Dashes 'n' Dots

Due to the fact that I'm full Chinese with some skill (enough to survive I guess) in Japanese, people have just about always... actually, let me rephrase that, everyone (including Japanese and non-Japanese) who haven't heard me speak (or knew about me through a friend etc.) would have had at least once thought I was Japanese.

So I played along with that idea too. Funny situations also happens at times too because of this. Which, I'll go over in a bit.

First of all, one thing I've learnt since coming over to Japan is that if I'm a foreigner, I can virtually get away with just about everything (besides of course, murder and those other serious offenses against the law)... given if I talk to them in English and pretend I speak no Japanese at all.

Even small things like when you accidentally walking into someone or... like the case today: taking a photo STANDING on top of this thing... in front of a temple... apparently we weren't suppose to stand on it... We were told off for it, but I, out of habit, said "すみません" (sumimasen; excuse me or sorry), which I later realised would have worked better if I said "sorry" (with my perrrrfect 'R' sound, lol) instead. As in situations like this, with my east Asian appearance, and having said something in Japanese, they would have assumed I'm a Japanese person... meaning they'd think really badly of me. But If I said 'sorry', they'd just think I'm a stupid foreigner who doesn't know the rules of Japan and be like "oh, she's just a foreigner".

Likewise the other day when I went to Universal Studio in Osaka, I accidentally bumped into a woman... Out of habit again, I again, said "sumimasen", and to my horror, the lady eyed me fiercely... I was then told by the friend I was with to... just say it in English instead, she would have just walked off (and possibly be like "aaaahh gaijin!!!!"... Ok, maybe not really that, but would have been funny haha, yes Asians can speak English).

Anyways in conclusion, no matter how fluent one may be in Japanese and no matter how much you look like a Japanese person, never... I repeat, NEVER apologise to randoms in Japanese. Same goes when you get into trouble with people... Just say well... "sorry I don't speak Japanese" and look puzzled. It's like the magic phrase here!

Finally before I go off to bed, a story that happened when I was on the train back home last week. When I got onto the train (to get home), I was with a few fellow exchange students. We were speaking to each other in English. As the train doors closed, a Japanese lady standing near me smiled at me. So out of polite-ness, I smiled back.

因為有的時候還是覺得說中文更親切。

雖然我這大半輩子（雖然總共也就這20年）都在英語國家生活着，不管是在家裡還是和一些朋友都會時不時的用中文對話。
怎麼說呢，現在日本生活也習慣了，每個星期的pattern也都出來了，漸漸地，覺得日本也就這樣吧。

可能是因為在中國和澳洲這兩個很不一樣的國家都住過好久的原因吧，那些西方人搞不明白的東西我都可以從亞洲的角度去理解。同樣的，那些第一次出國的中國人感到奇怪或新鮮的時候，從西方人的角度又看過去，卻不會覺得很新奇。當然日本也有自己的東西，可是真的，覺得沒有很不適應。

寫著寫著覺得自己的中文寫作水平真的已經差到了一種境界。
因為這樣，我也就不再繼續寫下去啦。To prevent further embarrassment of myself.
やっばり中国語の作文は全然アカンやな...


~Rose

I don't have much photos during my primary school years and the earlier high school years, that is because I didn't have my own camera and the ones I did took, are on my mum's computer (hence I couldn't access them while making the collage).

5 of them are of me before school age, then jumping straight to the senior years of high school (3 photos). After that are photos taken more recently in the past couple of years, including those in Australia (4), Japan (4) and China (3) - in no particular order.

~Rose
P.S. The 2nd one from left (on the bottom row) was taken today.
P.P.S. Yes my eyebrows did undergo some what not-so-small a transformation since high school... (._.)

もし好きな男・女の子は彼女・彼氏いたら、あなたの場合は、どうする？諦める？
If you were in the situation where the guy/girl you like has a girl/boyfriend, what would you do? Would you give up?

An interesting question that's popped up my mind lately. However as honest as I can, the reason why it came up at the first place was that I had somewhat a not so small crush on a Japanese guy (though only a handful of people knew about it...) who I later found out, had a girlfriend. Since then I've stopped contacts with him as I don't want to fall down any deeper, since after all, he's taken.

