Dealing with Japanese people’s mental blocks about foreigners
This is a bit of a rant, but I hope someone can relate to this. I live in the Japanese countryside and I am sick of my Japanese coworkers repeatedly treating me like I don’t speak their language and know nothing about their culture even though I speak fluent Japanese and have lived here for several years. I am flexible enough to accommodate this to an extent because this way of thinking is normal here, especially where I live. But the part I am having trouble tolerating is when it happens with the same people over and over again, no matter how many times I explain and prove that I am different from their perception of foreigners. They are so unable to get over stereotypes even when there is a walking exception in front of them and I thought I had already made them understand. It really wears on me mentally and discredits all of the hard work I have put in to assimilate and learn their language. There was a time when I was considering staying here long term, but now I am planning my exit.
I don’t need anyone to lecture me about not being able to become Japanese and how foreigners all have to put up with being outsiders forever. Even my own understanding of these facts doesn’t make the lack of critical thinking some people display less frustrating. I applaud anyone who is able to put up with this kind of treatment for years at a time without reaching their limit. Surely their love for this country is the same as mine, but I am already a minority in my own country and I feel more sensitive to constantly being othered.