Hi!
Just a question to past and current JETs.
What’s one japanese culture that you have witnessed that made a positive impact on you? Like maybe change of character? Growth in your character? Something that has inspired you to be a better person in general?
I know JET Programme is more of a cultural exchange, so let me know how this kind of cultural experience has inspired you to become a better person, that no other place in the world could do, except Japan.
Thank you!
10 comments
Washlets
Legit feel like a disgusting pig if I have to use a regular toilet at school, friend’s house, etc. Whenever I book hotels or other stays, no washlet no booking, 0 compromises.
I used to be a morning shower taker, but Japan reformed me into being a before bed shower taker type of guy. The concept of taking baths on the regular is also so surprising, as it is seen as like a feminine/high maintenance thing to do in the US haha 🙄.
And I also feel like Japanese culture is a bit more in touch with time and nature than the US is. The concept of wabi sabi is also quite nice 😊.
Taking my shoes off in homes and other places.
Before coming to Japan, I lived in Taiwan and this was a custom too but not as much as here. Now, I’m incapable of wearing my shoes in someone’s home.
お風呂 と 温泉 (Ofuro and Onsen)
Ever since my first experience of bathing in an ofuro in the girl’s dormitory at Sōka University, I have come to enjoy sharing a closeness with others, local or non, that leaves both bodies and feelings bare. I was asked some of the most thought-inspiring and difficult questions there as well as bonding with the local college students.
It was also within that same year that we went to an onsen. I felt like I was in heaven. Now that I am here, I take baths one or twice a week and plan to visit and onsen this winter. Those two parts of Japanese culture have stayed with me for 10 years and now I can experience it all over again.
Sense of humbleness here. Also, I’ve become more proactive since the younger person is expected to reach out to the older person at work. In other words, ALTs reach out to JTEs, or the other way around
The community before the individual. I love how most people here don’t even think twice about inconveniencing themselves a bit for the sake of everyone else. Many Americans seem so goddamn childish and selfish in comparison (I know it’s not just Americans, that’s just where I’m from so that’s what I see). Things like wearing a mask during a pandemic being a prime example.
I do think there are instances where this mentality can be taken too far in Japan, but overall I think it’s a positive thing that I identify strongly with.
Two things for me, one not so specific and one a bit more.
I’m three months in and I learned to not take things personally. Many occasions you might feel left out at school and daily life cause of language barrier. Sometimes a JTE might give you the most bizarre gifts (I got Temptations cat treat once and face blotting paper today as a gift from the same teacher) and you might think they’re trying to tell you something, or people will straight up ignore you cause they are too shy or don’t know English. Sometimes even foreigners in the area might get a little clicky.
None of it is anything personal. Being a foreign person in a completely different country and rural area means there will be misunderstandings, miscommunication, feelings of being left out, and a little dash of existential crisis (sorta kidding).
To be more specific though, I learned to be more grateful for smaller things. Everything around us was made with lots of effort and care, from the rice we eat to the sandals we wear. It’s uncommon to walk and drink/eat, so I learned to take a minute, sit down and actually appreciate my food more. Older people will bring you random fruit from the recent harvest and bus drivers will sometimes walk out of their bus to give you directions to the other bus stop cause google maps failed once again. In moments when I think why the hell am I here, I look up and see a beautiful huge mountain and remember the nice thing someone did yesterday or the delicious bowl of ramen I had and think alright, this isn’t too bad.
The money machines at 7-11 and family restaurants.
I never fail to be impressed by the attention placed on making sure people’s belongings are treated with respect and returned to the owner if left behind.
For me, it would be that Japanese students think of education as a privilege. The more of it they have, the better off they will be in the long run. Even in subjects they don’t particularly like, they still at least try and learn because that’s the value they’ve been taught. In Japan, they seem to (mostly) be of the mindset that the teacher, their parents, etc. have all gone to these great lengths to try and help them become a better person, so they should show the same respect to the teacher and try their best in school. (Of course, you do have some outliers, but the majority of students I taught in Japan seemed to hold this view. I even asked some of my coworkers and kids whether or not this was true on the whole in Japanese society and they confirmed it.)
Whereas teaching here in America, you can clearly see how the kids *do not* respect education whatsoever. If it’s not a subject they inherently like, then they will not even TRY in that class. “The school forces us to take world history, but I absolutely hate world history, so I’m going to talk with my friends while the teacher is trying to give instruction, and never mind that there’s actually kids here who want to learn but can’t because I’m being too loud!” Every time there’s a behavioral issue in a class, I just want to scream at them “DO YOU GUYS REALIZE WHAT A PRIVILEGE IT IS FOR YOU TO BE HERE AND LEARNING THIS STUFF??”