And now for something completely different
Instead of writing about Japanese group suicide pacts, I'll recount an anecdote from Waseda.
Last week, when I walked into a classroom I immediately recognized a novel one of my classmates from Arkansas was reading. It was Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I walked up to him and told him it was one of the best novels ever written. We chatted about it for a while, but since he told me not to spoil it, I didn't make an effort to turn it into a discussion.
There's a Finnish guy from University of London in exchange here. When he walked in, we greeted each other, and he went his merry way. All the way to the desk the boy from Arkansas was occupying, where he crouched down, leaned on the edge of the desk and asked him "What'cha reading, buddy?". Arkansas boy told him what he was reading, at which he was asked if it was interesting and whether Jonathan Safran Foer was Jewish. "Look, if you're interested", the kid said, "you should ask them about it. They know it.", gesturing at me and some other girl. The Finnish guy said "Well, you know...", got up and went to his own seat.
Just how obvious can you get?
Last week, when I walked into a classroom I immediately recognized a novel one of my classmates from Arkansas was reading. It was Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I walked up to him and told him it was one of the best novels ever written. We chatted about it for a while, but since he told me not to spoil it, I didn't make an effort to turn it into a discussion.
There's a Finnish guy from University of London in exchange here. When he walked in, we greeted each other, and he went his merry way. All the way to the desk the boy from Arkansas was occupying, where he crouched down, leaned on the edge of the desk and asked him "What'cha reading, buddy?". Arkansas boy told him what he was reading, at which he was asked if it was interesting and whether Jonathan Safran Foer was Jewish. "Look, if you're interested", the kid said, "you should ask them about it. They know it.", gesturing at me and some other girl. The Finnish guy said "Well, you know...", got up and went to his own seat.
Just how obvious can you get?