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At Home |
You might hear that American people keep wearing shoes at home. In addition, American people like to communicate with others, so they keep the room door open except when they change clothes. On the other hand, we have more doors or partitions in Japan. I think that American people keep close to each other with their doors open more often. |
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Kind Society |
I noticed that the city was comfortable for all people in the U.S. For example, there were a lot of slopes and doors with a button to open. Also, I often saw people in a wheelchair on the street. It was rare to see those people in Japan, so I was surprised. The most surprising was a bus. The public buses had folding seats. A person in a wheelchair can have their wheelchair fixed when the seats are folded. In addition, the bus can change their floor height up and down to set up a slope for people who use a wheelchair on a baby carriage, and old people to get on easily. |
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Cash Back |
A store clerk said to me, “Would you like to cash back?” one day. I thought that it was a campaign of some kind, so I said, “Yes.” Then, I received some cash. I dind't really understand. The clerk was actually asking me if I wanted to wihdraw some money from my bank acount through the cash register. A debit card user can withdraw cash at a regular store even wothout going to the bank. I thought that it was very convenient. |
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Communication |
People often communicate with other people in the U.S. For example, a clerk asked me, “How's it going?” when I paid money at a grocery store. Any store clerk would ask those questions probably. Also, they said to me, “Have a nice day!” when I left there. In Japan, a clerk would talk to a customer mostly one way. However, a clerk tries to communicate with a customer like playing catch in the U.S. Also, a customer can talk to a waiter as usual in the U.S. One waiter serves for one table, so the waiter takes order, carries meals, and asks questions. America has the high context culture rather than the low context culture in Japan. It was interesting. |
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No Picture on a Menu |
An American menu doesn't have pictures very much. Instead, it tells you about the ingredients of each meal in detail. For example, onions, pickles, cheese, or beef. Also, you can ask to remove your allergens and the ingredients which you don't like out of your order in restaurants. The appearance is more important in Japan while the content is more important in the U.S. |
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Box to Take Home |
You have a lot amount of meal served on a dish if you go to a restaurant in the U.S. Even American people can't eat all the amount. Therefore, the restaurants have some boxes to take leftover food back home, and the waiter brings one to your table if you ask “Can I have a box?” In Japan, we have the “don't waste anything” culture. I thought that Japan also should have some boxes to take home.
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Garbage Collection |
On a garbage collection day, you see huge garbage containers lined along the street, waiting for a garbage truck to come to empty them. I thought that it was a curious view, because a lot of huge blue containers with the same design and color were in front of each house. Also, our class room had two kinds of garbage boxes in the U.S. One is for what you can burn, and the other is for what you can recycle. I thought that it was a good idea.
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Kind People |
I had to buy milk caps for my mother in Japan because she wanted, so I went to Pike Place Market. I asked many clerks who worked there, but they said, “I don't know.” They said to me, “That store might have one of those. You should go there.” After all, I couldn't find any, but I felt very comfortable because a clerk would just say to me, “I don't know. I'm sorry,” if I asked the same things in Japan. Therefore, I thought that people were kind in the U.S. |
