The first thing I say when I walk into a room is "Hi, how are you?" In Canada this nearly translates to "hello," since most people simply reply "good." But when I say it to students in Japan, they actually tell me the truth. I get as many "I'm very bad," as "I'm okay." Also, what they see as bad has great range.
How are you?
Bad. I'm very tired.
Did you sleep late last night?
Yes. Only two hours. (It happens to her every night)
How are you?
Bad. My older brother died. (This was from a student I met for the first time)
How are you?
Very bad. This morning, my wife was sick, so I had to make my
own breakfast. (I told him, if he was me, he would be feeling bad every day)
I don't think Japanese people have any problems sharing if you ask. For example, I had a really sophisticated, good-looking 40ish woman in a one on one class. The lesson was talking about being sick. I asked her when was the last time she was sick, and she told me in Thailand on vacation. I asked her about her symptoms and she flatly told me (remember, she looks cute, posh and refined) she had a headache, a fever and diarrhea. I asked didn't I? Anyways, we had a good discussion because I then shared with her that when I went to Thailand, I had diarrhea too. Talking about runny feces really made a strong bond between us.
A lot of the time, the students are very tired. They push themselves so hard. I can't imagine how they could fit English lessons into their lives. One time we were doing a lesson and the word "rat-race" came up. I explained, it's someone who works a regular, long hours desk job, usually from 9 to 5, 5 days a week. They started laughing when they heard 9 to 5. They asked me, did I mean to say 9 to 9? It's not uncommon for Japanese people to work everyday of the week. One of my students works everyday of the week and does overtime each day. A fellow teacher told me one of his students worked 3 months straight without a day off.
