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Major Moments

Tonight, I was invited to an impromptu dinner with Kiomye's American teacher, his Japanese wife, and their infant daughter. It was so enjoyable. We ate gyoza and drank red wine, which is remarkably good together.

On the late walk home, Kiomye and I came across a woman walking a sheltie dog. i asked her if if was OK if Kiomye pet her dog, and she said sure. The dog was so nice and pretty, and I said so. I told the woman that my old dog in America was also a sheltie. She responded by saying that her sheltie was so big, but I laughed and said that mine was so much bigger. I thanked her for letting Kiomte pet her beautiful dog and said good-bye and goodnight. Then we went on our way. Not very interesting? Well, here's the amazing part. I walked about ten steps and then stopped and smacked my head.

THAT ENTIRE CONVERSATION WAS IN JAPANESE!!!

I am so proud of myself. It's taking me so damn long to get even a basic grasp of this language. Me, who is a member of Mensa and so freakishly arrogant about my intelligence. But, man oh man, has Japanese beat my snooty smarty-pants ass! But talking with that woman felt so natural. I didn't panic or even think very much. The words just popped out of my mouth.

It was a major moment. You had to be there. Kiomye said, "Good job, Mom."

Of course, Japanese comes easy to her. Oh, to be 4 and brilliant. I envy my own daughter. Speaking of which, here is a recent picture of her chillin' on my hammock on the balcony. Please leave your comments telling me how gorgeous and cute she is. One at a time, please. And, hey, Toru, you are my most faithful reader. I know you can type out some English. Come on, be daring and leave a comment! My friends don't think you really exist.

One last little note: Our school is being overrun by student teachers. They are all so adorable - an entire legion of 21-year-old college boys dressed in stiff new black suits. But, the funny thing is that they are just like the students. They roam the halls in packs and it requires a group conference to decide if they will say to me "good afternoon" or "konnichiwa". Of course, by the time they squawk out weak "hellos", I've already passed them on my way to class. This makes them all titter and laugh together at their bad timing. This is EXACTLY the same as the first year students. So funny. My third year students are ten times more sauve. At the very least, they'll yell out to me "Good morning, Ms. Nelson! Nice fashion today!" Yep, totally smooth.

posted by Scribbler @ Wednesday, May 31, 2006