Continuing Tuesday, September 10, 1991. I'm still living here in Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan.
My day started off with me not lookingforward to having to team-teach English at Kaneda Kita Chu Gakko (Kaneda NorthJunior High School). I hate that school. But despite no one there showing anyinclination that they might want to learn anything at school (not justEnglish), I enjoy myself watching the Sports Festival wacky events, and enjoyhanging out with some elementary school kids who come to visit. I'm also takenaback by the agressiveness of a 12-year-old student who looks like she's 21.
So there's good, the bad and the naughty.
After the sports day events, I leaveschool at 5:40PM and arrive home at 6PM thanks to Gunji-san's scary driving.I do some of my 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle and begin cleaning up myapartment.
Look... I know I said I wouldn't mentionthe puzzle, but I didn't read that far ahead into my own diary whentranscribing it for you all here in this blog. Yes... I am doing the puzzle inmy underwear. Hah!
So... I've only just sort of noticed thatI clean my apartment a lot. I mentioned previously that I thought it was adefensive mechanism of mine when I was antsy or upset, or that I simply like aclean place.I am proud to state that the cleanlinessangle is really it. I'm having an acid flashback without doing anythingstronger than antacid.
When I first moved in to my apartmenthere in Ohtawara... there was a lone cockroach in the apartment that wasquickly stomped on my a floppy-slipper clad Hanazaki-san (one of my two bossesat the OBOE - Ohtawara Board of Education).It was there because the place had beenempty for two weeks prior to my arrival.
So... in order to ensure a cockroachnever encroaches in my apartment again, I vowed to make it a clean environment.Years later, I heard that cockroaches eatin messy places but prefer to live in clean environments. Anyone want toconfirm or deny?
Mr. Maniwa calls me up and asks if I amfree. I am anything but free, but I don't have anything better to do so I goover to his pharmacy located a three minute walk away.
Maniwa-san is an old lecherous man whosmokes and drinks too much and tried to squeeze Ashley's boobs very early inour sojourn here in Ohtawara. Ashley, my ex-girlfriend but currentfriend-with-benefits never really went near Maniwa-san again unless I was therewith her.
It's not an excuse, but Maniwa-san'sbehaviour was not atypical of Japan's male population. Of course not every guy gets drunk andsexually assaults a woman—because that is what it is—but a lot do. For examplenone of my bosses ever acted like that. However, I do know quite a few peopleon the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme who did. A lot of it wasmutual, though some of it was not. Again... I never made the first move onany woman here in Japan. Come on... how many other guys do you know who werestalked by a beautiful Japanese woman. I only had to call a stop to it when itbecame obvious that I was going to die from a lack of sleep and severedehydration. Other than that, I quite enjoyed all of the sex.
Regardless... despite Maniwa-san havingpawed at my girlfriend (and no, it doesn't matter that he didn't know she and Iwere together then... though he was probably the only one in the city whodidn't know that, despite Ashley telling everyone we aren't!), he was a niceguy. I don't really blame him for pawing at Ashley - I had done that enoughmyself.
Arriving at his pharmacy, he has anassistant watch the shop while he ushers me to a back room - he's not going tofeel me up, is he?
I'm pleasantly surprised to see a verypretty young woman there named Wada Ayako (surname first) and less happy to seeher boss introduced simply as Ozeki-san.
This is one of the things I absolutelyhate about Japan--and really, it's a cultural thing. People introducethemselves as So-and-So-san (Mr./Mrs. or Miss So-and-So). There's very rarelyan introduction involving a first name. I've seen students called other by theirlast name - never a first - and it throws me. Where's the familiarity? It seemscold to refer to another person solely by their family name. I know it's a signof respect, but using a person's given name (first name) implies friendship orfamiliarity.
Hell... why do the Japanese call meAn-do-ryu-sensei. Andrew is my first (given) name! Joseph is my family name. Ifyou want to treat me like you treat other Japanese people, shouldn't you call meJoseph-sensei? Surely it can't be because I'm a a gaijin (foreigner)? Actually,I think Japan does know that gaijin prefer to be called by their given name. Iguess Japanese prefer to be called by their surname. It's probably an honourable thing to do.
