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Question The other side of the picture.

hirashin

Sempai
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8 Apr 2004
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Dear native English speakers,

What does "the other side of the picture" refer to in the text below? Japan or Japanese people?

These opinions are just a few examples of the wide variety of views expressed by foreigners living in Japan. They are valuable in giving the Japanese an outside view of their own culture.
In coming to Japan, such people must have had a great spirit of adventure. What about the other side of the picture? Do many Japanese people share that spirit? As far as students are concerned, fewer and fewer are choosing to go abroad to study. According to the Ministry of Education, after a peak in 2004, numbers began to decrease. Indeed, between 2004 and 2010, there was a 30% reduction in the number of students studying abroad.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin
 
Foreigners coming to Japan have expressed their views/opinions on living in Japan outside of their own culture. The other side of the picture refers to Japanese people living in other countries. So first they talk about foreigners in Japan, the other side of the picture means the other way around (so Japanese living in foreign countries). :)
 
Yes, and in particluar in reference to ths sentence "In coming to Japan, such people must have had a great spirit of adventure"
The phrase just means "opposite" here, if you switched the roles around would the same be true. Don't think I've ever heard it before though.
 
Some Americans said that they haven't heard the phrase "have a great spirit of adventure". Do you think that the phrase is not used in Britain, either? According to the publisher of the textbook, this text was written by a British person.
 
Yes, I think like we said before a sense of adventure is the common phrase. Spirit of adventure should be pretty easily understood, but a sense of - is so ingrained in English, e.g, a sense of adventure/humour/smell
 
IMO, spirit of adventure (or substitute something else for adventure), would be easily and transparently understood by any american.

E.g., everyone knows the Spirit of St. Louis. (or should)
 
And for opposite side, I think you'd often hear flip side (the "B" side of 45rpm records).
 
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