It's early morning here in Tokyo and we're still having some trouble sleeping in. Jet lag is a tough thing. Yesterday was a day of recovery -- mainly for our poor legs and feet. As such, we spent most of it in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo , looking at shops, eating at pubs, and sleeping. Thus, there was some time for introspection.
I've been racked lately by thoughts concerning what it's like to be a minority; and not just a minority in a multicultural society but a minority in a largely homogeneous society. Those of you that know me personally, know that I sometimes make tongue-in-cheek comments about Regina and Saskatchewan being basically in-bred and homogeneous. Relative to Japan though, Saskatchewan is like the United Nations! This is an important thought that I'm going to attempt to preserve upon my return home.
This will probably sound incredibly silly but there is no doubt that I am somewhat "exotic" here. People sometimes stare and I have had children gawk at me. If I could speak Japanese, I would be tempted to go up to these kids and tell them that I am a dangerous barbarian from Canada, a land where small Asian kids are a delicacy; where we drink the blood first and then grind the bones up for salt! Hana had a good laugh at this but it is probably a good thing that I cannot speak Japanese well!
It is definitely not easy being a minority -- you constantly feel self-conscious to varying degrees. This is an experience that I strongly believe everyone should go through -- it is humbling for starters and it also makes you stop, pause, and think about people back home who are in the same situation and how they are treated. Being a minority is a challenge and home would be a better place if everyone in the majority would think about these challenges and be a bit more sensitive to those not in the majority. Sometimes it takes a trip like this to a homogeneous society to drive this point home.
For the most part I have seen very few people of non-Asian ancestry here. Perhaps it is the low point of the tourist season. I've seen a few European and African types but for the most part, I stick out. Sometimes it's nice to be in the spotlight but at other times it stinks to be gawked at like a specimen in a laboratory. On the other hand, I'm probably doing just as much gawking back at people. So I'm not sure who is the lab rat under scrutiny here.
I discussed this with Hana yesterday and she made a very good comment to me -- that now I know how she often feels in Canada even though she has lived in Canada for more than ten years.
Well, enough of this introverted, introspective drivel...
Since we're talking about culture to some degree, here is a little story that highlighted for me the very different views towards the consumption of alcohol that exists between Canada and Japan. Last night Hana and I went to a traditional Japanese pub for a bite to eat. We decided that we would order a drink to go with our food. We settled on ordering two glasses of rye whiskey and ginger ale.
When we placed our order the server was confused, "Ginger ale and whiskey?" I guess that this isn't very common here. After checking on whether or not it would be possible to mix such a drink, the server returned with two tumblers full of amber liquid -- obviously two glasses of rye and ginger. One sip though revealed that this was no ordinary drink -- it contained about 95% whiskey and 5% ginger ale! Both of my legs shot in the air after one sip of this concoction! Hana and I had a really good laugh over this and a good discussion. Japanese tend not to like sweet drinks, thus whiskey is usually drunk on ice or in water, usually at full strength. No offense to anyone reading this who is a whiskey aficionado but this just ain't for me! If the drink doesn't have about two to three tablespoons of pure cane sugar in it, it ain't worth drinking! Call that low class if you will, but my palate knows what it likes.
In the end, we had to order another glass of ginger ale to mix into our drinks in order to make them palatable This resulted in more strange looks from the server -- as though we were totally out of our minds. Blame it on the gaijin! Bottom line -- people here work hard and they like to drink hard. I need more ginger ale though...
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