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The gaijin glare   

It’s time for another of my curiously focused blog topics. This time, I thought I’d touch on what I like to call “the gaijin glare”; a certain contemptuous look we foreigners exchange when stumbling upon one another in public while living here in Japan.

First, I should disclaim that while most do, not all foreigners participate, and for those who do, the internal feelings are subject to vary per person. However, in my experience, and according to extensive discussion with other English-speaking foreigners living here, it appears to be a pretty ubiquitous phenomenon. That said, I can only offer my personal perspective along with those of people who I’ve discussed this with. Luckily, they mostly seem to jive.

The best way I can explain the gaijin glare is by painting a mental picture: if walking in public—such as a park, train station, pedestrian crossing, or shopping area, and I suddenly come upon another foreigner, the first step is to make a snap-judgement about their appearance, while also making several (often derogatory) assumptions about them and their circumstances. Step two is to stare as long as possible in effort to continue visually gathering information…until they notice me or accidentally make eye contact. It is within this fraction of a second while making eye contact that we both exchange “the glare”; and just like the tremendous amount of information included in each dolphin’s squeal or a cricket’s chirp, we also transmit a flurry of data.

Step two requires a bit of explanation. We don’t really hate one another or harbor any actual resentment, yet the thoughts that course through our minds might make you believe otherwise. I may start by thinking, “Wow. Look at that guy. Must think he is SOOO cool; a foreigner in Japan. I’m so impressed. What a tool.” Note that the previous sentence is rife with sarcasm, and properly sanitized of its vulgarity for this blog. The obvious hypocrisy is not lost on me, either.

Following that, things escalate to near wild animal-levels of territorial defense: “I don’t know you, and I don’t want to. I don’t even care where you’re from; just go back to wherever it is you came. This is MY exotic foreign experience, and here you are, stinking it up. Get lost.” Think of a single fingerprint on an otherwise pristine mirror, or a long black hair in your white soft cream (more like a dog’s yellow stain marring the foot of a fresh snowbank); it’s as if the other foreigner’s mere presence is an unforgivable trespass against some kind of fantasy of a fantasy we possess about a lifestyle in Japan, and we want nothing more than to completely erase this person from existence in this moment.

This brings us to the third and final step, which after the split-second previous step, is a repulsion of our glances like polar-opposite electromagnets. As much as we want to continue our perverse surveillance, we must completely ignore one another at all costs until we’ve passed or are no longer in danger of having our scenic Japanese vistas—even those of ordinary daily minutiae—spoiled. It’s in this period of willful non-contact that the thoughts and sensations transmitted during the glare begin to set in and the oddity of the whole experience brings a tinge of guilt for bearing such malevolence toward an innocent stranger.

An interesting observation is that this generally only applies to individuals; not people at our offices or international parties, nor to groups or couples, even mixed couples. I’m sure a whole separate glare exists for that.

I usually close my blog entries with a call to action; inviting you to stop by the cafe and discuss with me, but in this case, I urge you to query any of your foreign friends first, gather some intel…THEN come and see me. ^__^

Aaron (USA)

by chitchatcafe | 2013-12-12 16:08 | 札幌 英会話 サークル

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