Behold the Power that is

There is a thing called Gaijin Smash.

I may have mentioned it before. It gets its namesake from a popular blog run by a guy teaching via the JET program in Japan. Gaijin is a shortened word for "foreigner".

The Gaijin Smash is a technique which, when deployed, allows a non-Japanese to manipulate a situation in their favor. This is done simply by being foreign. Basically, do not handle a situation the way a Japanese would. Japanese speech is filled with apologies and courtesies. If you go so far as to be, say, monotone and stoic, this can send some Japanese people into a fit of confusion because they don't know how to react to it.

Tonight I actively utilized this.

There is an event approaching called the World Fair. IT's not an actual World Fair, but simply a festival on campus, and it gets its name from our multicultural student base. Each floor is supposed to do some sort of presentation. Either you stage an event (maybe dance on stage or something) or you can run a food booth.

I, personally, do not want to be involved. I can't see a particular reason why this is a mandatory thing to participate in, and considering it sounds like a lot of work to get absolutely nothing done, I really don't care. So when my RA came to the door to tell me that the meeting was started I asked him just that. "Is it mandatory?" But I did so using that whole Gaijin Smash set of body language and tone of voice. He stopped looking directly at me, and didn't necessarily say it was mandatory, but instead described what would be going on there. So I said "Right then" and he looked a bit more concerned about my uncompromising nature, and sort of just walked away.

Roshi smash.

Did I feel bad? A little bit. Do I care? Not much.

I'm fine with participating in a cultural festival. If I'm doing it with a club or of my own volition, that's one thing. It is not something that I will be forced into.

So, crisis averted.