I, like I'm assuming most of you, had always lived in the U.S. And I'd always loved it. Everything was so easy. I could read signs. I could order without hand gestures. I could eat with a fork at a restaurant. I had no idea how easy it was.
Here in Japan, everything seems just a little bit more complicated. Not that I'm complaining... (Okay, maybe I'm complaining a little bit). Awkward transactions at the store are now awkward, not because I say silly, awkward things, but because I don't know how to say anything. Getting my car fixed (which I have had to do several times already) is not scary because I don't know anything about cars, but because I don't know what the mechanic is telling me about my car. Ordering fast food isn't embarrassing because I'm a little piggy, it's embarrassing because all I can say is "Beeguh Mac, arigato gozimas."
It's hard being a foreigner, harder than I thought it would be. I've been trying to learn a little more Japanese, trying to branch out a little bit, and trying to blend in. Good luck, right?
1 comment:
Just think about our ancestors, swedes, germans, french, who had to learn the language of the new land--that our other ancestors welcomed them to....our native american ancestors. But then again, they NEVER had to ask for a beeguh mac. I know it will help you be more patient when you come home and run into ESL speakers here in the U.S. You are doing fine. MOM
Post a Comment