Tales from the Dragon

[a447]

Arsenal, your experiences of being a foreigner in China bring back so many memories.

I had similar ones growing up in Japan at a time when foreigners were only seen in the movies. Everyone was very polite, but I still found it annoying. So I understand where you are coming from with this.

I would go into a shop and all hell would break loose. Nobody would come forward to serve me as they thought their English was inadequate. And of course, as far as they were concerned, anyone non-Japanese only ever spoke English! Other languages seemed not to exist. We were all automatically thought to be American.

When I finally accosted someone to get served and I spoke to them in Japanese, more hell broke loose!

"Quick! Go and find a camera! Go and get the boss! Help!! There's this alien from Mars here! And he's speaking Japanese! And he's in our shop!!"

It was so funny watching them all running around as if their arses were on fire.

These days nobody pays us foreigners any attention, at least not in the big cities. It still sometimes occurs out in the countryside but everyone is always very polite and friendly. And the reactions are not quite as extreme as before.

And when I go into a Japanese-owned establishment here in Perth and speak Japanese it's selfie time! And fellow customers look on bemused, wondering what all the fuss is about.

"Are you famous in Japan?".

Lol