Some explanation about me in the last few months

[Maciamo]

Frankly speaking, I don't agree with your comment that Japanese have the lowest understanding of Westerners. Even though you are of course entitled to your own opinion which may be shaped by your experience in Japan, i don't think that is a true statement on Japanese. Westerners include various European countries, North America, and others; and even among those so called Western countries there are misunderstanding and differences among them. That statement does not make sense to me. Maybe your negative experience in Japan can be of your own making. Each person looks at the world from his/her own perspectives/views which will surely affect the final outcome of his/her experience.

It is true that there is some ignorance and misunderstandings between Westerners too, but not to the same level as seen in Japan. The kind of stereotypes or generalisations Europeans have between themselves are usually limited to : Germans eat sausages and wear flashy tshirts on holiday; Brits drink tea and are Euroskeptics, Dutch people are stingy and travel with a caravan, Italian people speak fast, loud and are often excited, etc. These may be stereotypes, but at least there is some truth in it.

But never have I seen a Westerner asking another Westerner (from a different) country if they also had vegetable graters in their country, and then make an astonished face with a rude "eeeeh" of disbelief when they were told that "yes". So the problem of the Japanese is not just one of ignorance, but attitude to ignorance. They just can't hide their contempt and sense of superiority, although it is disguised under the apperance of naivete (but believe me, when it comes to business or sex, the Japanese are NOT naive).

When I was in India or South East Asia, the people were less well educated than in Japan, most had never been abroad (whereas 90% of the Japanese I frequently associated with had been abroad, often to Western countries). I have heard stereotypical statements, but never as naive as in Japan, and not always as a comparison to their own country in a way that clearly meant that their culture or society was superior, like I usually felt in Japan.

[mad pierrot]

I just got back online. Read the thread.

All I can do is wish you good luck, and say I'm sorry I won't have a chance to visit you in Tokyo anymore! Regardless, hope to maybe catch up with you at some other place in the world. Perhaps you'd care to visit me in Mongolia in the future?

[Maciamo]

Regardless, hope to maybe catch up with you at some other place in the world. Perhaps you'd care to visit me in Mongolia in the future?

Mongolia ? I will have to think about it, but sounds interesting. If you want to spend your vacations in Europe and passes by Belgium, just let me know.

[JerseyBoy]

It is true that there is some ignorance and misunderstandings between Westerners too, but not to the same level as seen in Japan. The kind of stereotypes or generalizations Europeans have between themselves are usually limited to : Germans eat sausages and wear flashy shirts on holiday; Brits drink tea and are Euroskeptics, Dutch people are stingy and travel with a caravan, Italian people speak fast, loud and are often excited, etc. These may be stereotypes, but at least there is some truth in it.
But never have I seen a Westerner asking another Westerner (from a different) country if they also had vegetable graters in their country, and then make an astonished face with a rude "eeeeh" of disbelief when they were told that "yes". So the problem of the Japanese is not just one of ignorance, but attitude to ignorance. They just can't hide their contempt and sense of superiority, although it is disguised under the appearance of naivete (but believe me, when it comes to business or sex, the Japanese are NOT naive).
When I was in India or South East Asia, the people were less well educated than in Japan, most had never been abroad (whereas 90% of the Japanese I frequently associated with had been abroad, often to Western countries). I have heard stereotypical statements, but never as naive as in Japan, and not always as a comparison to their own country in a way that clearly meant that their culture or society was superior, like I usually felt in Japan.

It seems you were immensely annoyed about those questions Japanese people you met asked you. Unless the same person you met is asking you the same question again, I don't see the reason for the extreme annoyance and hostility you have toward those questions and experiences you had to endure through those questions. Maybe the people you met in Japan asked you those questions because they needed an conversation opener and/or they are not familiar with Belgium (Belgium is not the superpower in the world economy/politics and it is possible not many people in different non-EU countries are familiar with her) or Europe at large.

