I’m Turning Japanese

A few months ago, I blogged about still being a Gaijin in Japan, in this post: Take the Gaijin Test. Recently, I have come to realize I’ve been doing a lot of things I swore I’d never do, and which I poked fun at in the first few months/years I’d been in Japan. Embarrassing to admit, but here are the Ten Reasons I think I’m Turning Japanese:

1. I sleep on the train (sometimes).

2. I do the bow and single-hand cutting combination to cut through lines and get people to move over in public transport.

3. I take home my “gomi (trash)” in a plastic bag and recycle it.

4. I feel uncomfortable if I’m not wearing stockings or socks, especially when visiting a home of a Japanese friend.

5. I make pretty bento, and own more than three pretty bento recipe books.

6. I do sudoku.

7. I carry two or three bags on the crook of my arm.

8. I don’t get bothered by terrible English signs (but in my case, anymore, as it just got to a point where it ceased to be funny).

9. I understand and use the expressions “natsukashii”, “mendoukusai”, “bimio” and “mottainai” but still can’t properly translate them.

10. I do the head-bending and sucking in of air when asked a difficult question I’d rather not answer…

Read Full Post »

Take the Gaijin Test

Are you still a foreigner in Japan? Do you agree with any of the following statements?

You can’t have your picture taken without your fingers forming the peace sign.

You find yourself bowing while you talk on the phone.

You see a gaijin get on the train and think “Wow, it’s a gaijin!”

You really enjoy corn soup with your Big Mac.

You can listen to the ads in FEN without falling around the floor laughing.

You spend all your time trying to think of reasons why you’ve been Too Long in Japan.

You have run out of snappy comebacks to compliments about your chopstick skills.

You think one kind of rice tastes better than another kind.

You get a “Nihongo ga joozu” and feel really insulted.

You think that coffee goes perfectly well with squid pizza.

You fully understand the concept of “cuteness”.

You buy a Christmas cake on Christmas eve.

You write or phone home and say things like “In Japan we…”

You go to a book shop with the full intention to read all the interesting magazines and put them back on the shelf.

A non-Japanese sits down next to you on the train and you get up and move. You’re not prejudiced, but who knows what they might do?

If you found yourself grunting to any of these, you may be losing your gaijiness…

Taken from: Asian Offbeat – 100 Reasons Why You’ve Lived in Japan Too Long

Read Full Post »