Why tissue boxes shouldn't speak...
"What feeling do you need the best in your lifestyle? Trendy feeling, natural feeling and traditional feeling. We'll lead a tasteful life to find your personal style. Mild and tenderness are basic of our living life."
-deep thoughts, courtesy of the tissue box in front of me (for more crazy Japanese English see engrish.com, link at left.)
~me~ at 8:56 PM
The pierced nose chronicle...
is up and down. The Japanese are subtile. When I first showed up at the office with it my supervisorss told me that my peircing was very nice and they liked it. The next day they politely asked me to take it out during class. I said that I couldn't (obviously) because the hole would close. As a compromise, they asked me to wear a bandaid over my nose. Hahaha, like that is much less likely to freak out little children than a small stud. I compromised by putting a round yellow happy face sticker over the stud that day. My kindergardeners responded by putting stickers on their noses as well; it was classic. But as of this writing I am out of those stickers and am not wearing them anymore because my nose needs to breathe in order to heal. We'll see what happens. The other day, an 11 year old boy in my class told me to "please take that out". "You little shit," I said under my breath. You know, I should really stop cursing my students out under the assumption that they don't uderstand me.
~me~ at 2:53 PM
Ok so maybe...
The Japanese aren't all that bad. Take today. I was substituting for another teacher in a classroom that also happens to be part of someone's house. The inhabitant at the time was so impressed that I asked her where the bathroom is in japanese (terrifically challenging, as you might know) that she invited me for tea after my last class. I got some great practice speaking my 'polite japanese' using all the "masu" verb forms and stuff.
Yeah, it's kinda nice..
the way strangers are so polite to you sometimes. What bugs me is when friends put up an identical facade. Oh well. Oh well because meanwhile, I am developing some particularly strong affinities for a few of my Japanese co-workers. There is so much I want to ask them about their lives but I feel like it might be too personal and thereby faux pas 'round these parts. When I wonder what it might like to communicate with these people without pausing to think of words or missing out on slang or cultural connotations entirely, if my japanese skills could ever reach that level, then I know that until that's possible I have to stay here.
~me~ at 8:01 AM
Oh yeah, and...
I pierced my nose. Sunday night in Shibuya. So, I guess an appropriate question right now would be: AM I TRYING TO GET MYSELF FIRED FROM MY JOB??? Ok so it is getting to me. Japan is getting to me. The littlest things are bugging me now, for example, this "over-packaging" phenomenon. I just went to the store and they put three layers of paper and plastic packaging around a small book before I was allowed to take it home. My host mother is known to call my office to complain that I return my lunchbox to her without a napkin wrapper PROPERLY around it. But I guess this bothers me so much because the excessive packaging seems not only to effect merchandise but also people, who wear all these layers of protective-politeness-armor around who they really are. And the plastic wrapped around so tight that nothing can breathe.
Or at least I can't.
(i really do apologize for these generalizatons, i am feeling rather than thinking today.)
~me~ at 3:26 AM