Stop looking at me. You're interfering with my imagination.
For those of you who have never met my host mom, I pity you. She's fucking hilarious and I love love love talking to her. Here are a few gems she let slip Sunday while I was over (translated for you, since it was in Japanese).
Megan: My entire family seems to think that I'm gonna find myself a husband while I'm here.
Hiroyo: ...I can't even imagine a Japanese guy marrying you.
Megan: That's what I tried to tell them.
Hiroyo: No, I mean, I don't think one even exists that could marry you. It's impossible.
Megan: I know, but try telling them that.
Hiroyo: You're pretty careful around others, so I think for you to be really happy, you need to find someone that pisses you off.
Megan: Huh?
Hiroyo: If you're with someone that makes you angry all the time, then your true self will come out. Of course that person needs to be able to withstand your poisonous tongue, but I'm sure you'll find one. In America, that is.
Megan: I can't tell if your surprisingly wise or just full of shit.
o.o
Hiroyo: I can't go to Minnesota in the winter, I hate the cold. I'm horrible with the cold. It's 60 degrees out and I'm wearing a turtle neck!
Megan: Then just come in the summer.
Hiroyo: But you have mosquitos in the summer, right?
Megan: Yeah, so?
Hiroyo: So!? They're mosquitos!
Megan: ...and?
Hiroyo: You know, that really scares me. All four of my Minnesotan host kids have the same reaction to mosquitos that get into the house.
Megan: Which is?
Hiroyo: You just hit it! And if you can't, you just ignore it, like it's a mild irritation, like it's nothing to worry about, like it doesn't SUCK YOUR BLOOD AND MAKE YOU ITCHY!
Megan: ...It's just a mosquito.
Hiroyo: And you know what? I don't actually mind the itchiness, and I'll give them my blood just fine if only they'd stop buzzing in my ear at night.
Megan: At night?
Hiroyo: They always do it! Bzzzzz~ right in my ear, and I can't sleep when they do that! I'LL GIVE YOU MY BLOOD, JUST STOP THE BUZZING. It drives me crazy.
Megan: I can see that.
-
I know I don't have a certificate in managing an English school, nor have I ever taken a class on it, let alone majored in it in college, but sometimes my manager does things that even I know she shouldn't be doing. The one big problem that I have, and the one that keeps popping up, is that she disciplines her employees in plain view of everyone in the office.
The first time it happened, it was just me in the office and I thought Oh, she forgot that I understand Japanese again, because she does that a lot. Whether it's because I don't speak Japanese at work and she doesn't really know my level of comprehension or if she's just acting like every other Japanese person and assuming I don't understand, I don't know. But I understand about %85-%90 of what she says, so she should really be more careful. Regardless, that soon proved to be inconsequential, because some of the other Japanese teachers came in and she kept going with her lecture. She honestly stood there for 15 minutes and lectured my coworker on a mistake he'd made that morning. And she talked in circles, so she would tell him how inconsiderate he was, or how incompetent he'd been, then tell him why before going back to the original comment, explaining why, back to the original comment, explaining why, etc. And of course this was all in polite Japanese.
I was embarrassed for him. She shouldn't have done that in front of everyone; disciplining your employees is something that should be kept between employer and employee, in my opinion. She should've done it in one of the classrooms or asked him to stay late. And then she did it again just the other day with someone else; again while I and other teachers were in the room. Nathan might not understand what she's saying, but every single other person in the school does.
And then today, it happened again and I was the target. It wasn't exactly a scolding, per say, or as bad as the previous incidents, thankfully. She called me out on being late, and I can understand why she spoke to me, but she did it in front of everyone and she made it sound like I had no idea when I was supposed to be at work. I was 2 minutes late (by which I mean: instead of being 15 minutes early, I was only 13 minutes early, just to clarify) which shouldn't be that big of a deal, especially when I'm normally the one who's there so early that I'm waiting on HER to come open the goddamn door for me. I actually have to sit my ass down in my apartment every morning and make myself wait because I can't get into the building if I get there too early. I think that's what really got to me, the fact that I'm normally at least 15-20 minutes early and the ONE TIME I'm late because I forgot something and had to run back to my apartment quick, she calls me out in front of everyone. I obviously don't make a habit out of it - this is the first time it's happened in the month and a half that I've been here and it was only by 2 minutes - so I'd appreciate it if she gave me the benefit of the doubt.
To add to my irritation, I've been working my ass off this week. Thursday and Friday, 8 of my 9 hours at work were spent teaching lessons, which is the maximum amount of lessons I can fit into my day, which means I have one hour for lunch and that's it. And technically not even an hour, since I have to be back early to prepare my materials and classroom. I'm exhausted. Physically and mentally exhausted. And she just slapped me in the face.
-
I hope you're ready for a barrage of pictures. Because I took a shit ton this weekend.
