When I came back with my huge stomach in May,
I was going to get on a bus with a suitcase of over 20kg, a backpack of over 15kg and a carton box of over 10kg at the airport.
I could put little power to my stomach (I was advised to do so by doctor) so I was charging one another.
The bus was quite busy.
No one helped me.
Yesterday was just one month after my operation.
I feel almost perfectly recovered and I went to Tokyo this week.
The day before, I took a train with my pregnant friend.
There were 2 young (25-35 yrdish) men in suits inside and one of them took one of priority seats.
My friend and I were standing nearby.
On the priority 3 seats, there were a foreign looking sleeping guy, a middle aged woman and him.
I believed that one of them, especially the young business man, called "salary man" in Japanese would offer a place to my friend.
In fact, he was talking with another guy standing in front of him and ignored her.
I could not believe it.
It was obvious that his eye level was just at the same level of her big belly !
As I was not happy about it, I talked about such situation with her on purpose.
She told me that this happens quite often. Women offer their place most of the time while men do not.
I felt really ashamed.
She had even a key chain which shows that she is pregnant.
I wondered how they feel if these guys' wives meet such situation..
Then at the next station, the lady got off the train.
The second guy standing sat on her seat without hesitating at all!
So the first closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep then another busy by typing texts.
Although both got off just two stations after !!!
Japanese men, especially young ones can not keep standing just two more stations !?
How weak are they ?!
Above that, I was so furious and ashamed of being a Japanese that they did not move even though they surely heard what we were saying.
At the same time, I did not make any action like yelling to them or at least ask them to give a seat to my friend politely.
I did not have enough courage to do so...
Thus, I am similar to them ! I did nothing to let her sit down.
I have been so angry against myself and regret a lot since then.
But fortunately, my friend told me today that she got a seat offered by an old lady and an old guy in different trains.
I was relieved that not all Japanese are like these guys or me.
Japanese are well known that they are often "shy".
But such act should not be excused by this "shy" attitude.
They don't have common sens and kindness.
In Burkina, if you have a lot of luggage, someone will come to help you (for foreigners, sometimes at the end, some may ask some money for the action though...) and people surely offer a place to sit down to older people and ladies without any note or key chain which ask to do so.
Such minimum manner and attention have to be succeeded forever.
