This and That

I think most non-Japanese living in Japan for any length of time reach a point (I believe it's usually around the three year mark) when they start to become a little cynical about their circumstnces. Yes, and especially, somewhat critical of their adopted home.

We all breeze through the first year, thinking that the sun shines brightly from every orifice here. Even the staring seems interesting. Are we not the centre of attention? Are we not exotic? We are like swans in the duckpond.

Year Two is a consolidation of this process, though a few things start to rankle. Why does it have to be done that way? Why this absurd rigmarole? And what about that obaasan who snuck ahead of me in the train queue or the one who pushed me out of the way to get discounted bread? And why are those men sitting when there are older people and even pregnant women standing on the train? Hmmm. But still, it's a great place to live. And anyway, there are plenty of problems back home much worse.....

It may well be that familiarity breads a kind of contempt, or just the onset of reality over the Disney state of mind, but Year Three, for many foreigners here, seems to present a fork in the road, or perhaps, a roundabout. Some, feeling that its unfair that they are still 'foreigners', become disillusioned, cynical, even aggressive. They have tried to learn the language, they have adapted to many of the customs, they pay their taxes, so, why, this continued arbitrary classification. For such people, personal slights can be found in the simplest of daily transactions.
Most will probably return home. Or, at least, they should.

Others less afflicted wander in a cultural no man's land, never really belonging, always somewhat disconnected. They too, should go home. But they tend to stay.

I'm not sure where I am. Being a father has presented a different situation for me in this, my third year. About halfway through I'm enjoying it more than, say, six months ago. My criticisms for the most part have been tempered. And one should never bite the hand, as they say.