When I was Japan, I had a really good friend who was Korean American. She had just started learning Japanese, and at the time only knew basic expressions. One day, I took her to my favorite ramen shop in Hachioji, and when we were giving our tickets (at this particular ramen shop like many others, you pay buy machine and hand someone your ticket), the man asked her what level of spiciness she wanted for her dish. She gave me a look of helpless because at that time she could not understand what he was saying. I told the man she wanted the middle level spiciness, and he suddenly looked at me surprised, and asked if I could read Japanese characters. I told him I was an international student, and that I could read a bit, but wanted to learn more. He then asked me why my friend did not speak Japanese, and I explained she was American. The nice ramen man looked even more confused because he did not understand what I meant by American, so I clarified by telling him her parents were Korean and he was then satisfied. Most people could not tell my friend was American or Korean by the way she looked, and most assumed she was Japanese. A lot of times people just assumed because she looked Asian, and happened to be in Japan, people automatically assumed she must be Japanese. Even when I offered an alternative explanation, the man remained confused because most people when they think of Americans (or at least Japanese people) believe they have blond hair and blue eyes with very pale skin. If you are American, you know this to be simply false, but this is a very alive stereotype in Japan.
During this time, I had a lot of discussions with people who were born and raised in the USA, but their parents were Japanese. They spoke Japanese in their homes, but never really lived in a Japanese community, leaving their language wanting. Frequently, we discussed the various challenges we faced, and my friend pointed out that I was very fortunate. Since I did not look Asian no one ever assumed I could speak Japanese, and they are surprised I can say thank you, but for her, someone who is learning Japanese in the same class, there is an expectation that she should speak fluently, without an accent, and be well-versed in all social situations. Even though she was foreign, because of the way she looked, she faced different expectations.
This takes me back to an experience I had last week. On the first day of class, my teacher asked us to give self-introductions. In my class there is a girl from Japan and Korea, and both of them speak fluent English after studying Canada. During introductions, I said that I had lived in Japan and speak Japanese so reading Chinese characters isn't that difficult, but speaking is still hard for me. My teacher exclaimed how smart I was for being able to speak Japanese, but did not have the same reaction for my two classmates who both speak fluent English. Frequently, it is expected that one be able to speak English, but not for one to speak another foreign language.
I want to get back to the experience of Asian-looking persons, and their experiences in Asia, even those who were born in Canada, United States, and other English speaking countries and the types of challenges they face when they come back to their parent's or grandparent's home to fully learn their mother tongue, or if they decide to go to a a new country and learn a different Asian language. A lot of times, that community is extra hard on them because they believe they should be able to fully understand what they consider to be their mother tongue, even though a lot of them have only spoken English their whole lives.
The point is, while living abroad in Asia, all of us come across certain streotypes, but the question is how we deal with this. How do we address these types of beliefs?
More on that in a later post.
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