The Cutest Stereotype

Living in Japan while being a foreigner... you're guaranteed to hear a stereotype or two about your background. Well, this has probably got to be the cutest stereotype... not so much because of the actual content of the stereotype, but because of the delivery of the stereotype.

Conversation with a first grader:

(After finding a fifth graders hat)

S - ビクター，だれのぼし？ [Victor, whose hat is that?]
Me - ごねんせいのぼし。 [A fifth grader's hat.]
S - 見せて。。。ア，そうだ。 [Let me see... oh, so it is.]
　
(I point at the name on the hat written in kanji.)

Me - 読めますか? [Can you read it?]
S - 読めない [I can't read it]
Me - 私も読めない [I can't read it too]
S - 何で？ [Why?]
Me - 日本語は難しいよ！ [Japanese is hard!]
S - 何で？ [Why?]
Me - 日本人じゃない。 [I'm not Japanese.]
S - そうなんの？ [Really?]
Me - アメリカ人ですよ。 [I'm American.]
S - ええええ。日本人が見える。 [Huh... you look Japanese.]
Me - 何で？ [Why?]
S - 目は同じ色です。 [We have the same color eyes.]
Me - え？ [Huh?]
S - アメリカ人は水色目がある。 [Americans have light blue eyes.]
Me - えと。。。時々水色目があります。 [Uh... sometimes they have light blue eyes.]
S - いつも！ [Always!]

So, yeah... I basically look Japanese because I have brown eyes... when I should have light blue eyes. I know it's not good to encourage stereotypes... but, when it comes from a first grader... it just comes out too cute.

Besides, I then got to teach him that Americans have different colored eyes... including brown, blue, light blue, grey, green... so on and so forth.

So, it worked out at the end... he learned that Americans are capable of having different eye colors.

Also, at least his reasoning for thinking I'm Japanese is better than what adults usually base it on. This kid based me being Japanese on something concrete (eye color)... rather than the fact that I've simply said こんにちは (Hello). So many times... me saying the simplest Japanese expressions, get adults thinking I'm Japanese. Uh... I didn't even say something complicated... heh heh...

So, yeah... I love my students!