Being an Anthropologist

Ethnography always starts with an act of humility. They know something that you would like to know. You want them to tell you for free. They often don’t understand what you want to know, or your concerns seem utterly alien to them. Being an anthropologist must be one of the most awkward jobs in the world. You are superfluous, a supplement if you are lucky. I f you are not, your presence is obnoxious, getting in the way of things, disturbing. In Japan, the socially necessary politeness alleviates direct allusions to your status of incompetence, but however long you stay here, you will always be a marginal figure. A supplement. Sometimes vexing, sometimes interesting, sometimes even funny, but never essential to anything.That is probably why living here makes one so prone to depression. You are a foreigner and people will treat you as a guest. You’ll be kept at a distance and no matter how hard you try, you will always be marginal. You just don’t matter in the big schemes of their things. That is why it’s so easy just to stay in bed. You’ll be excused. After all, you are foreign.