Here's a list of "101 Signs You've Been in Japan Too Long". Some are actually specific to the Tokyo area, like the ones that mention Shinjuku Station or turning off headlights at stop lights (hardly any one does that in Hiroshima, actually, I haven't seen it done here yet but Peter has). I don't even know what some of the points are referring to so I obviously haven't been here too long! :)
I do have one question though... Why do gaijin (term foreigners use for the word "foreigner", literally, "outsider") call gaikokujin (proper Japanese terms for "foreigner") "gaijin"?
It'll be fun to look back at this list in a few years and see if I relate to more, or at least, know what all of the 101 points are referring to. But some of them... Oh my... =DDD
uni is sea urchin. have you seen the salads with nori and tofu and the fish flakes?? i still think it's all a little weird... haha
ReplyDeletedo foreigners say gaijin? i thought that term was derogatory? sort of the older (back when there weren't many gaikokujin around) term used by Japanese people.
:) the uni thing was in reference to #14. that's why i put ;) after asking the question. :) did u read the article?
ReplyDeleteforeigners usually refer to themselves and other foreigners as gaijin. yes, it is derogatory when japanese ppl use it to refer to us, but not so when we use it for ourselves. i've never actually heard a foreigner say gaikokujin, gaijin is much more common.