CULTURE (Revised)

I like to travel, that is why I went to study abroad in Japan the summer of my first year in college. Being in Japan certainly has its good and bad moments. I stayed in Japan for three months and took Japanese classes. Even though I read some books on Japanese culture, I still didn’t know the actual meaning of why the Japanese act in that particular way. For instance, every time I went to stores or restaurants, it is customary for the waitresses or the staff to say out loud the words “Irrashai-mase” which means “welcome to our store or restaurant.” At first, it sounds very refreshing because as we all know, Japanese people are very polite. But then, it started to annoy me. Every single time I met with a staff including the ones that I have met before, they quickly shout the word “irrashai-mase.” I responded in my mind, “Back off people!!!!! You don’t need to say welcome more than once, that is so annoying!!!!” I ended up walking away outside the store in less than 5 minutes from the frustration.

After that experience, I asked my instructor why the Japanese behave this way. The instructor responded that every culture has different ways of expressing their appreciation to the customers. In Japan, it is customary to say it because the staff is deeply honored for my time and my kindness to walk into and visit into their stores or restaurants. After that explanation I was so ashamed of my behavior and was impressed by their level of appreciation because I have never thought about it that way.

In the end, I realized one thing that matters most, I am a tourist. Of course I will have strange reaction to other people’s culture that is different from mine because they could say the same thing to my culture. Who am I to judge that one’s culture is better than the other one? What really matters is the way we act, so that we as individuals can be accepted in today’s society.