Japan 7/13 (actual time unknown)

[tsukikage]

As I was saying, one of my kids (絢子 [Ayako]?) was crying in bed last night, so I tried to comfort her, asking if I could come up to her bunk, rubbing her back, and asking her to tell me what was wrong. The Japanese kids, however, were telling her not to cry and 「元気出して。」 [Cheer up.]. I don't exactly remember why we started discussing it, but I was explaing to one of my other girls that I couldn't 「気にしない」　["not worry about it", as she had told me not to worry about it - I should also clarify at this point that given the situation I let go of my normal insistence on English and was openly talking in Japanese], perhaps because of culture differences. I think maybe it's part of American culture to worry about others when they cry, and to encourage people to cry when they are sad, believing that it will make you feel better. Perhaps crying is the opposite of がまん [patience; endurance; perseverance; tolerance; self-control; self-denial: a major concept in Japan] in Japn?
Of course, I'm making a big assumption to assume this is not caring, and I'm sure I'm wrong. [Still, it was a shock to me.]