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Friends in all places
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Betsy Herzog
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I didn’t move to Asia to learn about England and Australia, but that is what’s happened. Did you know that the English almost always back their cars into parking spaces? And that cars in Australia have “Roo Bars” on the front to prevent damage when they hit kangaroos? You don’t need to go to Australia to learn this; you can go to Japan.
I am the lone Westerner living in Bizen, Japan, but there is a small community of English teachers and assorted expatriates about an hour away in the city of Okayama. This community is good to turn to when being an American in Japan becomes overwhelming. Sometimes you just need to hear some familiar voices to remind you of home.
But, while the language may be similar, the voices certainly aren’t. Living in Japan, I have made friends from all corners of the English-speaking world: England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. The accents vary wildly, but we manage to find common ground. All children of the 80s and 90s, we share a few cultural references: “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “The Simpsons,” and “Right Said Fred.” But we quickly notice our differences: measurements, gas prices, the ability to travel to Cuba, and educational systems.
We also have the English language in common, but this doesn’t mean we always understand each other. Our vocabulary is as diverse as our accents. Try to have discussion with these gems sprinkled in: bitumen (Australian for asphalt), minger (British for an ugly person), onya sonya (Australian for “good job”), dink (Canadian for an idiot), ta (British for “thank you”), cheers (Australian for “thank you”), A-Levels (English college entrance exams), poutine (a Canadian delicacy of french fries covered in pork gravy and cheese curds), uni (what the rest of the world calls college), tooke (Canadian for a winter hat), zebra crossing (Australian for crosswalk), hey up (British for “what’s up?”). The list goes on.
Just talking about McDonald’s is a verbal chore. The English call it Macky D’s; Australians call it Maccas; the French call it McDo; and the Japanese call it Maku Do.
Despite the warm feelings of diversity that come with having international friendships, there is a bit of tension between the United States and the Commonwealth nations. They (Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada) have things like meat pies, rugby and the Queen in common. Meanwhile, I can’t even explain grits to a Californian, let alone to someone from a different continent.
And my American brain can’t comprehend some of the products and ideas that have been put to me. Take Vegemite, a brown goo from Australia that is spread on crackers and toast. Allegedly healthy, it’s made of yeast and tastes just as you would expect cardboard to taste. Then there is Eurovision, a pop music variety contest that has been around for 50 years and, with 120 million viewers per year, aims to promote unity across Europe. I never knew about either of these until I moved to Japan.
Even when I wasn’t learning about Japan this year, I’ve been learning a lot about other places in the world. I did my fair share of teaching, too. Not just teaching English to high school students – teaching my Western friends that tea is better with a lot of sugar and that there is a difference between North Carolina and South Carolina.
And that the correct term for McDonald’s is “Mickey D’s.”
(Editor’s Note: Betsy Herzog of Cullowhee, a 2005 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is finishing a year teaching English in a Japanese high school. This is the last column from Japan; Herzog will return to the United States for graduate school next month. She plans a final installment on her readjustment to American life.)
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