Essay

Who won?

By Kip A. Cates

音声ダウンロード

Common knowledge is not that common. What's obvious at home may be unknown abroad. It can be frustrating when foreign people don't understand what we take for granted. Let me illustrate this with a story.

Several years ago, I flew to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend an international conference. I was jet-lagged after my long flight from Japan, but eager to register for the event. Luckily, the conference center was near my hotel, so I decided to walk. I figured that would allow me to stretch my legs and see the city. On the way there, a funny incident occurred.

I was walking along a broad avenue. Off in the distance, across the street, I saw a figure coming toward me. It was a tall black guy, a local resident of Atlanta. Suddenly, he started waving in my direction, even though we were on opposite sides of the road.

"Who won?" he yelled out urgently. I was taken aback. Was he talking to me? He was a big friendly guy, but he seemed quite agitated. "Who won?" he shouted again. "I don't know," I shouted back. A look of amazement came over his face. "Come on, man!" he repeated. "Who won? What was the score?" He couldn't believe that I didn't know.

I didn't have to be a detective to realize that a big sports match had taken place that day. It was obviously an important game between Atlanta and its rival. As we shouted across the street, I tried to explain that I'd just arrived from Japan, but he wouldn't accept my excuse. For him, my ignorance was incomprehensible. He finally walked away, shaking his head in disbelief.

I tried to imagine his train of thought. Today was the big game. People had been looking forward to it for weeks. It was the big news of the day. Everybody knew the result. How could I not know? Was I an alien? Had I been living in a cave?

My niece had a similar experience with her host family in New Zealand. She began talking about Ichiro, the Japanese baseball hero, but their faces went blank. "I couldn't believe it. They didn't know who he was!" she explained. "Ichiro's famous. He's on TV all the time. Everyone knows him! That's when I realized that common knowledge in Japan doesn't apply overseas."

Each country thinks that it's the center of the universe. And, for the people who live there, it is. Each nation is immersed in news and gossip about people, places and events that "everyone knows" and takes for granted. We all live in a cultural bubble and think that it's the whole world.

That's why foreign travel is so important. It gives us a chance to leave our bubbles, broaden our horizons and learn about other worlds. And that's the first step towards international understanding.

誰が勝ったの？

その昔、国際会議に出席するためにアトランタに到着した日のこと。町を歩いていると、見知らぬ男性から突然、「誰が勝った？」と尋ねられ、筆者は何のことかさっぱり分からなかったのだが・・・。

The Japan Times ST: March 7, 2014