Japanese ATMs and so on usually have an automated voice (nearly always a high-pitched female) saying......... 'Please take your money now' and 'Thank you very much for your custom', or whatever.(By the way, a friend - a very lovely woman - told me the other day that she once forgot to take the money, and left it there for the next bod to come along. She had other things on her mind - her family. The next bod came running after her to give her the money. This is Japan.)
Anyway, the other day I saw an old woman buying a ticket from an automatic ticket machine at the train station - the automated high-pitched female voice said 'Please take your ticket - thank you very much - have a nice day', or whatever - and the old woman, somewhat taken aback, bowed and said 'Thank you very much - and the same to you'.
She either thought there was someone in there, or it was a Pavlovian response, but, whatever, I think I might be going the same way.
Most people come home and talk to their partners, and here I am talking to you - whoever you are.
Anyway, I'm enjoying it.
Another friend - a lovely warm-hearted friendly guy - told me the other day that being single (at least, a single Western man) in Japan isn't so bad - if you're going to be single, Japan is a good place to do it, or words to that effect. Even a middle-aged, double-divorcee, 'Associate Professor' nitwit like me. He, for example, can recommend a dating website where you tap in what your looking for, and Bob's your Uncle! You just say what age limits you want, and what size... I am not kidding - he said 'what size'. Apparently he tried out 24 before plumping for his present partner.
24.
So maybe I will give it go:
Age: Irrelevant
Size: ditto
Nationality: Of this earth
Attributes: Warm heart, enquiring mind, and a great deal of tolerance.
Just been walking round town with one of my private students. She's half my age, teaches English in a juku (cram school), and just wants to walk around for an hour, and then give me some money, saying 'Thank you for your time'. This makes me very embarrassed, as she teaches me so much more than I teach her. Today she told me how her students asked her what her Chinese year sign is - she was born in the year of the cock. There are 12 signs (why is 12 such a significant number? 12 hours, 12 months, 12 disciples, a dozen eggs ...). The reason they ask is to find out your age. I, for example, am a rat, I think, which means I was either born in 1996, 1984, 1972, or 1960, or 1948.
I asked her what being a cock, or a rat, meant. Is it like the astrological signs? Taureans love their homes and the earthy pleasures in life; Pisceans are two fish swimming in opposite directions all the time (I am Piscean).
No, she says - it's just a way of working out ages, and bonding with people 12 years older than yourself, and showing them respect for having lived (multiples of) 12 years more than you.
The other day I introduced a topic in the textbook: The Generation Gap, and got the kids to give me a list of typical differences between 20-year-olds (them) and 50-year-olds (me - almost). I was expecting stuff like 'Old people are set in their ways' and so on. Negative stuff about oldies, positive stuff about being young. None of it. It was all 'young people are inexperienced and know very little; old people are wise', etc.
This is Japan.
The Japanese are very into the notion of the sensei - the 'before being', the person who has gone before, was born earlier, and is therefore more experienced, wiser, and to be respected. Teachers are (nearly) always referred to as sensei, but it is also applied to other honoured people.
I am very lucky to have a sensei, many miles away - a rat like me. She is younger than me, and we hardly ever see each other, or talk even. But she and I know, understand, that she is my sensei. I am reminded of Leonard Cohen, who around my age, perhaps a bit later, chose to enter a monastery, and learn from a sensei - a monk. I am starting to feel the need, bit more than that, for a wise kind soul to take my hand and lead me through the swamp of my life to some better sunny place up there on the hill.
I guess that's why we read books.
The other day (there seem to be a lot of 'other days'), one of my students had to give a little prepared talk to the others. I was somewhat dreading it, as he is clearly not the brightest penny in the box, or whatever the expression is, and has a very low level of English, to boot (little pun there...!), and is clearly into soccer in a big big way. He chose to talk about 'My Dream'.
To cut a long story short, he blew me away. He is determined to be a referee, in fact he already is, at the age of 20, one of the few (3,000) in the country to have got to Level 2 (out of 5), and he's on his way to Level 1. He showed us photos of him refereeing a national high school final in a major stadium. He also referees the top national team's training matches, akin to refereeing Manchester United. He came across as a very caring, focussed, successful young man. (Trying to learn English, by the way, because he wants to referee international matches).
The lesson for me was never dismiss anyone, never write them off - everyone has a skill, a talent, a story to tell.
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'Well it's a one-two-three
What are we fighting for?
Don't know - I don't give a damn
Next stop is Vietnam
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And it's a five-six-seven
open up the Pearly Gates
Well there ain't no time to wonder why
Whoopee we're all gonna die'
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Photos:
The Graduate
Fanny and Alexander
The Deerhunter
Land and Freedom
Amy Winehouse
Country Joe McDonaldWoodstock
