I went out last night with some people from work I didn't know. It was fun, and I had a good time. They're nice people. But I'd like to just write a little about what you might call the 'inaka mentality' towards non-japanese people (ie, that they cannot speak Japanese.)
I spent most of the way there on the train chatting to them in only Japanese. (none of them speak English, I don't speak English day-to day anymore, my job, everything, I do in Japanese.) They asked how long I studied, I said four years at college, I mentioned I have a degree in Japanese, that I studied for a year in Tokyo, and that my job here involves translation and interpretation.
As soon as we reach the restaurant and sit down, they ask the mama-san for an English menu for me. There is a huge fluster and general to-do as she locates their ancient yellowed greasy mispelled English menu, which contains less than half the content of the Japanese one, and proffers it like the holy grail.
Since I am a tame Gaijin and I try not to upset the wa too much or offend people, I tried to be polite. I took it and pretend to read it. It seemed to make them happy.
But what part of 'I can speak Japanese' doesn't transmit?
The thing is, you can't even get mad because they truly, somehow, on some level of thinking, thought they were being kind and considerate to me by getting me an English menu, since I couldn't possibly read the Japanese one. Japanese people are nothing if not kind. But it still sucked.
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