Oh, Japan. Here you go again...
May. 31st, 2006 08:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Thanks everyone who wished me well on the last post. I'm feeling much better (although about 4 kilograms lighter--ugh).
Sure enough, it was food poisoning and the majority of the kids and all of the teachers at my Wednesday day care center came down with it last week too. I'd stayed home half of Monday and all of yesterday (the first time in my life I've ever stayed home from work due to illness), and my boss wasn't certain I meant to come in today. He called the day care center to tell them this right as I was stepping in the door. "Oh, you're not feeling so well?" asked Encho-sensei. "Would that be lots of vomiting and diahorrea with a high fever? " Pin-pon!
I came back from hoikusho this afternoon to find I'd been scheduled for a meeting with the chief of police. (gulp) Turns out he wanted me to give a presentation to foreigners in the city about "how we live in Kurobe."
Well, it turns out that he'd like me to give a talk about adjusting to life here to a bunch of Chinese. Now, I can go on for hours about all the ways in which American foreigners will need to adjust, but who's to say that any of that holds true for Chinese people. Cause, you know, American culture is not so much like the Chinese culture.
So I hit up a good friend who'd be in the know about these things and asked her to look over my talk and see if it's in any way relevant, which she said she'd be happy to do.
It became clear to me during the course of the discussion just how little I yet know about my audience--what part of China (Singapore/Mainland/Taiwan) they're from, who they'll be working for, what they'll be doing, etc.
Her: Are they low paid labor?
Me: Don't know, but the cynic in me says yes, since it's the police chief who asked me to give the talk.
Sure enough, I was eating dinner in a ramen joint this evening when I happened to notice the local news doing a segment on Chinese unskilled laborers, and how the prefecture plans to import them to fill Japan's labor shortages. Which is >.< to say the least.
The industry talking head factory owner's take: Of course, Japanese women can work part time at my factory, but they want things like holidays and enough personal time to take care of their families. With Chinese laborers, you don't need to worry about this, because you aren't obligated to give them these things.
Me: >.<
The police chief's proposed talk is certainly a step in the right direction (if probably in direct reaction to the news/prefecture-level policy), and if I seem a little down on the whole thing it's probably due to the FOREIGNER LIMITS.
That will be all.
Sure enough, it was food poisoning and the majority of the kids and all of the teachers at my Wednesday day care center came down with it last week too. I'd stayed home half of Monday and all of yesterday (the first time in my life I've ever stayed home from work due to illness), and my boss wasn't certain I meant to come in today. He called the day care center to tell them this right as I was stepping in the door. "Oh, you're not feeling so well?" asked Encho-sensei. "Would that be lots of vomiting and diahorrea with a high fever? " Pin-pon!
I came back from hoikusho this afternoon to find I'd been scheduled for a meeting with the chief of police. (gulp) Turns out he wanted me to give a presentation to foreigners in the city about "how we live in Kurobe."
Well, it turns out that he'd like me to give a talk about adjusting to life here to a bunch of Chinese. Now, I can go on for hours about all the ways in which American foreigners will need to adjust, but who's to say that any of that holds true for Chinese people. Cause, you know, American culture is not so much like the Chinese culture.
So I hit up a good friend who'd be in the know about these things and asked her to look over my talk and see if it's in any way relevant, which she said she'd be happy to do.
It became clear to me during the course of the discussion just how little I yet know about my audience--what part of China (Singapore/Mainland/Taiwan) they're from, who they'll be working for, what they'll be doing, etc.
Her: Are they low paid labor?
Me: Don't know, but the cynic in me says yes, since it's the police chief who asked me to give the talk.
Sure enough, I was eating dinner in a ramen joint this evening when I happened to notice the local news doing a segment on Chinese unskilled laborers, and how the prefecture plans to import them to fill Japan's labor shortages. Which is >.< to say the least.
The industry talking head factory owner's take: Of course, Japanese women can work part time at my factory, but they want things like holidays and enough personal time to take care of their families. With Chinese laborers, you don't need to worry about this, because you aren't obligated to give them these things.
Me: >.<
The police chief's proposed talk is certainly a step in the right direction (if probably in direct reaction to the news/prefecture-level policy), and if I seem a little down on the whole thing it's probably due to the FOREIGNER LIMITS.
That will be all.
no subject
on 2006-05-31 02:54 pm (UTC)hmmm... i don't know if i should be happy because at least the unskilled laborers would be given a job, or be a little disappointed because... you know... :( With Chinese laborers, you don't need to worry about this, because you aren't obligated to give them these things.
no subject
on 2006-05-31 08:41 pm (UTC)Um, ouch. That's kind of not cool. o.O
The foreigner limits is ridiculous. Do you think they would actually go through with it?