1. Most Classic Gaijin Moment
This is me doing one of the early steps of the tea ceremony. I am cleaning the spoon with a ceremonial cloth. The first year ALT who held the competition introduced this photo as "Someone sitting on tatami reading a book." I had to yell out and correct him, first time of many.
2. Oldest Fruit And Vegetable Vendor
Unfortunately the ancient old woman who usually works here was on holiday, and her daughter (?) was on duty.
3. Most Beautiful Japanese Panorama
4. Most Shocking Fashion Statement
This time the guy doing the competition only showed the top half of the photo and said "It's . . . a girl in a kimono . . ." and I had to yell out "Show the legs, that's the whole point!" Because that is the point: every Japanese person who has seen this photo has gasped and said "I can see her legs!" in a scandaled voice. But I suppose I shouldn't have expected ALTs to understand that.
5. Biggest Beer Container
Everyone seemed to miss the point that in this photo the 'beer container' was Toshi, not the cans. I feel so misunderstood, just like a real artist. When I asked Toshi to pose for this photo, he said "Wait," and put his sunglasses on first. I don't know why.
6. Least Appetising Item In The Grocery Store
7. Most Appetising Item In The Grocery Store
8. Best 'Engrish' T-shirt
I won this category.
9. Most Classic Japanese House
This picture was taken at Atsuko's house because it was after Toshi had abandoned us there with no car so that he could go and get his hair cut.
10. A Picture Of A Buddhist Monk
I won this category too. Because everyone else did the competition only with ALTs, no one else had a friend with them who knew the family of a buddhist monk well enough to ask one to dress up and pose even though the temple was officially closed and the monk in question was just about to go and play golf in a purple paisley shirt.
11. Most Creative Use Of A Daikon
This is the Shirase Memorial Museum in Konoura. And a daikon (Japanese radish).
12. Most Shocked Bystander
Yes, it's posed. You try getting a photo of a shocked bystander when you have to wear an armband saying 'photographer' on it.
13. Biggest Item You Can Pick Up Using Chopsticks
This apple clock used to be famous among ALTs as being the strange clock in the legendary Amanda's apartment. But no one seemed to remember it.
14. Funkiest Keicar (small car with a yellow numberplate saying it has different insurance because it is so light and would get creamed in any accident)
There were no funky keicars, so I just entered a picture of a normal keicar to fill in the blank. People booed this picture. Gaijin are so rude.
15. Most Interesting Rice Field
This picture got lost and didn't even end up in the competition.
Bonus: Most Delicious Thing You Ate For Lunch
Gusto soup (not that good, but better than the rest of the 'meal.' This picture got lost too, and I got made out to look like an idiot because I 'neglected' to send a picture of food.
I guess you can tell I still feel very bitter about the competition. Getting booed and having no one cheer for you in a cheering competition does that to people.
One conclusion I came to during the conference last week is that gaijin really are very rude. Not just the competition, but during the lectures and speeches and such. Half the ALTs there were so disrespectful, it made me so stressed to witness it. There, I've said it. Japanese = polite. Foreigners = rude. And yet I still hear so many complaints about Japanese 'stereotyping' of foreiners as having no manners.
2 comments:
How rude people can be, I know what you mean about how rude people are, and I have never been to Japan. It turns out that although culture enters the picture somewhat, Class is a much bigger factor, and in all honesty that is what a lot of westerners lack.
Also, I think your pictures are beautiful, and I love the idea of Toshi being a beer container, even if I have never met him, it makes me laugh.
Thank you for laughing! That's what I wanted at the competition. And thanks for understanding.
Maybe I was exaggerating when I put the other ALTs' rudeness down to them being foreigners. Maybe it is more like one of the main types of people who have the courage to live in a foreign country are also the type who have enough courage to ignore politeness. Really, there were people talking in lectures; talking, not whispering. When the announcer asked us to thank the film crew that had come up from Tokyo to film us, someone in the back who had been paying no attention started yelling, actually yelling, at someone else about passing the roster back so he could check his name off. The poor TV guys were shocked and very insulted.
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