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Originally Posted by Akakage
Personally I'm gonna read all of the books you guys mentioned.
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If you`re going to read the one I mentioned, do put forth the effort to track down the edition Paul11 read. The one I read had needless negativity and isn`t worth the time.
Quote:
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But despite what people say, and I have been around several Japan bashers, I can't see myself hating the place. In the end there's only way to find out and that's by experiencing it myself.
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In my opinion - it isn`t people discouraging you from going to Japan or convincing you to hate the place. It`s the fact that the negative opinions you read will come back to bite you when you (
if, actually, as I never personally experienced any) feel homesick. If you`re feeling down to begin with, it doesn`t take much to make your surroundings look like a hell that is working against you. I`d say a pretty fair chunk of foreigners in Japan end up feeling that way - and the more contact they have with others who feel that way (directly or through books/blogs/etc), the worse things are. I`ve seen someone who was pretty much happy in Japan deteriorate to paranoid racist over a month or so when those around him kept telling him that he was being discriminated against, all those people were talking about him, etc etc. He was able to hunt down tons of "supporting evidence" via books and blogs by other bitter foreigners. He went home early, disgusted with the country.
Having a very good language ability knocks a lot of this out of the water, but most people never get that far. It`s easier to discount bashing when you`re not there and aren`t having a bad day... Then it`s much much easier to blame Japan, Japanese people, and Japanese culture for your own shortcomings and failures. It doesn`t help that a lot of people come to Japan to escape the lives they made - and repeat the same mistakes here.
I say it`s better to have a good history book and an open mind than read someone else`s feelings about something you should experience first hand. The impressions you read
will color your own impressions, no matter how little credit you give them at the time.