Culture Shock

The following is an excerpt from a role play where Eien Fumetsu is on his second day at his new job at Sakura Sushi. Because it’s a small business and employees need to be versatile in more than one area of the work, Stephanie Yamada is training Eien to close the till.

Stephanie Yamada was already behind the till before the chef's shift began. She was going through the cash out envelope from the night before and running the curled debit machine receipts through her thumb and her pointer finger to flatten them before piling them up again in neater stacks. She pulled out the calculator and began rechecking the totals with a look of intense focus. Her sleek black hair was wound into an interesting sort of figure 8. Her square glasses slid down her nose a bit as she leaned over the receipts. Stephanie had a slim build and wore a simple black v-neck t-shirt with a teal cotton circle skirt that came just above the knees over black leggings. Black ballet flats contained her small feet and the left one tapped on the floor softly as she worked.

Eien Fumetsu walked into Sakura Sushi in much higher spirits.  A second job under his belt and, he hoped, a third before another twenty-four hours had past.  His locs were secured in a dead simple head wrap, nothing wild sticking out.  So he was appropriate.  The hairnets never seemed to look right to him, but they were practical.  Just ugly and even he had moments of ego.  There was a woman at the register, and he guessed it was Stephanie Yamada.  "Konnichwa."  he greets her and moves past, setting his bag in the space provided for him.  "You are Yamada-san, yes?"  if she was a thief, she had a very impractical way of going about it.

Stephanie looked up and gave Eien a friendly smile " Konnichiwa Fumetsu-san. Yes I better be. No one else can read Garrett's scribbles. Just catching up on deposits. How was your first night?" She kept on task while chatting and bagged the receipts and cash and then moved onto the envelope from the lunch shift that had just past that day. 

Eien watched her work and was surprised both in her use of Japanese, which only the elders had used with him so far and her ability to work and talk, as he did.  A good work ethic and he approved, not that it mattered.  "The first night went very well, thank you."  he continued to use English to speak.  "I was a bit taken back with the shift being only four hours, but I have found other work to make up for missing hours."  he isn't really complaining, especially since he has found other jobs.  "Soon I will get used to Canadian ways."  he promises her.

Stephanie laughed "You would have gotten along well with my grandfather. Work hard...work harder...work some more...drink Sake. He used to say. The labour laws are different too here." She paused briefly to rapidly add up her next sets of receipts and then looked up again "So tonight you're going to learn some of this. I think Garrett gave you the basics of ringing things up and charging with cards on the machine. He probably didn't make you watch him close with all the deliveries I see though right? I'm not going to make you watch. I'm going to walk you through the steps as you do it. The more you do the close, the faster you remember how it goes. First thing today, we have a big tray order for the town hall meeting. Ready to cook for the mayor on your second day Eien? Gar should be here soon as well....and Mom with my kid - to hand off to my friend Anna to babysit tonight." She sticks a lengthy but immaculately written order sheet in a magnet clip by the prep area.

Eien laughed as well.  "But I do not drink sake.  My parents did not believe in drinking, so when they went to Osaka from Trinidad, they did not pick up the drinking.  I only drink very little."  he nods.  "In Japan I do not think they tell you how much you can work."  he agreed.  Then he watched her and nodded as she told him what he would be doing.  "I learn the best by doing, so I think you."  he takes in a deep breath.  "Hai!  I am ready for the mayor."  and he bows, honored to have been given a job for a very important person.  He looks a bit excited and eager for the responsibility.  "I will not fail."

Stephanie smiled and finished the deposit bag, sealing the top and then stuffing it in her purse. Just then Sakura Yamada came in herding a cherub faced young boy who was walking with a slight limp. He had Stephanie's eyes, hair colour and nose but a very European descended Winston Churchill-esque mouth, chin and jaw set. He wore black track pants, hightop runners and a yellow hoodie sporting a graphic of the Minecraft Enderdragon. Sakura looked like an older, slightly curvier and more glamorous version of Stephanie. Her grey hair was rolled back on both sides and pulled together at the nape of her neck with a sparkling butterfly clip. She wore a deep red blouse and a high waisted black and white herringbone checked skirt with a pair of simple black pumps. Stephanie scooted out from behind the till and hugged the child and then spoke with him quietly for a few minutes. He did not look enthusiastic about the conversation and made several faces of protest during it.

