Campus Life — Letters from Ohio State University

Explain yourself!

By Akio Iijima

中東をテーマにしたイベントで、民族衣装に身を包み、伝統舞踊を舞うダンサー

Many colleges in the United States place a special emphasis on diversity. Ohio State University (OSU) is no exception. Special events are organized every month with ethnic themes, such as Asian, Hispanic or African, and these events consist of speeches by guest speakers, food, dance and a variety of other cultural elements. Promoting cultural diversity, universities aim at understanding different cultures, people and ideas.

I have lived in the United States for four years, majoring in anthropology, the study of cultures and human diversity, and to me, these ethnically themed events are nothing but misleading. Cultures are not understood only by ethnic practices. You do not understand Japanese culture and the Japanese people just because you ate some sushi with chopsticks, danced bon-odori, folded some origami, and watched some kabuki. To understand a culture is to understand the ways in which people think, not just to know what kind of cultural entertainment they have.

It takes time, effort and a great deal of commitment to gain some understanding of a different culture. People have to understand the difficulties and limits of cross-cultural integration, and once they do that, then they can learn to tolerate and accept other peoples. This is what my experience going abroad to study has taught me, both in terms of how I approached American culture and how my American friends approached my own Japanese culture.

I went to the United States to immerse myself in a different culture. I think many of you are thinking of going abroad for that reason too. I have always been keen to learn how Americans think, perceive the world and respond to things, especially in terms of Japan. I wanted to get past the sweeping generalizations and the stereotypes of Americans that I had been brought up with. I think, to understand a culture, you need to get out of your cultural cocoon and see the culture with unclouded eyes. To do this completely is impossible, but after four years in the United States, I think I have a better understanding of the American ways of thinking than when I left Japan.

On the contrary, it was far more difficult to explain Japanese ways of thinking to Americans, to make them see beyond the Japanese-themed sake-and-sushi cultural events that are held frequently at OSU. Their culture is so implanted in them, and for people who have never lived in a foreign country, it is hard to detach themselves from their own culture.

It is not easy to explain something that is second nature to you. How many of you can instantly give a reasonable explanation of why Japanese use chopsticks? Try explaining to your American friends about eating seaweed, raw eggs, natto or simply having broccoli with mayonnaise (this is considered unbelievably disgusting by people in Ohio). Or else, try explaining that it is common in Japan for a father to take a bath with his young children without your listeners looking horrified and telling you that it is a clear sign of pedophilia. Although I try to explain the difference in perceptions of nakedness, many Ohioans, most of who grew up in very conservative communities, never quite seem to accept this idea.

In such cases, the ultimate answer is simply, "Hey, we are just different and do what we can't always explain." Others have to accept it. They have to respect it as part of another culture and other values. That is diversity, whether you like it or not.

Shukan ST: Sept. 19, 2003

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