Cultural Comparisons from Japan. country is. Japan is a high-context culture with low power distance, high individualism, high

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Maurice Gordon
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1 Maura Honan Cultural Comparisons from Japan My study abroad 2018 experience in Japan showed me how distinct and unique the country is. Japan is a high-context culture with low power distance, high individualism, high masculinity, and high long-term orientation. Comparatively, the United States of America is a low context culture with low power distance, high individualism, high masculinity, and low long-term orientation. Although there are some similarities in the two countries taxonomies, I knew that some of the differences would be very apparent as well. These facts were able to introduce to me idea that Japan would be a exciting, but challenging place to visit with these unknown factors. My exploration began in Kobe, Japan. This was my first time traveling outside of the United States of America. I have always had a passion for traveling, but it is a challenge to plan trips around family schedule, school, work, etcetera. Although I knew I did not have as much experience with traveling compared to many of my peers on Semester at Sea, I was excited to jump in headfirst. On the first day I had a field program booked for the afternoon, the Foodies on Foot tour, but I had time in the morning to do something before that began. My friend and I decided to just walk in a direction with nothing particular in mind. We made it further into the city of Kobe and my friend decided that she wanted to find a coffee shop. After quite some time we stumbled upon Coffee Temple, a cafe that specialized in organic and fair trade coffees from nice plantations located around the world. What a treat! The friend ordered because I was not ready. Finally when I figured out what I wanted, I tried to order. I thought that since the store name and some of the menu were English that I could also order in English. I was wrong. I had tried rewording my order to be simpler, until after a few times I

2 Honan 2 realized that none of the staff there actually understood English. It took me awhile, but I was finally able to order by just pointing at the order on the menu and using my translation app. This technology helped me to work on achieving intercultural competence, although it had been a bumpy interaction. It was also an interpretive process by not using the actual sounds of language but from mainly ordering by doing a purposeful action at the menu and at the friends meal. I understood that on this voyage that many locals will not understand English, but I had put too much thought into the English signs around me in the restaurant which rendered my more open ideas. By the time that my order came to the table I was so happy to see it because I had grown quite thirsty and hungry. The transactional service had been a success. It had been a dynamic process for such a simple task, but it was all worth it. It also felt like an accomplishment since I got what I was hoping for. My friend and I both received a coffee, milk, toast, and butter. The whole time I was questioning myself if I was eating and using the different utensils (including chopsticks) correctly. It made me feel uncomfortable and vulnerable during the situation for not knowing what to do. It was a feeling that was unfamiliar to me. Even when I try new things at school or at home in the United States, it has never felt quite as uneasy. I never considered at these times that I still always had things that I could rely on, such as how people and environments will be like. Later during my Semester at Sea food tour, the group walked to the Nippombashi market. It was a small but bustling area full with a variety of people. There were locals trying to get their produce and then other tourists ogling at the fascinating foods. Everything just seemed more interesting there than it did at a market at home, from the fruit, like the white strawberries, to

3 Honan 3 their desserts, like the green tea rice flour cake bites; however, there were still many things that were recognizable. It was a mash of familiar and unfamiliar, which I felt was how this voyage was going to be, with some things that I am used to, but with many things that I am not. My other days in Japan were spent exploring Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. Each city presented new temples and shrines to visit. It seemed impossible to even make a dent in the list of sites available to see since there were so many. The religious sites seemed to be everywhere. I felt like whenever I looked around no matter where I was in the city I could always spot at least one religious site. Many were very precisely decorated, such as with wooden carvings, figurines of their figures, or other displayed symbols. At home in a small town in Massachusetts, Marblehead only offers a few different places of worship of some churches and a single synagogue. Although few, it allows for people to have choices, the most popular being anglican, episcopal, catholic, or jewish. This is different from in Japan. There were a multitude of more places of worship in the different cities that I visited in Japan, but even with the amount they were mainly all of the same religions. In Japan, about 80% say they believe in/practice shintoism and about 67% believe in/practice buddhism. To have such a high majority religion following is not prevalent where I am from. Thus, it was also interesting to see how all of temples and shrines of these religions were still able to be unique and special for their believers. A major take away from Japan was how many of the Japanese people acted towards us as mainly American tourists. On many occasions locals went out of their way to make sure that me and my friends knew that we were doing. On the third day in Japan while in Kyoto we were trying to find our hostel and were using a map in a train station to try to locate it. A Japanese women came over to us and asked if we needed any help. We said thank you but that we were all

4 Honan 4 set. We had been thinking that we could find it ourselves and did not want to inconvenience this lady; but she persisted in helping us. We waited a few minutes for her husband to arrive and take her groceries, and then she walked with us about 35 minutes, which was in the opposite direction of her house. This act of benevolence immediately moved me. I could not believe how the Japanese lady went so out of her way to help some strangers, especially foreigners. It was such a surprise! This positive performance prompted me to consider how I would have acted if I was presented with the same situation as the Japanese women. I like to think that I would have helped to map out the route or maybe started to walk with them in the right direction, but I unfortunately do not think that I would have walked all the way to the destination. I was reminded to be more considerate of other travelers or people who could use some help. It definitely helps to now better understand how it feels to be in a place that is so unknown and that even the little things can seem like big tasks. Helping others can go a long way. It is so easy to do and make a difference in people s travels/lives. As a result of visiting Japan, I grew in appreciation for all of the different cultures on Earth. Just like leaving your house when you are younger to have a playdate with someone else s different toys, it has been very enjoyable to leave behind the culture that I am used to in the United States and explore these ones that are new and different to me. Although Japan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam seem so far away from home in the United States of America, there are are still able to be many similarities. The amount of globalization was palpable, showing how each nation has become a part of the global marketplace. In each country I could find the same stores from Family Mart to Prada, restaurants such as Starbucks, and accommodations including

5 Honan 5 Holiday Inn. I do not go to these places usually when I am in the United States of America, but seeing them abroad I got the feelings of familiarity and comfort from already knowing about them. Overall, I have felt that my Japan visit has already significantly had an impact on me as a traveler and just overall person. I have gotten to see and explore fascinating arrays of life. While interacting with these new places, I have been able to put to use the Behavioral Assessment Scale of Intercultural Competence. By paying attention to my respectfulness, openness, empathy, interactions, and behaviors I was able to stay present and more comfortable in different situations through checking in with myself using BASIC. I felt that from possessing more of an understanding of intercultural communication had definitely helped to make my visit in Japan go as smooth as possible since I understand more about it and how to handle it.

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