Sakura beamed at Eien and walked behind the counter speaking cheerfully in Japanese after a respectful bow "Welcome Fumetsu-san! I'm so glad to meet you after our emails and phone call. Garrett tells me you make a great Nabemono. I'm sorry I missed it. Hiro was having a tough night. Tonight is better. "

Eien watched Stephanie while she worked, learning. He looked towards the door when it opened and made a note of the child, who had to be this clumsy son.  He smiles slightly and bows deeply to the elder.  "Konnichwa, Yamada-sama.  It is an honor to met with you as well.  And I am flattered by the compliment to my cooking.  If you desire I can make you nabemono whenever you desire."  for him the employer is as close as he currently has to a family.  He does not look at the child, thinking it may be disrespectful.  "I am glad that he is doing better."

The door opened again and Garrett dashed in with a guilty expression "Sorry I'm late." He muttered as he passed his mother and exchanged a black hoodie for his chef's jacket. He wore his usual black cargo pants and khaki green cap for work and slip on casual checked shoes. He washed his hands quickly with his back to Sakura's momentary look of disapproval. She quickly replaced her smile as she turned back to Eien "City hall order tonight?" She said after glancing at the order up. “Mayor Douglas loves the Alaska Roll. Make that one extra nice, just a bit of cucumber for the crunch."

Garrett turned towards the serving area looking humble and as he walked forward, the door opened again and Anna Wright came in. Garrett froze like a deer in the headlights. Sakura inhaled audibly and shot a concerned look between Garrett and Anna.

Stephanie threw her arms in the air and swooped at Anna "You're a lifesaver. Thank you thank you thank you!"

Anna smiled awkwardly and hugged Stephanie and then looked down at the child "Hey Tristan. I hear you need to put your feet up. Wanna order some pizza and watch Minions?"

Tristan grinned and fist pumped the air "Yes!"

Anna laughed and then looked behind the counter like she was trying to be very careful about something "Hello Sakura." Her voice got noticeably quieter as she said "Hey Garrett." She quickly looked away and noticed Eien "Oh hi....." She trailed off in the overall tension of the moment.

Eien nods, listening to Sakura.  "Hai.  I will add a bit of the cucumber.  Thank you for the suggestion."  he bows and begins to do the order up for the Mayor.  He glances up at the sigh and when Anna speaks to him, he replies, although he doesn't stop in his work.  "Herro, Anna Wright-san."  he speaks the first word very slowly.  He and Anna knew each other very slightly but she had helped him to fine-tune that one very difficult English word.  As long as he didn't speak too quickly, he thought he might be alright.  He wasn't in a physical position to see any exchange between Anna and Garrett.  "You look very good today."  he complimented her.

Garrett grunted something back at Anna that vaguely sounded like "Hi." and then picked up a knife and started slicing into eel like he was committing a murder. Sakura finally exhaled and stepped away from the chef's table, leaving Eien to stand beside the carnage alone.

Stephanie looked her her mother and her mouth formed an O before she winced and then lifted Tristan's chin with the crook of her finger and looked him in the eyes "Anna is the boss. Don't be a pizza pig and mind your manners. Got that kiddo?"

Tristan struggled to pull away from the finger under his chin but his mother's hold was practised “Mom! OK...OK.....let go!"

Stephanie smiled, gave him a peck on the cheek and let go "And have fun. Use napkins not your shirt.....off you go."

Tristan hobbled as fast as his injured foot would let him and grabbed Anna by the hand "Come on boss lady! We're free!!! FREE!"

Anna looked thankful to be dragged out and yelled back "Bye!" to the whole group.

Sakura called after "No kiss for Grandma? Ah...he's too fast and she said the p word." Anna and Tristan were out the door before Sakura finished the sentence.

Stephanie tiptoed behind the counter and walked around to the side of Garrett furthest from Eien "Gare...I'm sorry. Is this the first time you've seen her since you guys broke up?"

The eel Garrett was massacring was now not even fit to be served. His eyes were watering fiercely and he shook his head "Yep. It's fine." He wiped his eyes with the back of his arm and looked at the eel, putting down the knife "Shit..." Stephanie leaned her head on his shoulder and wound her arm gently around his lower back.

Sakura put a stack of take out menus into the holder in front of the till and shook her head quietly.

Eien was about to protest the treatment of the eels when he figured out that there was something between Anna and Garrett.  A breakup, apparently.  He could sympathize, but he was still preparing the sushi, hie care delaying him only slightly.  So looking back to his work, he began to roll the sushi.  "Perhaps try it in miso soup.  If you offer clam, perhaps eel will also be a good option." he suggested, then straightened and surveyed the order he was preparing for the mayor.  "I will have it for my meal break."  if it was bad, only he would suffer, although he believed that Garrett should eat it, as he is the one that ruined the eel.  Such an emotional display over a woman.  Incredible.

