The other day on the Hibiya Line, a little girl of about 6 years old was studying arithmetic. She appeared to be half Japanese and was speaking English to her tutor sitting next to her. The tutor was a middle aged woman, late forties, might have been Japanese but the kind that spent many years living abroad. You could tell because she had a scowl of impatience on her wrinkly face. Most Japanese don’t express emotion that explicitly.
Anyway, the tutor had a worksheet and was reading out the questions to the girl. Her voice was loud, you could hear her all down the train.
“What’s 4-10?! What is the answer? Hurry up, don’t you know? It’s so easy, why can’t you answer it?”
She was mean. A real witch.
The girl was counting on her fingers trying to figure it out but the tutor wouldn’t even let her think. She kept rolling her eyes and stabbing her pointed bitch finger at the worksheet.
“WHAT’S 4-10!!!!” She yelled. “Maya, you are soo lazy! You can’t even answer this one! Terrible!”
She had no patience or respect for this girl and was thoroughly irritated. To some extent, I can understand this feeling. Everyone knows someone, perhaps at work, that just drives you bonkers and just being in the same room irritates you. Anything they say will make your blood boil for no apparent reason. This was what the tutor was feeling. But how could she be so mean to this adorable little girl, I thought.
I was about to say something when the girl snapped back at the tutor. “You think you’re so smart!? What’s 100 times 100?” The tutor was taken aback and muttered something. The train doors opened and the tutor got up and practically yanked the girl off the train. I noticed the girl was snickering in satisfaction as she left.
Tough kid. Made me laugh.
Hmm. How do you know the woman was the girl’s tutor and not her mother? This level of overt impatience sounds more parental than something someone who was paid to do a job would do.
Also, don’t you think it’s an indication of prejudice to assume a bitchy person must be influenced by American culture or she would not be publicly bitchy? I’ve seen some pretty nasty public behavior (including a woman screaming and intermittently dropping to the ground while refusing to go along with a male who looked her age and an older woman as they were trying to get her to go down the street in Shinjuku) in Japan and I don’t think it was the result of American influence.
Did I say she was influenced by American culture? I said “living abroad”. I was deliberate in not using the word “American” for fear of being reprimanded by any sensitive Americans out there but I guess it was of no use cause you read “American” into it anyways. But to be honest the way that woman spoke it was very clear that she had a slight NY accent.
And I did not say her bitchy attitude was the result of influenced by being overseas. I said her explicit showing of emotion was of the kind that was more similar to foreigners.
AAAAAck!
You got the “P-C crowd” reading your blog!
My condolences.