One of the Group

A couple of years ago one of my Japanese students and a friend of hers visited us in Thailand. We went to an orphanage where there was a boy of mixed lineage...Japanese and Thai. The next morning both the girls looked like hell. They said they were up all night talking about the child. They both said, "I feel a lot of shame" and "how could a Japanese man do this". Their culture had taught them that there was some shared responsibility...what a contrast to American individualism. At the time it seemed quite strange to me.

There is an American nearby who has done some very foolish things. Sandy and I both feel a certain amount of shame and have offered to help those affected in anyway they want. After living in Asia for 5 1/2 years (wow!) I suppose we have adapted by assuming some of the traits...not a bad thing.