watched a youtube video about an american lady in japan... okay, good, she's at least learning japanese. comments that this video (with a japanese person) is in english "so that you guys can all understand" etc, i'm okay with that. no idea how long she's been in japan but it seems like at least a few years, based on some stuff she said.

BUT.

then she said stuff like "sometimes there's kanji i don't know on the menu and google translate doesn't help". what was one of the kanji she didn't know? freaking HORSE MEAT. 馬肉. i fully understand there being kanji you don't know but if your level is so low that you don't know "horse" and "meat" you need to stop talking as if you're good at japanese... these are kanji you learn (or should learn) in your first year of studies.

in some ways "westerners" in japan are waaaay better than those i've seen anywhere else (you are, after all, going to a country and language completely different from the rest of the world in daily life in a lot of ways so it takes a certain kind of person to stay and live there), but then there's still plenty of normal ones that are left. i really REALLY do not want to be around these people. i don't want to be influenced by someone who still can't speak japanese or still doesn't eat japanese food after 10 years of living in japan. i don't want to look up, realize a year has passed and the majority of my company has been foreigners so we've taught each other language and culture mistakes and never experienced, well, japan for real.... that's not what i'm going to japan for.

i keep being weak and thinking i'm being too harsh. they're still just people, it's not their fault they're foreign, if they're nice then it's fine to be around them etc etc. buuuuuuut no, i have to stop that, that's falling into their trap...