Write 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.
