I like to think I am an easy-going person and adaptable to any environment I experience. After living in Japan for two years and avoiding any significant issues, I like to think that's true. Yet I do have periods in which small frustrations grow from frequent occurrences, resulting in arguably unnecessary bouts of complaining.
Prior to my conversation with my friends, I had complained about or questioned numerous things: how seemingly difficult it is for Japanese to be direct about their feelings/intentions, why Japanese are seemingly so inflexible about old policies or seemingly unwilling to 'think outside the box', etc. My purpose here is not to criticize these cultural observations but rather to take a step back from my own perceptions of what is wrong or right. Everyone will most certainly always have criticisms and disagreements with the way things are done in certain situations or contexts. But there is always the choice to accept some level of understanding or at least keep such criticisms to oneself. Today I was reminded of this choice because I had let my frustrations get the better of me.
And that's really what this quick reflection is about here--knowing that moments like these remind me that while I am living in a very different country I must sustain a highly flexible mentality about societies' behaviors and cultural norms. It just doesn't do anyone any good to criticize the culture in a country which I chose to live in. I'll do my best going forward again.
