Humbling Experience
January 26, 2002
Just got back from the gym where the weirdest thing happened. After I grabbed my coat and bag, ready to go home, one of the instructors stopped me on the gym floor. He told me, in the best English he could muster “you must clean floor” holding up a dirty wet rag in front of me. What? “Before leave, everyone clean floor please.” To say I was dumbfounded is an understatement. I kept looking around for some sign that this was a joke but all I got was the feeling that everyone was trying hard not to look in my direction. There must have been about 11 people in the gym. What was I supposed to say? Hell no! Get that shit out my face?
I took the rag after he explained I didn’t have to clean the entire floor, just a small section. Walked over to the corner and wiped a square section. All the while I was looking around for people to start laughing. “We fooled that stupid Gaijin! Hah! Look at him on his knees cleaning!” I was waiting for the inside joke, but no one laughed no one that I could see.
I don’t mind helping keep the gym clean, but I’ve never seen anyone else cleaning the floor. I’m sure I would have remembered someone wiping the floor with a dirty rag. Anyway, I finished as quickly as possible, throw the rag in a bucket and left.
Food
I was pretty hungry after my humbling experience at the gym and found that inside the train station they have a Soba and Udon noodle bar. I think that’s the correct name, it’s basically a hole in the wall with cooks behind a long chest high table, like a standing bar.
What I found strange is that they have a ticket machine. Ticket machines are common in Japanese restaurants. You walk up to the machine put your money in and push the button for the meal you want. Luckily I could read enough Japanese to know what I was ordering, but if you can’t read Japanese it’s basically a crap shoot. Something I tried during my first trip ever. Results may very.
Now, this stall isn’t all that big Maybe 10 feet long and 4 feet deep. I wondered why they need a machine. The guy is standing right next to darn thing, why doesn’t he just take my order verbally instead of waiting for me to print out a ticket. But as I write this, I realize the benefit. 1) He doesn’t have to waste time counting coins and giving change 2) He doesn’t have to worry about the hygiene problems that come with touching money. Now that I think of it, it’s a pretty smart idea. The noodles were good too.
These bars are very Japanese, mostly used by Salary Men (employed men) who want to have a quick and cheap meal and run. So I received a few strange looks from passersby. The strange foreign guy eating noodles. I didn’t mind though, because the noodles were pretty good.
March 25th, 2004 at 1:35 pm
Well, the first impression I got was either you must be giving the impression that you think you are “all that” or he was testing you to see what kind of person you really are. Don’t forget, the Bible says “too much pride” is a sin. Gandhi and his wife cleaned the latrine like everyone else (if you ever saw the movie).
But who knows, he might’ve only been testing you to see what your reaction would be. Isn’t that a part of martial arts is to teach “self-control?” and like you said…humility?
You did the right thing…
March 25th, 2004 at 5:46 pm
I’ve been reading your entries for awhile now and I’ve got to say you’ve got me intrigued in visiting Japan - it sounds like an amazingly different world.
As far as the gym experience, I think you handled it nicely. Maybe it was a test to see how “we Americans” would behave? You mentioned that no one was looking in your direction - would that have been out of respect to you?
April 22nd, 2004 at 10:32 am
Hello, I have lived in Japan / Okinawa for about 10 yrs off and on. I also had the privledge of studying Martial arts also (Goju-Ryu).. In short, Cleaning of the floor is a just that, cleaning of the floor, and usually ment for the lower ranks., In olden days, your seniors did the same, as well as a bunch of OTHER CHOIRS. (loyalty to instructor and his teachings is everything) ((you will notice that most “all” japanese students stay with ONE sensi, or withen the same “KAI”)), unlike westerners, they do not flip flop from one dojo to another, or train in multiple styles. Heck, I had to clean the floor of my dojo, but in such a way as it built up my arms, and legs and back…(ie.. on all 4’s, no knees touching.. try that…) I did not feel humiliated, but knew it was “Part of the Program”, and in a way looked at it as “TRAINING”..( and i did this for about 1 year, ever Mon/Wend/Fri), after each class. Also I will add, that although it sounds funny, and like slave labor, my instructor Sensi Meitatsu Yagi, and other senior’s did look after me. I was the only “white belt (QUE)” student, everyone else was at least sho-dan.
Their are many parculiar things in Japan, In a way, sort of like opposite’s, Ah, but enjoy the experience, for understanding another culture is worth the humiliation and degredation, if only to become a better person, and stronger in mind, body and soul. (and i do not mean the ability to Kick someones ass). But the ability to deal with others who “ARE” different in ways, and instead of looking at them as piculliar/funny, rather understand what/why they do things the way they do. But I am sure you knew that, BTW if you had not cleaned the floor, you would have been looked at like a “Spoiled GAIJIN”, who can’t even help clean up the dojo he is training in… Thanks for sucking it up…
Paul Green
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