flonnebonne | Japanese indirectness is indirect (Reply)

So, I've decided that I need to record more of my thoughts and memories about my time in Japan before I forget too many of them.

That said, the following story is not actually about me. It's actually about a friend of a friend of mine.

My friend Shirley is an English teacher at an elementary school. She's employed by a private company (ie. not by the government-funded JET program), and despite being a "part-time" teacher she actually works way more hours than your average lazy-ass full-time JET teacher and is paid less for it. It's a good thing she likes her job and is a nice person! Otherwise she would have killed all of her JET friends! Including me! Ha ha ha! Shirley, btw, doesn't speak much Japanese.

Now enter Ben, a new JET in her town. Ben is handsome and cool and speaks Japanese pretty fluently.

Shirley says to me one day, "Have I told you how Ben recently became the fucking town hero?"

Here is a recreation of how Ben became the fucking town hero.

(setting: the Board of Education)

Ben's Supervisor: Ben, it is wonderful having you here in this town!

Ben: Why thank you, supervisor!

Supervisor: How are you settling in?

Ben: Great! I love this town!

Supervisor: By the way, hypothetically speaking, if you saw someone in the road who was hurt, would you help them?

Ben: Oh yeah, of course I would!

Supervisor: What if they couldn't speak Japanese, and only spoke English? Would you translate for them?

Ben: Yes, yes.

Supervisor: You'd even go with them to the hospital?

Ben: Yeah, sure!

Supervisor: You're such a kind person, Ben.

Ben: It's just what anyone would do.

Supervisor: Okay, how about now?

Ben: ...what?

Supervisor: There's an old man down the road who's hurt and he doesn't speak Japanese.

Ben: WHAT?

Supervisor: So that's why we need your help!

(Ben goes and translates for the old man, who had apparently been living there for years and years without knowing a speck of Japanese. Ben may have actually saved his life, or at least that's what everyone in town assumes.)

Thus ends the recreation of how Ben became the fucking town hero.

"So Ben," says Shirley,"who just got 'ere a week ago becomes the fucking town hero while I've been working my ass off for months! It's enough to drive a girl right crazy!" (Shirley has an awesome English accent by the way)

Ben and Shirley are best buddies nowadays, but Shirley sometimes still sounds like she wants to murder him for his various shenanigans.

Whenever I hear stories like this, I always wonder why my town in Japan was so darn normal. Relatively, I mean. Am I culturally thick-skinned? Was it just my poor Japanese, which prevented me from understanding most of the craziness around me? (Probably)

Anyway, does anyone else have stories like this to share?