No problem is problem

It's been three years since I came here in LA. I'm getting accustomed to life in this country, but I have one thing that I still can't adapt myself.

It's the word " No problem" which is commonly used here and there.

For instance, One day, I had a problem with the sprinkler of my house and I asked to repair it. Then I said "thank you" to plumber when he finished. Then he said " No problem" . Even though it's obvious that someone is doing something wrong, they use "No problem". If it is in Japan, I expect the words of apology like "I'm sorry for inconvenience".

Also, I often hear it in my office. When I found mistakes in the documents of my co-workers made and I asked them to revise it, they said "No problem". Furthermore, If I say "I'm still bit worried about it", they certainly say "Don't worry. No problem!!". However, this nightmare sometimes come true.

Meanwhile, Japanese people tend to say "I'm worried" and "I'm sorry" especially in their business scenes. It is thought that saying "I am sorry" frequently is polite in Japanese business culture. Therefore Japanese business men often apologize even if they are several minutes late without their fault.

I think that Japanese people are worrywart too much, but why are American people so optimistic?

I tried to check on the internet and I found a lot of Japanese people who have same opinion of me. Also, I found one American person who wrote a book that    described why American people say "No problem" in greater detail.

The author's name is Rochelle carp and according to her book named "The method to treat the American who does not reflect", generally speaking, American people have a challenging mind that they can solve difficulties by themselves if they have an aggressive posture and this mind should be evaluated most. Therefore, they answer "No problem" even there are some problems in there when someone asked about their job progress. They don't mean that problem is never going to happens in the future.

I was impressed by reading this opinion. I didn't realized that they said this phrase with spirit of challenge not optimistic feeling. If this consideration is true, it's a point that we Japanese people should learn. However, it's out of question that only saying "No problem" and then nothing to do.

I think Japanese people used to have this attitude, but we forgot in the process. I can come up with some phrases like "Attatte kudakero"(Go for broke) and "Nantoka narusa"(What will be, will be), but I have no chance to use in my daily life. I find myself choosing a safer way without thought.

In this way, I understand the true meaning of "No problem" this time and I will believe this challenging attitude and I will try to get along very well in my life in LA. However, I think it sounds nice that saying "You're welcome or My pleasure" instead of "No problem" when people reply to "Thank you".

Written in Dec 05 and revised Dec 11.