People Who Are Okay with Foreigners

Hello.
I'm Aya Saotome, and every day is an international exchange for me.
Man, it's so much fun.
I'm sorry, but it's just fun!

As I was busy every day, with a borrowed book in one hand, muttering away while learning Indonesian, my high school daughter said one thing to me.

"Mom, you look so lively. Why don't you introduce me to some of those trainees soon?"

Yes, yes, I understand. But the trainees have started their jobs, they have to get up early every morning, and they're working hard while enduring the unfamiliar cold, you know. I'm sure they want to take it easy on their precious days off.

"I canceled my plans with my friends today, so I'm free! Introduce me!"

Yes, yes, I understand. You're almost never home anyway. Alright, alright.
Since I happened to have some business with one of the trainees, A, that day, I asked if she would meet my daughter, and she agreed.

"Yes! You played a video during the interview. I want to meet her too."

Oh my, she remembered me.

After I finished my business with A, I had R and C come over too, and with this big group of young people, I was the only one significantly raising the average age lol

My daughter greeted them in Indonesian saying "Saya Lily," and A, R, and C each introduced themselves. R imitated my daughter, who was cheerfully waving while taking a selfie, saying, "During the interview, Lily-san was going 'Bye-bye'."

R, you were crying your eyes out, but you were watching closely, weren't you lol

When I said to the three of them, "Dia manis, right?"
(Manis means "sweet" or "cute" in Indonesian, and it seems to have a vibe similar to the comedian Hamburg Shisho's "Ama-i!")
In response, the three of them looked at each other and said,

"Lily-san cantik. That means beautiful in Indonesian."

Yes!!

That's great. Your daily face-making routine paid off lol

I may lose to my daughter in terms of face and youth, but I won't lose in Indonesian.

"Aku bisa bicara bahasa Indonesia sedikit."
(I can speak a little Indonesian.)

When I said that with intensity in my eyes, my daughter retorted,

"Mom, why do you look so smug? lol"

I don't know why, but I just end up looking smug.
I mean, once I decided I just had to speak with my face, I naturally ended up with a smug look lol

You know, learning Indonesian is really interesting. English, well, people who can speak it can speak it now, so it's not really something to brag about. Especially with my daughter's friends, there are many who are fluent native-level speakers, so it feels embarrassing to speak junior high school-level English among them. But with Indonesian, nobody speaks it or understands it, so it doesn't matter if the pronunciation or grammar is wrong; there's no shame in it at all. That's why it's so much fun to learn.

After that, the five of us took a walk nearby, and A, who was the oldest, was carefully teaching my daughter Indonesian.

"You're like A-sensei, aren't you?"

That's what R and C were saying to me, but my daughter also said, "A's rolled R's are intense, and they were strict about L pronunciation," lol. With A's strict guidance, R's laid-back attitude, and C's quiet observations, when my daughter combined the Indonesian and English she had just learned and said, "Ayo pergi, let's go!", all three of them looked like they understood. Seeing R say, "Lily-san, that's right. Ayo pergi means let's go," I felt a sense of unity unique to young people. I watched the scene with a smile.

Even after we got home, my daughter said,
"Indonesian is fun, isn't it? It's nice to be able to speak it. But I was surprised that the trainees were better at Japanese than I thought. And they're admirable, aren't they? Even on their days off, they take online Japanese lessons; it's great that they're so motivated. It made me think I need to work hard too."
That's right, it was a good inspiration for you, wasn't it?

For now, I'm glad my daughter welcomed the trainees so warmly. Honestly, there are quite a few people who are uncomfortable with foreigners. I think the ratio is lower among young people today than it used to be, but in my generation, there are still people with prejudices or discriminatory views. I actually have a few friends like that, and they go beyond saying they are "scared" or "uncomfortable" and even use dirty language to look down on them. When I hear things like that, I feel sad, and at the same time, my honest feeling is that I want to reduce my interactions with them in the future. Like, thanks for being my friend until now, but from now on, a superficial relationship is fine.

Sorry for getting into such a heavy topic, haha.

With that said, I introduced the trainees to my daughter, and we both became completely obsessed with Indonesia. Especially my daughter, as if she had been put under some kind of spell, said,
"Mom, I'm done with English. I don't need to be able to speak English anymore. From now on, I want to be able to speak Indonesian. I have three teachers, so I'll be ready by spring, right?"
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"Yeah. I'm going to Indonesia for overseas volunteering. Mom, have 300,000 yen ready. I'm definitely going."
"Huh? Are you serious?"
"I'm serious. I only have physical strength, after all. You said yourself that as long as I have physical strength, I can go. All I have to do is master Indonesian. Ah, I'm so excited, so excited, so excited! ♪"

Yeah, I think that physical strength, courage, and "being comfortable with foreigners" are extremely valuable qualities.
300,000 yen, leave it to Mom! (Will I be okay... haha)

Even so, I think now that the sight of me leading around Indonesian youths (who are a bit of the delinquent type) and a Japanese gal might have made us look like a Southeast Asian female mafia to those around us...