So if you haven't heard, people are a bit worried about what has been named "Swine Flu". A media frenzy about this little infection problem has swept Japan, and the news keeps a constant update on total number of reported cases. In Tokyo, word is going around that protective surgical masks are sold out everywhere. People are starting to panic, and today the Japanese staff at my company got a fax from up-top that they should wear those protective masks (this is actually a common Japanese personal practice when one has a flu, in order to not share it with others or during the flu season to avoid getting it). I felt sympathy for the staff and let them talk me into wearing a mask too. The other teachers weren't so happy about the request to don masks though. Claiming it stupid, and unfounded. (To be fair, more people have so far died TODAY in traffic accidents in Tokyo than have died because of swine flu since the beginning of the whole outbreak in Japan.) The teachers reacted strongly against having to wear a mask, and the staff on their end refused to take theirs off for long periods of time. (Taking them off to answer the phone or eat lunch.) It was too hard to teach lessons with a mask on though, so eventually after a few lessons I fell to the peer pressure of my fellow teachers and took off the mask. Somehow I felt this stand-off between the Japanese staff and the foreign workers was some kind of window into a deeper culture difference that I can't quite put my finger on at the moment.
