The Monster Inside

I have never been one for confrontation.  Call it middle child syndrome or a naturally peaceful disposition or just plain cowardace, but when something gets on my nerves I almost always hold my tongue.  Sounds perfect for living in Japan, the passive aggressive capital of the world, does it not?

 

Chigaou!*

I hadn't realized it, but the extreme passivity of Japanese culture is too much, even for me. All the complaints that I have bottled up have begun to vent themselves... without my permission.

 

Just in the last month I have snapped on at least three occasions for offenses ranging from the extremely menial (persistent reminders in a facebook game) to the more peeving (America stereotypes) to the truly obnoxious (extremely loud neighborhood announcements at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. Screaming back at loudspeakers doesn't make me insane, does it?).

In almost all of these cases, I would normally just suck it up, keep the peace, say nothing... but there's a monster growing inside me. And if I keep feeding it all of my frustrations, irritations, and disappointments, I'm afraid it will take over completely.

I need guidance. How can I remain culturally sensitive and peacefully disposed without totally losing my marbles? Because, at this rate, the next sweet little granny who pats my belly and asks when I am due will be able to examine the contents of my stomach from the inside.

...'cause I'm gonna eat her.

The End.

*Chigaou is a Japanese expression which literally means "it's different" but is used in place of "no" because it's less confrontational... See what I did there?