A Dear John(pan) Letter

Dear Japan,

I’m sorry it didn’t work out between us…trust me when I say that it’s not you, it’s me. It was just time for me to leave. The thing is, the whole time I was there, I was in love with another country. One that has sunshine and tacos and tequila and mariachi music. I wish I could say that I grew to love your sushi and rice and j-pop and chu-hi in the same way, but I just didn’t. Actually, chu-hi is pretty awesome. I’d keep that.

Please don’t take this the wrong way, I mean I have had some good times with you. You’re a beautiful country with a lot going for you; you’ve got great style and truly spectacular hair. I’m sure another geijin will come along who will be swept off her feet by you. One who will love your temples and bullet trains and koi ponds, who can truly appreciate your art and read your kanji (or katakana, or hirakana), who adores electronics and anime and manga and cute toys and Disneyland with every inch of her soul, the way it should be.

As for me…well it’s time to move on, and I hope we can both do so with no regrets and only fond memories. Don’t ever change, Japan – especially not your random English translations, seriously, that’s my favorite part about you. Oh, but if you quit that bad habit of 5 a.m. earthquakes…it would probably be all right, it’s kind of not that cool.

Hello Kitty hugs + kisses,

Nikki

Sensory overload

So I just got back from shopping and holy $#&*...I feel like I need twelve hours in a silent, dimly-lit room smelling of lavender, to recover. The bat cave that passes for my apartment will have to suffice. I went to a couple of department stores in Machida, about halfway to Tokyo from here, and after two hours I was about to go schizo. Simply walking down the streets is an experience in itself; there are pedestrian walkways between the shops, and everywhere is neon lights and guys out front hawking the stuff in the store and crowded sidewalk displays and speakers blaring music or just some person speaking in Japanese, who knows what they’re saying!

Inside the department stores, you’ve got the same hordes of people and bright lights, but add to that the fact that it’s heated to about 100 degrees and there’s awful Christmas Muzak playing in the background. But despite the fact that there’s background music, they like to turn on EVERY SINGLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE in the store, so as you walk around toys squawk at you and televisions blare and radios shout and unidentifiable things blink and beep and ding. I also think they’ve invented extra-super-bright neon lights here so after a while of walking around you feel like you’ve been staring at the sun. And the salespeople talk exceptionally loud (I guess they have to in order to be heard over the din). So as you walk by them they shout at you “SUMIMASEN!!”, or something like that, that’s what it sounds like to me but since I only know ten words of Japanese, that really isn’t saying much. I’m sure they’re trying to be helpful or just doing what they’re told by their supervisors, but I just want them to stop yelling at me.

I’m sure as I walk around I must start to get a crazed look in my eye, something like a cross between a deer in headlights and an escapee from the loony bin. At any rate, I escaped unscathed --though if I close my eyes I still see blinking neon lights -- and even managed to buy a couple things. Nikki, 1, Japan, 0. It was a close contest, though. I admit it.

Job perks

As with any job in the world, teaching English as a Second (or Foreign) Language has its ups and downs. The downs: well, it can be a little tedious and repetitive. Sometimes it’s just not possible to make grammar fun and interesting although we do try. Also, at lower levels it’s not really possible to have much of an in-depth conversation, hence you must be good at enthusiastically saying “What did you do last weekend?!” or “What did you have for breakfast?!” for the hundredth time.

There are plenty of bonuses, however. As with any teaching job, there’s the whole ‘rewarding’ factor; you develop relationships with your students and can be an important figure in their life, either as an adult role model or a representative foreigner or just someone that helps them to accomplish a goal in their lives.

Teaching English abroad offers its own set of perks and challenges. Here in Japan, I have experienced culture shock like never before. Despite the fact that this is the third country I’ve lived in besides the United States, it’s the first where I didn’t speak the language and it’s the first non-Western culture I’ve been exposed to. Result: classic culture shock, where I feel alienated and frustrated and isolated, I can’t communicate with people, I can’t ask for simple things, I have to learn how to go about daily activities (taking the train, buying groceries, taking out the recycling), and I’m rendered effectively illiterate. I’ll admit it’s been humbling; I had liked to entertain the idea that I was (sort of ) well-traveled or at least capable of adjusting quickly to a foreign culture. That turned out to not be so true, once I was really outside my comfort zone! I’ve learned quite a lot from my friend/neighbor/co-worker Eilidh, who has lived in several other countries where not only was the language different, but there were far less first-world luxuries (i.e. reliable public transportation, a safe country where theft is rarely an issue, etc.). What can I say, she’s tougher than me!! And she’s Scottish, I think they’re generally scrappier than soft Americans.

I have to say that the Japanese have been unfailingly polite and never make me feel like an ass when I must resort to sign language and pictures and gestures to communicate something very simple, because I speak about ten words of Japanese. Every stranger I’ve ever asked for directions or help (please understand that “asking” means pointing at things and perhaps saying the name of a place or item!) has always been helpful. I find that Japanese won’t go out of their way to talk to you but if approached they’re very kind.

At any rate, the fact that I work here as an EFL teacher means that my students are my window into Japanese culture. I can’t communicate with much of anyone else, so they are my effective tour guides and encyclopedias and history books. As a general rule, they’re eager to share their country and culture with me, they always ask me what places I’ve visited, what foods I’ve tried, and how I like them. I can’t always relate to their interests -- maybe I’d like karaoke if I weren’t such a terrible singer…anime’s all right though I can’t get REALLY into it…and I don’t think I’ll ever read manga (comics), it’s just not my thing! – but if nothing else they share an insider’s view of their culture with me, and I think that’s an invaluable resource.

Last but not least, when learning English (or any language for that matter!), students say pretty funny things! Please understand that I laugh with my students, not at them…and hey, sometimes it’s good to be entertained on the job! At any rate, here are some of my favorites from my students’ self-descriptions:

Hobbies

• My hobby is movie appreciation. And, I do the making of cake.
• The first, I love Black Music. Especially I like R n B. Yeah!
• I like alcohol. I like cooking.
• Taking a dog out for a walk.
• I like shopping. I like research of plant. I like nature. I like reading a book.
• I like Charles Chaplin’s movies. I like Mr. Children’s songs.
• I like cooking. I live with my sister. So I cook breakfast everyday.

Goals
• I want to go to the foreign country and I want to talk with a lot of people at the place.
• I want to tell myself.
• I want to become good at the daily conversation.
• I want to hear English a little.
• Smile English talking. Don’t shyness.
• I want to be able to catch English.
• I want to trip only one in America.
• I want to do communication with foreigner.