Doing my part

You know, Americans abroad don't exactly have a good image these days. You can blame it on blindly aggressive foreign policy during the Bush years, or you can blame it on our general loudness, lack of capacity with foreign languages, etc. But the fact remains, these days when someone asks where I'm from, "Canada" doesn't sound so bad. (For the record, I've never actually gone so far as to deny my citizenship. Yet.) Anyway, the past 48 hours in Tokyo I've tried my best to improve the American image by:

• Using the women's bathroom at lunch today (which I didn't find out until the woman whose stall I had initially and unsuccessfully tried to open came out to wash her hands--sumimasen!).


• Entering a department store dressing room with my shoes on, much to the apparent horror of the saleswoman who was helping me. (I suppose I should have known better, but I guess it was a little counterintuitive to take off my shoes in order to try on a shirt.)


• Saying "domo", "arigato", or "domo arigato" 2,347 times. (This funny description of how English speakers use common Japanese phrases sounds pretty much exactly how I've used them.)


• Sneezing loudly and startling an older couple walking ahead of me on a side street in Akasaka, causing the woman to turn around and look at me as if I was either an axe murderer or a bird flu carrier.


• When complimenting the sushi chef on a good meal, saying iishio (which I'm not sure is even a word) instead of oishii (which means "delicious").


• Bumping my head on the straps on the Metro when standing up, then recoiling at the contact in a manner that leads those around me to believe I'm having a seizure. This has happened every single time I've stood up on the Metro. Every. Single. Time.


• Bowing or nodding 3,721 times, in response to every greeting or query, because why not? It's Japan. Everyone does it.


• Getting lost in my own hotel. (But it really wasn't my fault--this hotel is enormous, and it isn't exactly intuitive that the ground floor in your building will become the sixth floor in a neighboring building.)


• As noted yesterday, loudly dropping my umbrella down an escalator, frightening and nearly bruising the ankles of several old folks.

This is why Gretchen loves to travel with me...