Written on Friday 5th of February at 10:46 pm
During this tour of Japan my dad hasn’t been exactly thrilled. Actually he’s been more like the kid who sat at the back of the classroom, one arm slumped over the chair, chewing gum with a t-shirt that says, “Down with homework.”
When we first arrived my dad was annoyed that Japanese people seemingly refused to speak any English, even at an international airport. Whenever he asked a question the locals would reply in Japanese as if he understood. This sort of thing occurred everywhere we went; at hotels, shops and restaurants. My dad felt that they weren’t being very welcoming to foreigners.
The Japanese have been very welcoming though, through extreme politeness. Whenever we would enter a shop they would always greet us with a cheerful, “Konichiwa.” Every shopkeeper has thanked us and bowed even if we didn’t buy anything. When our tour group left the hotel the staff stood outside and waved till the bus was out of sight. Instead of horns, some cars used a recorded message which asked you to politely step aside.
None of this impressed my dad.
There were other things that he didn’t like, but let’s not go into all that. I figured he couldn’t help acting the way he has. After all, he was in the generation of Chinese born after World War II and specifically the Second Sino-Japanese Wars. And war is just one of those things that has long lasting effects.
But what we did today cheered him right up.
During this tour of Japan my dad hasn’t been exactly thrilled. Actually he’s been more like the kid who sat at the back of the classroom, one arm slumped over the chair, chewing gum with a t-shirt that says, “Down with homework.”
When we first arrived my dad was annoyed that Japanese people seemingly refused to speak any English, even at an international airport. Whenever he asked a question the locals would reply in Japanese as if he understood. This sort of thing occurred everywhere we went; at hotels, shops and restaurants. My dad felt that they weren’t being very welcoming to foreigners.
The Japanese have been very welcoming though, through extreme politeness. Whenever we would enter a shop they would always greet us with a cheerful, “Konichiwa.” Every shopkeeper has thanked us and bowed even if we didn’t buy anything. When our tour group left the hotel the staff stood outside and waved till the bus was out of sight. Instead of horns, some cars used a recorded message which asked you to politely step aside.
None of this impressed my dad.
There were other things that he didn’t like, but let’s not go into all that. I figured he couldn’t help acting the way he has. After all, he was in the generation of Chinese born after World War II and specifically the Second Sino-Japanese Wars. And war is just one of those things that has long lasting effects.
But what we did today cheered him right up.
No comments:
Post a Comment