otherwise, if I have any more fantastically inspired thoughts about what to bring, I'll let ya know.
JD |
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lajzar
Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Posts: 647
Location: Saitama-ken, Japan
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| Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 9:07 am Post subject: |
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| It is far more likely that the sticks had evaporated rather than dried out. Stick deodorants do that, as does anything with a high moisture or oil content. The only way to prevent it is to place them in hermetically sealed container. |
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shmooj
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK
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| Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 10:42 am Post subject: |
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Glenski man, you must be having (another) bad day. If you genuinely want to know why someone might bring a year's supply of toothpaste then simply ask the question without the sarcasm. They don't want ridiculing... they want advice.
I for one would recommend as much toothpaste as you can bring. In six years I never found a brand I like and it was always way more expensive than back home where I lived. So, it makes sense to me.
Obviously Hokkaido is toothpaste heaven... 
blu tac, Branston and cheddar cheese... those are things I would stock up on! |
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king kakipi
Joined: 16 Feb 2004
Posts: 353
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2004 1:43 pm Post subject: |
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Even more disposable contact lenses (more than the one year's worth I already brought with me!!) .
I know they are available in Japan but the 1 month ones I got back home are NOT. Also, you can only get three months' supply at a time here, and that involves an eye test in Japanese (every three months) which involve long 'papery, strippy things' being fixed to your lower eyelids. I accompanied my wife to her 3 month test here (cheap day out and SO exciting)....it is not something I would want to endure every three months........... |
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