The Confidence-Boosting Compliments Department

Japanese people are often amazed when they see foreigners surviving in Japan. Often they ask, "Are you able eat Japanese food?" which sometimes also is phrased as, "Do you like natto?" Natto tastes just like it looks, which is eeuwhhghghh, and the Japanese get a kick out of the fact that, though Westerners are quite good with most Japanese cuisine, natto is still out of our culinary reach.

When Westerners do show some skill in reading and speaking Japanese or eating Japanese cuisine, we are often complimented generously. For instance, I went into a bento (boxed lunch) shop, and told the lady behind the counter, "It all looks delicious."

Her face lit up like a prairie at sunrise. "Your Japanese is so good!" she cried.

I've also been praised for my ability to eat sushi, my talent for writing my name, and the language skills I possess for asking for the check at a restaurant.


Usually these comments are made in good humor, and it shows that they are trying to start a conversation with a safe topic in easy Japanese, and I really do appreciate it.

Yesterday, however, I received a compliment that I must say not only made all of my other worries dissipate, but reminded me that even though I may not write the next Great American Novel or win a Nobel Prize, sometimes it's the simplest things that matter most.

"My, my," said a kind woman who sat next to me on the counter at a little bar, watching me eat, "you are so good at using chopsticks!"

"Well," I said, turning towards her, in the coolest possible voice I could muster, "thank you."