Sandra Čehić

I and my husband lived in Yokohama from November 2019 to December 2020.
It's simply another world. They live their lives just like us, but they do most things in their own way. Japan differs from Asia as much as Asia differs from Europe. It’s about living on an island. Imagine the islet of Susak with 130 million people living there! Being a foreigner in Japan is difficult enough, let alone being a woman working for one of their corporations. They are big racists and chauvinists. Moreover, language is a problem. I can't even imagine how it was being a foreigner in Japan before Google Translate. One of the strangest things I experienced there was at my job interview when the Japanese boss wanted to talk to my husband. Another was dealing with a Japanese washing machine that washes only with cold water, and all of the instructions are in Japanese and Morse code. There was no English translation available online because these machines are only sold in Japan. Likewise, instructions for separating waste into seven groups, so when you throw away an umbrella, you have to break it into plastic, metal and fabric. Smoking is allowed inside an apartment, but not on the balcony. Japanese (men) dye their hair. In the drugstore, there is a special shelf with dyes for men's hair, and a separate shelf with dyes for women's hair. A colleague is late for work because some guy threw himself under the train, causing a delay. The (Japanese) boss asked him why he hadn't left for work earlier. During the Covid pandemic, although by law they could not bar people from being outdoors, when you advise them to stay home, 90% of the Japanese do so. Whereas we, folks from the Balkans, went out for a walk along the river instead. There we saw a passing boat where somebody was saying something over a loudspeaker. Of course, we couldn't understand a word, but we recorded it and Google-translated it back home. What he had been saying was: “Thank you for staying at home!”
The Japanese live for a hundred years – that's true, but not because of a healthy diet. They drink and smoke like crazy. They have excellent healthcare, they go for check-ups often and get treatment when sick. Unlike our 80-year-olds who don't go outside because it’s hard for them and they don’t see the point, 80-year-old Japanese go outside without a second thought. They use all sorts of aids, can barely move, but they go out nevertheless. When you see them out shopping it can seem like they’ll arrive there tomorrow, but they keep at it. There are no cats or dogs in the streets. Everything must be bought, a CHC (common house cat) can set you back about 2,000 US dollars. Animals must have health insurance. You cannot put an animal down “to put it out of its misery.” You’ve got vets, treatment, all possible aids, prostheses... just like for humans. Although they are highly Americanized, consumerism is less prevalent there than elsewhere. Things there get repaired, recycled, resold... In other words, everything is used to the maximum: people, animals, things. There is no surrender, no giving up.