I've never been to Japan, although I have always wanted to. Even when I lived in Taiwan, I never managed to get to Japan. I came very, very close in 2004, before I met my wife. I had to do a visa run since my visa was going to expire, so I had to go to another country to renew it for another two months (for some reason, you can't just do it in Taiwan). My choices were either Okinawa or Hong Kong, and even though my first choice was Okinawa, I ended up going to Hong Kong. Why? Out of convenience and laziness. There were only two flights to Okinawa from Taiwan. One flight was very early in the morning, and the other was very late at night. In Hong Kong, there were flights every hour. So, basically, I picked Hong Kong because I didn't want to wake up early.
Many of my fellow teachers had been to Japan, and I was always told stories about how nice it was. Japan was a very clean country and everyone was so respectful to each other. I still remember one teacher telling me that he was sitting in a McDonalds, and there were two Japanese kids running around and shouting (as kids usually do in McDonalds.) The teacher looked over at the kids with a very stern look. The kids looked back at him and saw that he was angry with them for disturbing his Big Mac meal.
"So sorry." the kids said, and then sat down and didn't make another noise.
Wow, I thought. That's discipline. Those were the kinds of students I wish I had taught in Taiwan. Instead I was teaching a bunch of brats who would burp while I talked, throw things, talk on cell phones, beat the crap out of each other and just plain act like rude little monkeys.
So it doesn't surprise me how well the Japanese are handling themselves after that disastrous earthquake and tsunami on Friday. The people are waiting patiently in lines for food and water, and using the public phones. You don't get any sense of the chaos and disorder that you see in other countries. Even after help finally arrived for victims of Hurricane Katrina, many days later, you still had soldiers on the streets aiming their M-16's at civilians. It wasn't until later that the commanders finally told them to put their weapons down. This wasn't Iraq, after all, or maybe it was.
Christy also told me about two Chinese tourist groups in Taiwan who went to "Ali Shan." They got into a big fight with each other over who would be first to get on the bus. The Japanese simply wouldn't do that.
"If that tsunami happened in China or Taiwan, it would be chaos." Christy told me. "People are selfish even when there isn't any catastrophe."
I'm reminded of the Taiwanese people who cheered when a hotel collapsed from heavy flooding. It was like a big Hollywood movie to them. Again, I doubt the Japanese would do that.
At work, Christy was approached by her co-workers and asked if her family was okay. Although she is Taiwanese, she seems to be the "go-to" person for anything that is Asian. Violence in South Korea? ....is Christy okay? Trouble in Thailand...is Christy okay? Earthquake in Japan...is Christy okay? A document written in Korean...have Christy translate! A customer on the phone shouting in Tagalog....get Christy! Yes, there are still ignorant Americans out there that think an Asian face is the key to unlock everything that is Asian.
The Japanese are a tough race of people. They hold the distinction of being the only people to have atomic bombs dropped on them, and they survived. Compared to that, this is nothing. They'll get through it.
Many of my fellow teachers had been to Japan, and I was always told stories about how nice it was. Japan was a very clean country and everyone was so respectful to each other. I still remember one teacher telling me that he was sitting in a McDonalds, and there were two Japanese kids running around and shouting (as kids usually do in McDonalds.) The teacher looked over at the kids with a very stern look. The kids looked back at him and saw that he was angry with them for disturbing his Big Mac meal.
"So sorry." the kids said, and then sat down and didn't make another noise.
Wow, I thought. That's discipline. Those were the kinds of students I wish I had taught in Taiwan. Instead I was teaching a bunch of brats who would burp while I talked, throw things, talk on cell phones, beat the crap out of each other and just plain act like rude little monkeys.
So it doesn't surprise me how well the Japanese are handling themselves after that disastrous earthquake and tsunami on Friday. The people are waiting patiently in lines for food and water, and using the public phones. You don't get any sense of the chaos and disorder that you see in other countries. Even after help finally arrived for victims of Hurricane Katrina, many days later, you still had soldiers on the streets aiming their M-16's at civilians. It wasn't until later that the commanders finally told them to put their weapons down. This wasn't Iraq, after all, or maybe it was.
Christy also told me about two Chinese tourist groups in Taiwan who went to "Ali Shan." They got into a big fight with each other over who would be first to get on the bus. The Japanese simply wouldn't do that.
"If that tsunami happened in China or Taiwan, it would be chaos." Christy told me. "People are selfish even when there isn't any catastrophe."
I'm reminded of the Taiwanese people who cheered when a hotel collapsed from heavy flooding. It was like a big Hollywood movie to them. Again, I doubt the Japanese would do that.
At work, Christy was approached by her co-workers and asked if her family was okay. Although she is Taiwanese, she seems to be the "go-to" person for anything that is Asian. Violence in South Korea? ....is Christy okay? Trouble in Thailand...is Christy okay? Earthquake in Japan...is Christy okay? A document written in Korean...have Christy translate! A customer on the phone shouting in Tagalog....get Christy! Yes, there are still ignorant Americans out there that think an Asian face is the key to unlock everything that is Asian.
The Japanese are a tough race of people. They hold the distinction of being the only people to have atomic bombs dropped on them, and they survived. Compared to that, this is nothing. They'll get through it.
I have been to Japan several times. Comparing Japan to Taiwan is like comparing a clean, organized, efficient nation to Taiwan.
ReplyDeleteAs I was exiting a 747 (after a 12 hour flight from Dallas), some flight attendants / airport employees standing nearby noticed that my shoe was untied. About 5 of these wonderful ladies nearly freaked out. I'm sorry, but that may be a bit overly organized and efficient. (I had noticed that my shoe was untied, but I didn't want to stop in the "airbridge" for due to a single loose shoelace.)
