Quote:
Originally Posted by Shikan
Thanks for your response. I would agree that you will always have your own national identity. But that part of you will undoubtedly change whether it strengthens from an unwillingness to adapt to a different national environment, or becomes more robust with your own shifting perspective.
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I guess we can agree here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shikan
I'm not particularly concerned about impressing Westerners in Japan. If "metamorphosis" is in fact the offending word, it really began with a gift from my host family: a t-shirt with the phrase わたしは日本人になりたい printed on it. A few Japanese have reacted in a way similar to eye-rolling, but most find it rather amusing like myself.
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Metamorphisis is not the offending word.
The "offending" I suppose is that you defy mainstream, generally accepted concepts/ideas of what it means to be Japanese I guess. After all Japanese define themselves based on geneology and cultural symbolism rather than secular principles like it can be in the West (Of course there is a competing nationalist narrative in the West which is primordial too.... White, Christian etc. but it's not the prevalent one at least where it matters in courtrooms and constitutions etc... anyway I'm rambling).
Anyway I'm not offended by it... after all... as a liberal I believe identity is determined by the individual unlike culturally conservative Asian societies. Just was confused by what you meant at first.
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