In my opinion, I think you have an affinity or allegiance toward EU (as Belgium is a part of EU member) countries---which is normal----and I feel you would like to drum up their alleged intelligence/high worldly knowledge EU people have, compared to other people (like Japanese in this particular case) through your own experience (which is one person's experience). There is nothing wrong with forming your opinion/judgement based on your particular experience. But, as the saying goes, individual mileages may vary, as each person's character, temperament, background, and outlook will certainly shape the experience that person will go through.

I am a Japanese national and I don't ask those questions you raised in your threads, maybe because I am too dry a person to start those ice-breaker conversations with a foreign national. Maybe because I dealt with so many people in different cultural backgrounds (I am in the international trade).....

Not all the people fit in a new or foreign country/culture. Some people are set in his/her way and any behavior contrary to his/her standards is not to be tolerated. There is no 100% satisfaction on anything. I am sorry to hear that your endeavor in Japan did not work out as you wished. But, that is how things are in life.

[Maciamo]

It seems you were immensely annoyed about those questions Japanese people you met asked you. Unless the same person you met is asking you the same question again, I don't see the reason for the extreme annoyance and hostility you have toward those questions and experiences you had to endure through those questions. Maybe the people you met in Japan asked you those questions because they needed an conversation opener and/or they are not familiar with Belgium (Belgium is not the superpower in the world economy/politics and it is possible not many people in different non-EU countries are familiar with her) or Europe at large.

I hate to repeat myself, but as there are so many people on this forum, and not everyone read my old post on the subject...
1) These questions rarely came as conversation starters or to break the ice. On the contrary, they typically happened in the middle of a engaged conversation, and they did sometimes stop it short because I was shocked at their attitude.
2)The same person often did ask a series of annoying question, not just an isolated one.
3) Very few people asked me about Belgium in particular, because at the point they asked the question, either they didn't know where I was from, or they already knew that I had lived in several European countries, and so asked about Europe in general or "gaikoku" (abroad) or "mukou" ("over there", "where you come from"). My wife sometimes tells her friend that we are going to France and not Belgium to "facilitate the explanations" (I can't understand that way of thinking, but if she judges that her friends are not able to understand where/what is Belgium... ), and she also says that we met in London.

How does you explain that some of her friends worry that we should take a vegetable-grater, a garlic-crusher, a tin-opener, or pressure-cooker, "because it probably doesn't exist abroad" (this is the part that annoys me, i.e. their presumption that it doesn't exist outside Japan, whatever the country).

Many Japanese will assume that something does not exist abroad because they didn't see it while travelling to one or a few countries. So if they haven't seen something while staying in New York, it forcedly doesn't exist, neither in New York, nor in all the States or Europe or anywhere else outside Japan (shocking way of thinking, isn't it ?). For instance, I was asked by someone if automatic vending machines "existed abroad". First I had to ask her : "What country is 'abroad' ?". Then, when she just wanted to know in Europe or where I had lived, so I answered that obviously we do have vending machines, and many even dispense food (snacks, sandwiches, ice cream...), someone I rarely see in Tokyo. She was surprised because she hadn't seen any while travelling, and so assume it was only a Japanese thing (she said it like that).

I had people "assuming" that season greeting cards, fireworks, spring blossoms and autumn leaves, folding fans, and even comic books were "only [found] in Japan", or at least did not exist in Western countries. I have certainly heard such assumptions over 100 times, withouting counting the same persons making many such assumptions (please remember point (1) above).

If at least they had assumed that things that were truly Japanese (e.g. kotatsu, tatami...) weren't common in Europe, I wouldn't have been annoyed like that (except if they made a point in always trying to find something uniquely Japanese so that they can boast about it, like what father-in-law likes to do when we meet). For example, I have been when was the first time I saw or sat on a tatami, which is a totally acceptable question, because it is just about my personal experience, which they couldn't know about. Likewise, had they asked me when was my first fireworks, that's quite ok (as long as they don't reply "Oh, you have fireworks in your country too, I thought it was only in Japan !").

