la la la la la doo da doon da doooo
So everyday during lunch they play music over the intercom, and usually it's Japanese stuff I don't recognize. Today's selection was also in Japanese, but oh! I knew what it was because the chorus was still in broken katakana-English! "Ruobinga yu isu izi cosu yuru biutefuru ra ra ra ra ra" roughly translates to Minnie Riperton's "looooooooovin' youuuuuuuuu is easy 'cause you're beautiful la la la la la". I was cracking up and telling my students "hey! I KNOW this song!!!" Ohhhh lunchtime....never a dull moment! The junior high kids laugh at me because I use my chopsticks like a knife and fork to cut my food into bites, and the elementary kids rattle on in Japanese firing all sorts of questions at me and all I can do is say "zen-zen wakarimasen!" which is "I'm sorry but I have no idea what you're talking about!" and give an exaggerated shoulder shrug. But they think that's funny so they run around shrugging their shoulders and throwing their hands in the air then jump all over me with their grubby little hands and faces when I'm leaving. It's pretty hilarious.
Hey what's the date today? November 17th you say? Ah, Thanksgiving's coming up...will I be teaching a Thanksgiving lesson? Hmm, that would be nice. Too bad I'm still teaching Halloween. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm fucking sick of Halloween. Maybe if my JTEs actually brought me to class when they're supposed to, I could have finished all of my classes the week of Halloween. There's an idea! So I'm not even going to bother with Thanksgiving. Besides, how would I approach that one? "In November, we celebrate the bountiful harvest and remember the first Thanksgving that the pilgrims shared with the Native Americans before we stole their land, shipped them out west and sent them small pox, I mean blankets, to keep them warm. So American families watch football and get drunk and insult each other while feasting on dinner that's 20 times the size of a Japanese meal, and that's why Katie-sensei can't find pants in Japan."
Well, it's off to Hiroshima and Miyajima this weekend ladies and gents, and I'm really looking forward to it. 11 hours on an overnight bus should be quite the adventure! Chances are I'll be stuck sitting next to some crazy old Japanese guy. I can already see it now...my crazy old bus neighbor will offer me some of his cured octopus to snack on, and I'll have to eat it because it would be rude to refuse. I'll get sick, and at the next rest stop I'll be in the bathroom puking my guts out over the Japanese style toilet, a.k.a. porcelain hole in the ground. And that's where the bus will leave me, stranded in the middle of nowhere! Seriously, with my luck, something completely absurd will happen. But it'll make for a great story I'm sure, so I'll report back when and if I get back!
Hey what's the date today? November 17th you say? Ah, Thanksgiving's coming up...will I be teaching a Thanksgiving lesson? Hmm, that would be nice. Too bad I'm still teaching Halloween. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm fucking sick of Halloween. Maybe if my JTEs actually brought me to class when they're supposed to, I could have finished all of my classes the week of Halloween. There's an idea! So I'm not even going to bother with Thanksgiving. Besides, how would I approach that one? "In November, we celebrate the bountiful harvest and remember the first Thanksgving that the pilgrims shared with the Native Americans before we stole their land, shipped them out west and sent them small pox, I mean blankets, to keep them warm. So American families watch football and get drunk and insult each other while feasting on dinner that's 20 times the size of a Japanese meal, and that's why Katie-sensei can't find pants in Japan."
Well, it's off to Hiroshima and Miyajima this weekend ladies and gents, and I'm really looking forward to it. 11 hours on an overnight bus should be quite the adventure! Chances are I'll be stuck sitting next to some crazy old Japanese guy. I can already see it now...my crazy old bus neighbor will offer me some of his cured octopus to snack on, and I'll have to eat it because it would be rude to refuse. I'll get sick, and at the next rest stop I'll be in the bathroom puking my guts out over the Japanese style toilet, a.k.a. porcelain hole in the ground. And that's where the bus will leave me, stranded in the middle of nowhere! Seriously, with my luck, something completely absurd will happen. But it'll make for a great story I'm sure, so I'll report back when and if I get back!