(I told a version of this story the other night at my book event and I received so many questions about it after that I thought I would share it again here and include the link to more information....so here it goes...)
If a newcomer to Japan asks me for advice about living here, one of my answers is "you just got to expect the unexpected."
Whether that is a seeing a $300 melon at the grocery store (beware of a piece of fruit with a bow on it! Bow fruit is expensive). Or accidentally falling out of a cab because you don't know the cab doors open automatically. Or not recognizing your own bicycle at the impound center...seriously....who would have guessed that the lost-and-found attendants would not only clean your detained bike, but fix the chain, realign the basket and repair the bell? It looked like a whole new, rejuvenated, youthful bike. So much so, that, although at first you may be frustrated to spend the afternoon going to the impound center, admitting your mistake, paying your fine, and trying to figure out how to bike home; you're now thinking you should deliberately illegally park your bike around town every few months so it can get another awesome "lifestyle lift"...or perhaps even illegally park yourself.
Anyway....another "expect the unexpected" moment can come in form of a question. And, this happened to me a few years ago when one of my husband's coworkers came up to me during a company dinner and asked:
"What's your blood type?"
I was completely caught off guard.
So, NOW, I know that in Japan, this is actually a common question. In the Japan culture, many believe there is a correlation between your blood type and your personality. But, I did not know this. So, again, I was completely caught off guard.
And, I was nervous because this was my first company dinner.
And, I was nervous because I was the only spouse there.
And, I was nervous because I was the boss's wife and did not want to say the wrong thing.
So, as I finished chewing my edamame bean (by the way, edamame beans are not meant to be chewed), I thought about the possible answers to this question.
There are only so many.
The first answer I contemplated was to end the conversation right then and there.
I had no idea if "What's your blood type?" was a nice question or a naughty question, so I thought it might be best just to stop the discussion before it went any further...like asking me about my body mass index or asking about my bone density or asking whether I ever had mononucleosis...So, I thought I would say something like:
“Umm...wait a minute...chotto matte kudasai...do you see the tall foreigner guy over there? Just a reminder...he is your boss and my husband...nixay...eeeaaay....dame on the intimate blood questions...”
The second answer I was contemplating was to offer some motherly advice to this young man....something like:
“I know that I have been out of the dating game a long time, and believe me I am flattered that you have interest in me, but just to let you know that has got to be one of the WORST pick up lines ever...”
The third answer was to simply accept the compliment. Be flattered. C'mon, this was an after-work party afterall, so maybe it would be OK to be fun...
So my answer could be something like....
“Oh my gosh...Wow! You want to know more about me and my blood type? Is this some kind of hemoglobin hunger game or something? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I'm A...Maybe I'm B....Hey, do you know what A B A B can spell? ABBA! The band ABBA! Do you know their song Dancing Queen? C'mon now sing it with me....
You can dance
You can jive
Having the time of your life
See that girl
Watch that scene
Dig in the dancing queen......"
Fortunately, I decided not to go with any of those above options. Instead I cleared my throat (darn edamame bean) and decided to distract him with my new Japanese language skills.
I thought it would be best to change the subject by talking about the weather.
Now, I rarely talk about the weather in English. In fact, I remember trying to avoid memorizing weather questions and phrases during my Japanese language lessons because I figured I would never ever have a weather conversation.
But, let me tell you, weather is a perfect topic to bring up during awkward conversation moments.
So, when he came up to me and said: "What's your blood type?"
I took a few seconds thinking about my options and answered with a very confident:
"Ii tenki desu ne? Nice weather today, isn't it?"
And then I quickly continued with additional weather observations in beginner Japanese:
"Today the sky is blue. The sky is not black. Today is a nice day. Yesterday was a rainy day. It was not warm. Atatakakunakatta desu." Atatakakunakatta (it wasn't warm) is one of my favorite A words, by the way.
And, just to make we were off the subject of blood for good, I brought up my knowledge of the days of the week:
"Ashita wa kayoobi desu. Tomorrow is Tuesday."
The coworker politely bowed and then turned to my husband and said:
"What’s your blood type?"
To which my husband simply answered: "I'm an O."
And, I was like what? That’s it! All I had to do was answer with a letter? C'mon!
Note to self: From now on, let your husband answer the questions first. Oh, how I wish I was an "0".
(OK, now you know what to do-or not do-in case someone in Japan asks you about your blood type. And, if you want to check out your blood type & personality traits, check out the chart on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_types_in_Japanese_culture)
Cheers!
