I came to Japan with a number of
myths in my mind about the people and customs. This means there is a good
chance you know these myths, too. Which is why it’s time for……
Mythbusters:
Japan
Myth #1: You can
always find someone who speaks English to help you:
Reality: Mostly False.
Contains a morsel, nay, a crumb of truth.
What is true is that many Japanese
people actually have studied English. Most of these people studied English
classes during high school like many Americans in Southern border states who
studied Spanish during high school.
Ask yourself, if you are one of
these people, would you able to use your high school Spanish to explain to
Mexican couple explain the differences between several cell phone plans’
payment options? Would you be able to explain over the phone how to set up a
wireless router? Or how your business dry cleans the suits brought in? Would
you be able to explain to the Mexican boyfriend that his tooth pain could be
caused by a gingival abscess likely resulting from an improperly placed dental
filling and will likely require taking antibiotics for four days which may or
may not, depending on his insurance plan, be partially covered by said
insurance plan. I know I couldn’t. I couldn’t even explain what a gingival
abscess is in English. I looked it up on Wikipedia just now.
What most Japanese are capable of
doing is pointing in a cardinal direction and saying the name of your
destination. This is actually quite helpful if you are hoping to travel a
straight line for an indeterminate length until hitting the North Pole or the
New World. It is not very helpful if transfer stations are involved or if there
are skyscrapers blocking your line of sight.
"HERE BE BUILDINGS!"
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