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As I was standing in line today at the grocery store, a man walked up and stepped in front of me in line. He simply cut me. No one said anything either- not the ladies at the checkout who are usually so friendly to me nor the guests behind me in line waiting.

Now, normally I would not complain. But this is literally the third time this has happened to me in the short less-than-a-month I've been here. Usually my blonde hair and English accent make me stick out like a sore thumb. But I think sometimes it makes me invisible.

I dont know whether my status as a foreigner sometimes makes people think surely I cant just be waiting in line for groceries like they are, or if they just ignore that which is not the normal routine in their day. But either way it hurts and confuses me.

Even worse is the realization that this is not a Japanese phenomenon. I wondered momentarily if my foreign friends experienced this is America. I'm sure they did, and worse. Subtle or sometimes outright racism occurs everywhere. I am sorry for when it happens in my home country- really sorry.