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Oh, additionally, if there's anything my multiple trips across the Ocean have taught me, it's that not all cultures are as educated as we THINK they are. Having spent a considerable amount of time in Sasebo, Nagasaki, and Yokusuka, Japan, I can tell you folks without question that 90% of the folks I encountered (outside of my hotels) had no freaking CLUE what I was saying. I'm sure they were intelligent, well meaning folks, but they didn't understand any of the English I brought over. The train lady never figured out where I actually needed to go- she just sold me a generic fare in frustration and let me go about my merry way.
I did note that some Japanese understood English better when it was WRITTEN, however. Words they seemed unable to mimic vocally, they could speak relatively clearly when written. It was obvious that some had trained in English, but the vast majority were not English speakers by any stretch of the imagination.
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