Observing Japan

Location:
Tokyo, Japan
Latitude/Longitude:
35.689487500000, 139.691706400000
Journal Entry:

Integrating into a community means to have an understanding of the culture, norms and values that define it and to be able to follow them. Assimilating into the culture in Japan has not been an easy process. In fact, I'm by no means assimilated, but still in the early stages of understanding Japanese culture and how to act within it. 

First, I want to talk about conceptions of respect. Various levels of respect are found in the Japanese language and which level you use depends on the situation. The language used to speak with someone in the streets is different from the language used to speak with friends and family. There is a more formal vocabulary used in the workplace when speaking with superiors, or when speaking with people of higher social status. For foreigners, this is a bit different. Since we are still learning the language, people usually forgive foreigners when they do not use the proper level of communication, but it is still appreciated when you try. Using the correct vocabulary makes it easier to win people's trust. Learning Japanese hasn't been very easy, but the more I try and the more I speak with people the better I'm able to communicate.

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