Ryan Ginstrom wrote:

> Ever since coming to Okinawa, people have been asking me if I am haafu. At

That is dumb. Why don't they just assume you are a serviceman who speaks the
language?

People assume I am a half. Half Japanese and half American - "American" meaning
white foreigner of course. I sure look part white.

> first I just thought they were fucking with me -- especially the dude at the
> video store who thought I must have picked the subtitled version of a movie
> by mistake -- but it happens so often that I've begun to ask why this is so.
>
> It certainly isn't because of my perfect Japanese -- my foreign accent is
> usually noticeable after a sentence or two. So it must be looks, coupled
> with a mechanism people here seem to invoke to dispel the cognitive
> dissonance created by a Japanese-talking white boy. Those of you who have
> met me can judge for yourselves, but I must say that nobody ever asked me if
> I was part Japanese until I came to Okinawa (although several people asked
> me if I was Brazilian...)
>
> Or maybe it is that I really am turning Japanese, just as many Japanese will
> swear that Japanese people's eyes get lighter when they live abroad.
>
> --
> Regards,
> Ryan Ginstrom