You do it? so you are Old.

I believe, and persuade myself that "the youth depends on soul". Yap, of course, why not? I am living as "an everlasting twenty-seven". However, I freeze when I find the "Obasan (old-lady)" on me sometimes. I have heard I talk like my mom (especially, when I use listing sounds), I realize I can complain easily when I shop. (I was too shy to do it when I was young), and I hardly use manicure now (I won't have an elaborate manicure like this, because I need to wash and cook.)

I found this message board. They are talking "You do it? so you are Obasan". (web translated) It's very interesting to read this for myself and I wonder if people in other countries will agree, or find any of the following characteristics familiar:

Lick fingers to open the plastic bag at a store.
Cut in the line and dash into the train to get a seat.
Talk and laugh loudly.
Talk in the middle of the sidewalk or in front of a shelf in the store.
Ask a clerk for help without checking for yourself at a store.
Wear expensive but old fashioned clothes.
Wear a T-shirt -- long and with an animal print centered in front is the worst.
When she laughs, she taps with the person next to her.
Tend to queue tightly when we make the line for the ATM machine.

I think becoming Obasan means no shaming and no feeling the vibration (we say read air) beyond a certain range from her. Then the range will be smaller and smaller.

Hmm I will add some.
rubber Wear elastic waist skirt or pants. (actually I should stop wearing some with stretch material.)
she likes animal print. (I suppose they need sexy pheromone, so she borrows it from the wild. Some said Obasan in the Osaka area need it when she browbeats the clerk to ask for a discount. It's kind of uniform for Obasans in Osaka.)
she cooks and eats foods that are nothing out of the ordinary. (food routines are part of getting into this Obasan pattern, changing is getting hard when we get older, and even on diet we can see it.)

On the message board, some said "she talks to strangers at the store or bus stop." This reminds me that my American friend said he could feel "I am home" when somebody said "hello", "how are you doing?" at a store in the U.S. In Japan, especially in the Tokyo area, we hardly say hello to strangers. Some think taking and keeping a certain distance is necessary etiquette. I don't dislike it when we say hello to each other. I am not sure which is nicer.

By the way, they did not mean that Obasan says hello to you at the store, or that an Obasan says "this is delicious, I knew it." when you see some food. She says "Ah.. what should I cook tonight" and watches you with a big "Huh?". Any creature except for the Obasan won't do it. What do you think? It is the same in your country?

Comments

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or something like that. We laugh (mostly because we're too embarrassed to do anything else), but I worry that he scares a lot of waitresses.

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Lick fingers to open the plastic bag at a store.
Cut in the line and dash into the train to get a seat.
Talk and laugh loudly.
Talk in the middle of the sidewalk or in front of a shelf in the store.
Ask a clerk for help without checking for yourself at a store.
Wear expensive but old fashioned clothes.
Wear a T-shirt -- long and with an animal print centered in front is the worst.
When she laughs, she taps with the person next to her.
Tend to queue tightly when we make the line for the ATM machine.

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[Mari]

Hi there
yes 空気を読む is natural way to say. I don't want to be 空気の読めない奴.

[claytonian]

ah thanks, I was wondering if it was 雰囲気を読む but that is good!

[ttancm]

Claytonian:

「空気を読む」

Less "reading the air" and more like "perceiving understanding the atmosphere/mood around you and acting accordingly"

[claytonian]

How do you say read the air in Japanese? 教えてね

[bshock]

In general, I think that people tend to become more outgoing as they get older. Of course, Americans tend to start as very outgoing (some would say arrogant) at an early age, so this effect of aging may be even more apparent in older Americans.

For example, my father has always been an outgoing person. One of his earliest jobs was as the manager of a grocery store, and so he always had to be very good about dealing with the public. Now that he's in his 60s, though, he will talk to anyone about anything -- or often, about nothing at all. When he and my mother visit me on their vacations, I constantly see my father strike up conversations with complete strangers and talk as though he's known them for years.

Perhaps the most embarrassing thing my father does now is "banter" with waiters and waitresses in restaurants. For example, my father's favorite joke is to wait until the bill for dinner arrives, then say to the waitress, "You remember, you told us this was free, right?" Sometimes he will just announce that he can't pay because he has no money, or ask the waitress to pay for him, or something like that. We laugh (mostly because we're too embarrassed to do anything else), but I worry that he scares a lot of waitresses.