1. Irony
I think it's funny that the only kid's meal that is lacking French fries is the one that comes with the French flag. It's not nearly as funny in Japanese, since they call them fried potato, and I'm sure the customers and employees of Gusto were wondering why the hell the American chick was taking a picture of the kid's menu, but it's funny to ME. And that's all that matters.
Also, if I'd been head of the Gusto Kid's Meal Flag Assignments committee, I definitely would've lobbied to have the pancakes sport the Canadian flag.
2. Engrish 2 for 1
I just love Japanese English.
3. Naming Sense
And their store names.
4. Mister Donuts Love
Mister Donuts iced coffee is only bested by Marino's, the Italian restaurant that I love. They're actually really close, and I'm considering moving Misudo to number one since I never eat at Marino's anymore. :(
My trip to Antique, a bakery and cafe that opened right before I got here, according to Hiroyo. She told me to go and holy shit am I glad that I did. I love bakeries to begin with, to an extent that's hard to explain, and I love coffee as well. Put the two together and I'm in heaven.
Put the two together and design the entire building after Alice in Wonderland? I almost asked the cashier girl if the owner was around so I could give them a huge, awkwardly intimate American hug. I LOVE ANTIQUE.
So have some pictures. :)
What I ate. It was delicious.
I actually went again before this post, and I had this.
And of course, for my wife: Tiramisu
I would buy you one and send it to you if I thought there was even a chance that it would get there in one piece.
And lastly, I took some pictures of the cherry blossoms. Enjoy.
-
I have cleaning duties every day after work which include cleaning the windows, white boards and desks, taking out the trash, vacuuming, etc. I was cleaning the windows the other day and I was kind of rushing through it because I had a headache. One of the Japanese teachers came over to me and we had this conversation.
JT: Wow, Megan, you are really in a hurry.
Megan: Yeah, I want to go home; my head hurts.
JT: Oh. Nice to meet you.
Megan: ...
JT: Right?
Megan: ...nice to meet you too?
JT: Yes!
Ladies and gentlemen, our Japanese English teachers.
To be fair, I love this particular JT. She's probably my favorite, ahaha.
-
I may have a slight addiction to mugicha.
I'm not ashamed.
-
I don't like how Japanese motorists seem to think it's completely acceptable to drive on the sidewalk. It's a goddamn sidewalk. It's for those of us who don't have a car, who must walk or bike to work, who don't have any sort of steel plating to protect us from harm should we collide with something.
My bike doesn't have airbags, so stay on the fucking road.
-
Oh, man, I forgot how much I like beer.
-
That's all I got! Be happy. :D
Megan: My entire family seems to think that I'm gonna find myself a husband while I'm here.
Hiroyo: ...I can't even imagine a Japanese guy marrying you.
Megan: That's what I tried to tell them.
Hiroyo: No, I mean, I don't think one even exists that could marry you. It's impossible.
Megan: I know, but try telling them that.
Hiroyo: You're pretty careful around others, so I think for you to be really happy, you need to find someone that pisses you off.
Megan: Huh?
Hiroyo: If you're with someone that makes you angry all the time, then your true self will come out. Of course that person needs to be able to withstand your poisonous tongue, but I'm sure you'll find one. In America, that is.
Megan: I can't tell if your surprisingly wise or just full of shit.
o.o
Hiroyo: I can't go to Minnesota in the winter, I hate the cold. I'm horrible with the cold. It's 60 degrees out and I'm wearing a turtle neck!
Megan: Then just come in the summer.
Hiroyo: But you have mosquitos in the summer, right?
Megan: Yeah, so?
Hiroyo: So!? They're mosquitos!
Megan: ...and?
Hiroyo: You know, that really scares me. All four of my Minnesotan host kids have the same reaction to mosquitos that get into the house.
Megan: Which is?
Hiroyo: You just hit it! And if you can't, you just ignore it, like it's a mild irritation, like it's nothing to worry about, like it doesn't SUCK YOUR BLOOD AND MAKE YOU ITCHY!
Megan: ...It's just a mosquito.
Hiroyo: And you know what? I don't actually mind the itchiness, and I'll give them my blood just fine if only they'd stop buzzing in my ear at night.
Megan: At night?
Hiroyo: They always do it! Bzzzzz~ right in my ear, and I can't sleep when they do that! I'LL GIVE YOU MY BLOOD, JUST STOP THE BUZZING. It drives me crazy.
Megan: I can see that.
-
I know I don't have a certificate in managing an English school, nor have I ever taken a class on it, let alone majored in it in college, but sometimes my manager does things that even I know she shouldn't be doing. The one big problem that I have, and the one that keeps popping up, is that she disciplines her employees in plain view of everyone in the office.
