undrentide posted
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that many Japanese people take comments personally. Even if they complain about the local weather themselves, when someone from somewhereelse make the same complaint, they take it as a personal offence - I assume they feel as if they were responsible for the weather and being blamed on the bad weather.
And it is not limited to the weather, I think.
Interesting idea, having god-like powers I mean. Yes, this is a problem for Japan, rejecting criticism of something because it wasn't done by a native.
undrentide posted
You are annoyed or irritated or frustrated with the reaction like the one you got from her because it is not what expected in your culture or from your point of view.
I simply stated the possible reason of such reaction.
I don't think that you should accept it - and if it is a part of English lesson, it is important for her to understand that it is rude.
No, but also because it doesn't make sense. It seems more like an emotional reaction (which does make sense), as she couldn't justify it after I pointed out that it would include any Japanese as well that have said the same thing, including my wife. But yes, these kinds of things are common in Japan, and my point is that an intermediate to upper intermediate level speaker would make such a statement seems odd at best.
undrentide posted
If I were abroad and found people's reaction or comments frustrating or rude or unacceptable, at least I'd want to know why.
My wife and a few other Japanese that I related the story to thought her statement was odd at best.
undrentide posted
Oh please don't bark at me...
Sorry, but in my mind the context tells a lot about this particular story. This didn't occur in a Japanese conversation, with someone I don't know at all (I had taught this same student several times already and her speciality, dermatology is specifically related to one of the problems I suffer from in the summers here).
Of course,
if I just made the same comment to some Japanese person I don't know and had just met, yeah, I might expect a comment like that.
Your opinion is similar to the other doctor's opinion, though he himself is extremely emotional about criticisms of Japan, even when they are quite justified (though I assume you're not defending the 731 unit and the black van right-wingers as well).
So, if she suggested you going back home, what has that got to do with your wife? Take your Japanese wife with you, to your home, or did I miss something here.
This is, however, under the presumption that by "you should go home", she meant "for the summer", as in, just during the most unbearable part. Or perhaps if she didn't know you were married.
Why would home be better than traveling somewhere else, as long as the weather was better than here in Japan in the summer (less hot and humid)? And no, she meant permanently. And yes, my wife was included in the earlier remarks, though my wife is luckier in that she doesn't have skin problems here in the summer.
Also, if this person was in need of taking English lessons, then her English is not gonna be perfect. Maybe it just didn't come out right? Like, when you know what you're trying to say, but you form the scentence and it comes out wrong, in this person's case maybe she didn't know?
As stated above, this student is an intermediate to upper intermediate level student. At best she commited a gross cultural error, at best just an odd comment because her statement doesn't seem to acknowledge that there are others who might feel the same way,
including other Japanese. Of course, who knows, some of them (Japanese) do want to leave Japan (but not usually just because of the summer weather) , so maybe she is pushing them in the right direction
!