Stephanie nodded at Eien "That's a good idea. Or we could batter it and do tempura too. Garrett, go take 5 OK? I'll prep for Eien."

Garrett nodded and stepped away from the prep table, washing his hands again and stepping towards the door. Before he was out it Stephanie called him "Hey, can you take the deposit?"

He nodded and came back to grab it from her. Sakura patted his shoulder as he passed her while she set tables.

Stephanie opened the cupboard and pulled out a hairnet "God I hate these..." she said as she carefully slid it over her head. She put on a chef's jacket that was slightly too big for her and washed her hands before coming to stand beside Eien "OK disclaimer, I can make all the standards but nothing fancy or off the board. I don't roll fast but they'll be neat and I hate touching the squid. How can I pitch in?"

Eien finished up the mayor's order, complete with presentation and boxing, although the box is not closed yet.  He set it aside and then turned in time to hear Stephanie complain about the hairnet.  "Yamada-san, you could perhaps wrap your hair, as I do mine. I do not know if you have seen my hair, but there is a lot of it.  My mother taught me to wrap my locs when I complained about a hairnet.  It is an African sort of style, if you are interested."  he suggests.  And then he glances at Sakura.  "Would you like to inspect the Mayors order,Yamada-sama?"

Sakura walked back behind the counter and marvelled at Eien's work with a hand over her heart "Perfection Fumetsu-san. Feeding our council well will help with better decision making."

Stephanie looked over Eien's wrap and nodded curiously with a quiet "Hmmm." She peered into the box "Nice job. Mom maybe he should go cook for those buffoons in the American debates then. I can't even watch the news."

Eien bowed deeply.  "Arigatou gozaimashita, Sakura-sama."  he thought her words were wise.  He cant's his head about the Americans and their election.  He hadn't found time to watch any television, so he was ignorant of politics in ANY country.  "I will close the box.  Will I also be delivering it?"  he asks as he closes the box, finishing the order.

Sakura shook her head "Nope, we need to unlock the doors. You cook. Steph text Garrett to come back and take it. It'll give him something else to think about." she walked away but muttered "Such a nice girl. Why'd he have to screw it up?" just loud enough for Steph and Eien to hear.

"Hai, Sakura-sama." he awaits his first order and glances at Stephanie when her mother speaks.  He isn't sure what ... if anything to say, so he goes with hat he knows ... the Japanese way and pretends he didn't hear a word, although Stephanie may know otherwise.

Garrett came back and took the City Hall delivery with quiet indignation. The rest of the night he worked steadily but didn't make conversation beyond what was necessary to work with Eien and the others. Sakura seated people, made the rounds with green tea and rang most of the customers through. Stephanie waited tables and doubled as a back up prep cook when Garrett went out on deliveries. The night was busy enough not to focus on the early tension and drama. At some point a tall man came in in a Cedar Point Police uniform. He looked like a younger but male version of Stephanie and introduced himself to Eien as Ryan Yamada with less Japanese custom than even Garrett displayed. His manner was nonetheless very friendly as he reached across to offer to shake Eien's hand and thank him jovially for preparing his take out order that he was picking up for the station. He hugged his Mom and sister before he left and managed to joke Garrett into a genuine smile before slapping him on the back and heading back to work. Both Stephanie and Sakura looked grateful afterwards. As the customers dwindled and eventually filed out and the clean up was half way to being completed, Stephanie tapped Eien on the arm and said matter of factly "I'm stealing you now for the till. Garrett and Mom can wrap this stuff up." She unlocked the till drawer and stood waiting for Eien to join her.

Eien loved the sushi shop, an he buried himself in his work.  When yet another Yamada came in and even offered to shake hands, Eien did so with little hesitation.  He had to keep reminding himself that these Japanese were Canadian.  This Ryan seemed to cheer everyone up, which was a good thing.  Tension was not meant to be felt.  During the nightly cleanup, Stephanie tapped on his arm and he nodded, going to join her after carefully finished the cleaning of his area, then carefully and thoroughly washing his hands.

Stephanie folded her arms to prevent the urge to habitually reach out and start the cashout herself. She started from the absolute beginning "Pick a pen and grab the calculator. On the second shelf below the till in this cupboard are sheets to fill in for counting the float. Start at the nickels and fill it all in. Yes there are pennies in the till but we don't use them in Canada anymore. If you pay by cards you might not have noticed that."