I've also had the same conversation with a few different people, both genders of Japanese and non-Japanese background. To my surprise, the Japanese I've asked have all answered that if the person they've fallen for was taken, they'd still go fight for him/her. While the non-Japanese I've asked, provided a complete different answer: they'd move on.

The reason behind not giving him/her up even though you know that they're taken, is that apparently if you really liked them, you shouldn't let them go so easily. Which, is a valid reason. It may be painful and possibly long in terms of process, but at least you know you tried to create your own destiny.

On the other hand we have the more sympathetic towards the current boy/girlfriend situation. One may argue that giving up on the person you like probably means you don't like them enough, as you're able to give up on them so easily... but thinking rationally, this goes both ways. Giving up on the person you like who doesn't belong to you means you'd probably bring less worries and troubles to them and therefore giving them more freedom. Either way makes perfect logical sense (given if you're able to comprehend my jibberish).

What I'm saying here, is not to bring this arguement to a conclusion, but rather compare some of the more subtle differences we have, maybe it's another culture thing? Who knows.

~Rose

The stereotype goes: Japanese people are shy, polite, and extremely nice. This, is a myth. While it may may not be the case for some (mostly younger people or those who have lived abroad), I believe it's true for most. A couple of weeks ago in our Japanese class, we talked about how they have this うち (uchi; home) and そと (soto; outside) thing. Where they basically only talk to those people they consider inside their own uchi circle (like family, friends, co-workers etc.) where as whatever happens to anyone else, is none of their business, they pretend not to see it.

However I've heard situations where when you (most likely a tourist) ask for street direction, they will not only tell you where it is, they'd actually take you there. It's great that they go to this extend, but keep in mind this does not mean everyone will do the same, I'd imagine before you asked, you would have first looked around and picked the person you wanted to ask. Also another thing is that perhaps either your physical appearance or in my case, my language skills gave away the fact that I'm a foreigner (well, I am Asian), and they're just making sure you understood, and chances are, they had the free time to do so.

It is true that when you enter Japanese shops, you get an overwelming amount of いらっしゃいませ、どうぞご覧ください、and the number of 敬語 (keigo; honorific language) thrown at you is a little scary. Just yesterday when me and Sandra went to Osaka and asked a lady (in the shopping mall) where UNIQLO (a shop) was, she ended all her sentences in でございます (degozaimasu; honorific ending of desu), that, was honestly my first time seeing so much 尊敬語 (sonkeigo) being used at once, especially by someone her age (she was probably in her 20s).

Anyways, what I was meant to say is that while they appear to provide you with extra service (such that the lady insisted on taking the items I purchased to the front of the shop to give it to me as oppose to let me take and go after I've paid, which I found a little weird...), it is only their job. They get paid to do this, and if they don't, they lose the job. So it makes perfect logical sense. The second that their shift is over, they could be a completely different person.

Another situation is say, there's a train that have just arrived in its final stop. Everyone left the train except one single business man who fell fast asleep, still remaining on the train. Anyone could easily gone inside and told him to wake up, but everyone who definitely saw, pretended they didn't. Keeping their heads down, either on their phone, a book, talking to friends on just with their heads down, minding their own business. If this was the case in Sydney, I'm sure someone ought to do something about it. I remember I was woken up by an old lady once on the trains back in Sydney, when it reached its final stop. This almost makes Cityrail not as bad, you know.

Me and two other friends had a discussion about this the other day, she told me that she also saw two men that have started quarreling in middle of a moving train, very loudly. The same situation in Australia, or any other western country? The passengers would have gone up and tried to stop/separate them and probably say something like "calm down". In Japan? If you look onto the other side of the "quarreling event" even just one seat or two away, you'd see a perfectly normal train setting, quiet, keeping their own business, sleeping, using their phones, reading, listening to ipod etc. and on the other side? Two men having a go at each other.

They just don't really care. It's about keeping it all to yourself and don't butt in, unless you're paid for it. It's their social norm.

As an extra note while on the train topic, last night I was watching a talk show on TV with 相武紗季 (Aibu Saki) as their guest. Apparently her mother randomly winked at her father on a train... and that's how they met... and then dated and got married, and created a family together... Seriously, that is not just a bit random, but very very very random...

But of course as I've met many many nice Japanese people and made friends with them, it differs from time to time and people to people. Like I've mentioned earlier, the younger generations and those that have lived abroad will perhaps be a little warmer towards everyone else around them...?

~Rose