Stereotypes

Human beings love to judge one another. They don't like the idea of being judged but they like to play judge, to pass their judgment, to play God.

They like to judge a person by their looks, making false 'accusations' about their character, they way they walk, talk, behave. This judgment, be it bad or good, sometimes even extend to the subject's friends, family, people around him/her. E.g. 'He looks so ratty, like a thief, I bet all his friends are of the same' This type of judgment is what we call Stereotyping...and it can be deadly, because things are not always what they seem. Like the shy clerk at the office, who ended up being caught for embezzling millions of dollars from the company, or the girl-next-door who turns out to be a slut. Ok I am being extreme here, but you get the drift.

I am also guilty about stereotyping. I also paid a price for it recently.

A few days ago, I was in Tokyo...well not exactly the city area but nearer to the airport in a small town in Chiba, Narita. It was a short stay and we were staying as close to the airport as possible, to avoid the traffic in downtown Tokyo.

I was shopping on my own and running some errands. It was the summer sale and although there was only a small mall near the hotel, it was good enough for me.

I spoke a bit of Japanese and I am able to read most prints, however, my level is really mediocre and not enough to get by. When you think Japan, you think of electronic goods, kawaii (cute) stuff like Hello Kitty and sushi. Well, yours truly thought the same, and since most of these things originated from the Land of the Rising Sun, the collection must be extensive and the prices cheap. Not so.

You see, I, along with many people, have already cast our stereotypes. That the people in this country were very polite, courteous and sex-crazed...:-)

I didn't get to find out about the sex-crazed part...but I found that I was very wrong about the perception 'All Japanese people are polite'

I had ventured into this clothing store and seeing clothing on sale for a fraction of the price, I was delighted as it was time to buy some clothing for the hot summer. I decided not to converse to the person in Japanese, as I felt ashamed of my poor command of the Japanese Language.

I spoke in English and gestured to the sales assistant that I had wanted to try out the few pieces of clothing in my hand. The sales assistant understood and led me to the changing room, but he did not utter a single word, so much so that I thought he was born with a speech defect. (Service staff are used to uttering Japanese phrases, even when you do not understand them)

When I came out of the changing room, I had wanted to get another piece in a different size, and when I tried to get his attention by saying 'Excuse me...' Another customer was walking in the same direction of the cashier, the sale staff just gave me a 'halt' sign with his hand, as though he was directing traffic, and served the paying customer first. Then he greeted the customer at the cashier in his polite Japanese. I was put off at this gesture but at least I know he wasn't dumb.

I walked around the store and was waiting for him to approach me after settling the cash register, but he never came back. Instead, he went back to folding and arranging his clothing on the rack, completely ignoring my existence! Well then, I thought to myself, maybe the clothes I was buying was too cheap? I picked another 2 and gestured to him that I want to try them. I also asked him whether there was a smaller size for the previous clothing. He replied in his broken English that all the size are displaced.

There was a sign outside the changing room saying 'No shoes in changing room', but I absent-simplemindedly forgot about it, and went in with my shoes. From afar he shouted to me 'Excuse me, no shoes pls!' Hmmm, I wondered so he is rather observant, but how come he never notice me in the shop....

Anyway I paid up and left the shop. I was disgusted at his service, because of 2 things.

1) He is very rude and any shop assistant in Singapore can match and overtake his standard
2) He dare to call himself a Japanese? He is a living example of a black sheep

Coming out of the shop, I had to break my own stereotype that Japanese people were always polite and that there service were always tip-top. Myth number 1 dispelled.

Later, I recalled that I read and heard about some stories that Japanese dislike foreigners or 'gaijin' as they call us. They would only treat us poorer than their own kind. After this experience, I was observing other Japanese, it was true to a certain extend, but why? Maybe someone can share their experience.

Then I proceed to the supermarket and shop for some groceries, as well as food for tomorrow morning.

I looked around the sushi counter, many boxes of sushi and sashimi greeted me, and they were at a reasonable price. I decided to buy 2 boxes for breakfast.

In the morning, I ate the sushi that I kept in the fridge last night. After a few bites, I realised that they were not tasty at all, but I still had to finish them, as it would be hours before I could eat again.

All was well and I was halfway back to Singapore. After serving all my passengers, I felt weird in my stomach. It was like someone twisting my intestine and it was quite painful. I tried to bear with it and carried on with the rest of my duties. I could feel the pain coming to me and my face was turning pale. My forehead broke out in cold sweat and I knew that this was my limit.
I told my supervisor and took the medicine that I had for stomach cramps. 'Shit, not again!' I thought to myself, as my last flight I had fainted from a gastric problem. *See previous post

I was having problem standing and I bent over at the galley top. Everyone could see I was in pain and all was concerned. My supervisor told me to take a rest until we were close to Singapore.

I felt unusually cold and I knew it was not normal. Then my stomach began to churn and I had to visit the lavatory. Not only I had diarrhea, but I also vomited. It was so bad that I was too weak to stand up, and only managed to do so after a few attempts to pull myself up.

When they came to see if I was doing ok, I was shivering and half-dazed due to the intense pain. They insisted to page for a doctor on board, and sure enough, came 2 doctors.

They took my temperature and found that I was running a fever. Then they took my blood pressure, pulse...etc. The Swedish doctor told them not to worry and there was nothing serious. She left. The Japanese doctor was more worried and wanted to administer a jab to help me with my stomach pain. I was very glad he did, because I felt like I was gonna die any minute with the increasing pain.

Anyway, after the plane landed, I was brought to the clinic and put on the drip. The GP made a decision to send me to the nearest hospital in an ambulance.

Fortunately, my condition had stablised when I reached the hospital, but my fever was still on. I was surprised that they did not ward me and sent me home. During the night, I was burning hot. Only by repeatedly consuming Panadol and cooling my forehead with a cold towel, did my temperature come down in the morning.

This costly experience, told me never to stereotype about food as well. Japan, being a country with very high hygiene standards, was still incapable of keeping food fresh. When I told everyone that I fell sick from taking sushi in Japan, everyone was shocked. Why? Because all of them has the same stereotype thinking that I had. It was unheard of, but it happened. Even as I am typing now, my stomach is still having cramps from the aftermath of my food poisoning.

I hope that this post was insightful and everyone would benefit from it. I still love Japan and still rank it as my favourite destination, but now I take everything with a pinch of salt. I would think twice before making another stereotype now....