I think Mr. Baseball most appropriately described being a foreigner (Gaijin) in Japan. "It's like being a black guy back at home. Only there are less of us." To a large extent this is true. Foreigners are foreigners, it doesn't really matter too much which country you came from. Being in Japan opened my eyes to many new experiences. Before Japan, I had no idea what it was like to be unfamiliar with a country's customs and I had never experienced racism.
Bad racism does not happen too often, but when it does it is eye opening. You can go a month without seeing/experiencing it, but then one day you are sitting on the train and someone starts bad mouthing foreigners/Americans right in front of you. This happens in every country, Japan is just my first place to experience it. And typically it is the old generation that is 'distributing' the racism. The younger generation in Japan seems to be quite accepting and very much open to talking to foreigners. I have found it extremely easy to make friends in Japan, even outside of the University setting. The younger generation is more open and not as likely to move away from you on the train...
In contrast to the racism, many (and I do mean MANY) Japanese people are more than happy to assist a foreigner who looks lost. In many instances, Japanese people have gone 5+ minutes out of their way to help me. One man in particular, in my first month here, walked with me and my friends to a shrine 10 minutes out of his way. The level of kindness I have experienced here is unbelievable. I've seen more kindness from strangers here in 5 months than my whole life in America. I think its a fair trade for the racism - seeing as the racism is pretty minor. Not being allowed into bars/clubs because you're foreign is a little annoying though.
Oh, as for the picture, some buddies and I went bowling last Friday and managed to make friends with 7 Japanese kids. Language barriers are not even a problem. I love this country.
Bad racism does not happen too often, but when it does it is eye opening. You can go a month without seeing/experiencing it, but then one day you are sitting on the train and someone starts bad mouthing foreigners/Americans right in front of you. This happens in every country, Japan is just my first place to experience it. And typically it is the old generation that is 'distributing' the racism. The younger generation in Japan seems to be quite accepting and very much open to talking to foreigners. I have found it extremely easy to make friends in Japan, even outside of the University setting. The younger generation is more open and not as likely to move away from you on the train...
In contrast to the racism, many (and I do mean MANY) Japanese people are more than happy to assist a foreigner who looks lost. In many instances, Japanese people have gone 5+ minutes out of their way to help me. One man in particular, in my first month here, walked with me and my friends to a shrine 10 minutes out of his way. The level of kindness I have experienced here is unbelievable. I've seen more kindness from strangers here in 5 months than my whole life in America. I think its a fair trade for the racism - seeing as the racism is pretty minor. Not being allowed into bars/clubs because you're foreign is a little annoying though.
Oh, as for the picture, some buddies and I went bowling last Friday and managed to make friends with 7 Japanese kids. Language barriers are not even a problem. I love this country.
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