On cultural norms

[snarp]

Daigakusei-sensei got distracted toward the end of class today.

Daigakusei-sensei: I think, if I went to live in another country, I wouldn’t want to go to one that was dangerous… more dangerous than Japan, I mean…

The Pierced American: Don’t go to the US!

Me: Well, but Sensei, I think that only leaves Switzerland…

Daigakusei-sensei: Really?

Fuzzy-san: Yeah, I think so.

Screech-san: But I think maybe Japan is getting dangerous! I saw on the news that someone was murdered in Toyota recently -

Daigakusei-sensei: Really?!

Screech-san: Yeah! But - see - there’d been a bag tied around the person’s head, but it was gone when the police found the body? But they found the bag in Okazaki! So they think the murderer lives in Okazaki!

Daigakusei-sensei: Oh, no… Japan really is getting dangerous!

Me: *head explodes*

Daigakusei-sensei: Aie! *reproachfully* Hime-sama*, you scared me, screaming like that! - oh, it’s time for lunch! Bye, everyone!

Me, in English: There might be one murderer somewhere in Okazaki! One!

The Pierced American: Yeah, it’s pretty weird when you realize stuff like that…

The Bicycling American: You know, I’ve never felt unsafe in Japan, but when I go back to the US right now, I get so paranoid. I start crossing the street when I see a group of people just, you know, hanging out - I mean, any of them could have a gun!

Fuzzy-san: *worried* So in the United States, do you really see, you know, gang violence in the streets all the time?

-

It’s too hot, so I went and bought some men’s boxer shorts to wear for pajamas. It’s occurred to me that, though there are always girls hanging around the mall and train station wearing cut-off jean shorts that cover up much less than the boxers, I would definitely get arrested if I went out in the boxers. Because though the jean shorts cover up less than the boxers, they’re still jean shorts, and therefore coded as outerwear. Whereas the boxers are coded as underwear, and are thus obscene. What’s the sociological term for this phenomenon?

Incidentally, I wear a men’s XL in Japanese sizes. That’s an American women’s 14-to-16. I still have no idea what I would be in Japanese women’s sizes, as I have yet to find a store that carries women’s garments in sizes above XL.

-

* Yes, people are still calling me “Hime-sama.”

(Originally published at SarahPin.com. You can comment here or there.)

Comments

[elongated-tito.livejournal.com]

'Hime-sama'? Define, please.

Objects have no value or meaning except for that which we place on them. There's probably a name for that idea, but I can't remember it. It's postmodern sociological theory, if that helps.

[saunahoney.livejournal.com]

Hilarious! Being a naturalized Swede, I also like the story about Björn the bear. Kuma-san really sounds like a kids' program character, and incidentally there is a Swedish kids' TV character - in a fursuit - called Björne.

Dangerous is relative. I have never visited any part of the US, so I don't know what it would feel like to walk around the streets alone in the middle of the night in an average city. Here in Scandinavia, I wouldn't hesitate, although I'd exercise "normal" caution. Japan - no problem. Germany - been there, done that. My globetrotter sister claims that she feels safe in the streets of Moscow and Tel Aviv - alone - but she's a hard-as-nails survivor type.

Many Japanese are funny when it comes to definitions of public safety. A few friends of mine were planning a trip to Europe - not long after 9/11 - and they really wanted to go to Turkey. But after what happened, they were worried that the Muslim Turks would hate them, because Japan is allied to the US... I tried to explain to them that
a) Turkey is also an ally of the US
b) Turks love Japan, because they're convinced that Turks and Japanese are related
c) Turks had absolutely nothing to do with the terror attacks!

but to no avail. It's sad, they would have loved Turkish hospitality.