Do interrupt!

In the SILAC Program at Yamasa, Thursday is the last day of the week.  The new week starts with a half day in the morning on Friday.

On Thursday afternoon, we have elective classes.  Each week we can choose between pronunciation and intonation, or kanji.  Now that I'm in SE Class (intermediate), I can also choose the business manner class, so that's what I did this week.

The differences between languages includes other things besides vocabulary and grammar.  Languages have speaking cultures as well. We worked on one aspect that differs between Japanese an many other languages including English and Portuguese.

In the US, and many other English-speaking countries (as well as in Brazil), it's rude to interrupt someone when they are talking.  The polite listener will sit quietly and let the speaker speak.

In Japanese, the opposite is true.  There are little words and phrases called aizuchi like these:

• Hai ("Yes (I heard you)")
• Sō desu ne ("That's so, isn't it?")
• Sō desu ka  ("Is that so?)
• Naruhodo ("Of course")
• Hontō desu ka ("Really?")

Interjecting aizuchi intermittently signal to the speaker that the listener is indeed listening, and understanding what is being said.  If a listener doesn't do this, the Japanese speaker will wonder if they are paying attention or whether they understand what is being said.

In English, if a listener kept saying, "yep," "really?" "of course," 'uh-huh," "got it," etc, the speaker would feel rushed to make a point or move on to a more interesting part of the story.  The general response would be, "Are you going to shut up and let me finish?"

In the business world, problems arise when foreign business people hear the Japanese continuously agree with what is being said, only to not have a signed contract in the end.  In truth, the Japanese were only saying that they heard and understood what was being said, but were neither agreeing nor disagreeing with it.

I also learned how to properly open a sliding door to a tatami room and how to pick up my chopsticks like I was not raised in a barn.

To open the door, kneel on the floor and reach up with the hand that's closest to the indentation on the front of the door (where a doorknob would be) and open the door most of the way.  Then, use the other hand push it open the rest of the way.

Chopsticks should be set on your tray so that the end that you hold them with is to your right. These instructions are for regular chopsticks, not the disposable kind that have to be pulled apart first. Using your right hand, pick them that end up from above.  Rest the eating end of the chopsticks on the fingers of your left hand, and deftly move your right hand under the chopsticks and hold them as you would to eat.  When you need to set them down, do the same thing in reverse.

What if you're already holding your rice bowl in your left hand?  Simply use the end of your left pinky to steady the chopsticks while you move your right hand into position to hold them.

I did try to find a video demonstrating this.  There are lots of videos that will teach you how to pick up a grain of rice with chopsticks, but not how to pick up the chopsticks -- not properly, anyway.