A couple of weeks ago I went to the Nagoya Port to watch the fireworks. See previous post for pictures. And before the show I went to get something to eat, because I was starving. I was standing in this forever long line, sweating to death, and these two women kind of wormed their way in line in front of me. I didn't say anything because I don't know how to say "Hey you cut" And I was trying to listen to them talk, but I couldn't understand ANYTHING they were saying. I can usually pick out a few words of Japanese. So I started to wonder if maybe they were Chinese or something.
Then this man walks up and asks them something in perfect English and they start talking to him, but they switched to Japanese, I think.
Then today I was talking to one of my co-workers about it and she said they were probably Chinese because Japanese people would get all worked up if someone asked them something in English.
Then this afternoon I was talking to my friend who is in Beijing right now. And she said Chinese people don't get lines. Apparently, it is a very new concept to them. They are used to just piling in and getting stuff and not waiting in line. So those women weren't trying to be rude to me because I'm foreign, they were doing something that was perfectly acceptable in their culture. One of the joys of living in a foreign country.
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I don't understand lines either. If I want something it's like who cares who's in front of me even if they've been waiting for an hour. I just push my way to the front. It works out because I'm bigger than everybody.
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