i think if i didn't look japanese and my foreigness was spotted a mile away, i would've had a hard time adjusting to life in japan.  dude even though i'm a foreigner in japan, i can spot the other foreigners a mile away.  and when i say foreign i basically mean any other non-asian ethnicity.  i can't help but look at a foreigner when i see one, because i think to myself, "ooo, i bet they speak english, what program are they in?" and there's this instant foreign connection.  however, they don't notice that i'm foreign and i just look like every other japanese person staring and gawking at their foreigness.

so i'm on the train with my ALT friends and some look "foreign".  everyone on the train stares at us, and i just want to yell at them, to mind their own business.  okay for most foreigners being in japan, they get the "star status".  i mean seriously the amount of people that would be looking at a movie star in america, is the same as the japanese people looking at foreigners.  some foreigners love the attention and some get annoyed of it.  lately i've been sympathizing with my friends and admire them for constantly being watched... because i don't think i could handle it.

another thing is that since i look japanese, the japanese people will come to talk to me about my foreign-looking friends.  sometimes their comments are casual, just about where they are from, what they are doing... BUT, sometimes they are rude and make fun of the way they look or say something that shows how japan views their country (mainly being japan is better)... and when that happens, i just ignore them and tell them i don't understand.  there are some people that are very close-minded and have no knowledge about the outside world, but continue to talk as if they do.

anyhow, it's nice to blend in once and a while, until i open my mouth, then that's a different story.