Worst Culture Shock Ever
Well, this is kind of a long story, but I feel like I should tell it. Please bear with me, I'll try not to be too boring.
If you're on my f-list you know I work as an ALT in an elementary school. You should also know that Japan is one of the safest countries in the world (duh). Also of note, normally ALTs are treated kindly as fellow teachers and placed at a desk in the teacher's lounge, however, my school is extremely large for an urban school and so my desk is in the adjoining broadcasting room and they more or less treat me as lower than a visitor. So when I went school yesterday and placed my bag (with my wallet inside) over the back of my chair it was business as usual.
I had first period to plan. I always put aside lunch money gradually over the week so that I have exact change by the time it's due Friday. So I know I had my wallet, and I know that I had 16000yen (roughly $160). I taught 2nd period and came back in the room for the 20minutes. Then left again to teach 3rd and 4th period. Since my desk is in the broadcasting room, there are children running in and out of there all the time. I went to lunch in the teacher's lounge and came back around 1:00. I was starting to prepare for the next day's classes when a staff member appeared in my doorway and handed me my wallet. I was shocked to find it was missing in the first place. I opened it and it was empty.
Next, we went to the vice-principal. He gave me a panicked look when he confirmed what I was saying. Then we went to the principal. They asked me about the details over and over again. Then they called a representative from my company who came in about an hour. I was pretty upset, the money was for my boyfriend's birthday. I sat in the broadcasting room and cried a little.
Finally, my company translator arrived and we all sat in the principal's office. They went over the details of my day AGAIN. Then they started to imply that I had lost the wallet or the money myself. I sort of ignored their implications and answered very directly (AMERICA!FUCKYEAH!). Then they started to tell me things that more directly blamed me, like "You really shouldn't bring luxury goods here." I pointed out that I normally don't carry that much money, and I have no luxury goods; and "Are you SURE it was in the bag?" Umm, god, yes for the millionth time. It went on for a little while. They also said this phrase which confused me at the time "You know, the money might appear after a few days." (I later had this "culture translated" as we will hunt this down, instead of the vague and mysterious way appear sounds. At this point though I thought they were just not gonna look for it at all) After they realized that they couldn't intimidate me into admitting fault, I eventually heard the famous phrase I've read in manga "Well... even though the things you say are true..." So I knew I was totally screwed.
They skirted around the issue for awhile and then asked me "So, do you want to accuse the school?" I seriously didn't understand at the time, but it really drove home the idea that I was an outsider attacking the school. I started to cry and they assumed that meant yes so they really started to panic. I could not speak. Later I found out that what they had meant was "Do you want to start a police investigation?" OMG, it never occurred to me, because this kind of thing is sort of normal in America and they would just deal with it internally without even asking. However, my company later told me that it's completely unheard of in Japan and no one they talked to has EVER heard of this happening. If the police did get involved, or even if other students found out, that kids life would be OVER. Like ruined for life.
I finally managed to calm down and told them "Let me be clear, the money was important to me, but of course the school is more important." So then they started to relax. Which I kind of didn't notice. To me, I thought I had surrendered. The students had gone home and that money was gone. The school had not even tried to check anyone. I felt SO victimized. At one point they said, "Please don't doubt the students...because you're a teacher." SERIOUSLY??? WHO ELSE WOULD DO IT???ARGGG!!! They really gave me the attitude of "how dare you accuse our precious students of doing anything wrong??? It's obviously YOUR fault."
Then they started to question me about money. Telling them out loud that I was still pretty poor also made me cry. They had suddenly switched from being freaked out about the police ruining a student's life to being freaked out about the crying foreigner in their office. The translator felt so bad she set up for the company to pay my lunch money for the rest of the month. It's not much, but it was kind. I was still really upset and crying though because that's not what I wanted. I did and didn't care about the money. It was a lot and I wanted it back, but I didn't want their pity and charity!
Then the principal keeps telling me to smile and be genki (energetic/happy). She gives me tiny meringue treats that are lying around. I'm still crying. She gives me chocolate souvenirs that are just lying around. I'm still crying and her weird behavior is just making me more confused and upset. Then she picks up a bag to the side that was filled with 200yen ($2) Halloween junk and gives it to me. I'm still crying and this is just making me more bewildered and upset. I'm not a two year old, so why does she think this will suddenly distract me from my misery??? Then she tears open the package to the costumes and puts one on and is dancing around the room. OMGWTFFFFF???? I'm just even more upset as I'm seriously overwhelmed by the things I don't understand.
It took hours before I could leave the office. When I say "could" I mean "they wouldn't let me". After a few hours of me crying and being useless we left the office and then had to have a meeting in the teacher's lounge. They hadn't told me, but I had to do model lesson for the board of education the next day. Awesome. I went home, cried a bunch more, took a shower and got a call from a foreigner at my company who finally helped me break down what happened. It was seriously the worst experience I've had in Japan, more so than I can accurately explain. Long story short, I thought they weren't doing anything about it and were just accusing me of lying. Actually they were trying to keep a student's life from being ruined and were planning on investigating it internally and super secretly. I think a lot of the problem was just poor communication and misunderstanding the situation and being overwhelmed. The moral of the story is: You will never be trusted and always be sided against and thought of as an outsider in this country.