The first time it happened, it was just me in the office and I thought Oh, she forgot that I understand Japanese again, because she does that a lot. Whether it's because I don't speak Japanese at work and she doesn't really know my level of comprehension or if she's just acting like every other Japanese person and assuming I don't understand, I don't know. But I understand about %85-%90 of what she says, so she should really be more careful. Regardless, that soon proved to be inconsequential, because some of the other Japanese teachers came in and she kept going with her lecture. She honestly stood there for 15 minutes and lectured my coworker on a mistake he'd made that morning. And she talked in circles, so she would tell him how inconsiderate he was, or how incompetent he'd been, then tell him why before going back to the original comment, explaining why, back to the original comment, explaining why, etc. And of course this was all in polite Japanese.
I was embarrassed for him. She shouldn't have done that in front of everyone; disciplining your employees is something that should be kept between employer and employee, in my opinion. She should've done it in one of the classrooms or asked him to stay late. And then she did it again just the other day with someone else; again while I and other teachers were in the room. Nathan might not understand what she's saying, but every single other person in the school does.
And then today, it happened again and I was the target. It wasn't exactly a scolding, per say, or as bad as the previous incidents, thankfully. She called me out on being late, and I can understand why she spoke to me, but she did it in front of everyone and she made it sound like I had no idea when I was supposed to be at work. I was 2 minutes late (by which I mean: instead of being 15 minutes early, I was only 13 minutes early, just to clarify) which shouldn't be that big of a deal, especially when I'm normally the one who's there so early that I'm waiting on HER to come open the goddamn door for me. I actually have to sit my ass down in my apartment every morning and make myself wait because I can't get into the building if I get there too early. I think that's what really got to me, the fact that I'm normally at least 15-20 minutes early and the ONE TIME I'm late because I forgot something and had to run back to my apartment quick, she calls me out in front of everyone. I obviously don't make a habit out of it - this is the first time it's happened in the month and a half that I've been here and it was only by 2 minutes - so I'd appreciate it if she gave me the benefit of the doubt.
To add to my irritation, I've been working my ass off this week. Thursday and Friday, 8 of my 9 hours at work were spent teaching lessons, which is the maximum amount of lessons I can fit into my day, which means I have one hour for lunch and that's it. And technically not even an hour, since I have to be back early to prepare my materials and classroom. I'm exhausted. Physically and mentally exhausted. And she just slapped me in the face.
-
I hope you're ready for a barrage of pictures. Because I took a shit ton this weekend.
1. Irony
I think it's funny that the only kid's meal that is lacking French fries is the one that comes with the French flag. It's not nearly as funny in Japanese, since they call them fried potato, and I'm sure the customers and employees of Gusto were wondering why the hell the American chick was taking a picture of the kid's menu, but it's funny to ME. And that's all that matters.
Also, if I'd been head of the Gusto Kid's Meal Flag Assignments committee, I definitely would've lobbied to have the pancakes sport the Canadian flag.
2. Engrish 2 for 1
I just love Japanese English.
3. Naming Sense
And their store names.
4. Mister Donuts Love
Mister Donuts iced coffee is only bested by Marino's, the Italian restaurant that I love. They're actually really close, and I'm considering moving Misudo to number one since I never eat at Marino's anymore. :(
My trip to Antique, a bakery and cafe that opened right before I got here, according to Hiroyo. She told me to go and holy shit am I glad that I did. I love bakeries to begin with, to an extent that's hard to explain, and I love coffee as well. Put the two together and I'm in heaven.
Put the two together and design the entire building after Alice in Wonderland? I almost asked the cashier girl if the owner was around so I could give them a huge, awkwardly intimate American hug. I LOVE ANTIQUE.
So have some pictures. :)
What I ate. It was delicious.
I actually went again before this post, and I had this.
And of course, for my wife: Tiramisu
I would buy you one and send it to you if I thought there was even a chance that it would get there in one piece.
And lastly, I took some pictures of the cherry blossoms. Enjoy.
-
I have cleaning duties every day after work which include cleaning the windows, white boards and desks, taking out the trash, vacuuming, etc. I was cleaning the windows the other day and I was kind of rushing through it because I had a headache. One of the Japanese teachers came over to me and we had this conversation.
JT: Wow, Megan, you are really in a hurry.
Megan: Yeah, I want to go home; my head hurts.
JT: Oh. Nice to meet you.
Megan: ...
JT: Right?
Megan: ...nice to meet you too?
JT: Yes!
Ladies and gentlemen, our Japanese English teachers.
To be fair, I love this particular JT. She's probably my favorite, ahaha.
-
I may have a slight addiction to mugicha.
I'm not ashamed.
-
I don't like how Japanese motorists seem to think it's completely acceptable to drive on the sidewalk. It's a goddamn sidewalk. It's for those of us who don't have a car, who must walk or bike to work, who don't have any sort of steel plating to protect us from harm should we collide with something.
My bike doesn't have airbags, so stay on the fucking road.
-
Oh, man, I forgot how much I like beer.
-
That's all I got! Be happy. :D