One thing that is very similar between Brandeis and Waseda...
And I say in advance that I do not mean to offend here....but I know that I might. That is not my intent so please read on with that in mind.
I'm here at Waseda Hoshien (our dorm) on a Sunday night. We have no class. I spent the day at the sumo tournament being held here (which will be discussed in the next post.) When I returned I knocked on Matt's door, as he was supposed to go on a Tokyo tour and then get some info on the Drinking Party (that is what they called it) being held by the Waseda GSA for the exchange students.
Of course he couldn't drag himself out of bed and missed the meeting at 11am. Given that we do not know where the party is and are currently missing it. Good work, Matt! :)
So I figured I would head down to the computer lounge and check my email. The normal mix of nationalities and ethnicities is not present. Instead, it is me and all the Chinese students.
At Brandeis, many of us have noticed that the Chinese students tend to spend their social time almost exclusively with other Chinese students and rarely attended parties. And when one of them does come out and socialize, it often doesn't last. It is so noticable that we began to refer to them as the Chinese Mafia.
From what I have seen from the four Chinese students living on my floor, not much has changed after traveling 10,000 miles, and that it truly a shame. Many of us would love to learn what our fellow students think of America and share what we think (and think we know) about China and learn first hand if we are wrong or right. With few exceptions, this has not proved easy, and I believe an educational opportunity is lost as a result.
Given that it is not in my nature to bitch about things and then leave them alone, I'm going to do my best to crack the shell. Wish me luck!
posted by Jeff D @ 6:39 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I don't think that observation about the Chinese Mafia is offensive at all... and it's dead accurate. I noticed the same thing growing up when it came to all Asians in the USA. They kept their social circles very small and very Asian. Being American and trying to date Asian was tough. Over here, the Chinese do seem to keep within their own groups. Part of that may be historical. Chinese here in Japan (similar to Koreans) had a similar history in Japan as blacks did in the US. They were treated as second-class citizens at best and in many cases enslaved. So that may be a part of it here. Valid observation on your part, though. "Chinese Mafia" had me cracking up.
One of my best friends at school is Korean-American, so I've managed to crack that one. :)
And there only a few Japanese guys at school and they are both very friendly and open. Both played softball with us, for example.
I find it very funny that the most popular TV show in Japan now is a Korean soap opera, and Korean culture is very very popular here. Given how the Japanese have historically treated the Koreans, I bet the Koreans are laughing their asses off at it.
Ahh.. the asian gangs. Not really gangs, just because they ALL have to hang out together for some odd reason. I've found that in America it even breaks down into fob asians (foreigners) and american asians. and the lines are very rarely crossed between them. plus, it's hard for an outsider to break in unless they know someone through roommates or good friends. as a filipina mix, even i had a hard time breaking into the asian cliques. mafia indeed!
oddly enough, do you find yourself hanging out with all the other caucasian people there? sorta like a caucasian mafia!
My friend David (Daesun) is running into this in Korean right now. He was born in Korea and raised in the U.S. so he doesn't really fit in Korea and has little patience for some of the societal norms/rules there.
Such as, if you are a man you can't date anyone older than you, and preferably someone not to much younger. Considering how much longer women live than men, it's really kind of silly, but that's the way it is. I won't even get into the girl he had to give up on because their zodiacs didn't match up properly. He nearly blew an artery over that one.
My best friend here is one of my Brandeis classmates who is American. The best friend I've made is a Waseda full time MBA who is Canadian by way of Taiwan. I like to mix it up a little bit!
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