Asahikawa American English Conversation School
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Culture Shock
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When I first came to Japan as a tourist in January of 1976, I experienced culture shock for the first time. The first thing I noticed was that the cars were all driving on the wrong side of the road. In America, the steering wheel is on the left side of the car, and all of the cars drive on the right side of the road. Over here in Japan, it's exactly the opposite. I was slightly confused by this.
The second thing which gave me culture shock was the Japanese Language. I didn't know any Japanese at all, except Konnichi wa, Arigato Gozaimasu and Sayonara. As such, I was only able to communicate in gestures, unless the Japanese person I was communicating with spoke English. And of course, I couldn't read any of the signs on the street or any of the menus at the restaurants. Being illiterate and linguistically challenged is a big inconvenience in daily life.
The third thing which was new and unfamiliar to me was Japanese food. I had never eaten any before I came to Japan so, everything I ate was a new adventure in flavor. I liked most of what I tried. For example, sashimi was refreshing and delicious. I loved the taste of wasabi mixed with soy sauce. Katsudon was my favorite lunch time meal. I ate it almost every day. For dinner, I would go to a major hotel restaurant because the menus were written in English.
Another thing which was new to me, was sleeping on the floor. I had always slept in a bed. But in Japan, many people sleep on a futon instead. The more I slept on futon and tatami, the more I liked it. I began to prefer it to sleeping in a bed. It was a good feeling to get up from the floor as opposed to getting out of a bed in the morning. After I went back to America, I started sleeping on the carpet in a sleeping bag instead of in my bed. What used to be culture shock about a style of sleeping, became a daily custom with me. I adopted that part of the Japanese culture as my own.
Also, I started cooking more Japanese style meals when I returned to the United States. I would make things like miso soup, yaki soba, katsudon and sukiyaki. I wasn't a very good cook, but there weren't any Japanese restaurants where I lived so I had to cook for myself. Also, I wanted to eat sashimi but, I was unable to get any.
Perhaps the most important thing that I brought back to the USA from Japan, was my desire to learn the Japanese Language. I used every spare minute to listen to cassette tapes and practice writing Kanji. The Japanese Language is so much different than English that I basically had to start from zero and learn everything all over again. My objective was to be able to carry on a normal conversation and also, I wanted to learn how to read a newspaper. I had a long road ahead of me.
Finally in 1990, I came to Asahikawa to live and work. Even though I had studied the Japanese Language for about 14 years, I still couldn't speak, read or write it very well. However, I could understand most of what people were saying to me. I continued to study Japanese every day while I lived and worked in Asahikawa, and I gradually improved to the point where I could read most of the articles in a newspaper and understand most of the TV and radio broadcasts. Even now, my study continues. Truly, learning is a lifelong pursuit.
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