Day 21 - Liar, Liar Pants on Fire
A strange thing happened to me this evening.
It was a perfect calm night, and I took full advantage of it by strolling around on the top deck. While there I met a charming older lady, Japanese, around 60 years old, and very small. She spoke English quite well, having lived in Stockton (of all places) for four years.
At ay rate, we were enjoying a pleasant conversation for around two hours, watching the stars and ocean pass by us. I told her about my life; family, my time in Japan, my future plans and the like, and she in turn told me about herself; her life in America, her career as a cosmotologist, her family, her home which she bulit herself, and other odds in ends. In particular, she learned that I am 27 and asked if I was married or had kids. I of course said no and returned the question. She said she had two sons, and her husband was back home watching them while she cruised around the world.
Towards the end of the conversation, however, well past my bedtime she turned to me and said, "I lied. I don't have any children, and I have never been married." She didn't say it with any shame or embarrassment, but rather with a wry smile and in a matter of fact tone. It caught me so completely off guard.
What I am about to say may sound really odd, but it feels like it has been a really long time since I have been so blatantly lied to, and even stranger still, I rather enjoyed the sensation.
This is not a call for anyone to point out the last time they lied to me, nor to lie in the future, but rather my observation of something. It is so rare that I even come into contact with people who have the capability to lie to me. I don't mean white lies or anything like that but to just lie for the sake of lying. In Japan and even on the ship most people I talk to are not native English speakers and they don't have the ability to intentionally lie. Their English isn't good enough. Too, there is a certain amount of honesty and trust intrinsent in the Japanese culture, and it was almost like a breath of fresh air to talk to someone who wasn't so...vanilla.
Anyway, just thought I might share...
It was a perfect calm night, and I took full advantage of it by strolling around on the top deck. While there I met a charming older lady, Japanese, around 60 years old, and very small. She spoke English quite well, having lived in Stockton (of all places) for four years.
At ay rate, we were enjoying a pleasant conversation for around two hours, watching the stars and ocean pass by us. I told her about my life; family, my time in Japan, my future plans and the like, and she in turn told me about herself; her life in America, her career as a cosmotologist, her family, her home which she bulit herself, and other odds in ends. In particular, she learned that I am 27 and asked if I was married or had kids. I of course said no and returned the question. She said she had two sons, and her husband was back home watching them while she cruised around the world.
Towards the end of the conversation, however, well past my bedtime she turned to me and said, "I lied. I don't have any children, and I have never been married." She didn't say it with any shame or embarrassment, but rather with a wry smile and in a matter of fact tone. It caught me so completely off guard.
What I am about to say may sound really odd, but it feels like it has been a really long time since I have been so blatantly lied to, and even stranger still, I rather enjoyed the sensation.
This is not a call for anyone to point out the last time they lied to me, nor to lie in the future, but rather my observation of something. It is so rare that I even come into contact with people who have the capability to lie to me. I don't mean white lies or anything like that but to just lie for the sake of lying. In Japan and even on the ship most people I talk to are not native English speakers and they don't have the ability to intentionally lie. Their English isn't good enough. Too, there is a certain amount of honesty and trust intrinsent in the Japanese culture, and it was almost like a breath of fresh air to talk to someone who wasn't so...vanilla.
Anyway, just thought I might share...
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