Both Mr. Ozeki and Ayako-chan work at theAiAi Town grocery store here in Ohtawara.Because Ayako is going to Australia for one year, she thought she coulduse some practice speaking English first.
Okay... so why bring your boss?
I'mbetting they don't have AiAi Town's in Australia, so this isn't a businessexchange. I'm confused.
Regardless, both Ayako and the Man WithNo First Name speak English very well. Ozeki-san knows some German, so we chat alittle bit that way, as well. I'm not fluent in German. What I do know is whatI have gleaned from Sgt. Rock comic books and through episodes of of the old television show Hogan'sHeroes. It's true.
Maniwa-san (actually, I only ever calledhim Mister Maniwa) goes out and brings back a lot of beer and sake (Japaneserice wine), and some jumbo shrimp and sashimi to eat. Wow!When we finish everything off, we go tothe 4C bar for more drinks. I don't know why... this is my hang-out with Ashleyand Matthew, but I've never seen any of these people there... it hardly seemslike Mister Maniwa's type of place. Too classy, if you know what I mean.
Ozeki-san and I have Apricot Cocktails.Believe me, I'm not bragging. It was his choice. We also have a couple ofbeers... I think I'm in the double digit numbers for booze. Oh... and cutie-pieAyako keeps up.
At the 4C, I meet a Japanese guy wholives in Tennessee, US. He calls him self a red-neck and is a laugh-a-minuteriot. I have no idea if I ever asked him why he has come back to Ohtawarabecause I was toasted.
Who knew an apricot cocktail could pack such a punch?
I go home at 11PM and quickly fall asleepon the sofa. I awaken at 2:30AM, take out my dry contact lenses and then go tobed.
Somewhere I'm a teacher English effin'gre- burp -great,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by The Beatles: ROLLUP
PS: When did I actually teach any English this evening?
My day started off with me not lookingforward to having to team-teach English at Kaneda Kita Chu Gakko (Kaneda NorthJunior High School). I hate that school. But despite no one there showing anyinclination that they might want to learn anything at school (not justEnglish), I enjoy myself watching the Sports Festival wacky events, and enjoyhanging out with some elementary school kids who come to visit. I'm also takenaback by the agressiveness of a 12-year-old student who looks like she's 21.
So there's good, the bad and the naughty.
After the sports day events, I leaveschool at 5:40PM and arrive home at 6PM thanks to Gunji-san's scary driving.I do some of my 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle and begin cleaning up myapartment.
Look... I know I said I wouldn't mentionthe puzzle, but I didn't read that far ahead into my own diary whentranscribing it for you all here in this blog. Yes... I am doing the puzzle inmy underwear. Hah!
So... I've only just sort of noticed thatI clean my apartment a lot. I mentioned previously that I thought it was adefensive mechanism of mine when I was antsy or upset, or that I simply like aclean place.I am proud to state that the cleanlinessangle is really it. I'm having an acid flashback without doing anythingstronger than antacid.
When I first moved in to my apartmenthere in Ohtawara... there was a lone cockroach in the apartment that wasquickly stomped on my a floppy-slipper clad Hanazaki-san (one of my two bossesat the OBOE - Ohtawara Board of Education).It was there because the place had beenempty for two weeks prior to my arrival.
So... in order to ensure a cockroachnever encroaches in my apartment again, I vowed to make it a clean environment.Years later, I heard that cockroaches eatin messy places but prefer to live in clean environments. Anyone want toconfirm or deny?
Mr. Maniwa calls me up and asks if I amfree. I am anything but free, but I don't have anything better to do so I goover to his pharmacy located a three minute walk away.
Maniwa-san is an old lecherous man whosmokes and drinks too much and tried to squeeze Ashley's boobs very early inour sojourn here in Ohtawara. Ashley, my ex-girlfriend but currentfriend-with-benefits never really went near Maniwa-san again unless I was therewith her.
