Mama, gaikokujin de gozaimasu!
So simple story - short and cute.
One of Thursday’s highlights came from my ride on the train to the office. As soon as I boarded the train I took a position standing in front of a bench that was close to the opposite doors from my entry. At said bench was a little girl of about 6 years and her mother. The little girl had her back toward me as she was looking out the window. To my left stood another mother with her young baby in a stroller and all around us were other passengers standing waiting for the train to leave the station.
As the doors closed the little girl decided to turn around and sit normal in the seat in front of me. After she turned around her face lit up in surprise as she looked up at me. Suddenly she turned slightly toward her mother - all while keeping her gaze on me, and with a quick point she said:
“Mama, gaikokujin de gozaimasu!”
Which translates to “Mom, there is a foreigner!”. I had been looking out the windows and only saw her surprised face and gesture from the corner of my eye. The mother with the stroller standing to my left suddenly lifted her head and started looking my way most likely to see if I had understood what the girl had said. My face lit up with a little smile- it was cute coming from a little child, I did understand, and wasn’t offended by her blunt statement.
The little girl tried to say something else about the foreigner in front of her, I couldn’t quite make it out because this time her mother interrupted saying something like “uh-huh, please don’t talk so loud”.
Anyways - I’ve experienced the many staring eyes of curious children here in Japan, and even the curious onlooking of adults. It’s an interesting feeling, and I wonder what the long term effect of such attention will be?
oyasumi nasai.
