Politeness.
While certainly not an expert on anything Japanese , I can however write
down some of my first impressions. There seems to be a real thing about
politeness here, especially in any business transaction or server -client
relationship. I like it. When you enter a store for example , the
workers
always yell out a greeting to you. Its a rather aggressive greeting and
the
first times I heard it I was rather startled. I thought that maybe I was
doing something wrong, violating some ancient taboo. But no they were
just
welcoming me. Also when you go to a cash register at a store especially
a
convenience store , they will say a formal greeting probably like," I hope
you found everything you wanted and enjoyed shopping here." In
restaurants,
the waiters are very deferential . When they are finished they back away
from you. I went to a fancy bakery in my neighborhood tonignt. One of
the clerks came out from behind the counter and asked me what I wanted.
When I pointed it out , she scurried back behind the counter and picked it
out. Then she started wrapping it in ornate paper as if it was a gift. I
would have liked to tell her not to gift wrap it because I was going to
eat
it right away but I didn't have a clue how to do that. When she was done,
she asked for the money, then she scurried back around the counter and
presented the package to me with both hands as if it was a gift. Another
thing you notice is that people run at work. This could be anywhere from
a
bank to a construction worker. When I went to open my bank account and
the
clerk had to get something from the other desk she ran to get it. Since
she
was in high heels it didn't look like a real run but more like a scurry.
Its
as if to say, "Your time is much more important than my time and effort.
I
will run to please you." I also saw a construction worker sprint to his
truck to get a tool for no particular reason. There was no emergency.
When
he got back he handed it to his boss who just kind of held it for a while.
Bowing is perhaps the most extreme example of this. I haven't been bowed
to personally but I have witnessed it many times and it is always amazing
to
me. It makes me feel like I'm in a really different place. I've seen
restaurant owners run out after customers and bow low (90 degrees )to the
ground. Over the years I've somehow developed a kind of a nod that I do
unconsciously when I'm trying to be polite or deferential. This comes
pretty close to a bow and there's been a few times when I've unconsciously
triggered the bowing reflex. This can be a bit disconcerting when it is
completely inappropriate such as meeting new friend in a very informal
situation. I see confusion in the person's eyes and he ends up bowing
back
to me. While this isn't my intentional on my part it is kind of fun . It
reminds me of the Indians and there head wagging that can also find a kind
of resonance. The best thing about being an obvious foreigner is that I
get
excused for being rude because they figure that I don't know any better.
This is true, I don't.
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