"Do you like bananas?”

After school I was killing time at my desk before going to the bus stop. All the staff were in other parts of the building, so it was just Arisaka-san, the school secretary, and I in the office. She came and said, “Ms. Guaria, do you like bananas?” I answered yes, she pulled one off a bunch and handed it to me. She hesitated, then said something in Japanese. The only word I caught was ‘monkey.’ Seeing that I didn’t understand, she paused and said something else. I still didn’t know what she was saying. She then tried again, this time she mentioned “trap” and Kanda-san, the janitor. Finally, I understood, and contently peeled the fruit and ate it. 🍌

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Up here, in the mountains of Gunma, groups of men hunt for bears, boars, monkeys and deer. Kanda-san’s hobby is hunting. Earlier in the week he had gone hunting for monkeys, and had bought bananas to put in the traps. Afterward, he’d brought the unused bananas to share with the school staff. This was what Arisaka-san had been trying to explain. 

Later, while chuckling about how the school secretary and I manage to communicate with her limited English and my limited Japanese, it dawned on me that this interaction could have gone south really fast if I had hastily jumped to conclusions. Often Black people, particularly those from the U.S., carry racial baggage with them to other countries. Some are on high alert expecting racists under every rock and behind every bush. And that colors their interactions with everyone in a crippling way. This is not to say, that racism doesn’t exist out in the rest of the world. It means that when we board a plane, ship, train, bus or rocket to anywhere, we must make an effort to leave unnecessary baggage at home. Our experience abroad will be all the more richer for it.  

June 25, 2018