The Crazy of the Day
Thursday morning, I taught at a local pre-school with my coworker Naoya. A quick note about Naoya - he was born in Wales, with a Welsh mom and a Japanese dad. He moved back to Japan about 10 years ago, and took Japanese in school when all his classmates studied English, so he's pretty darn good with both languages.
We played a game with the class of five-year olds which required putting some tape on the floor. After the class, I picked up the tape, and not seeing a garbage can, I carried it with me as we left the building. As is customary, we said good-bye and thank you to the office staff on our way out. Noticing a garbage can in the office, I turned to Naoya and asked him to ask the staff if we could throw the 2-inch diameter ball of tape out there.
"No."
"What?"
"No."
"You can't ask?"
"No, we can't throw it out here."
"Why not?"
"It's our trash."
"Yea, so?"
"We brought it with us, so we must take it with us when we leave."
"What?! What's wrong with throwing it out here?"
"It's their garbage can. It's our trash."
"Yea.... and...?"
"So we can't throw it out here."
"Naoya, the garbage can is 1 meter tall. I can understand if we wanted to throw away something like a computer or a lawnmower, but we're talking about a tiny piece of tape."
"Yea, I know. We must throw it out back at our office."
"WHY??"
"I have no idea. I've been in this country for 8 years, and I have no idea why they do certain things like this. Really, it makes no sense to me."
For a society that is all about unity and promoting the group over the individual, what could be simpler and nicer than lending 4 cubic inches of your garbage to someone else? And not just any random shmo - someone who has just taught your students?!
After we left the school, with the balled-up tape in hand, I turned to Naoya, and said, "You Japanese are really confused people." He thought I meant confusing, but I made sure that he knew I meant confused. Which he actually agreed with.
We played a game with the class of five-year olds which required putting some tape on the floor. After the class, I picked up the tape, and not seeing a garbage can, I carried it with me as we left the building. As is customary, we said good-bye and thank you to the office staff on our way out. Noticing a garbage can in the office, I turned to Naoya and asked him to ask the staff if we could throw the 2-inch diameter ball of tape out there.
"No."
"What?"
"No."
"You can't ask?"
"No, we can't throw it out here."
"Why not?"
"It's our trash."
"Yea, so?"
"We brought it with us, so we must take it with us when we leave."
"What?! What's wrong with throwing it out here?"
"It's their garbage can. It's our trash."
"Yea.... and...?"
"So we can't throw it out here."
"Naoya, the garbage can is 1 meter tall. I can understand if we wanted to throw away something like a computer or a lawnmower, but we're talking about a tiny piece of tape."
"Yea, I know. We must throw it out back at our office."
"WHY??"
"I have no idea. I've been in this country for 8 years, and I have no idea why they do certain things like this. Really, it makes no sense to me."
For a society that is all about unity and promoting the group over the individual, what could be simpler and nicer than lending 4 cubic inches of your garbage to someone else? And not just any random shmo - someone who has just taught your students?!
After we left the school, with the balled-up tape in hand, I turned to Naoya, and said, "You Japanese are really confused people." He thought I meant confusing, but I made sure that he knew I meant confused. Which he actually agreed with.
posted by David at 3:33 PM
2 Comments:
Balance again, English teacher, right? While I walk through Czech woods and pass rusty stove, car parts and other easily rotted stuff which will outlive all of us there,I think wouldn´t it be nice if we Czechs were little more Japanese? May be you wished for the opposite while holding the tape in your hand...Hardly believable situation on this side of the world.Have a good day.M.
the start of your conversation reminds me of
Rumack: Captain, how soon can you land?
Captain Oveur: I can't tell.
Rumack: You can tell me. I'm a doctor.
Captain Oveur: No. I mean I'm just not sure.
Rumack: Well, can't you take a guess?
Captain Oveur: Well, not for another two hours.
Rumack: You can't take a guess for another two hours?
-T
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