Asking for advice.
Hi! I need tips to survive this social gathering I’m invited to. We’re all new acquaintances. Some of the people I like will come so I impulsively said yes to the invitation and just realized I don’t know half of them and there will be more than five people present. I could be pretty talkative and expressive but on big groups like that I tend to be more of a listener and don’t talk much. I’m afraid I’ll be no fun and ruin the mood, but I also don’t want to be someone I’m not.
As for japanese skill, I’m actually not that bad. I can follow classes and lectures, and interact with instructors just fine. But since I rarely socialize, conversational japanese could be quite hard for me. I do realize that I need to get better at it so I sign up for more social interactions with the japanese whom I feel comfortable around. But this one isn’t so honestly it’s pretty daunting. Again, I worry I’ll ruin the mood when I fail to follow the conversation or couldn’t do the KY.
Sorry if my question isn’t clear enough, but from reading my situation, if anyone have any tips to survive the event, or to not be that lame gaijin, or to release some anxiety, anything is okay, please share it with me! Thank you for reading!
3 comments
You’re overthinking this. It’s not as big of a deal as you think it is. The world is full of all kinds of people. The people in this world know that there are many kinds of people. Just go, try to relax, and have a good time.
Well, Japan seems to have a higher proportion of introverts so chances are good that other people at the gathering may have the same concerns as you. I’m a friendly introvert who has always been required to communicate professionally, and my best tip is: don’t try to be outgoing. Just go to the event, find someone who looks interesting and say hi. No fireworks required.
Have fun. If you failed, it’s a fun story to talk about your time in Japan.