To begin, I was intrigued by the Japanese Tea Ceremony that most of the students in our class went to go watch on campus, he brought up a video on the computer that highlighted some of the ceremony for me to watch. As we sat and watched I was amazed at the amount of precision, skill, clarity, and silence there was during the ceremony. You hardly see any cultural event similar to that in America. Everything we have seems to be fast paced, quick, judged, or timed. It’s always a contest. This was an art. It was tedious and specific. When the video finished Yusuke explained to me that this ceremony used to be used only in the upper class, and it has sort of trickled down to the middle class nowadays, but it’s reserved for upper class rituals. I explained to him how I really thought that no tradition in America compares to this sort of precision and time oriented ritual.
This got me thinking about what we had discussed in class regarding time orientation, and I really do believe it varies cross culturally. It is one thing to read about time orientation and the differences across cultures in a book, but hearing about it firsthand (or experiencing it firsthand) and watching videos of actual events truly proves it. We do differ in the way we orient our time. In regards to what we learned in class about individualism and collectivism, Yusuke explained to me that while he thought that maybe the whole of Japan was collectivist, he considers where he lives, in Tokyo, an individualist society. He also said he compares it with New York, in the sense that they are focused on time and the people there tend to reflect individualism, are focused on the future, and are goal oriented.These world cities are centered on big business and consumerism, so it is no surprise that he made this comparison.I compared this to the North and the South regions of America for him. In my opinion, I think that those up North reflect a more time based society and individualist way of thinking. Living in the south my entire life, I can personally attest to some of the small rural communities that I have seen which reflect a more collective manner, in that they focus on old traditions from the past, and lookout for the group as a whole.
We then started talking about nature. I personally am very fond of nature and the outdoors, something that my father instilled in me as a child. I showed him my website where I post all of my pictures from each national park and country that I have visited, because I want to be a professional photographer someday. I told him that while he was here, he should try to go visit some state parks or even a national park if he had time, because they honestly (in my opinion) were America’s best idea. I told him how I felt that more people should take advantage of what lies in their own country, because these parks showcase just how beautiful our country really is. We then talked about how Japan has some little parks but not much. It surprised me that he said that most people in Japan don’t normally visit parks, or go camping with their families. It was odd to think about, especially for me, since my entire childhood consisted of camping adventures and traveling out West. I explained to Yusuke my favorite park, Yellowstone National Park, which sits atop a large caldera and has geysers and hot springs exploding throughout the land area, evidence of a giant volcano underneath. Yusuke said that they have hot springs and things like this in Japan too, however companies own them so that people can pay to bathe in them or they are used for resorts or for pleasure, not really protected by the government. I learned that sometimes he and his friends go visit the Onsen hot springs as a group to go bathe and relax there. Therefore there are some opportunities for him to go experience nature, but not often.
This brought us to talk about different behavioral differences, and he made the point of saying that most people in Japan take a bath instead of a shower, which I did not know! It was sort of a random and interesting cultural difference, because I would definitely say more people in America take a shower, for the sake of time. Maybe that is another reference to our time orientation, that the Japanese take time to prepare a bath and relax, while we Americans quickly hop in and out of the shower so quickly.
On a final note, Yusuke and I also made a wonderful cross-cultural comparison that surprised me, because I hadn’t thought about it until I met up with him. We started talking about when he first started learning English and using it more frequently, and vice versa. He said that he had started studying the language about 7 years ago, back when he was in junior high school, but more intensely in the past 2-3 years. He was telling me how hard it was to continue and push through with his English, because he didn’t think he was good and he always did averagely on his tests. However, the job he eventually wants in the fashion industry demands that he have an excellent grasp of the English language, so he knew he had to try and improve. I quickly told him how much I respect him for his efforts to come to America and try to improve his English. I can completely relate because I am trying to do the same thing with my Spanish. I went to Spain to study abroad to improve my speaking abilities for my Spanish major and now I am trying to go back and continue my quest to be fluent. I think we bonded over the fact that we both understand how hard it is to step out of your comfort zone and use a different language around those who speak it natively. It can be scary, but I think we both are capable of obtaining a fluent status in the future. Because of this talk Yusuke and I had about learning new languages, I realized that I should be less hard on myself when I try to learn Spanish. I often get frustrated and nervous, but it feels better to know that others, like Yusuke are trying to do the same thing I am, obtain a bilingual status in this world through intense cultural immersion in a different country.
My own cultural perspective shaped my perception of the event because I felt like going in, I had already a strict idea that we wouldn’t really talk about too much in detail, because I knew that Yusuke was soft-spoken and maybe a little less prepared with his English. However, this was not the case because we ended up talking about so much that I could relate to, with so much ease. From my cultural perspective, I also thought that the entire country of Japan was collectivist (and Asian countries in general) but I was surprised to find that Tokyo is considered a more individualist society (according to Yusuke) which makes complete sense to me now. I think Yusuke thought that we wouldn’t really relate much going into our coffee date, but we both found that when we made the connection about the languages of English and Spanish, and how we were both trying to become fluent, we were bonded through the rest of the talk. He originally thought that we would only talk about minor differences, such as different vegetables, vending machines, etc. But we ended up divulging into our lives about how he wants to work in the fashion business, maybe eventually in London, and my eventual dream of being a photographer in Europe.
My experience was a little different than what I had expected. I truthfully did just go into it thinking it might be a tad awkward and that we would struggle to find things to talk about or relate to. However I was very wrong. I cannot stress enough how wonderful it felt to make a cross-cultural connection about learning the language of English and Spanish. Only those who are currently trying to be 100% bilingual in a non-native language know how hard it is to put yourself out there and not be afraid to make mistakes in front of the native speakers. Yusuke and I both understand this, and I’m glad we connected over that.
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