Job Discussion Forums

BedTiger · Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Posts: 55

The way that foreigners who have only lived in Japan, are pro-Japanese (250000 is a great salary..I am here for the culture Laughing

) when most Japanese would prefer to see you go.

callmesim · Joined: 27 Oct 2005 Posts: 279 Location: London, UK

wolfman · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 189

shuize · Joined: 04 Sep 2004 Posts: 1270

As furious, I started in the countryside and now live in the city. Foreigners were few and far between in that area of rural Japan. And although I didn't go out of my way to meet them, I would usually say "hi" or give a nod.

Here in the city there appear to be more foreigners. Many of whom apparently really don't like to acknowledge other foreigners. Hey, no problem. I'm not fresh off the boat. I know some people want to maintain their "very own personal Japan experience" at all costs. But the degree to which some people actively seek to avoid interaction really makes me laugh.

Walking near my university, I'm still more likely to give a nod to other foreigners. I don't think it's because they're foreigners, but because I expect they are fellow teachers. It's a big school, though, and I don't know everyone. About a year ago I was walking home from the university using one of the less crowded back roads. In the distance I spotted what I thought was another teacher. As he approached, I nodded. That's all. Not, "Hey, we're fellow foreigners, please be my friend and let me hang around with you." I just nodded.

He glanced away.

Strange, I thought to myself. I wonder what he'd do if I actually spoke to him?

"Hi," I said.

Holy shit. Not only did Buddy not acknowledge the greeting, he turned his gaze skyward and held it there for the 3 or 4 seconds it took us to walk past each other.

I just shook my head.

sallycat · Joined: 11 Mar 2006 Posts: 303 Location: behind you. BOO!

i think a lot of relatively recently-arrived foreigners have a robinson crusoe complex.

Hoser · Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 694 Location: Toronto, Canada

Well if someone says hi to me then I'll certainly respond in kind but I'll also wonder 'what the hell was that person on about?' My attitude is, if I wouldn't nod to you in the same situation back home in Canada then I'm not going to nod to you here.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Sweetsee · Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Posts: 2302 Location: ) is everything

Take off hoser. Why don't you tatoo a maple leaf to your forehead, then I will know not to say hello to you. Just like the climate, eh?
As for you glenski, doubt you have to worry about people acknowledging you in public because you must be more unfriendly in person than you are on this forum, if that's possible.
At any rate, what goes around comes around.
Enjoy,
s

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

Sweetsee · Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Posts: 2302 Location: ) is everything

Typical fan the flames-nothing better to do-nothing to contribute-hiding behind new username post by ali.

cornishmuppet · Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Posts: 642 Location: Nagano, Japan

Nothing to do with the Japanese but clicky JET teachers annoy the hell out of me. I know some cool ones but the majority I've met don't seem to realise that there are other foreigners here. Twice fairly recently, I was sitting in a bar where there were a group of JETs, and struck up a conversation with some. We chatted for a while and got on pretty well, then someone else in their group announced they were off to karaoke. And off they went, the whole group of them, and the five or six who'd spoken to me waved goodbye as they passed, leaving me alone in an empty bar.

Now, would they have invited me along if I'd answered the first, inevitable question with, 'Yes! I'm a JET too!' ?

6810 · Joined: 16 Nov 2003 Posts: 309

well there are things that annoy me about Japan.

1. The price of artichokes. Fresh or canned/preserved in brine/oil.

2. No pretty skylines. I was just watching some recent TV showing a late spring sky of Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, the horizon and tons of fireworks. a. There were a lot of people. But nothing like the crowds in Japan. The sky was clear and clean. The skyline was memorable.

In Japan, no matter how many deliberate monuments they build or how many temples they rebuild, it's often very hard to forget that because of the war, most of Japan is pretty well less than 50 years old.

I remember being in Melbourne a couple of years ago and the presence of old buildings, wide streets and history in the present almos caused me to have seizures (ok, maybe not)...

Hmmm, some one got a bout of homesickness. Could be time for a trip back home.

3. Threads like this - you know, the ones about foreigners looking and not looking at each other which seem to come up approximately every 4-6 months and have a slightly different cast of characters attacking Glenski cos he like to keep to himself, the newbies, the bitteries etc. This thread was about things that annoy you... Do other foreigners really annoy you that much?

4. Back to the story. Hardly any real espresso. That has annoyed me for a while. It all comes out of preset machines with milk coffee and water mixed according to a ratio set by the manufacturer for the retailer. Sigh, I just want a decent cup of coffee that tastes like coffee.

5. No buttermilk. I know the Japanese don't use it, and you can always ferment it at home... but...

6. Virtually no stars at all unless you go to hokkaido.

Not that these things really annoy me constantly day in day out...

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

6810 · Joined: 16 Nov 2003 Posts: 309

Jim, there are plenty of sites, just google. It usually requires a small amount of simple fermentation. Not as hard as it looks or sounds. If you've ever made yoghurt you can make buttermilk.

The problem is getting the good milk to make it.

But the bigger problem is keeping your buttermilk culture "alive". I don't use enough buttermilk to warrant making it. So I usually improvise with mixing yogurt and milk and doing short fermentations/let it rest at room temp to get a little funk. It's not the same though.

A cool shortcut might be to get buttermilk powder to mix with milk in order to get a proper starter... sigh. Wink

rebecca432 · Joined: 26 Nov 2006 Posts: 20 Location: Osaka, Japan

All your posts have given me slight insights on what I can expect when I come to Japan next month. I will miss seeing stars in the sky especially since I just came off of two summers in the Rockies. I do hope that I can find similar people to me who are open to letting foreigners into their fold because I know two words in Japanese at the moment and my job at Nova means I won't be interacting with Japanese people through my work which is where I've tended to meet most people in the past. If you nod at me, I will most certainly acknowledge you since it is a nice thing to do. Do you feel that you have a harder time "blending in" in Japan or are there enough foreigners that you don't feel too much like an outcast?