Courtesy by definition is respectful or politeness in one's attitude or behavior toward others. In my opinion, the Japanese culture embraces this valuable trait and demonstrates its true meaning. I cannot go one day without witnessing people being courteous to one another. To be honest, just being around all the "niceness" is causing me to become a better person. Here are some of my most common and most observable examples:
1. If you are walking toward an intersection with the intention of crossing and the "walking man" light starts to blink, you don't just dodge and cut between cars...that's RUDE. You sprint to the clearly marked intersection and continue sprinting across the street in the clearly marked crosswalk.
2. Say you have the sniffles and occasionally a throat tickle that causes you to cough. You don't just walk around potentially making others ill too...No, that's RUDE, so you wear a germ mask. You don't wear it to avoid getting sick, you wear it to avoid making others sick.
3. When you are at the grocery store, the clerks don't bag your stuff, because then the people behind you would have to wait. How RUDE! After you pay, you take your items along with the bags that the cashier provided over to a bagging counter where you can bag them without holding up the line.
4. If you are riding on a train or bus, even for extended periods of time, you either read or play on your cell phone. You don't stare at others, you don't talk on your phone, you don't even talk in hushed voices to those around you...that's RUDE.
5. Why on Earth would you dream of honking at someone...that's RUDE.
6. And don't even think about shouting, even if you're trying to get someone's attention...talk about RUDE!
7. Anytime you need to maneuver your vehicle to park, get down a two-way street the width of a grocery isle, wait for a friend on the street side, you put on your hazard lights...if you don't you're RUDE.
8. Say you are moving into your house and the moving men come strolling in with your boxes and furniture...Talk about RUDE...over here, the workers run (literally) in and out of your house with your goods...there's no such thing as laziness.
9. Well, speaking of hustling...if you are in the service profession and don't move quickly...you are so RUDE.
10. Picking your nose in public...surprisingly, not RUDE.
11. You move into a new house, in a new neighborhood...what should you do? Get each and every neighbor a small gift so you aren't the new RUDE neighbor. What should you get? The Japanese love American candy, food, and other items that are hard to get.
12. Do people here jaywalk? Absolutely not! That's RUDE! You walk in the crosswalk and when it says you can walk...and not a minute sooner.
13. Everyone smokes over here, do you walk around smoking and sightseeing? No again. In fact, the signs here claim that walking with a lit cigarette is like walking around with a 360 degree maiming weapon. You should only smoke in designated dark nooks, otherwise, you might be RUDE.
14. Never pour your own drink (one might judge you as RUDE)...only pour other's and hope that they reciprocate.
15. When entering another's home, always take off your shoes. It's poor etiquette not too, and also considered RUDE.
16. Someone special gave you a gift...don't open it in front of them unless you want to be considered RUDE. Wait until they have left and then enjoy.
17. Stray leaf blowing down the sidewalk...Hurry! Sweep it up...and throw it away in the proper trash...burnable. It's not RUDE if the trash man throws your trash back on your doorstep if you made a mistake, you should have read the directions for your trash!
18. A stranger in front of you drops a 10-yen piece...Quick, pick it up and sprint after him and return it. Make sure you don't shout his name though, it might startle him, which might be RUDE. Even though it's only worth about 1 cent, that is his money after all.
19. Similar situation, but this time he forgets his receipt at a store. The cashier doesn't want to be RUDE, so she sprints after him, maybe even out the door and down the street in order to give it to him.
20. Phone/cable company representative makes a mistake on the phone and gives you the wrong quote for a service. She calls you back 4 times that same night to apologize. She is definitely not RUDE.
Hopefully, these examples have given you a little insight into my life these past few months. I can't think of one instance here that I exaggerated...which is pretty marvelous in itself. The courtesy in Japan is amazing. I can only hope that I learn the "rules" quickly so that I am not ever considered RUDE!
