“I want to work with you because you have a unique perspective. You don’t bring in the bias that a lot of local designers have.”

That’s what my new client basically told me last week. Whoa! Is this really happening?

If you are reading this, you might know that I’ve not had much luck with local employers. When you are bilingual and see things locals don’t see, instead of sharing, you should shut up, was what I’ve learned in workplaces in Tokyo. “We are delighted that you have something wonderful to share with us! Now, would you please kindly get the f*** out here? Arigato! Please come again!”

I didn’t want to starve myself to death though. I began writing this newsletter and now I’m trying to get up like five in the morning. Getting up early in the morning sucks. But when I can meet people outside of the cultural boundary and gain insights that I can never come up with on my own, it’s worth it. By the way, I can hardly believe I’m writing this. I don’t feel quite right promoting something virtuous like “rise early and get to work” sort of productivity boosty stuff.

I need some serious justification to do something “incorrect” for me to stay sane. Like wasting time by thinking about stuff.

Oh, here’s something! Back in the 7th century, Japanese envoys had to travel all the way to China to gain access to new information. They had no GPS or jets. Half of them never returned as ship wreckages were common and unfriendly tribes were waiting on the road too. On top of that, they had to bring tributes. But in return, they came back with the coolest stuff like new technology, religion, philosophy, etc.

I’m trying to recall what I learned back in elementary school in Japan so my apologies for inaccuracies. But now in 2020, I can fire up my Zoom app and have access around the world.

I guess I should be immensely grateful and stop complaining already.

Speaking of complaining, it sucks when I don’t share the same perspectives with locals. I wish I could just forget about the fact that I speak Japanese and English. Boasting bilingual capabilities is nice on a resume but when it comes to real-life interactions with employers, it has been a shackle, not a lifesaver. But as a possessor of the privilege, it has certainly been very interesting to have sufficient knowledge in both languages though.

For example, the English page says Japanese envoys used to pay tribute to Chinese emperors by the 1st century. Wow! I learned in my Japanese history class that it didn’t start until the 7th century! And speaking of “the tribute,” I imagined a world similar to that of the movie “The Huner Games.” You know, a small feeble tribe needing to pay some ransom money and sacrifice human lives just so they don’t get annihilated by your Big Brotherly Panda. Poor Japanese people getting exploited for centuries!

Then the flip side: In its Japanese page, the history told from the tribute giver said “tributing” was highly profitable to Japan. Oh? In return for sending tribute to China, Japan would receive “gifts” that were 10x the worth of tribute. From the Chinese end, it was a money-losing transaction. What? Why would they do that? That’s like an economic suicide for 1000 years!

‍

There were some pragmatic reasons. Although the Chinese dynasties had much more power than their neighbors, conquering and later defending territories didn’t make much economic sense. It might look good on a map but spending money on faraway territories that don’t yield much was just a huge burden to the national coffin. It made more sense to give away expensive “gifts” and recognize the foreign heads of state with some respectable titles. Things are more peaceful that way and so it went for centuries.

Looks like the “tributing” practices between China and Japan were not as dystopian as I imagined from the Hollywood movies. And yeah, sometimes, reading about history from two different languages helps me frame the world from different perspectives. So, being bilingual is all right sometimes.

It’s been true that boasting bilingual trivia doesn’t pay the bill most of the time. But then, it’s also true that there came a new client, who hired me for my fresh take on things. Hmm, life is interesting!

‍