school visit blues
I've been told twice this week that I look like I'm in my thirties. I am going to destroy the next person who insinuates the same.
At my school visit today, I was asked to introduce myself in English and ask the kids to guess which country I was from. The range of answers: Korea, France, Russia, Mongolia, Beijing (because that's a country), Spain, and Egypt. Granted these children had not started English education in earnest, but dear god.
Lately, also, a lot of people have been asking about my ethnicity within seconds of meeting. I will give them my business card and immediately: Your last name isn't so American. I'm sorry to ask, but are you...? I don't usually mind this that much, but like, really? Is that the very first thing you have to know? I need to come up with a way of saying that is really none of your business without being rude. That's something you're allowed to ask once we've had an actual conversation. I have been playing nice the last three or so times this week, but I got it again from a newspaper reporter and shut him down (with a smile!) because I just. can't. take. it.
On a related note, I am always wary of telling Japanese people that I'm part Japanese, because to many people it is the explanation for my language ability. As if studying and paying attention means nothing next to DNA. It's unthinkable that an actual American person (whatever that means) would speak good Japanese, or something, and that pattern of thought irritates me to no end.
A Filipino woman was with us today as a presenter; she turned out to be the mother of a student. While we were talking I found out that she had her first child at 19, and that her husband was over 30 years her senior. In Japan, Filipino women stereotypically work in show pubs. Of course I was curious about what brought her to Japan and how she ended up marrying (and having 5 children!), but I am not brazen and rude.
Today was fun, though. The teacher who was in charge of us loved the sound of his own voice a little, but there were four other people to humor him. I stayed in town afterwards to hang out at M's and have dinner, a nice low-key end to the evening.
10 days to Vermont, and 2.5 more working days to the weekend!
At my school visit today, I was asked to introduce myself in English and ask the kids to guess which country I was from. The range of answers: Korea, France, Russia, Mongolia, Beijing (because that's a country), Spain, and Egypt. Granted these children had not started English education in earnest, but dear god.
Lately, also, a lot of people have been asking about my ethnicity within seconds of meeting. I will give them my business card and immediately: Your last name isn't so American. I'm sorry to ask, but are you...? I don't usually mind this that much, but like, really? Is that the very first thing you have to know? I need to come up with a way of saying that is really none of your business without being rude. That's something you're allowed to ask once we've had an actual conversation. I have been playing nice the last three or so times this week, but I got it again from a newspaper reporter and shut him down (with a smile!) because I just. can't. take. it.
On a related note, I am always wary of telling Japanese people that I'm part Japanese, because to many people it is the explanation for my language ability. As if studying and paying attention means nothing next to DNA. It's unthinkable that an actual American person (whatever that means) would speak good Japanese, or something, and that pattern of thought irritates me to no end.
A Filipino woman was with us today as a presenter; she turned out to be the mother of a student. While we were talking I found out that she had her first child at 19, and that her husband was over 30 years her senior. In Japan, Filipino women stereotypically work in show pubs. Of course I was curious about what brought her to Japan and how she ended up marrying (and having 5 children!), but I am not brazen and rude.
Today was fun, though. The teacher who was in charge of us loved the sound of his own voice a little, but there were four other people to humor him. I stayed in town afterwards to hang out at M's and have dinner, a nice low-key end to the evening.
10 days to Vermont, and 2.5 more working days to the weekend!