Put that book away
May 17, 2006
Over at one of the better blogs on Japan, PureLandMountain, Robert writes about being a foreigner taking trains in Japan. In a nutshell, many Japanese people avoid sitting next to the foreigner unless it’s the last possible seat.
For me I have a completely different experience. Provided that I keep my mouth shut I blend right in with the crowd. No one avoids sitting next to me on trains. It’s not until I start speaking in either English or broken Japanese will people start looking at me funny and wonder why one of their own (visually anyway) is speaking funny.
On my commute to and from work I like sneaking in a bit of reading. I rarely ever read fiction so often my books are not paperback-sized. One note about reading in public: most people have their books wrapped in paper. I’m not really sure if it’s to protect the cover or perhaps to hide any shame of your reading choices. I always rip this paper cover off.
Thus, my reading choice is visible to those sitting next to me. Maybe it’s because I’m perceived to be Japanese and most Japanese people don’t persue literary adventures in English, but I’ve heard some snickering by people about my books. It’s usually from the older folks but things like, “You’re Japanese, you should read Japanese books.” or “You think you’re smart” etc. I don’t really care but I find it odd and disappointing.
The other facet of this is when I’m sitting next to a student, college or highschool, who is reading grammar books or busy finishing their English assignments. When I take out my English book and start reading, I sometimes see them peering at my book. The more timid of them sometimes then put their assignments away and sit quietly. I’ve always thought they did this because they feel embarassed to show that they’re just learning something. Who knows.
