Throughout this process, I have learned that is okay to make mistakes because mistakes are what allow me to learn where I need to improve my language skills. Japanese people can be impressed when they see a foreigner trying to speak the language because it means that we are trying really hard to understand Japanese. I think it is the same when foreigners and immigrants come to America and they try to learn English.
These levels of respect that run through Japanese culture have also taught me how to react in public. For example, bowing is very common when meeting or leaving someone, when asking for something, when thanking or when apologizing. Bowing with the head slightly bent and the eyes looking at the ground shows that you respect the other person for being in either higher position than you, for doing something for you or just to pay your respect for their presence. The bent head symbolizes that you are showing the other person your most vulnerable body part and that you trust them with it. The eyes on the ground symbolize that you are lowering your guard and that you trust the person in front of you will bring no harm to you. Of course, this is not thought about when people bow nowadays but bowing has its roots in a very long tradition of forms of respect in Japan, and many other Asian countries.
Public spaces like trains, restaurants and parks also follow many of these concepts of respect. Particularly in trains, people normally do not talk, and if they do, they whisper. In most Western countries, people talk normally, even being loud sometimes, on public transportation. In Japan, this is frowned upon. Talking loudly on public transportation is extremely rude in Japan.
