small parallel
Sep. 8th, 2010 08:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sailorstarsunWhen I first started going to university full-time, I was taking the Intro to Japan class (obviously, a requirement for the East Asian Studies - Japan major), and we were required to read the book Learning to Bow, by Bruce Feiler. It's an autobiographical account of the time the author spent living and working in Japan. He was one of the early ALTs - doing what I'm doing now, but before it was popular.
There's a chapter in the book about when the author ended up breaking his ankle and was in the hospital, all the other teachers - his co-workers - banded together and worked out a schedule of who was going to go to his house and help him get around until his ankle healed. But the funny thing, or the "catch," was that he had no part at all in deciding all this. He didn't need or want anyone to help him, but they didn't give him any say in the matter. He explains that it's part of the Japanese group mentality; if we help you, you'll be back to work helping us sooner. Everything for the benefit of the group.
I had to laugh when I remembered this today. Because, see, there's a typhoon making its way across Japan right now. Typhoon Kyu-Go (台風９号). It's important to remember that I ride my bike - for an hour - to and from work. So, a few hours before the end of the work day, one of the English teachers came up to me and informed me that she would be taking me home today, leaving my bike behind, and tomorrow one of the other teachers will pick me up ("at 7:30") and take me to work. They didn't ask me, they told me. *chuckle* I guess it just wouldn't do to have their ALT blow away.
I'm ok with it, though I do still have to go from the junior high to the elementary tomorrow.
Maybe I'll blow away anyway.
There's a chapter in the book about when the author ended up breaking his ankle and was in the hospital, all the other teachers - his co-workers - banded together and worked out a schedule of who was going to go to his house and help him get around until his ankle healed. But the funny thing, or the "catch," was that he had no part at all in deciding all this. He didn't need or want anyone to help him, but they didn't give him any say in the matter. He explains that it's part of the Japanese group mentality; if we help you, you'll be back to work helping us sooner. Everything for the benefit of the group.
I had to laugh when I remembered this today. Because, see, there's a typhoon making its way across Japan right now. Typhoon Kyu-Go (台風９号). It's important to remember that I ride my bike - for an hour - to and from work. So, a few hours before the end of the work day, one of the English teachers came up to me and informed me that she would be taking me home today, leaving my bike behind, and tomorrow one of the other teachers will pick me up ("at 7:30") and take me to work. They didn't ask me, they told me. *chuckle* I guess it just wouldn't do to have their ALT blow away.
I'm ok with it, though I do still have to go from the junior high to the elementary tomorrow.
Maybe I'll blow away anyway.
