[Image text – TIP#1: If you find a conbini snack that you love, buy it now. It will disappear when you least expect it.]
Japanese conbini and their ever-changing stock of seasonal flavors exist for one purpose only – to teach us the great fleeting nature of love. Nothing you are attached to will last forever. That flavor of Coolish ice-cream you confidently bought yesterday and plan to eat again tomorrow? It’s not going to be waiting for you. All things end. Especially conbini foods.
So buy it. Buy it now. Because who knows when they’ll stop selling it? Probably next week. Better be safe.
[Image text – TIP#2: Sorting your trash into 20 different types of recyclables might be a pain in the ass, but that doesn’t mean you’re above doing it. Do it.]
I know it’s annoying. You threw away your plastics like you were supposed to – but suddenly, the trash grandma is back at your door, and she’s given you your entire trash bag back. Because your trash was trash. You put in the PET plastic bottle with the REGULAR plastics, which means you’re in the red. Redo the whole bag and start again!
Don’t be so quick to scoff. Just because it’s not something you were used to back in your own home country doesn’t give you a Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card to disregard it here. Being polite in the smallest situations and taking care to do these simple things will help you in the long run, trust me.
[Image text – TIP#3: Forget the 和 (wa). The important thing is to follow a more basic universal rule: Treat others how you want to be treated.]
A lot of expats think that they have to figure out the whole ‘mystique’ of the country, like it’s a puzzle or some kind of a plot-heavy chapter of manga with lots of symbolism. Then, when they think they have, they parade it around like they’ve cracked the whole thing like a code.
But I recommend leaving those exotic stereotypes behind. The people you will live with/study with/work with are all normal people who are just trying to get through their day, like you. Don’t read too deep into it. They just want to be treated with basic respect and decency.
That being said! Do take care to notice the difference in customs and acknowledge that some things are different in your home country and Japan. Sometimes, when in Rome…
[Image text – TIP#4: Before you make a big decision, check in with another person, especially if you’re on a team.]
This is called 相談 (soudan), and I give this advice to a lot of people who are from Western cultures who are abroad in Japan. Most likely (sorry for assuming) you are from a country that values initiative and taking charge. Making a decision on your own might be viewed as a sign of leadership and strength.
But be careful about this – especially if you’re working on something as a team, or if your decisions might influence others. Teamwork is not just the result of each person pulling their own sled at their own pace. Unison is something that is achieved, first and foremost, through communication. If you have an idea, first you should communicate it to your higher-up – your boss or your teacher – to have another person evaluate your thoughts. This shows that you are willing to be considerate of others thoughts instead of just charging ahead on your own.
TL;DR: Leeroy Jenkins: DON’T.
[Image text – TIP#5: If you are about to start a sentence with “Japanese guys are…” or “Japanese girls always…” …Stop. Think. Maybe don’t.]
Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re living in another country – it’s stressful. It’s difficult for your feelings to be understood by the people you’re surrounded with. You have different life experiences, different values, and different viewpoints. And some of the trends that you’ve seen lately and really bugging the hell outta you.
But generalizing an entire country is not always going to be the answer to that. Especially if it’s based on sexist or racist interpretations.
There are times when generalizations are going to be made to point out an overall larger problem in society – like Japan’s racism, or Japan’s sexism. But unless you’re discussing these issues, don’t divide up the people you interact with on a daily basis into stereotypical categories. It doesn’t make you enlightened. It just makes you a jaded foreigner.
(This message brought to you by my frustrations when browsing subreddits, where white dudes write 8 paragraphs about how ‘All Japanese girls only wanna get married, have babies and force you to work as a salaryman to support her.’ Fuck off with that, honestly.)
In fact, don’t try to pretend like you know the country better than the people who live in it. Because…
[Image text – TIP#6: If you’re a foreigner in Japan – Good! Your job is not to assimilate. Your job is to learn new things, share what you know, and be yourself.]
I see a lot of exchange students doing their best to ‘blend in’. Like the end goal is to be the most Japanese-like foreigner you can possibly be. But that’s not what you should be aiming for!
If you’re different – if you look different, have a different culture, different viewpoints… none of that is a bad thing! Be you! (As stated previously, do be respectful.) You don’t have to shave away parts of your personality just to fit in.
And one last thing, so we can finish off on a funny note, since this got hella heavy:
Ginger's Art n Junk 