ReplyDeleteI have lived here in Japan for several years now and I can say this with conviction: Whatever faults the Japanese have (and they have many - they are, after all, only human), they are heads and shoulders above the rest of Asia in manners, consideration for others and general demeanor.
ReplyDeleteA few examples: If someone drops their purse or wallet (containing cash) and there is no I.D. inside, the person who found it will lay it somewhere nearby where it can be seen in case the person who lost it returns to look for it. No one will disturb it or take the money inside.
On the trains, almost no one talks on their cellphones or takes calls on them. If they do receive a call, they speak briefly and quietly and hang up. I have never once been startled out of my shirt by someone behind me suddenly screaming into their cellphones like I have many times on public transportaion or restaurants in Taiwan.
On the street, motorists are patient and will stop to let you cross the street if they see you waiting on the curb. Or, if you are on a bicycle, drivers will let you know they are coming up behind you with a short beep of the horn. In contrast, I have come close to being killed just standing on the curb by moronic motorists in Taiwan. Additionally, I would never consider doing anything as suicidal as riding a bicycle there. Orange plastic road pylons get far more respect in Taiwan than a human being. And the pylons get used for target practice.
In Japan, if a person gets hurt on the road or collapses on the train or a public place from any physical ailment, people will rush to your side to help you. In Taiwan, they will ignore you for fear of being sued. Likewise, if you help anyone hurt or in need od assistance in Taiwan, you stand a good chance of being sued later.
Collectively, common Japanese citizens recognize that they are all on the same boat and need to stand together. When faced with adversity, they join arms and walk lockstep as "Japanese". They understand that if one part of the chain is weak, the whole chain fails. I have yet to see any evidence of this sort behavior norm in any other asian nation, especially the Chinese. "Me First" is the credo exemplified by Chinese behavior... with no shame attached whatsoever.
Of course, there are bad apples in Japan as there are anywhere else. They are in the minority, however. All said, it is a very nice place regardless.
Cole,
ReplyDeleteI think both Jesuit Monkey Fan and I will agree that you really know the Chinese well. Did you live in Taiwan at some point?
After four years, I just couldn't stand Taiwan anymore, nor could my own Taiwanese wife. The thought of raising my kids there was an impossibility. Had we lived in Japan, though, we probably would have stayed put.
In defense of Taiwan, I dropped my billfold on the street while I was riding a scooter in Kaohsiung in May 2010. I had over 15K in Taiwanese money (about $500 USD) in it. The lady who found it called a number inside, which happened to be the phone that my wife and I were using. She waited for us at a nearby 7-11 and refused to take anything for a reward. Granted, she was of the older, better generation--around age 50-55. Honestly, I wouldn't expect that to happen again at any point in the future looking at the younger generation.
ReplyDeleteTaylor,
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely good people in Taiwan (my wife being one of them). I met a lot of decent people there who were just as disgusted as I was with the way the Chinese treat each other and their environment. Unfortunately, I think those people are in the minority.
Ken,
ReplyDeleteYes, I lived in Taiwan for a very short time - almost six months. Not years like you and some of the other veterans here. But, if I were king, I would knight you all for the fortitude it took to deal with the simian attitudes and chaos that is Taiwan for so long.
In between jobs in Japan, I went to Taiwan at the invitation of a friend who lived and taught there. From what he told me, Taiwan was the cat's meow. So, off I went with the intent to get a job and perhaps stay there for awhile. I bunked at the same hostel you stayed at (Happy Family Hostel - what a dump!), and then went to Tainan where my friend lived.
The reality of the place began to sink in almost immediately. At my astonishment at the crude behavior of the population at large, my friend kept insisting (with a small degree of condescension - despite the fact that I had lived in Asia for awhile and was pretty much geared for it), that I had to open my mind to the cultural differences in behavior and accept them. I got a part time job at a bushiban and did my best to do just that.
The final straw was the day my friend and I went swimming at a large commercial swimming pool/club in Tainan that he belonged to. Sitting on the edge of the pool with my friend to take a break, I looked across to the other side to see a little boy standing on the edge with his swimming trunks down to his ankles, taking a piss right into the pool water. His mother was standing over him with her hands on his shoulders. My friend was at a loss for words when I pointed it out and said, "I suppose that is one of those cultural differences in behavior that I need to accept, right"? When the boy finished emptying his bladder, his mother pulled his shorts back up and then patted him on the behind as if to say "Good boy"! There were many people near them, in and out of the water, yet no one even blinked an eye or said a word about it. The actual restroom was only 20 feet from where the boy urinated. Needless to say, I didn't feel like swimming anymore.
Luckily, the day before I left, a job interview in Japan came up. I literally choked back a cheer as the wheels of the plane left the ground in Taipei.
Taiwan is a nice place to visit as a tourist, but to live and work there is a wholly different animal. Of course, like you, I met a lot of wonderful people there. And I particularly like the east coast area of the island. However, any country with a pretense to civilzation must have the will to discern the basic concepts of right and wrong, teach these concepts to their children, and then have the ability to stand outside of themselves and look to see if it's working. For a good part of the population, this is not evident. Oblivion to anything outside of id based self-gratification is the modus operandi. Sad, but mostly true.
That swimming pool incident doesn't surprise me one bit. I only swam in their public pools twice, and both times I got sick right after it, so that probably explains a lot. I saw numerous instances of public urination in Taiwan. So, when you throw that in, with all the public belching and spitting as well, it makes for a race of very classy people.
ReplyDeleteThe final straw for me, however, and I think I mentioned this before, was when I was pushing a baby stroller through a crosswalk and not a single driver slowed down or stopped.