the perks (and not-so-perks) of being a foreigner

okay, first -- the recent lack of posts is mostly because i started a side project and it's really taking up my time. sorry. but i have good news!

i'm going to be featured by one of the local TV stations here, talking about the wonders of the seto inland sea! hooray! what's even better for you guys is that it's going to be a segment in ENGLISH and it's going to be on YOUTUBE so you guys can actually watch it! yay! *cue streamers and confetti* 

this is one of the perks of being a foreigner -- especially if you're a business owner and a foreigner. 

but i'm getting ahead of myself.

when a new restaurant or cafe opens up in hiroshima, you'll get calls from local TV and magazines asking to let them come and interview you, take pictures, compliment your food, etc, for free. new shops are featured all the time and it's really awesome because as a newly opened shop, you're generally pretty broke and ads are expensive, so getting free publicity is always welcome. so we too got the media welcome (4 different local TV shows, local radio, magazines, the newspaper, you name it) -- but you have to keep in mind, i'm a white chick that speaks japanese. you don't really see a lot of them around, let alone opening their own cafes. this means that my face is plastered on magazines and TV. you get this reputation as that white chick from cinnamon who speaks japanese. this means local media will start to call you up to be on shows that are about being a foreigner in hiroshima, not so much about your cafe.

this is how i ended up on a segment called "heart in japan" -- about 5 minutes where they interviewed me about coming to japan, things i found quirky about japan, etc. and this is also how i ended up getting the youtube gig too. it's pretty cool. not like i'm getting paid for it or anything, but it's fun to get the chance to see the TV industry, plus this time i'll be able to show you guys too! and they're filming it at the cafe! 

i will definitely let you know more when i can, for now though, we film on tuesday.

but there is a downside too. i have a pretty recognizable face living you know, amongst mostly japanese people, and so whenever i'm on TV, i get random strangers saying, "hey! you're that cinnamon girl i saw on TV!" even if i'm in the middle of lugging 20 kilos of groceries around on my morning trip to the grocery store or hurrying to get somewhere on time. in the age of instagram, it means that people i follow and who follow me (but i haven't actually met) will leave comments like "i saw you in such and such a place!" and i'm like oh. well. that's kinda. stalker-y? even though i know they don't mean it like that., you never know who might be watching you when you're in the city. 

it's like being a walking, talking billboard for the cafe too -- and you get people who stop you in the street on your day off to try and make a reservation (uh, hello? do i look like a phone?) or ask for directions to your store or when your day off is or...any other silly question they have (please use google, thanks). 

so while there are indeed lots of perks that come with being a white chick, there are also a lot of annoyances that come too, and you learn to deal with it. but hey, if i can get my 20 seconds of fame and promote the cafe while i'm at it, then yeah, definitely down for being on TV.