American exchange students get a lot of funny questions from Japanese people. Examples friends and I have been asked:
"Do you eat vegetables in America?"
"Does everyone in America own guns?"
"Do you eat rice in America?"
"Do you have kaleidoscopes in America?"
Japan is pretty isolated, and although they're intelligent and well educated, Japanese people can be very ignorant about life in foreign countries. I told Origami Boy that we don't have snow in California (at least not in my town) and he asked if we have winter at all.
My host mom said, "I heard there's a Mexican exchange student at your university." I confirmed that there was, his name was Jose. "What are Mexicans like?" My host mom asked. "Are they interesting people? Is their skin kind of dark?" Not questions you ever hear in California.
The first day I had dinner with my host family, they saw me using chopsticks with my left hand. "Are most Americans left-handed?" They asked.
I'm starting to get used to this nativete, so these questions are amusing but no longer surprising. But the other day a Japanese really threw me for a loop.
On certain Sundays my church serves lunch after the service, so I was eating and chatting with people, once again using chopsticks with my left hand.
"Oh! You're left handed!" Said the pastor. A guy sitting next to me replied,
"Everyone in the southern hemisphere is left handed."
Say what?
I didn't even know where to begin with that one. Everyone? Southern Hemisphere??? Left handed? Unsfs90u3nf? Seriously, I mean seriously...America isn't even in the...everyone...illogical. Illogical. Norman coordinate. Does not compute.
Then the guy smiled at me and said, "Just kidding."
I think this country is actually trying to confuse me.
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5 comments:
Hahaha!! I can't believe all of the Japanese people actually asked such questions! But you cannot blame only Japanese. When I was in the US, American people asked me surprising questions too. Like if we ever have bread in Japan, if we wear kimono everyday and not have western clothes at all, if there is any FAT Japanese, or if we have cars in Japan! Come on, what about Toyota and Honda!? Someone asked me how to be a geisha and samurai. I had no idea!
I enjoyed sharing those funny questions we have been asked with other international students very much. It was the worst for a student from Ghana. She said she was asked if they had a plane in Ghana. Then you think she came to the US by swimming or what!?LOL We thought American people are ignorant, but.. I guess it's actually the same everywhere. It was just that the exchange students are usually interested in other countries and know about them. Or the situation might be worse for you since there are less Americans in Japan than Japanese in the US.
I love this topic! Tell me if someone ask you even more crazy question.
Thank you Saki for pointing that out. You're right; maybe I gave Japanese people a hard time because they ask silly questions, but Americans aren't any better. Americans are terribly ignorant about other countries, foreign languages and especially geography. Like you said, maybe it's the same everywhere you go.
We Americans are ignorant of other countries? Since when have there been other countries?
I'm loving your blog!
Tell us more about this Jose fellow. You have peaked my interest.
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