As a North Dakotan and a foreigner teaching English in Japan, Rachel Henkelmann, a 29-year-old Linton native, knows a thing or two about sticking out.

Here is a list of 20 things she has learned from her experience:

1) If you don't know the language, learn the one (non-dirty) word that will make the kids laugh every time you use it, and you'll be instantly cool and accepted.

2) At 25 years old, not being able to communicate in any form other than grunts and hand gestures is very humbling and tiring.

3) You can get by without speaking Japanese, but learning the language makes life so much better.

4) Kids are the same everywhere; different language, but completely the same humor and way of thinking.

5) The Japanese squatty potty (non-sit-down toilet) is a tool of the devil.

6) The U.S. has an impressive amount of influence on other countries, and it's interesting to see it from their point of view.

7)Earthquakes and typhoons can be a normal part of life.

8) Being physically different in a homogenous country highlights all your good and bad points daily.

9) Japanese people even bow when on the phone.

10) Rice fields are the exact color of John Deere green.

11) Never underestimate the power of blue eyes in a brown-eyed society.

12) 5'7" is considered "Godzilla-like" in Japan.

13) Random English will be yelled at you for no other reason than you're there and you're foreign.

14) Japanese people think all foreigners look alike.

15) Being foreign gives me the super power of being able to make small children cry with just one look.

16) Hugging a member of the opposite sex in public creates the same amount of shock as public nudity.

17) Fermented soybeans, a gelatinous rice ball filled with sweetened red beans, whole fish (head and all), weeds, pizza with a raw egg, mayonnaise, corn and fish can all be eaten and enjoyed after a certain warming-up period.

18) Hunger is a strong catalyst for learning to use chopsticks and not being a picky eater ever again.

19) Point-blank saying "You're fat" and meaning it is completely acceptable in Japan.

20) Driving on the left side of the road will make driving on the right side of the road feel completely wrong.

(Reach reporter Chris Rosacker at 250-8254 or at chris.rosacker@;bismarcktribune.com.)