What I'm about to get into may be unpopular.
This is me. Except it's 10am and I have a can of beer in my hand. Probably my third. Also, instead of "months after coming to Japan" go ahead and put in "years".
I wasn't always the ヤンキー that I am today. I used to care about the rules and do my best to fit in. But there comes a time in every foreigner living in Japan's life where everyone comes to the same realization: a foreigner can never be Japanese. Ever. It doesn't matter if you have a Japanese job, a Japanese car, a Japanese wife, and a Japanese house. It doesn't matter how good your Japanese is, hell it doesn't even matter if you were born in Japan. Only Japanese can be Japanese, and that is that.
And because Japanese are convinced that only Japanese people can ever truly understand Japanese culture, you will always be held to a different standard. You don't like meat because you like meat, you like meat because foreigners like meat. It's not because you were hung over and half asleep that you queued for the wrong train, it's because foreigners don't understand the ingeniousness of Japanese public transportation. Every preference you have, every mistake you make, what you look like, what you do, where you go -- everything will be attributed not to you as a unique person, but rather to where you are from (or more accurately, not from). You have no place in Japanese society outside "clown of an English teacher" or "leaving-in-6 months-foreign-exchange student".
What this means is up to you. You can get angry, and you'll have tons of company -- walk into the nearest foreigner bar and you'll find plenty of dudes in their 30's and 40's with endless lists of all the shit that sucks in Japan. And they're right, in a lot of ways, and their complaints are valid. You can give up, go home, and actually be part of a society. This is what most people do, and the crappy part about foreign friends is they all eventually go home.
Or you can rip open that bag of chips on the train, crack open your second beer, and start into a long conversation in filthy Japanese about the latest girl you had back at your place. Because you know what? It doesn't matter. Even if you get everything right, observe every rule and social norm and carry about your business in perfect Japanese, you'll still just be the filthy foreigner doing whatever it is that filthy foreigners do. So why bother? Not being a part of society can be alienating, but it is also incredibly liberating. Japanese rules are for Japanese people, you get to make your own. Japan is a playground and you know what? Yeah, I am the main character.
My life here is insane. My hobbies are alcoholism, wrecking BMWs, women, and accosting people on the street. Last year I was seeing four women at the same time (one of which was a pot dealer), this year I'm married with a kid. I just spent the weekend with a buddy filming an entry for his blog asking Japanese people on the street to smell my farts to see if they stank -- 80% of Japanese surveyed actually chose to smell my ass. I have stories here that I don't even believe, let alone anyone else.
I don't so much have a bubble as a circle, and it is one I have carefully put together for myself. Because most Japanese people are boring, and most foreigners are awful.
As far as the Japanese language goes, it's the language I use 99% of the time. My wife doesn't speak a word of English, nobody speaks English at work, and most of my foreign friends are fluent in Japanese or close to it. I came here randomly a few years ago because it seemed cool. I found I could do nothing with English after my first frustrating year (during which I heavily relied on an English speaking girlfriend) before beginning to start studying the language. Three years later I'm fairly fluent (although I still have quite a way to go). The biggest motivating factor for me was being able to do things by myself without outside help, and that continues to be a large part of why I study today. I also just like talking to people, even if it is only to ask them to smell my ass.
This is me. Except it's 10am and I have a can of beer in my hand. Probably my third. Also, instead of "months after coming to Japan" go ahead and put in "years".
(2016-01-08, 7:14 am)Ash_S Wrote: This is how you get them talking loudly and munching crisps on the train months after coming to Japan. This is how you get them openly laughing at some salaryman's face on the train and taking blatant pictures of him as he looks uncomfortable. It's a strange world populated by incomprehensible robots, and there's no consequences for the player characters' actions.
I wasn't always the ヤンキー that I am today. I used to care about the rules and do my best to fit in. But there comes a time in every foreigner living in Japan's life where everyone comes to the same realization: a foreigner can never be Japanese. Ever. It doesn't matter if you have a Japanese job, a Japanese car, a Japanese wife, and a Japanese house. It doesn't matter how good your Japanese is, hell it doesn't even matter if you were born in Japan. Only Japanese can be Japanese, and that is that.
And because Japanese are convinced that only Japanese people can ever truly understand Japanese culture, you will always be held to a different standard. You don't like meat because you like meat, you like meat because foreigners like meat. It's not because you were hung over and half asleep that you queued for the wrong train, it's because foreigners don't understand the ingeniousness of Japanese public transportation. Every preference you have, every mistake you make, what you look like, what you do, where you go -- everything will be attributed not to you as a unique person, but rather to where you are from (or more accurately, not from). You have no place in Japanese society outside "clown of an English teacher" or "leaving-in-6 months-foreign-exchange student".
What this means is up to you. You can get angry, and you'll have tons of company -- walk into the nearest foreigner bar and you'll find plenty of dudes in their 30's and 40's with endless lists of all the shit that sucks in Japan. And they're right, in a lot of ways, and their complaints are valid. You can give up, go home, and actually be part of a society. This is what most people do, and the crappy part about foreign friends is they all eventually go home.
Or you can rip open that bag of chips on the train, crack open your second beer, and start into a long conversation in filthy Japanese about the latest girl you had back at your place. Because you know what? It doesn't matter. Even if you get everything right, observe every rule and social norm and carry about your business in perfect Japanese, you'll still just be the filthy foreigner doing whatever it is that filthy foreigners do. So why bother? Not being a part of society can be alienating, but it is also incredibly liberating. Japanese rules are for Japanese people, you get to make your own. Japan is a playground and you know what? Yeah, I am the main character.
My life here is insane. My hobbies are alcoholism, wrecking BMWs, women, and accosting people on the street. Last year I was seeing four women at the same time (one of which was a pot dealer), this year I'm married with a kid. I just spent the weekend with a buddy filming an entry for his blog asking Japanese people on the street to smell my farts to see if they stank -- 80% of Japanese surveyed actually chose to smell my ass. I have stories here that I don't even believe, let alone anyone else.
I don't so much have a bubble as a circle, and it is one I have carefully put together for myself. Because most Japanese people are boring, and most foreigners are awful.
As far as the Japanese language goes, it's the language I use 99% of the time. My wife doesn't speak a word of English, nobody speaks English at work, and most of my foreign friends are fluent in Japanese or close to it. I came here randomly a few years ago because it seemed cool. I found I could do nothing with English after my first frustrating year (during which I heavily relied on an English speaking girlfriend) before beginning to start studying the language. Three years later I'm fairly fluent (although I still have quite a way to go). The biggest motivating factor for me was being able to do things by myself without outside help, and that continues to be a large part of why I study today. I also just like talking to people, even if it is only to ask them to smell my ass.