"Wulfstan Sensei, yabai yabai!!!!" "Majide!!!" "Yabai, yabai..."
The words of my students knowing that they had just missed seeing Natsumi. For if a foreign teacher in Japan is a curiosity, potential star and also a pilloring post their spouses and partners are equally a source a fascination. Just imagine Lloyd Grossman... "Who would date a man like this. David, it is over to you..."
Through the Japanese Keyhole...
I am a foreigner therefore I am American. So, thusly, my wife/partner must be an American too. If I take the time to explain that she is Japanese then they are shocked beyond all belief. Not only is this mystical woman going out with a hairy foreigner but she is Japanese too... Is she insane?
Some might say yes, including myself.
Not content with these blogs in English and the occassionaly blog in weird Japanese I have turned to translating a friend's blog into English. His words about Japan are refreshingly honest. Makoto Ryujin seems to have similar beliefs to my own. Let's hope he can change Japan for the better.
Work involved two classes, one of them hellish, and leaving early. The latter meant a long walk home as Natsumi was shopping with her mum. Sometimes it is nice to walk and Kishiwada is a much nicer city to walk in than Kashiwara (where I lived for 3 years). For sure Kishiwada's rivers are smaller and the mountains further away but there are winding streets that spit you out in random directions and myriads of shops to see.
Some things I see daily on my journeys are the Protectors and Wavers. The Protectors are usually retired people who help Elementary school children cross the road safely. They always greet me in the morning. The Waver is an old man, probably retired but extremely poor (see Makoto Ryujin's blogs), whose job is to wave cyclists and pedestrians past well... nothing because there is nowhere to turn really. He helps us safely navigate a straight road. It is my desire to give him a New Years card. Maybe it will be a sweet moment for him. Who knows.
Dinner was fried pork, cheese, mushrooms, asparagus and Renkon. As a side dish I made some mash potato with carrots and brocoli. My jaws are still aching from all that fried stuff... leftovers for lunch.
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