Yep -- esp for the time, that's pretty much spot-on, re: what locals think of revenue-generating-intrusives in their backyard for generations. I remember what I felt growing up, about tourists coming here and treating me to my face in my own hometown, like they did with abandon on mainland -- and the many townies here in '70s who'd clock out Friday evening and immediately head to the usual hot spots in the resorts to find a line-crossing tourist to spend the night in jail for (back when you could do so and only get that, hasn't been that way since late '80s). So shipping out to Germany Desert Storm time... assumed that's what our hosts felt about us -- and let me tell you, there were many German nationals who like my townies, wanted us to fulfill our stereotypes, for some wall-to-wall entertainment (late-'80s / early '90s at least). We were required to learn at least bare-arse minimum German, to even be released to work in 3rd Infantry Division posts, since we had a lot of GSes who were nationals, esp in the technical MOSes -- so you fail the indoc language course, you stayed in the in-processing company another 2 wks -- and be on the bricks in front your CO and Top, to explain your dumbarse But even learning to pronounce German without the lazy Americanisation we were are already infamous for since WWII... produced the same kind of light-up in the eyes of those nationals. Recall it well... must've felt like me hearing a tourist pronounce our Hawaiian street names competently -- rare. Both German and Japanese nationals (which I've some exp living on the economy / familiar with culture) seem quite willing to help you out if you put forth the effort (and as in both countries today, novelty fading a bit w\ easier access to learning online). Both cultures are quite used to an amt of effort to learn compulsory things I still feel Americans weren't raised with in large part -- so when you go there, matching their stride as you posted about, does elicit connection One diff betw. German and JDM locals you're stationed with... is the Japanese have much more strict cultural mores, any JDM local will know by heart -- and it's grating to have to deal with educating a foreigner from square one, just to interact with daily. So most Japanese / Uchinanchu locals will have already practiced lines in the sand they draw, a 'foreigner mode' they pull up, when you walk in the door. They don't respect you, not in the metrics of their own culture -- but their willingness to find a way to interact the money out your pocket, is their show of respect to you, since you'll probably (esp in Naha) be gone in a few years anyway. Ime, they treated me this way because I don't know how to read a newspaper -- despite being Japanese in both lineage and conversational language. If you have a Japanese face and are in Japan, why don't you know how to do this? is their kneejerk reaction -- despite being infamous for being hypocritical when applied to them, here as tourists (as an ex-tour guide, can speak with some authority) This happened in Germany too... but European culture is much, much closer to ours than Japan's... so the rift -- and line they draw, is much more forgiving (aside from being punctual) than in JDM, ime. Their prerogative, it's their country
