There are times while living in Japan when you can’t help but feel a little lazy. Everything here is done to perfection, and with great attention to detail. If you walk into a fast food restaurant, you find that the place is spotless and employees give an insane amount of effort to their job. Really, it’s insane. If one mistake is made, you’ll hear about 20 apologies, and not just by the person who made the mistake. I’ve never before felt so bad for someone who has forgotten to give me a ketchup packet! What makes the Japanese experience even more surreal is not once will you find an employee in retail or fast food coming off as hating their job and wishing they were anywhere else but right there assisting you in your purchase. If only the McDonald’s employees would take note and do the same in America.
Being a teacher has given me the opportunity to see that this behavior is groomed from a young age. In Japanese society, you are taught to always be respectful, and a common phrase that you will hear is “ganbatte”. Ganbatte literally translates to “do your best”. I can assure you that the people of Japan do not take this saying lightly. It is said at work, at sporting events, in everyday activities, and in school. It’s funny when you compare this to the Americans’ habit of wishing “good luck”. In comparison, you really do see a difference in the mindsets of Americans and Japanese people. While we are relying on “luck” to get us through our tough challenges, the Japanese are simply giving their all to everything they do. They place responsibility in their own hands and will give 110% to even the most monotonous activities.
Now, I don’t mean to come off as harsh to the American population. If you read my past blogs, you will see that I have problems with certain things in Japan as well. Like everything, Japan has its pros and cons, but this is definitely an aspect of society that I’m adding to the pros list.
To further support my point, Japanese school children put American students to shame when it comes to being tidy. What’s even more amazing is they don’t ever complain about their responsibilities! It’s like they’re happy to clean up after themselves! If only my mother had the same experience when we were growing up… I’m sure there would have been a lot less yelling around the holidays. Sorry Mom!
My first experience that really made me take a step back and contemplate this phenomenon was after my English Club’s Halloween party. This was my first English club meeting, so of course I went all out. I had a scavenger hunt, Halloween decorations, food, drinks, confetti, toilet paper for dressing each other up like mummies, and a number of other materials that only destroyed the classroom. When the clock read 5:00, I knew it was time to let the students go home so I announced that they were free to leave. They just looked at me for a second and then turned back around to work at the table we were using. At first I thought a language barrier had reared it’s ugly head, but then I realized they weren’t actually working on the Halloween activities, but rather starting to clean up after their mess. I had fully prepared myself for cleaning up the room myself, but without asking them, my students tidied up everything around them. Not only did they clean up their food mess and the leftover paper from the crafts we made, but they also took down all of the decorations. After about 10 minutes of cleaning up the classroom, we were finished, and I had no further work to complete on my own. I was floored!
To assure you that this wasn’t a one-time deal, I’ve had numerous English club meetings since the Halloween party and the same thing happens each time. Just yesterday another teacher and I threw a party for some of our students that graduated last week. We had a potluck dinner at the other teachers’ house, and needless to say, after having 10 people dining in a small Japanese apartment, the place was a mess. When it came time to leave, they not only picked up the kitchen and straightened out the living room, but they cleaned their dishes before taking them home to their mothers. After that was completed, they continued to wash the dishes that my friend had left over from preparing her portion of the meal. It was difficult for my mother to get us to take our dishes to the sink, let alone wash them after a meal!
In addition to the responsibility that Japanese children take upon themselves, every weekday there is a 30-minute period when the students are in charge of cleaning their school. They sweep the floors, clean the bathrooms, and tidy up their classrooms. Each class has a rotation that they follow so they clean a different area of the school each week. Perhaps this is how the responsibility is first introduced to them?
This is one part of Japanese society that I truly enjoy, especially as a teacher. Seeing the respect that Japanese children have for other people’s things is amazing, and knowing that you’ll be taken care of wherever you go in Japan is an assuring feeling. I hope you get to experience it someday.
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