Culture With a Side of Coffee

Being a 1.5 generation Japanese American comes with many struggles. I don’t fit in with the Japanese American community in Los Angeles. I moved away from Japan at a young age and barely remember my life there. Even people who knew me back then forget I was born in there.

There is no sense of ‘home’ in either of my countries. My father is American, yet I am constantly reminded that I am an immigrant in the US. And Japan? I am a foreigner because I don’t understand enough cultural customs to fully function as a Japanese citizen.

Knowing Japanese can be a double-edged sword, especially if you work for a Japanese American company. Once they know you speak the language, you’re expected to know every little thing about Japan, even things most Japanese aren’t fully aware of.

When I was working as a temp at a trading company office, I was given tasks that young men of similar age generally would not. One of those tasks was serving tea and coffee.

The CEO came to me one day and requested that I serve coffee to the customers. Okay sure, I responded. But no one had taught me, nor had I had an opportunity to learn, how to serve coffee or tea. I had no idea where the trays were, which cups to use, etc.

But they expected me to inherently know how to serve because (1) I am a woman, and (2), I speak Japanese well enough — I should automatically know how to serve coffee “the Japanese way.”

I went down to the kitchen and was at a loss. What was I supposed to do? Where do I start? Am I supposed to use these cups? What type of coffee did the customers like? I finally grabbed my Japanese trainer and I asked, “…how do you serve coffee, Japanese way?”

She kindly explained how I should prepare the coffee, how to present the tray, and who I should give coffee to first. Then she added, “I understand why you wouldn’t understand.”

That’s when I realized speaking Japanese with this non-Japanese looking face could be a disadvantage. My dad says I just need to deal with these situations. If you’re white and male, there’s less to “deal with.”