On the way home from work last night I stood next to the door waiting to get off at my station, and two students behind me were talking about me in Japanese. I don’t know why they assumed I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but they spoke in normal voices –
“Hey, look at the foreigner. He looks just like Messi.”
I was happy to hear that – usually I hear Tom Cruise or some other movie star. There really isn’t a resemblance, but most foreigners that these kids see are the ones in popular media and the movies. But that wasn’t all they said –
“Messi? No way – he doesn’t look like him at all. He’s just tall.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Yeah, he looks more like Harry Potter.”
Ouch! I don’t know about you, but I’d call that a downgrade. From sports star to wizard? Just like that? Anyway, I got off the train without comment and headed home.
