Stranger in a Strange Land: Notes on Japan

Stranger
A stranger in a strange land
He look at me like I
Was the one who should run
--U2

+ The City of Tokyo has ruled that 'Foreigners', otherwise known as people born in other countries (and sometimes defined as people who born in Japan but are obviously Korean/Chinese) are not allow to hold senior jobs. This has definite precedent for the private sector: Denying jobs based on ethnicity or nationality. In this case, the plaintiff was born in Japan, but was a Korean national.

+ Another Fun Fact: It seems that the Federal Japanese government has set up a 'snitch line' that encourages regular citizens to snoop on foreigners and report their activities to the government.

I give a **** about your language or complexion,
You got love from the ****** in my section
--Tupac

+ *Bitching Alert*: I know my Japanese is pretty brutal, but if I'm in a store buying things, it pisses me off when some clerk laughs my language skills. I can't imagine in Canada that somebody would laugh at a foreigner's English-especially in Vancouver. This doesn't happen all the time, but it happens enough that I notice. The constant stares, weird encounters with people who 'want to speak' in English, the strange attention I receive, plus the constant reinforcement that I'm some sort of freak for being foreign are all testing my ability to remain non-violent.

+ Having said that, I'm having a great experience here. If I ever doubted I could jump off the deep end and do okay, those doubts are smashed. I'm turning into quite the little entertainer here, and I am improving my skills in all kinds of areas.