Japanese Children and Guns

Does that freak you out? Sorry ^-^ No, this isn't about Japanese children who happen to be in possession of guns, but instead about the two things that I've really come to dislike while here. First off-

I like kids. I've even babysat before. But I just have an issue with most Japanese children. I admit, I am biased about this- after all, not everyone who comes to Japan ends up hitting a suicidal midget bent on ramming their bike- but it's not just that. They are spoiled rotten by their families. In Japan, the common mentality when it comes to raising kids is something like, "Little kids are so, so cute!! I'm going to let them just be cute little kids and do what they want until they have to go to school (where the teachers proceed to whip them into shape, quite to their surprise)." The result is a country brimming with these little spoiled, self-centered brats who are free to do what they want until elementary school. Granted, all kids go through a "The world revolves around me" phase, but here, it's terrible. Take this example:

Me: (walking in mall)
Little boy: You look so weird!!! (starts laughing)
His mom: (does nothing, continues shopping)

If that had been midget-me, my mom, and a strange foreigner, my mom would have at the very least made me apologize. (Right, Mom?) Herein lies yet another difference between America and Japan- in America, kids are typically taught manners and rules by their parents, usually fairly sternly/strictly. In Japan, they are mostly taught by teachers. Not to say teachers in America don't teach rules, or Japanese parents don't teach manners, but the balance is way different. And it never fails to tick me off when I see some little kid getting away with some naughty act while his/her parent stands by doing nothing. I have seen really cute little kids here being sweet and perfectly mannerly and whatnot, but sadly, the majority seems to be the spoiled ones. It really, really bothers me.

And the second thing is guns. I have been asked quite a few times now if I own a gun. Or my family. Or my friends. Or every single American in the US. I'm not saying gun violence isn't a problem or that it's not a bigger deal in the US than in a lot of places, but good LORD, if someone asks me that stupid stereotype one more time, I'm going to ship them off to America (express!) so they can see for themselves that America is not gun heaven. People here honestly believe that everyone in America owns a gun. And that's just the beginning of a huge list of stereotypes, some of which are:

-people where shoes while they sleep
-we eat fast food everyday
-we only shower once a week
-high school is exactly like the movies
-we worship Disney and Sesame Street

I always find it interesting to learn about stereotypes, but at the some time, I'm sick of them. It's just one more way to test my patience here.

On that tangent, I'd like to say a word about my January. I've never been more emotionally wrecked than I am now. When I first got here, I was missing my family and CULTURESHOCK. It got better and better, and things finally seemed to be turning for the better right around winter break, but something happened. I have no idea what. But essentially, sometimes I'm fine, and then the next moment I'm next to tears with frustration or just general depression (mostly about school). I am SO frustrated. I want to be able to read billboards and understand the news. I want to be able to make friends with my peers. I want people to see that I am someone beyond my inability to speak Japanese. It's horribly, terribly aggravating. The worst part, by far, is knowing that there's a place where I wouldn't have worry about learning another language/culture or making friends, because I already know English (and I'm pretty sure I've got a lot of American culture down), and I have great friends who I miss very much. I'm here because it was my choice, not because I was forced to move here or anything like that. Knowing that makes it harder somehow. I'm not ready to go back yet, but at the same time I don't know how I'm going to keep persevering here. Stuck in the middle, I guess you could say. It doesn't help that a lot of things about my placement aren't good for me- I asked for an art school, I got a sports one; I asked that they respect that I am a violinist, they found me a teacher a month late and didn't bother with the orchestra (which I'm having to hunt down through my school, ironically); I really don't think my district read my application at all.

Enough being sad. I will talk to you all later!

^-^