I've grown accustomed to a lot of things since I came here: speaking less and with more gestures, a check-mark means a wrong answer, bowing, and removing your shoes indoors. I can't even name most of them because I don't think about them anymore. So at times I seem to almost fit in, to have been assimilated into the routine of Japanese life. But ultimately, I'm always reminded of how incredibly foreign I am.
It's always a frustrating moment, when I forget to remove my indoor shoes to enter a room designated as cleaner (the carpeted music room) or dirtier (the bathroom, for which there are special bathroom slippers). When I go out to eat and people do a double take. When every teacher is assigned a task for Sports Day and no one even so much as acknowledges my presence in the matter.
Don't get me wrong - this is part of what fascinates and challenges me. I'm being tested on my ability to understand the language and culture in the most immediate and relevant manner possible on a daily basis. Of course, everyone has their limitations, and I can't be 100% mindful of every situation and its nuances, and I have my own routines and habits that are hard to break, even for the sake of fitting in. What makes this situation particularly challenging is the attitude of the Japanese people. I think there is a strong tendency among Japanese people to see foreigners as "foreign". Even I have that tendency - it's hard to think of someone becoming Japanese in the way someone can become American. But then, America is a land of immigrants and diversity is part of our identity, whereas uniformity seems to be a significant part of the Japanese identity.
This is where working with kids comes in to save the day. Just when I've had enough of this special treatment, treat-you-different, can't-communicate-very-well crap from the adults, the kids swoop in to save the day. Tag, jump rope, soccer, tickling, don't-let-the-ball-touch-you, and look-over-there-so-i-can-take-your-dessert games transcend linguistic and cultural boundaries. Kids don't treat you any different just because you're foreign. Well, they might at first, and they're allowed to because they're still making observations about the world in general, but ultimately they're just gouging how much fun you are. And so kids are my relief from the barriers and boundaries set up by the rest of Japanese society. As much I want to be able to understand everything they say to me, I don't have to. And they're not discouraged by it. It's a win/win situation!
In other news, it's the Rainy Season. As of last week, there will be mostly rain and cloudy skies until mid-July. So far, it hasn't bothered me. I rather like the rain when the weather is warm, but there's no guarantee I won't go crazy after another week of this.
And the fireflies have come out to play! Apparently they only congregate near areas with clean water, so most towns and villages have known spots for sighting them. It seems to be a big deal to the Japanese. I think it's a reverence for nature that is rooted within the culture (consider the nature-based haiku and Shinto-ism, which builds shrines on sites of exceptional natural beauty and the cherry-blossom-viewing tradition). I found out about them from some people at kendo practice. I couldn't understand the word "hotaru" ("firefly") so they began gesturing at their butts. Literally a group of 4 adults and children was dancing around gesturing at their butts, and no one thought to indicate that we were talking about an insect. Needless to say it took several minutes for me to figure this out, during which time I had great fun watching them. And yes, when I went to see them, they were very pretty indeed.
