I am sick.. with dysentery... courtesy of some ice in my drink up in Burma (Myanmar), a few days ago when I was there and in Thailand with my mom.
My mom, who has accompanied me back to Japan, is now off visiting Sendai (yes, one of the areas devastated by the March 11, 2011 tsunami) with my friend John (also visiting from Toronto). Great. Leave me alone.
I find time off the toilet to do some laundry and some more shopping for food. I also head out to the local video store and rent a couple of movies before lazing around my apartment.
When I head downstairs from my third-floor apartment in the centre of town, the old man who runs the convenience/sake shop directly below me on the ground floor offers me a beer.
What the heck? I'm here in Japan to internationalize... and it's free beer.
His 30-year-old son starts pouring out glasses of beer for all three of us. Man! I haven't eaten anything all day thanks to the dysentery, as I'm afraid I might poop my pants... but still... free beer.
We talk slowly, because the old man speaks zero English, and his son, just a little. My Japanese language skills are only slightly better than my French, which as a Canadian for whom French is one of our two official languages, is pitifully bad.
Still, I find out the old man was a sergeant in the Philippines during WWII. He was part of the occupancy forces. He also said that after that, he was a POW (Prisoner of War) for six months after being captured on some tiny island nearby when the Allies came to liberate the Philippines.
He said he was actually glad to be captured, because constant Allied bombing had left him and his platoon without proper clothing or much food.
Then the old man goes and gets some sake (rice wine) and begins pouring out boxes (?) for us. I guess they didn't want to spend good money on sake in a bottle.
Still, I don't have the type of pallet to know good sake from bad sake... if I don't go blind, it was good. We also eat a lot of chips. And... best of all... I don't feel like going to the toilet!
At about 9:30PM (4 hours after we started drinking) John and my mom intrude. I guess they heard me laughing and came around to see what was the matter.
I'm having a great time with my Japanese friends! I'm laughing my head off and now my mom and John want to know why. I want to say it's because I'm finally by myself.
The old man fed these two something that he called sake residue, as well as some cognac - and both get drunk quickly.
My mom then makes some snide comment about me not being able to speak Japanese! John quickly intercepts me and tells me not to be mad at her, because it was him who told her that. I appreciate his honesty, but you bastard! Just leave me alone!
Finally, by 10:30PM after the store was supposed to close, the gaijin (foreigner) contingent from Canada leave.
I'm glad they got to see me having fun with the locals... but when we go upstairs, I explode at my mom... I swear my head off and tell her to mind her own business... blah-blah-blah, Ginger... of course, she's passed out unconscious on the bed... too much booze, I guess.
Lucky I guess.... for both of us.
I don't hate my mom... I just need some space... and I finally got some, and then had it cramped up again.
Anyhow... I'll have to find out more about the old man's days in the army soon.
Oh yeah... I can't find the key to unlock my bicycle, so all of my travels have been on foot.
Somewhere alone in a crowded room,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by Weird Al Yankovic: ACCORDION
The image above is from Gary Larson's Far Side comic strip... and is one of all-time favourites!
