Post by Alis on Jun 27, 2018 1:28:52 GMT -5
Or should I say, of Fukuoka.
I have hit the two months mark this week and I'll be hitting the road next week, with no plans to return until at least mid August.
Before I came here, I was told there were not many gaijins in Fukuoka, which was supposedly a good thing. I don't know, apparently less westerners equals a more authentic experience with the locals.
Well, turns out that's not actually a great thing for me.
I stand out like a sore thumb. I can't go anywhere without being stared at, or without people whispering things about me and giggling. As if I couldn't tell they were talking about me.
Whenever me and my husband go into any shop we immediately attract all gazes. And not in a good way.
Waiters get extremely nervous when they take my order. Extremely. Shaky hands level. Even when I manage to talk to them in Japanese. It's quite uncomfortable for all parties involved.
I have also seen a few old ladies and young children grab their purse/backpacks tightly whenever I pass them by on the street.
Old people seem to hate foreigners with a passion. An old lady scolded me on the subway last week and forced me to change seats with her (I was not using a priority seat or anything like that).
Then, a few days ago an old guy in an elevator shouted "Donald Trump!" at me (?). Wtf dude.
Oh and yes, everyone thinks we are Americans. If you are a foreigner and you are not Asian you are American by default. Even if I'm talking to my husband in Spanish. And for some reason some japanese feel the need to start throwing random English words when we are close by.
I was buying a shirt in Forever 21, and a couple of high school girls kept following me around saying stuff in English that made no sense.
But the worst part is during the night, that's when 80% of the population gets religiously drunk. And usually after one drink. They get drunk and they get really annoying and feel the compelling need to approach us with pure drunken nonsense. And even though I tell them that we don't understand japanese they still stick around trying to talk to us or sometimes making fun of us, all the while stinking of booze. Totally uninvited
This crap never happened to me in Tokyo, but here apparently foreigners are like a circus attraction.
The food is great though.
I have hit the two months mark this week and I'll be hitting the road next week, with no plans to return until at least mid August.
Before I came here, I was told there were not many gaijins in Fukuoka, which was supposedly a good thing. I don't know, apparently less westerners equals a more authentic experience with the locals.
Well, turns out that's not actually a great thing for me.
I stand out like a sore thumb. I can't go anywhere without being stared at, or without people whispering things about me and giggling. As if I couldn't tell they were talking about me.
Whenever me and my husband go into any shop we immediately attract all gazes. And not in a good way.
Waiters get extremely nervous when they take my order. Extremely. Shaky hands level. Even when I manage to talk to them in Japanese. It's quite uncomfortable for all parties involved.
I have also seen a few old ladies and young children grab their purse/backpacks tightly whenever I pass them by on the street.
Old people seem to hate foreigners with a passion. An old lady scolded me on the subway last week and forced me to change seats with her (I was not using a priority seat or anything like that).
Then, a few days ago an old guy in an elevator shouted "Donald Trump!" at me (?). Wtf dude.
Oh and yes, everyone thinks we are Americans. If you are a foreigner and you are not Asian you are American by default. Even if I'm talking to my husband in Spanish. And for some reason some japanese feel the need to start throwing random English words when we are close by.
I was buying a shirt in Forever 21, and a couple of high school girls kept following me around saying stuff in English that made no sense.
But the worst part is during the night, that's when 80% of the population gets religiously drunk. And usually after one drink. They get drunk and they get really annoying and feel the compelling need to approach us with pure drunken nonsense. And even though I tell them that we don't understand japanese they still stick around trying to talk to us or sometimes making fun of us, all the while stinking of booze. Totally uninvited
This crap never happened to me in Tokyo, but here apparently foreigners are like a circus attraction.
The food is great though.
One of my Japanese friends who was raised in the US hated that because her relatives in Japan would want her to impress them by speaking English with someone and she wouldn't want to do it, because a lot of times they weren't American!
. I cant write any of these on facebook, I don't want my friends and family to worry about me too much. After last week's typhoon my mom was almost over the edge XD
