Culture Differences by Nanako

               

I noticed that Japanese people are not friendly to unknown people in compared to American people. I mean that most Japanese people are friendly to people who they know each other, but they do not have relationships with unknown people in daily life.  Before I came here, I had never been to another country in my life. I have lived in Japan and Japanese culture for twenty years. When I came to the U.S., many things surprised me. For example, when I walked on streets, many people smiled to me and said, “Hi” though they totally did not know me. I was confused and could not reply. Then I noticed that in Japanese culture, people never smile and say “Hi” to strangers, because nobody does so. If I smile or say “Hi” on streets in Japan, people might look at me strangely. Also, Japan is small and crowded, particularly in Tokyo, where I have lived. I have studied and worked in Tokyo, Shinjuku, and every day when I walk in station, I did not look at other people. Other people did not. Nobody cares about other people, because nobody wants to get know other people and make new relationships.

                My university professor says that the reason why Japanese people are not friendly to unknown people is that they have already a strong relationship with their family or friends. Japan is an island, and the people who have lived in Japan have been surrounded people who have the same race, culture, and tradition for long time. Since birth, Japanese have lived in a community that is created already. However, in the U.S., most people were immigrants from another country. I do not mention about the American people who live now and were born in America, but most of their ancestors were immigrants from another country. In this situation, immigrants had to get along with unknown people to survive in a new place because they had few family and friends in the U.S. Even now American people are surrounded by people who have different cultures and races. This history and diversity of the U.S. makes people friendly to others.

                I did not know why American people smile to others on streets, but this theory of my professor convinced me. In the U.S., it seems that there is no culture which American people have in common because they have many different cultures and races, but these differences make new culture. I think this is really interesting. American culture makes me confused in many ways, but every time when I think about attitudes of American people, I subconsciously compare to Japanese people. Then I notice differences between my country and the U.S. I really would like to think about factors that create culture both Japan and the U.S.

 

(Source;http://www.aframnews.com/america-is-the-land-of-immigrants)