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I am writing this from the US near Washington D.C. where I have come on business. I have spent a lot of time in government offices the past few days, and it is interesting that after being in Japan so long, in my own country I am treated as a kind of foreigner in these offices. As I am often the only "American", I have been able to see how foreigners are treated by government employees in America. Having had similar experiences as a foreigner in Japan, I would say it's not too bad; most everyone is kind and they work as hard and fast as they can. Many of those waiting, however, are impatient - a universal human trait, I am afraid. The interesting thing here is that most of the people working in the offices also have thick accents and don't speak English perfectly.
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I suppose that many of them are also immigrants. So far I have been served by native speakers of Russian, German and Spanish, including people from Mexico, Spain and South America. Maybe they work so hard because they remember what it was like when they first came here. The people around me have been Indian, Pakistani, Iranian, Hispanic,French, and those from several African countries. The neighbors where I am staying include Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, and African people. I truly feel like I have come home to the 'melting pot'.
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English Academy