EIL Intercultural Learning

I think I`m gradually becoming aware of all the little differences that cumulate to make life in Japan so different from life back home in Ireland. Everyday I notice small, seemingly unimportant habbits and customs that, in reality, make all the difference. It`s really interesting to note how, while in Ireland we respond to a sneeze with a `bless you`, in Japan there is no responce - it is simply ignored.  There is no greeting for people you see on the street whom you don`t know, and plastic bags are given out in shops free of charge. Baths are the norm rather than showers, and shoes are removed before entering a house or school. Mobile phones are allowed in class, and bringing a packed lunch, or `bento` as it is called here, is far more common than buying it in school. In shops, money is placed on a tray from which the casheir removes it, rather than it simply being handed to them. I could keep going for another fifty lines, but I think, or certainly hope, that you catch my drift; While these things may seem, individually, wholley insignificant, together they make all the difference.

Yesterday, I was honoured to meet the mayor of Suwa city, along with my host mother and two M.E.C members. I know I keep repeating myself, but the kindness and welcoming nature of eveybody here never ceases to amaze me. People keep going out of their way to help me, and always do so with a smile on their face. I was even in the local paper, for doing nothing more than visiting the city and speaking a bit about Ireland! It is I who owe thanks and gratitude, I`m the one being welcomed into somebody elses home, having outings organised for me, and yet, more often than not, it seems that I am the one being thanked. I really can`t imagine how I can possibly repay the hospitality I am recieving. The only problem is that it`s impossible to tell when I`m being an inconvenience or rude, because everybody seems to want to help. The mayor, or "shichou-san" as is his title over here, was a very pleasant, kind, and interesting man, and I am very grateful to have gotten the opportunity to meet with him.

Appologies if my writing is a little off, I am quite sleepy after a long, yet enjoyable, day at school.

Now for a few photos, more to come soon!