moving out of my place
I went to my local "recycle shop" (used stuff store) and asked to sell my ricecooker, because I'm going to Korea and don't need it. The lady at the cashier told me to wait a second and went into the back to talk to her manager. I could hear her say, "Mr. Foreigner wants to sell his ricecooker, but..." So the manager comes out and spouts a billion words a second in polite, formal, Japanese. So I ask her to use easyer Japanese. She switches to sounding like she was talking to a baby monkey. Thats not what I ment.
"You want us buy?" she asked in her overly simple Japanese.
"Yup." I said.
"We...no...buy."
"Uhm, where should I go?"
"You... know PARCO department store?"
The department store is right infront of the train station. Anyone who didn't know that would be pretty brain dead.
I nodded, "Yup, I know."
"I... think there is one.. .THERE."
I hadn't seen one (although a couple blocks from there is something that is about the same as the store I was in) and she didn't seem sure.
"There isn't." I offered.
"Oh, uhm... well, uhh..."
"OK, I'm fine." I said and picked up my rice cooker. Then she switched to heavy accented English.
"Aimu sorii. (I'm sorry.)" I know she was trying to be nice, but after being called Mr. Foreigner (being foreign should have had no relevence to me being there!) and then having to endure her talking to me as if I was a baby monkey, I couldnt help but remember the foreigners I met here who couldnt speak English (Russians, Africans) and a few who could, but just bairly (Italians, etc) and so I let my face cloud with frustration. She must have seen my face as I turned to leave, because she asked in Japanese, "Whats wrong? Is my English incorrect?" I wish I had tried to give her a lecture about "foreigners are equal" or something, but I just said "Not that." and then I walked out of the store, slidding the door behind me. When I think about it, my word choice could have had the conotation that her English wasn't correct. Although accented, her English was fine so I feel a little bad about that. But you know what I think frustrates me the most? I won't be able to have this kind of interaction in Korea for a long time. Honestly unable to produce more than a handful of phrases, and slow reading of the local alphabet. wow, freaky.
Other than that, I'm just floating towards my next job. Life in the world.
DAAG!
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I agree with you on that Dansen! Everyone should be treated the same, especially in that sort of situation! I'm sorry you were treated badly there.
Xal
2 years ago