Meet Different Cultures!

(Based on today’s newspaper, I made a reading material for students. I will use the picture in the classroom. But I can’t do here.)

Do you buy rice balls at convenience stores? Do you have some trouble in eating them? They are in our everyday lives. Here is a woman from Sweden. She had a problem with one rice ball in her hands.

A Swedish manga artist published the comic book of four-panel (yonkoma) manga, “Nordic Girl Asa discovers the Mysteries of Japan.” Her name is Asa Ekstrom. Her life in Tokyo is filled with mistakes and surprises.

For example, it took about six months for her to learn how to open the plastic wrapping on rice balls sold at convenience stores. How surprised she was when she found three numbers (1, 2, 3,) on three corners of her rice ball!

Many foreign people are living in Japan. They sometimes feel the culture gaps. The topic of Asa Ekstrom’s manga is the different cultures. Do you want to read her manga? I hope I could bring it to the classroom. But I have to say, “Open your textbook (L1): Meet Different Cultures!”