Asking about the existence of something abroad is not very interesting as nowadays anything can be imported or exported, even (or especially) traditional arts. So such questions are a bit pointless. I also wonder what is the point of asking whether we have folding fans in my country, as it is not really the kind of thing you use everyday (or not nowadays anyway). But what annoys me is not the question but the assumption that it doesn't exist, as it is a way of boasting about one's country or culture. And what really infuriates me is when such assumptions are made about things that are as common in the West as in Japan (seasons, fireworks...) or that Japan imported from the West (greeting cards, vending machines...).

[JerseyBoy]

How does you explain that some of her friends worry that we should take a vegetable-grater, a garlic-crusher, a tin-opener, or pressure-cooker, "because it probably doesn't exist abroad" (this is the part that annoys me, i.e. their presumption that it doesn't exist outside Japan, whatever the country).
Many Japanese will assume that something does not exist abroad because they didn't see it while traveling to one or a few countries. So if they haven't seen something while staying in New York, it forcedly doesn't exist, neither in New York, nor in all the States or Europe or anywhere else outside Japan (shocking way of thinking, isn't it ?). I had people "assuming" that season greeting cards, fireworks, spring blossoms and autumn leaves, folding fans, and even comic books were "only [found] in Japan", or at least did not exist in Western countries. I have certainly heard such assumptions over 100 times, withouting counting the same persons making many such assumptions (please remember point (1) above).
If at least they had assumed that things that were truly Japanese (e.g. kotatsu, tatami...) weren't common in Europe, I wouldn't have been annoyed like that (except if they made a point in always trying to find something uniquely Japanese so that they can boast about it, like what father-in-law likes to do when we meet). For example, I have been when was the first time I saw or sat on a tatami, which is a totally acceptable question, because it is just about my personal experience, which they couldn't know about. Likewise, had they asked me when was my first fireworks, that's quite ok (as long as they don't reply "Oh, you have fireworks in your country too, I thought it was only in Japan !").
Asking about the existence of something abroad is not very interesting as nowadays anything can be imported or exported, even (or especially) traditional arts. So such questions are a bit pointless. I also wonder what is the point of asking whether we have folding fans in my country, as it is not really the kind of thing you use everyday (or not nowadays anyway). But what annoys me is not the question but the assumption that it doesn't exist, as it is a way of boasting about one's country or culture. And what really infuriates me is when such assumptions are made about things that are as common in the West as in Japan (seasons, fireworks...) or that Japan imported from the West (greeting cards, vending machines...).

Before I say anything, I'd like to say I am not disputing you had experienced those you listed in this thread and others. I recall you said you were a foreign language teacher in Tokyo areas and were living in the neighborhood where old folks reside.

I am not sure your definition of "many" as I feel your posts generally assume your particular 2-year experiences in Japan are the accurate representation of Japan at large. Also, in general, elders in Japan (or other countries for that matter) are set in their own way through years of life experiences. In my 4 years at the first job, I had dealt with over 2000 people in the States (excluding the college friends); even though I have my own biases/prejudices through which I look and experience, I have not been able to conclude that people in this another populous country are smart, educated, or what not. I feel my own particular experiences are not the proper representation of the country. It is not suitable to tell other people that my experiences are accurate and valid characterization of the entire culture/country.

If you are basing your judgement on the very populous country through a few years of experiences, I cannot help myself questioning the validity of your whole arguments. As I mentioned earlier, I am not questioning your particular experiences you had to endure in Japan as you have gone through them. If you are a foreign language teacher, the people you encountered would be those who are not familiar with other languages and are in need of your/your company's service. Maybe it's possible the quality of people you met in Japan is due to your profession or the areas you lived in.

I do believe each person has his/her own prejudices toward other people/cultures. Your high regards to Belgium & Europe might be well justified or not. I am posting my comment here because I find it difficult to reach the generalized conclusion you arrived at and I wanted to put some balance in this thread (I was a Journalism student in the states). Even though this thread is started by you and is heavily based on your own experience (there is nothing wrong with that as this is your thread), I wanted to put in my own comments as this thread would be viewed by many people.