Where's Waldo Gaijin?

We started coming down from our high from the Internet, as soon as it was taken away from us. We had to find another way of using the Internet, for less than an arm-and-a-leg cost. Right now all we could do was head back, we had our first day of Orientation training tomorrow and only had a vague inclining on what to expect. We decided this time to take the train the one stop, feeling exhausted from the roller-coaster ride of our highs and lows from our Internet fix.

The short 5 minute train ride, was so much better than walking along the horror-movie-like deserted road in the pitch black. The train started to slow and pulled up to the platform, before the doors opened all of us in unison, shifted our heads towards the person standing on the platform. It was as if we all had a six sense for picking up gaijins near-by. It was young, dirty blond hair girl standing at our station.
"I bet you she works for the same company," Robin said.
"Hmm." "Maybe." "I don't know," were the ideas being tossed around, but Robin was convinced.
Robin said the man who dropped her off said there were more girls in our training group, but could only think of the one name off the top of her head, Daisy. Brenda dared Robin then to shout out the name. As the girl, entered into the cart next to us, we all shuffled out and watched as Robin yelled out "Daisy!" The girl swiveled on her heels on the train and looked directly at me. Ah I didn't say anything, I thought, as I was embarrassed we were playing the stereotype the foreigner card. The doors of the train were closing, she called back to me,
"I'm not Daisy, but I know her."
"AHA!" Robin teased us doubters.

I guess Robin caught on faster than the rest of us, that Japan is so homogeneous that when you do ask a ridiculous question like, "Hey do you know Mike from Canmore" (This Hour Has 22 Minutes joke) or any other generic name and place (Rob from Florida) people in Japan will respond, "Oh yes of course, the only foreigner around these parts!"

"I'm Mike from Canmore"

We had become the comical, poor adaptation of the "Where's Waldo" books, as it would all be too easy for us to be singled out, from the mass of crowds of Japanese people, and correctly named.

Waldo doesn't have a chance
in Japan of not being spotted!