Unlike most dorky white guys that show up in Japan I got married to a hot Asian woman BEFORE I came here. What kind of job can two American gaijin (foreigners) get in Japan without knowing much Japanese? Teaching English of course! Although we are both teachers we're the ones learning all sorts of strange and interesting life lessons from Japan.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Shoganai

One phrase that I hear practically every day from my Japanese co-workers and acquaintances is shoganai, or “it can’t be helped, so why worry about it?” Needless road construction makes me late to work? Shoganai. Boss is a total bastard? Shoganai. Fourteen-hour workdays? Shoganai. The pragmatic attitude of shoganai helps save a densely populated island nation from going crazy with stress and pressure, although “death from overwork” or karoshi is still a problem.

Sure the average Japanese worker gets rolled over and shit on, but it’s just shoganai and keep up that gambate spirit! Fortunately us gaijin aren’t recognized as part of the “Japanese” workforce and don’t have to adhere to such a strict code of conduct.

Unfortunately ALL the shit that the Japanese wouldn’t dare utter to another co-worker falls on my ears. I’ve been told secrets about infidelity, hating on bosses, or just confiding in me that they are having a particularly bad day. Sometimes the spate of words comes out so fast I can hardly understand a thing.

For example a couple days ago a young but weary Ms S asks me to come to the copy room. Wildly looking around for witnesses she closes the door behind us. No the unmarried woman is NOT making a pass at me but instead goes on to hastily whisper why she can’t stand that old bitch Ms Y that sits next to her because she is always undermining her in front of the other teachers and students. Relieved to get this information off her chest she sighs and looks up at me five years younger, happier and refreshed.

I’m not the only gaijin counselor in town, any halfway accommodating foreigner will do. Kim and other ALTs all have their own stories about being confidants to too many Japanese secrets.

Shoganai is annoying because the Japanese cannot air their grievances that accumulate over time and end up burying themselves in self-regret. Then again I prefer this method of keeping up a front of a happy workplace much more than the American system of bitching and moaning about every little thing. "I don’t care who yelled at you OR if your feelings got hurt. Just do your damn job!" Ugh, I've wanted to scream that to so many complaining American co-workers. There really needs to be a middle ground between the two opposite ideologies. Ahhhhh shoganai.

No comments: