Today, I was reminded just how some business people can be so childish. At my previous place of work, I often had to answer the phone when no one was around. Although I have never formally studied Japanese, I do my best to use what I know when given a chance. Often, I have problems speaking on the telephone when the other party is using a mobile phone and is speaking a mile a minute. One time, the person on the other phone did not let me finish my sentences. She was in a hurry and could not be bothered listening to me speak in Japanese. I knew who she was because she was the executive assistant to her company's CEO and one of our company's most important clients. She did not know who I was - to her I was just a 'gaijin' or foreigner. Since she knew I was a foreigner, she assumed that I was a caucasian.
As you can see by the photo at the top left corner, I am Asian. So, she would never assume that I was the foreigner she was 'forced' to speak with at times. I knew she had utter contempt for me by the way she spoke to me on the telephone.
My Japanese is good enough to attend business meetings, economic forums, etc. So, I know when someone is being rude to me or being sarcastic. Well, one day she was in the office speaking to our company's executive secretary. She was talking about some dumb foreigner who sometimes answered the phone. She laughed and told my former colleague how stupid-sounding the office foreigner sounded.
At first, I was quite upset listening to this conversation. Of course, my former colleague did not say anything because I was standing right beside them. Deep down, my former colleague was uncomfortable being on the other side of that conversation. She just nodded and smiled when the other businesswoman referred to me as the 'stupid foreigner'. I never said anything to either of them but I think I should have done so. Looking back at the day I often get upset by how childish some Japanese women can be in the office. It is so unfortunate that some people think they can call other people 'stupid' in a business setting.
Being a former English teacher, I never once referred to one of my students as being 'stupid' just because they could not utter a complete sentence in English.
One day if I ever meet that lady again, I will ask her to explain how she could be so unprofessional and speak about someone she has never met and refer to them as being 'stupid'. When I leave Japan one day, I think that will always remain with me as one of my most hated moments about living in this country.
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