(no subject)

The interesting thing about being a foreigner here in Japan is that you tend to meet many new people who you otherwise wouldn't under normal circumstances. 

One example is a few months ago in Ikebukuro, when I met Ed. The two of us were lonely looking foreigners who both couldn't find the friends we were supposed to meet up with, so we started talking, found out we were both JETs and agreed to eat together instead. Then, we ran into her Japanese friends on our way to find food and they all invited me to eat with them, too. We had all you can eat pizza and took purikura. That ended up being a fun night and we exchanged info, so that we might meet up again at some point.

Another example of this happened today. A new neighbor moved in next door to me a couple months back, but we didn't actually run into each other until last week. Having never seen each other, we had each assumed that the other was Japanese. It turns out we were both wrong. My neighbor is a middle aged British man. He introduced himself to me and inquired if I'd like to go get coffee together sometime, as we were both (as he put it) "strangers in a strange land". I didn't get creepy vibes from him, so I agreed. This morning we went and got coffee at a cafe a little ways from our apartment building. We spent an hour or so chatting over our coffee. He seems friendly, but a bit sad and lonely. He's traveled a lot and lived in Japan on and off for the past 20 years. He seems interesting and has even self published a mystery novel. We shared bits of our own personal experiences as foreigners living in Japan. He mentioned that though he loves Japan, he's planning on leaving soon, perhaps for good this time, because of a bad relationship. He said that he'd recently had to break things off with the love of his life, a Japanese woman who he'd been in a relationship with for over ten years. I obviously don't know all the details, but I feel a bit bad for him because he seems heartbroken and a little lonely, like he was just looking for someone to have a nice chat with.

I find these random, fleeting connections very interesting. They're occurrences that most likely would not have happened if I were still living in America, but here in Japan, sometimes (friendly) foreigners develop a sense of camaraderie. Living in Japan as a foreigner isn't an easy life, so when you see another foreigner living in Japan, it's easier to reach out and make a small connection with them because you both know how it feels to be a gaijin in Japan.

(no subject)

The interesting thing about being a foreigner here in Japan is that you tend to meet many new people who you otherwise wouldn't under normal circumstances. 

One example is a few months ago in Ikebukuro, when I met Ed. The two of us were lonely looking foreigners who both couldn't find the friends we were supposed to meet up with, so we started talking, found out we were both JETs and agreed to eat together instead. Then, we ran into her Japanese friends on our way to find food and they all invited me to eat with them, too. We had all you can eat pizza and took purikura. That ended up being a fun night and we exchanged info, so that we might meet up again at some point.

Another example of this happened today. A new neighbor moved in next door to me a couple months back, but we didn't actually run into each other until last week. Having never seen each other, we had each assumed that the other was Japanese. It turns out we were both wrong. My neighbor is a middle aged British man. He introduced himself to me and inquired if I'd like to go get coffee together sometime, as we were both (as he put it) "strangers in a strange land". I didn't get creepy vibes from him, so I agreed. This morning we went and got coffee at a cafe a little ways from our apartment building. We spent an hour or so chatting over our coffee. He seems friendly, but a bit sad and lonely. He's traveled a lot and lived in Japan on and off for the past 20 years. He seems interesting and has even self published a mystery novel. We shared bits of our own personal experiences as foreigners living in Japan. He mentioned that though he loves Japan, he's planning on leaving soon, perhaps for good this time, because of a bad relationship. He said that he'd recently had to break things off with the love of his life, a Japanese woman who he'd been in a relationship with for over ten years. I obviously don't know all the details, but I feel a bit bad for him because he seems heartbroken and a little lonely, like he was just looking for someone to have a nice chat with.

I find these random, fleeting connections very interesting. They're occurrences that most likely would not have happened if I were still living in America, but here in Japan, sometimes (friendly) foreigners develop a sense of camaraderie. Living in Japan as a foreigner isn't an easy life, so when you see another foreigner living in Japan, it's easier to reach out and make a small connection with them because you both know how it feels to be a gaijin in Japan.