In East is East, Hiro, a Japenese man, has jumped ship and swam to a remote town in georgia in the mid 1900's (I think). This post is about how his interactions with people show how little each culture knew about the other. The southerners of small town Georgia had no idea what life was like in Japan, or even how to distinguish Japanese from Chinese, while Hiro had not-so-untrue stereotypes of Americans being fat and lazy.
When Hiro first encounters the Americans, he thinks they are all trying to kill him when really they are just wondering what he's doing, and the Americans end up thinking he's up to no good and decide to search for him just because he can't communicate well and doesn't look like them. I think that this is a really good depiction of how ignorant we can be sometimes, we just as humans in general. Our different cultures can develop on such different paths that when they intersect just by chance, they don't mix very well. However, tourism is in a completely category than this because when people visit new places, they are expected and expecting to be confused, and there are plenty of accommodations. This is different because the natives aren't used to people who don't fit in and because the one who's out of place has no idea what he's doing.
I totally agree with you! I think that more people should be able to travel the world and experience new places along with cultures. It's important to judge another human being just because of the way they look or talk. It kind of relates to the french students that came today. All humans are humans wether they speak another language or are from a different place. Many people make stereotypes they aren't fair to make and the word just spreads. Great job on your post! Seems very interesting:)
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