The Ichinoseki education office has me at a couple of new schools this term. I don’t mind this asince it gives me a chance to interact with more people and teach more English to kids who would otherwise be deprived of it. Well this week I had two very different reactions to my presence at school.
At the first Junior High, which is a small school outside of Ichinoseki, I noticed a very inviting attitude towards me. They immediately greeted me and made sure that I had my lunch taken care of. During the day people and students spoke to me and asked me all sorts of questions. It was great. I love those kind of situations. In fact, I thrive in them.
However, today I had quite a different lunchtime experience at another Junior High I was visiting. I had just returned from a class and I sat down to type up an email. I noticed that after about 10 minutes, no one had mentioned that lunch was ready and no one was to be seen. At this school, the teachers and students eat kyuushoku, a set meal that is made at a meal center somewhere in the area. When I visit a Junior High school I eat these meals as well and I am sent a bill after a couple of months. The food is good and cheap and it give me a chance to shoot the breeze with the teachers. Well I headed over to the principal’s office(where we eat) and immediately everyone got really quiet and looked at me. I motioned towards an empty chair, and one of the women grudgingly nodded her head. Then, another lady got up and ran from the room, only to return with another lunch tray and placed it next me. For the remainder of the meal, it was very quiet.
Now I’m not a rocket scientist by any means, but I could pretty much ascertain that even though I had been at the school since 8am, they had forgotten that I was there, and neglected to set up another lunch for me. Now, this would be quite insulting to anyone, but I’ve actually gotten used to it. There are some people in Japan who consider foreigners to be less than human and promptly act like 4 year old when faced with one. My three years here have taught me that I am lower on the totem pole than a petunia in many way. Ah, if only I were being sarcastic. The one saving throw is that there are a large number of Japanese people who are not that way, and it keeps me sane while I am here. I’m not sure if this is just something that happens in all countries. I can’t tell anymore. However, when racism happens to you, it’s really not fun. If you ever plan on living in Japan, this is something you’ll need to be ready for. Especially if you plan on living out in the country, where, as in many places around the world, the gene pool hasn’t been given enough Chlorine.
Perhaps I am angry with what has happened. In fact, yes, I am quite angry with it. There should be no excuse for a developed country to bring people in, have them work here and then treat them like garbage. That is the sort of thing that starts wars.
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