Nisshukan mae no aida ni nani o okorimashita
I really should check it, but I think my title says, at least somewhat successfully, in Japanese, "What's happened during the past two weeks." I would love to tell you everything, but it would just take too long. As most of my readership already has seriously trouble making it through an entire journal entry, I will just have to be as laconic as I can.
Two weeks ago, I took my Japanese driving test. The driving course is ridiculously elaborate, the standards are draconian, and the process is costly and excruciating. And it's all pretty subjective anyway. And yet somehow I still managed to fail--go figure. Honestly, I didn't make any serious mistakes, didn't break any of their 2487 precious rules. I think I failed primarily just because the guy testing me wanted me to. He was an old Japanese man, rather grumpy, probably a hardened adherent to the old Japanese notion that hard work merely for hard work's sake is a good think. Thus in his mind (and of course I'm just guessing) it's good for people to fail their driving test and have to take another day of vacation and pay another $25 just for a chance to fail again--it builds character! And keeps his paycheck coming. At first, I was pretty put out, since I felt wronged, but then I realized two things. First of all, what do you expect? I live in a fallen world, a world that needs grace and light--do I honestly expect that in every single situation, every single combination of events, I will always walk away feeling as if I were treated perfectly just. And would I even want to live in such a world, blackguard that I occasionally am?--I want grace too! The second thing involved the other foreigners who took the test. We spent the better part of a day together, so we had a good opportunity for interaction. Among the people I met were an Indian couple with a small child, a Philippino couple, a Pakistani man, a Chinese man, and several Brazilians. As far as Japanese society is concerned, I, compared to everyone else in that group, am a prince. And they treat us that way. I get paid good money and receive good benefits from the Japanese simply to grace their schools with my presence, put in a little bit of university-trained thinking, and speak my native tongue. The other people there all have to work their tails off just to get by in Japan (except maybe the Indian couple because they had Phd's, but I'm pretty sure they had to work their tails off at least to get those!). If I walk into a store and don't know a lick of Japanese--Hey, no problem, he's white, and guess what?--he's American. "We'd love to help you, sir. Come right this way. Here's some green tea as you wait." If they walk into a store and can't speak really, really good Japanese, being Asian, they may get griped out. The Philippino couple was so desperate to get the husband a license, the wife nearly begged me to ride with him in the car so that I could translate for him (although I speak almost no Japanese myself). She was physically shaking from nervousness as her husband drove around the course. After he pulled the car in, his instructor had a lengthy conversation with him, explaining why he'd failed. The gist of it? The instructor didn't like his placement within the lane. In Japan you have basically a meter differential between the sides of the car and the stripes, and within that small differential--he never went outside of the lane--the guy just didn't quite have the right spacing, didn't quite have the "right stuff," to earn himself a Japanese driver's license. Too bad. Try again in a month, and be sure to bring lots of cash.
So after thinking about it, I decided that of all the unjust failings that went on that day (and we pretty much all failed), of all the small injustices, mine has to sting the least. If I am offended, let it be on account of those less fortunate than me.
But if I fail again, I may deck that grouchy old man.
Well, I'll have to tell my other stories on a later entry. That took entirely too long!
Two weeks ago, I took my Japanese driving test. The driving course is ridiculously elaborate, the standards are draconian, and the process is costly and excruciating. And it's all pretty subjective anyway. And yet somehow I still managed to fail--go figure. Honestly, I didn't make any serious mistakes, didn't break any of their 2487 precious rules. I think I failed primarily just because the guy testing me wanted me to. He was an old Japanese man, rather grumpy, probably a hardened adherent to the old Japanese notion that hard work merely for hard work's sake is a good think. Thus in his mind (and of course I'm just guessing) it's good for people to fail their driving test and have to take another day of vacation and pay another $25 just for a chance to fail again--it builds character! And keeps his paycheck coming. At first, I was pretty put out, since I felt wronged, but then I realized two things. First of all, what do you expect? I live in a fallen world, a world that needs grace and light--do I honestly expect that in every single situation, every single combination of events, I will always walk away feeling as if I were treated perfectly just. And would I even want to live in such a world, blackguard that I occasionally am?--I want grace too! The second thing involved the other foreigners who took the test. We spent the better part of a day together, so we had a good opportunity for interaction. Among the people I met were an Indian couple with a small child, a Philippino couple, a Pakistani man, a Chinese man, and several Brazilians. As far as Japanese society is concerned, I, compared to everyone else in that group, am a prince. And they treat us that way. I get paid good money and receive good benefits from the Japanese simply to grace their schools with my presence, put in a little bit of university-trained thinking, and speak my native tongue. The other people there all have to work their tails off just to get by in Japan (except maybe the Indian couple because they had Phd's, but I'm pretty sure they had to work their tails off at least to get those!). If I walk into a store and don't know a lick of Japanese--Hey, no problem, he's white, and guess what?--he's American. "We'd love to help you, sir. Come right this way. Here's some green tea as you wait." If they walk into a store and can't speak really, really good Japanese, being Asian, they may get griped out. The Philippino couple was so desperate to get the husband a license, the wife nearly begged me to ride with him in the car so that I could translate for him (although I speak almost no Japanese myself). She was physically shaking from nervousness as her husband drove around the course. After he pulled the car in, his instructor had a lengthy conversation with him, explaining why he'd failed. The gist of it? The instructor didn't like his placement within the lane. In Japan you have basically a meter differential between the sides of the car and the stripes, and within that small differential--he never went outside of the lane--the guy just didn't quite have the right spacing, didn't quite have the "right stuff," to earn himself a Japanese driver's license. Too bad. Try again in a month, and be sure to bring lots of cash.
So after thinking about it, I decided that of all the unjust failings that went on that day (and we pretty much all failed), of all the small injustices, mine has to sting the least. If I am offended, let it be on account of those less fortunate than me.
But if I fail again, I may deck that grouchy old man.
Well, I'll have to tell my other stories on a later entry. That took entirely too long!
posted by Peter Rice at 4:34 AM
3 Comments:
I guess it couldn't be you possibly did, do something wrong, now could it???!!
Lj
Absolutely impossible, LJ.
No, you bring up a fair point. I reread my blog, and my assumption--I didn't get a driver's license for reasons completely outside of my own performance--does glare out too strongly. I really do think I deserved a license, but honestly, I drove a far from perfect course.
Sorry if my bellyaching was a distraction from my larger point--namely that injustices are bound to occur in life and it's neither helpful nor Christian to spend time stewing about those things, especially wrongs done to oneself. And it shouldn't be unexpected either. What do we think we have here, a perfect world?
Thanks for spurring me to rehash that point. It seems to have been lost a bit on the author, if no one else.
Injustice and the DMV.
Synonymous. Need I say more?
I'm sorry for your momentary oppression, but as this was my first time to read your blog- it made me laugh! I look forward to reading the rest after finals. Take care Petey!
Post a Comment
<< Home