Eien sands and listens, then grabs a pen and the calculator.  He looks into the till and considers.  The bills are easy, but after a few seconds, he has to look at her, ashamed.  "Forgive me, Yamada-san. I am not yet familiar with Canadian money.  Only the bills so far."  he bows in apology.

Stephanie looks sympathetic and uncrosses her arms. She picks up each coin and kindly explains them "Nickel-5 cents, dime-10 cents, quarter-25 cents, loonie-one dollar, toonie-two dollars."

Eien nods at each option, committing them to his quick memory.  "Arigatou gozaimashita, Yamada-san.  I will remember this immediately."  he promises, and then gets back to work on the sheet.  Very soon it is complete.  Doing it as soon as she told him helped him as he sorted through the coins.

Stephanie smiles “No problem. The float should be as close to 150.00 as you can get at the start of each shift. After that we'll run the sales reports and close off the debit machine."

Eien followed her as best he could, nodding and bowing often.  "Is this all there is to it?"  he wonders, his voice deep, yet soft.

Stephanie nodded, her eyes drifting sideways for a moment at the sound of his voice. Inhaling she gestured at the computer "Reports, two to print and one backup. Click quit, reports, sales by group item, detailed items and then print. Got it?"

Eien nods, listening carefully.  "Hai, I think I do."  he replies.  "It is very simple.  I was never allowed to do this in the restaurant I worked in in Osaka, so it is all new to me."

Stephanie smiled "Good. The more of us that can close, the better. Next report is called Bank Reconciliation. You can cross check it with the Debit machine and make sure they match. Click to print that and then move to the machine. When you get faster you can multi task and count while printing reports. the cash out only takes about 10 minutes once you've got it down. Out of curiosity, why didn't they teach you this kind of stuff in Osaka? Did they have a huge staff?"

Eien nods and works on the task.  Once it is done, he nods to himself and then looks at Stephanie.  "The owner was very ..."  he pauses a moment.  "Japanese.  So he did not trust me because I am a gaijin.  Not Japanese.  That is just how it works.  I lived in Japan from the age of seven, but I will always be gaijin."

Stephanie made a face "Ugh, racist much? That's not cool. People are a mix of so many things here....we don't judge based on your skin. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I mean I have a kid who's half white....." She shook her head and then pointed at the debit machine "Press the second button down and then choose "Batch close. Then just keep saying yes to all the questions until it processes it."

Eien shrugs slightly.  "It is their way.  I respect it.  Other than that, my employer was very good to me."  he nods.  "I am not hafu.  They get worse treatment than gaijun many times.  My parents were also gaijun, but my father earned much respect working with the Japanese.  He insisted I learn the language and now I even think in Japanese."  he chuckles softly.  "So when people hear me speak they are confused.  I do not sound like I am from Trinidad."

Stephanie looks thoughtful "I wasn't meaning to come across so harsh. It's just we've fought so long against racism in Canada. My grandfather was in an internment camp...so many Japanese were from here...and all over. It's been instilled in me to question it, fight it at every instance......it's not gone...but we're working on it." She falls silent and just watches Eien work.

Eien nods and smiles, softly.  "My mother would get so angry because black gaijin are treated worse she says.  But I do not see reason to be upset.  Maybe it is because, when I speak Japanese so well, they begin to understand I have been here a long time."  he shrugs.  "Maybe you can teach me when I should be angry, but it is not easy.  In many ways I am a Japanese man, my mother tells me.  So my emotions in public are ...  I don't know how to say .. it is not my private face."

Stephanie nodded and then held up a hand "I can't and won't tell you what or how to feel about this Eien. It sounds like you've been through way more discrimination that I can even imagine. I grew up in Canada where in this era, my rights and my cultural identity are protected by law. Sure clueless people still make a few stupid comments and stereotypes sometimes but if it goes beyond that I can get help. Cedar Point is an amazing place to live that way too. We've got so many cultures of origin and they've blended so many times over. Are your parents still in Japan?"

Eien offered her a small smile.  "Maybe it is that I take the treatment and just ...  what do they say ... sit with the punches.  Or because I have dealt with it all of my life.  But I like it here in Cedar Point.  There are kind people here .. but very .. emotional."  that part confuses him, especially among the Japanese.  "I will adjust."  those three words are becoming his personal mantra.  "My father died a little over a year ago, and my mother went back to Trinidad."  he tells her.  "Then this job became available and I took the opportunity to travel.  I have made a good choice, I think.  It is an honor to work for your family."

