初めまして。スティーブンズメリッサです。46才です。いまテキサス州のオーシテン市住んでいます。ACC の学生です。日本語を勉強します。どうぞよろしくおねがいします.

Literal Translation

How do you do. I'm Melissa Stevens. I'm forty-six years old. Currently, I live in Austin, Texas. I'm a student at ACC (Austin Community College). I'm studying Japanese. It's a pleasure to meet you.

質問とコメント

1. When I lived in Japan, I was surprised that newspaper and television reports always included a person's age. This is less common in America where age is not usually mentioned unless it is relevant to the story (such as an accident victim or a crime suspect). Until recently, it was considered bad manners to ask a woman her age. Perhaps it still is. It's not a question I would normally ask someone unless she brought the subject up first. I have definitely reached the age where I don't like to volunteer my age, especially when I'm just meeting someone!

2. The concept of self-introduction is extremely foreign to the average American and many of us feel uncomfortable thinking up one. (We don't have a set pattern. We shrug our shoulders and say, "So whaddya wanna know?") Some of our discomfort may stem from the fact that most Americans don't like to be pegged down (pigeon-holed, classified). The myth here is that everyone is supposed to be treated equally; so you don't start out naming your affiliations. In contrast, Japanese reflects the concept that in every relationship there is a hierarchy; you can't even begin a conversation with someone until you know where they fit in the scheme of things.

3. Because my dad was in the Air Force and we moved every couple of years when I was a child, I don't really feel that I am "from" anywhere; I don't have a hometown. My parents and all but one of my brothers and sisters (I have seven) and their children all live in Las Vegas. I only lived in Las Vegas for four years as a teenager and I hated it. So, I would never say I was from Las Vegas. Texans tend to be rather exclusive (some would say arrogant). I can't really say that I'm from Texas either because I wasn't born here (or put, as some people do, a bumper sticker on my car proclaiming "Native Texan.")