Monday 23 August 2010

One one time... post office :o

Today I when to the mail-post to send a letter. As I'm leaving soon I put nothing in the "FROM" part of the envelop except for a joke-like 日本 (Japan) and my name. The face of the man working there, as I told I him I wouldn't have an address in Japan soon, was priceless: a mist of "oh shit" and "what can I do now" and "oooh SHIT". He talked to his college and he told him I should probably put my home-country address. By now I was enjoying the small dark box they were running in and told them I didn't want to do that. His face when from bad to worse. I'm the customer so, without one hundred and one per cent sure, he wouldn't be able to tell me I must do it. And his epic journey through bureaucracy started. He talked with the rest of his colleges, all of which looked sympathetic, waving their heads in acknowledge of the problem but, nevertheless, useless in solving the storm I've caused. Then, he when "inside" to the unknown and invisible parts of the building, the deepest offices of the Vogons in charge. After a while he was out, maybe not with a solution but at least, apparently, with a plan. The promptly when to his desk, picked up the phone dialed and ... waited. After a while a conversation had begun to surge and, as your eyes met I know the storm was coming to an end. Finally, he came to me and, with no doubts or problems or thoughts, told that I must put my home adress in the letter.

This short, truth, sightly humorist and somewhat sad story shows what I consider to be the worse part of the Japanese culture in motion. The total inability to see, analyze and go beyond the preset rules; the small through completely and utterly stuck in the small dark box of the corporate culture; the total lack of flexibility to solve, by other means and other, more suitable, ways, a specific, unpredicted problem; is what ultimately limits and shorten the views and minds of this beloved country. If, by some magical achievement, the Japanese spirit could go past this limitation and, at the same time, keeping the union, the effort and the persistence that characterizes them, Japan would go even further, reaching to the stars and beyond, like no other country does and is doing in this day and age.

皆さん頑張れ!

2 comments:

  1. desde qd escreves "when" em vez de "went"? :p

    nao uma,nem duas..mas as 4 vezes q usaste de maneira errada...bem diziam q ao aprenderes nihongo q o teu engo piora :p

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  2. Miguel :D

    Ja nao vinha aqui há imenso tempo, assim como já nao falo contigo há imenso tempo :O

    Espero que esteja tudo bem :) estas quase a voltar :P
    Confesso que ate tenho saudades :)

    Por aqui esta tudo bem :) tem chovido e feito sol, mas nada de muito calor.. como consegues ter ainda 3camisolas vestidas, com esse calor que descreves? :O es mesmo doido :P

    (quanto a mim e a exames, as coisas nao correram muito bem :/ subi a media, mas pouquissimo e o provavel e ir para dentaria aqui em Coimbra :) . Quando vieres falamos melhor :D)

    Beijinhos grandes :D

    PS: Tambem quero ir ao Japao :D (que inveja :P)

    Catarina

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