It's not an excuse, but Maniwa-san'sbehaviour was not atypical of Japan's male population. Of course not every guy gets drunk andsexually assaults a woman—because that is what it is—but a lot do. For examplenone of my bosses ever acted like that. However, I do know quite a few peopleon the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Programme who did. A lot of it wasmutual, though some of it was not. Again... I never made the first move onany woman here in Japan. Come on... how many other guys do you know who werestalked by a beautiful Japanese woman. I only had to call a stop to it when itbecame obvious that I was going to die from a lack of sleep and severedehydration. Other than that, I quite enjoyed all of the sex.
Regardless... despite Maniwa-san havingpawed at my girlfriend (and no, it doesn't matter that he didn't know she and Iwere together then... though he was probably the only one in the city whodidn't know that, despite Ashley telling everyone we aren't!), he was a niceguy. I don't really blame him for pawing at Ashley - I had done that enoughmyself.
Arriving at his pharmacy, he has anassistant watch the shop while he ushers me to a back room - he's not going tofeel me up, is he?
I'm pleasantly surprised to see a verypretty young woman there named Wada Ayako (surname first) and less happy to seeher boss introduced simply as Ozeki-san.
This is one of the things I absolutelyhate about Japan--and really, it's a cultural thing. People introducethemselves as So-and-So-san (Mr./Mrs. or Miss So-and-So). There's very rarelyan introduction involving a first name. I've seen students called other by theirlast name - never a first - and it throws me. Where's the familiarity? It seemscold to refer to another person solely by their family name. I know it's a signof respect, but using a person's given name (first name) implies friendship orfamiliarity.
Hell... why do the Japanese call meAn-do-ryu-sensei. Andrew is my first (given) name! Joseph is my family name. Ifyou want to treat me like you treat other Japanese people, shouldn't you call meJoseph-sensei? Surely it can't be because I'm a a gaijin (foreigner)? Actually,I think Japan does know that gaijin prefer to be called by their given name. Iguess Japanese prefer to be called by their surname. It's probably an honourable thing to do.
Both Mr. Ozeki and Ayako-chan work at theAiAi Town grocery store here in Ohtawara.Because Ayako is going to Australia for one year, she thought she coulduse some practice speaking English first.
Okay... so why bring your boss?
I'mbetting they don't have AiAi Town's in Australia, so this isn't a businessexchange. I'm confused.
Regardless, both Ayako and the Man WithNo First Name speak English very well. Ozeki-san knows some German, so we chat alittle bit that way, as well. I'm not fluent in German. What I do know is whatI have gleaned from Sgt. Rock comic books and through episodes of of the old television show Hogan'sHeroes. It's true.
Maniwa-san (actually, I only ever calledhim Mister Maniwa) goes out and brings back a lot of beer and sake (Japaneserice wine), and some jumbo shrimp and sashimi to eat. Wow!When we finish everything off, we go tothe 4C bar for more drinks. I don't know why... this is my hang-out with Ashleyand Matthew, but I've never seen any of these people there... it hardly seemslike Mister Maniwa's type of place. Too classy, if you know what I mean.
Ozeki-san and I have Apricot Cocktails.Believe me, I'm not bragging. It was his choice. We also have a couple ofbeers... I think I'm in the double digit numbers for booze. Oh... and cutie-pieAyako keeps up.
At the 4C, I meet a Japanese guy wholives in Tennessee, US. He calls him self a red-neck and is a laugh-a-minuteriot. I have no idea if I ever asked him why he has come back to Ohtawarabecause I was toasted.
Who knew an apricot cocktail could pack such a punch?
I go home at 11PM and quickly fall asleepon the sofa. I awaken at 2:30AM, take out my dry contact lenses and then go tobed.
Somewhere I'm a teacher English effin'gre- burp -great,
Andrew Joseph
Today's blog title is by The Beatles: ROLLUP
PS: When did I actually teach any English this evening?
