Sometimes Japanese people are TOO nice and polite.

    My name is R.T. Williams.  I am an American who has lived in Japan for over 30 years.  I came here to teach high school students as an assistant teacher, but got married to a Japanese teacher, and ended up getting a great job at a local university.  I grew up in a small town in Washington State in the US.  It is about 4 hours by car to Seattle from my hometown.  I studied International Relations at California State University and wanted to be a high school geography teacher.  But, I fell in love with my wife, had a son, and have really enjoyed my experience in Japan.

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    Visite an elenamentary school

    One of the things that foreign teachers do if you live in Japan, is to make one shot visits to kindergartens or elementary schools.  Occasionally, I visit junior and senior high schools, too.  Once, I was asked to visit a very rural elementary school. It was before smart phones, and I had to find my own way.  All of the information was in Japanese, but I had been studying for a while, and I was confident in my ability to figure it out.  I was asked to take part in a special event, and the elementary school teacher in charge warned me very sternly, “Whatever you do, don’t be late.”

    Found a way on a map but…

    I found the route on a map, and made it so I was about 20 minutes early.  I checked the kanji on the letter I received from the school and the kanji on the gate of the elementary school.  I found my way into the teachers’ room, and there was only 1 teacher there.  Obviously, it was the middle of class time.   The teacher looked at me very inquisitively and asked, “The Principal?”  Usually when you visit a school, the first thing you do is to visit the principal’s office.  So, I just said, “Yes.”  Then, she showed me to the principal’s office.

    Nice conversation over a cup of coffee

    I was very much welcomed by the principal, and felt really at home. He was all smiles, and asked me to take a seat.  He started asking about me.  Again, this was pretty standard for a school visit.  A few moments later, the teacher who had first welcomed me, brought in some coffee.  The principal and I kept talking.  It was a very pleasant conversation, and I almost forgot that I was going to give a presentation.

    Panicked to know that I was in a wrong place

    Well, we finished our coffee after about 10 minutes had passed, and suddenly the principal asked me a very important question: “So, why are you here today?” Suddenly I panicked and realized I must be in the wrong place.  There was less than 10 minutes before I was scheduled to start, and I remembered the teacher’s warning, “Whatever you do, do not be late.”

    Why wait 10min. to say an important thing!?

    I found out that there were 2 schools.  One is called___________ and the other is ___________. The principal at the school told me not to worry, and that he would call the principal at the other school.  But, I still knew that the teacher in charge of the event was going to be upset at me.

    On one hand, I thought to be upset at the principal at the first school.  But, I cannot overstate how nice and polite he was.  I am sincerely glad that I met him.  But, it did take him over 10 minutes to ask me why I was there.  I was even able to finish all of my coffee. It only goes to show that Japanese can sometimes be TOO nice and polite.

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