Cultural Differences

There are two things about the Japanese that never cease to amaze me. The first is their ability to get off on things that are, in the grand scheme of things, entirely inconsequential. It takes very little for them to think that they are unique. The second is the seemingly endless supply of factoids they have about other countries, and how they apply them to the foreigners they meet. For example, after introducing myself as an American to another teacher, he responded by saying, "Ah, American.... I bet that means you eat a big breakfast. I heard that Americans eat breakfast." Simply telling someone where I'm from will produce such a list of "factual" information.

This week, I was doing the obligatory lesson about differences between Japanese and American schools with a junior high school class. I was mentally prepared to talk about such exciting topics as what students can wear to school, what students study, what kinds of after school activities they do, and the like. Of course, in class, the conversation took a much different route. First we talked about food, a favorite topic of the Japanese.

"So, Matchamonkey, is it true that American students eat in a cafeteria?" the teacher asked.

"Yes, that's true. We can buy or bring a lunch," I explained.

A student in the front row gasped at this revelation. "Yappari, amerika-jin ha okane mochi da ne." Just as I thought, Americans are rich.

Anyone who has ever bought lunch from a school cafeteria knows that you do not have to be rich to afford it. Au contraire, it is usually those of lesser means who buy food from the cafeteria. If Japanese kids never had the experience of buying a school lunch, I would understand why they might assume you would have to be rich to buy a lunch everyday; however, most Japanese students pay to have a school lunch everyday. Yet, they almost always apply the assumption that all Americans are rich to the fact that some people buy their food from a cafeteria...

At this point, the conversation took a turn for the dull.

"In Japan, we have 10 minutes between classes. How long do American students have between classes?" the teacher continued.

"I don't remember, and really it depends on the school..."

"She says it depends," the teacher explained to the students in Japanese.

A hand shot up in the back of the class. "Um, in our first year textbook it said that Americans only have 5 minutes between classes," a student countered in Japanese.

"Yes, Matchamonkey, in their textbooks it says that you only have 5 minutes," the teacher prompted me in English.

"Well, really, it differs..."

"But it is shorter than in Japan, I think. Their textbooks said 5 minutes," she continued.

"But, um..."

"Yes, they have less time than Japanese students," the teacher stated to the class in Japanese.

I don't know why it mattered to them that they have longer breaks between classes. I don't know why I fought it either.