On being Gaijin

I wonder sometimes, what it is like for some of the Japanese people I encounter in my daily life. In America people often tell stories to their friends or family about encounters they have with strange people. Do people do that in Japan too? If so, I wonder what some people I've had run-ins with might say...

Two weeks ago my friend Jen and I had lunch at an okonomiyake restaurant. Okonomiyake is a dish where you mix together meat and vegetables in a thick liquid, pour it onto a hot griddle and cook it like a pancake. Each table has a mini-griddle, and you mix the ingredients yourself. So, on with the story - from the perspective of, let's say, Yuki.

So two Gaijin came into the restaurant today. When they entered they bowed and said konnichi wa, so I thought maybe they spoke some Japanese. I was so wrong. I gave them the menus, and they looked really confused. They were talking - it seemed like they were discussing what to get. I didn't understand most of it but I was able to make out okonomiyaki - albeit in a very un-Japanese accent. Finally they pointed to a picture of a monjomiyake set for one. I thought to myself, ok Gaijin, whatever. There were two of them, but I didn't say anything.

When I brought them the food I offered to show them how to mix and cook but they just wanted to do it themselves. I walked by a couple of times and they seemed to be doing fine pushing the monjomiyake around on the griddle and cooking away the liquid, but then after a little while they waved me over. They started frowning, pointing to the monjomiyake, gesturing wildly and jabbering in Eigo – and I totally didn’t understand them! Finally one of them looked at me inquisitively and said ‘egg?’ Then I realized – they wanted okonomiyake! Those Western fools.

I took out one of the menus, pointed to the monjomiyake, and then pointed to the okonomiyake, which they promptly ordered. Thankfully at that point Taro came in, and he speaks better English than I, so I passed off the clueless Gaijin to him.