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Posted on: November 08, 2008 at 5:28PM
I lived in Japan as a child and was thrilled to be able to visit again this past spring. I am still in LOVE with this country! One thing that I noted of many "tourists" in Japan was misunderstanding the common courtesies of these incredible people. And it led to an amusing incident. A gal in our group commented, "I can't get over how friendly the Japanese are, but they keep saying 'HI' no matter what I say or do!" Shows again, it's always helpful to learn a little bit of the language as well as the customs of the country you are visiting! Of course, all of these Japanese people she had met were not saying "HI" at all, but rather ' HAI ' meaning YES! because, as I think I saw posted somewhere else, the Japanese are very concious of being polite and correct and not losing face...so they will tell you YES for just about EVERYTHING you say or ask or do! They hate to say NO even when that is what they MEAN...kinda like, "yes, we have no bananas! report a problem
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