Stephanie smiled kindly "We are honoured to have you here Eien. I'm very sorry about your father. Garrett is a mess right now. He's not normally like this. He's been in love with Anna since we were kids. She just went through some crazy crap in the fall and she just can't open up to being with someone so she ended it when he said the L word. He's normally pretty happy go lucky. Never a hard worker but always fun and a good sport." She gestured at the debit machine "Now that it's printed you need to match the totals in each section from the receipts...Debit, Visa, Mastercard et cetera. By the way we don't take Amex. They charge stupid rates per transaction. Pile your receipts and add them up. It helps to smooth them sometimes."

Eien nods as he smiles.  "So that is it.  In Japan men do not say .. the L word.  My father told me Trini men do not either, but my mother always called him a liar."  he chuckled to himself.  "So I am doomed.  I only show my feelings through action."  he can rethink his opinion of Ryan a bit more now.  Moving on, he does as she bids. Without looking at her, he adds.  "Like attention or gifts.  The words are hard.  Like I would tell you that you are pretty even in a hair net."  he finished the words and that part of the job at the same time.

Stephanie was opening the cupboard to reach for the envelopes and stopped suddenly, her cheeks flushing slightly. She laughed nervously "Thanks. I'll bet you say that to all the girls.." she joked to cover her reaction. Pulling an envelope out she stood up, looking back to business "OK, all the paperwork and cash goes in one of these. And then I'll show you where that goes, you shut down the computer and that's it."

Eien missed the blush, but replies honestly.  "No.  If you looked terrible in the hair net, I would probably say nothing."  he moves forward a bit and reaches for the envelope.  "Alright." he says, going through the evening in his head, carefully, to remember it.

Stephanie pursed her lips and nodded "Fair enough. Alright follow me. The safe hidden is in the cooler." She starts walking to the back and opens the door, propping it with her foot while she waits for him to catch up. Whenever he does she starts shifting some boxes that surround a small safe on a low shelf. There's no combination just a simple knob to turn and open. It's a very slack set up but concealed enough to do the trick.

Eien follows her and watches her move the boxes and open the safe.  He looks as she place it in the safe, kneeling down to see better.  "It is very simple and elegant."  he murmurs, turning his head to look at her .. look up if she is still standing.

Stephanie made eye contact with Eien and then laughed "Actually it's kind of lame. Dad got it at a garage sale but it does the trick. We used to keep them under the till drawer but we got robbed one night and this was his solution." She stood up and self consciously smoothed her skirt "OK the computer....almost done. You're doing great."

Eien smiles and nods.  "A wise solution." he stands as well and takes in a deep breath.  "The computer!"  he allows a little silliness to escape, sounding slightly like a overblown fictional ... Batman or someone.  "Thank you Yamada-san.  I am a quick learner."  the use of her family name reminds him that he doesn't yet know her well enough to call her by her first name.  And of his position in this family business.

Stephanie's reply betrays both the catching of his silly joke and being the middle sister between two nerdy brothers "To the sushi cave!" She dramatically glides back to the till and then chuckles before saying seriously "Click the quit button to close the POS program. It will ask you if you're sure, if you've run your reports, you are sure. Then just shut it down like any computer. The float drawer stays in but the drawer key, goes in a red basket in the cupboard, under out business cards. We'll make you an alarm code next week too if you can still stand us all." the last part is said in jest.

Eien chuckles as h follows her and he closes the program, then shuts the computer down. He nods to the other information, but misses the joke.  "Alarm code?  But I like all of you."  he bites his lip, realizing he is missing SOMETHING but not sure entirely what.  More things to adjust to.

Stephanie snickers "I'm joking with you Eien. We'll run through this again tomorrow night but I won't prompt you unless you need a reminder on something. You're free to head home now. Thanks for all the hard work today."

Eien smiles brightly and nods.  "I see.  I will have to work on that as well.  Thank you for teaching me, Yamada-san.  Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu."  he bows deeply and turns for the door, then turns back with a sigh.  "That was too formal, wasn't it?"  he makes a frustrated noise.  "I .... do not know how to treat you.  It is SO not Japan here, but I ... your brother said I would learn how to relax, but I have no one to teach me that."  it is a rare rant from him, perhaps a minor explosion because of the culture shock.

Stephanie returns the smile and bows back, saying in Japanese "Be who you are, not who anyone else tells you to be. It will all work out. Goodnight Fumetsu-san. Sleep well when you do." Garrett and Sakura also say their good nights as the three Yamadas all start pulling on light jackets and sweaters to leave as well.

Eien is still trying to remember which Yamadas speak Japanese and which ones don't.  He bows to them all, grabs his bag and leaves into the night for the B&B.