@Ferra-Where are currently at in Japan? I am currently in Okinawa. I am ready to see more, always, we hope when our house sells back home we can visit some of the other islands and the mainland. I need to find another job in Japan, mine is not working out right now. My husband and I are going to try to stay here as long as we can. We are both enrolled in school, he's already started and my classes start in October.

i was in the crappy side of chicago, mostly. we were on a mission trip, so we didn't get to eat out. still, the city itself was really awesome. did you see millenium park at all?

No, it was sooo cold. I did schedule time for myself to walk around Millennium park, but... I just wanted to get inside away from the bitter cold wind.

Man, I would LOVE to visit Okinawa some time. I'm just not sure how I'd work that into my trip. I've got a set list of things I just have to do - part of which involves visiting sites related to Abe no Seimei. I'm an oddball, I know. >.>'

Ahh, that's understandable. Next time you get a chance, you should see it. They had people on stilts running around ^^ lol

Hehe fun fun. :) I want to go to Okinawa someday too. But mostly I plan on staying around the Fukushima area ^_^ I looove fruit :D

I'm in the Tohoku region. I don't want to be too specific on the off off chance someone actually checks Mene since it's easy to pick out foreigners in Japan when you know their specific location. :lol:

It's surprisingly hot up here this summer, but I can't imagine how warm it is in Okinawa right now. :gonk:

私の住んでいるロサンゼレスで、天気は今実はちょっとすずしいだね。びっくりした！すずしいけど、もうhu midだよ。きもちわるい！

ざんねんですね。夏でアセンズはいつも暑くてむしむしよ！毎日エアを泳いてような。。。
(I'm not sure, but the last part is supposed to translate as every day it's like swimming through air...I need to go back to class, my translating is getting waaaay bad >.< )

分かる、分かる！面白い！私も、日本語の授業に楽しみしている。

私はちょっとこわい。。。すべて日本語を忘れたってよ！Haha, ちょっと悪いね？

まさか。。。黒ちゃんは、ぜったいに、全部を覚えてるよ。

ありがとう。たぶん大丈夫だ。。。私はがんばるよ。XD

[QUOTE=Ferra;1768225967

It's surprisingly hot up here this summer, but I can't imagine how warm it is in Okinawa right now. :gonk:[/QUOTE]

Oh it's hot! We had a mild weekend because of all the rain. I actually wore a zip up hoodie, ha ha. I am ready for the cooler weather!

Ferra- Imma move to that region but I don't look like a foreigner soo lol ya :P
I can't wait to actually move there 8D

Yeah, it's different when you aren't an obvious gaijin like me. XD There's good and bad that comes with that, but if you intend to live in Japan permanently, I think it's easier to become integrated if you look "Japanese". Honestly, I don't know if it's possible for someone who looks foreign to ever truly become accepted (but I don't intend to live in Japan permanently anyways.)

I don't think I have seen the good or the bad with being different in Japan yet. Then again, there are so many Americans here you can throw a rock and hit one of us.

Yeah, I'd be willing to wager that Okinawa is a completely different situation. Although the tension tends not to be directly visible most of the time anyways, I notice things even less when I'm around other foreigners.

When I'm alone, I can become self-conscious from all of the stares, but I haven't received any negative comments to my face. The only major issue I encountered happened last time I was in Japan. I was blatantly ignored when I tried to get help from some salespeople. Thankfully one of my teachers helped us out in the end.

Ohh, I see. I wonder if I'll ever truly understand what that is like. I am Japanese but haven't lived in Japan before, only visited. :0 Hmmmm my (future) husband might get some of that, but I wonder how much if he is around me or at home?? I think it does help though if they know you understand their culture and language ;0 if they can keep the perspective that you are coming into their country with low understanding of how things work, then respect is lower than if you are respectful of them and the country ya? That is how I have viewed it anyways. *shurg*

Actually, it can be the opposite sometimes. You'll be showered with compliments when you are stupid about the language and culture but are making an honest effort to learn it. However, when you start to seem like you know enough to be on par with a native Japanese person, it can make some people uncomfortable. The deer-in-headlights response is pretty common if you approach someone who can't handle talking to foreigners, even if your Japanese is perfect.

But if you are Japanese (or Japanese-looking) I've heard that it's the opposite. You'll be expected to immediately know what to do and learn the language very quickly. For example, an Asian American teacher was smacked by a lady on the subway for answering her phone, but she didn't understand it wasn't allowed. The woman quickly backtracked as soon as she realized she was a foreigner. That's why I said there's good and bad for each experience.

It's good for me since I'm a temporary resident so most people I meet are quite kind and encouraging, but I've heard that my school will expect me to understand perhaps a lot more than I'll be able to as time goes on. They already forgot to inform me classes were canceled once. :lol:

Ooh, thanks for the culture note :)
I think I'm going to try and learn as much culture as I can when I get over there, mostly because I love different cultures anyways.

Ferra- that's a good point. I remember living in Northern Europe, where I totally blend in, and people were surprised that I couldn't speak Dutch, or German, or Flemish. But I never thought about the deer-in-the-headlights reaction, as you term it, for near-perfect Japanese. In America I'm so used to people of all backgrounds having fluent English (or not). Though I do remember being shocked in Germany, only initially, when a Chinese girl I met only spoke German. :shock: I got over it pretty quickly, but I remember how the moment made me unpack an assumption that Chinese people always emigrated to America. :headdesk:

Oh, that reminds me of when my dad went to Mexico for a bit. They were at a restaurant and the waiter spoke to English to the people Dad was with, and then spoke Spanish to my dad. Meanwhile, he only knows a few phrases. I guess since he has dark hair and eyes they thought he was Hispanic or something. It was rather amusing. I think it kept happening to him too...:D

Haha, wow.
Well I hope the whole going over to the different country thing will be okay. I don't consider myself a pro but I'd like to get there xB I think a lot of people would, eh? :)

At least in this chat room, haha. I'm sure you'll do fine, though, no worries!! :D

Hehe thanks and I guess that is true x33 yays :3