Paper # 2 – Birth Order
October 23, 2007Write on how being born the oldest (youngest, middle, only) child has affected you in becoming the person you are today. My paper is about how being born Japanese in a foreign country has made me the person I am today. As in all assignments, you guys are free to modify the topic to fit a reality in your life.
How Having Been Born Japanese Brazilian Affected My Life
Having been born Japanese in the Brazilian culture has certainly brought me up with a severe aversion to touch. In the Japanese culture, touching others is a clear sign of invasion of someone’s personal space. Unlike Latin cultures, the Japanese do not greet each other with kisses or hand shakes. A single bow usually suffices. At home while I was growing up, my parents and relatives did not use to touch me in any occasion. When a Brazilian visited my parents’ place when I was a child, they used to respect our tradition and just nod whenever we were around. To make matters harder for me, I went to elementary school and junior high-school in California, where Americans do not greet each other with kisses on the cheeks either. Nevertheless, after I came back to study at Colégio Bandeirantes as a teen, kisses and handshakes became inevitable in the school environment. I still remember the first time a girl came closer to reach for my cheeks. I was twelve at the time and she was thirteen. Watching her lips come close me was a weird mixture of euphoria and invasion of personal space. As I felt her body heat next to mine, my whole body tensed up in a freeze. At the same time that I enjoyed the contact, I also found it repugnant. I thought I would relax after the kiss, but I remained with my eyes closed for an extra microsecond after the greeting, probably making the girl think that I was some sort of a nerd. It took me quite sometime to get used to it, and I must confess that until today I am not so comfortable with kissing people I barely know. And I am quite sure that other Japanese people born in Latin countries probably feel the same way I do about touch.
