Crying

I thought about skipping these daily glimpses into my life to get back to the wacky writing I did describing Japanese culture versus myself - and I will - but indulge me a bit longer so that you can get a better feel for the day-to-day existence of life in Japan for a gaijin. Some of this crapola is eye-opening to me now.

Tuesday, November 13, 1990.

I'm up at 6:30AM and get ready to go to Wakakusa Junior High School. Tomura-sensei, if you will recall, is the Christian gent who had me over to his house a few weeks earlier - see HERE. He's a great guy and an excellent English speaker, and I swear that every time see him I immediately think of George Takei of Mister Sulu fame. He picks me up at 7:30 and we have a pleasant drive to school in his white car.

Before classes start, I think I have all the katakana alphabets memorized. I'm sure Matthew had them memorized two days after arriving--but then one of us was busy getting biz-zay, if ya know what I mean.

I teach two classes  - one with Mrs. Onuma and one with Tomoura-sensei discussing the cultural differences between Canada and Japan (which is what this blog is all about. d'uh). The students mention that they all want o come to school in Canada. 

I ate lunch with the teachers - finally I get to sit at the grown-up table; after I memorize nine new kanji (the Chinese style letters) taught to me by the two English teachers who take the time to show me the correct order to draw the Kanji. Thanks.

In the afternoon, Onuma-sensi and I play a Q&A game with the students, and we all have a lot of fun as it gets quite silly--to me it's important that the students have fun... it's a foreign language and it can be a difficult subject... making it fun will make it less of a bother to want to learn.

Tomura-san drops me off at home at 4:30 - early, because of a teacher's meeting. I go to Iseya and pick up my film, buy some food, go home and begin making some chili.

Matthew arrives at 5:30, Ashley 10 minutes later. Matthew presents me with my belated birthday gift - a Gameboy!!! Dammit, that was a lot of money and very thoughtful of the boy. It broke my heart to tell him that I bought one for myself a week previous. He told me he bought it last week for me while he was in Tokyo. Aaargh. At least it's not a complete waste, as I insist he keep it for himself.

Tim Mould from Kuroiso arrives at 6:45 and immediately hook him on Max Headroom and Star Trek: The Next Generation. We relax, eat dinner, eat popcorn and cookies (the latter two courtesy of Matthew's girlfriend, Takako - please let me be right about this!). Ashley and I finally make up as we sit under the kotatsu (blanket covered heater/table) with our legs pressed up against each other, and holding hands. Because we're under the kotatsu's quilt, Matthew and Tim fail to get the message to split and stick around til 10PM. We make up some more before leaving on our bikes for her place at 11:30. We ride out, kiss and I leave.

Prior to that at my place, Ashley told me that she had been very sad the entire weekend. So... I guess she did notice how angry I was at her (Believe me folks, I left out the real nasty stuff I wrote in my diary - call it 20-year-too-late wisdom). She knew I was angry because of this past Saturday and my "date" with Takako's sister Kaoru Kurita. She said she didn't eat anything on Sunday or Monday and cried herself to sleep the last three nights. Hunh.Did I really have that much of an effect on her? Is she in love with me? I am with her but dare not say so. I did once before - a month ago - but she stated to my face that she was not in love with me.

I don't know what to think or do.

Somewhere playing with a Gameboy,
Andrew Joseph
Lyrical title by Roy Orbison