As an American I saw all the people wearing masks and thought "what do they know that I don't?" I thought maybe the air was bad here or there was some outbreak or other to be wary of. Of course, I had it all wrong. It's not that at all.
It's the exact opposite - I should have been thinking from a Japanese point of view, in which the individual does things for the common good. So, in fact, when people are wearing masks it is to protect everyone else from the cold or flu that THEY have. If you see someone with a mask on, most likely they have a cough or sniffles or something like that. They want to make sure they don't pass it on. Something my French colleagues, who like to shake hands and kiss every morning, would do well to learn from.
2 comments:
That's not it... during winter Japanese wear that to prevent drying of the skin on the face too!
Somehow I doubt dudes are wearing masks to prevent dry skin....
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