Ever sit in a room with eighty strangers for ten minutes and nobody says a word? That’s what commuting by train in Japan is like for me. Nobody speaks, and eye contact is quickly avoided. It is much different than my times spent on trains in San Francisco, Vancouver, Washington DC, New York, and Los Angeles.
I’ve started to give names to people I see every day. My favorite is the “Tiny CEO”. He’s about eleven years old, and his school uniform is a business suit, complete with jacket and tie. He always has a stern look on his face, and I imagine that he is contemplating important business issues and deciding who to fire today.
I once again helped Mr. Hayashi by teaching a class for the students bound for Australia. They are all excited, and the highlight today was teaching them how to say “G’day Mate!” Try teaching fifteen Japanese teenagers how to speak in an Australian accent. I was almost in tears.
Mr. Hayashi is looking into getting me extra time off during the holidays and trading in some of my vacation days that I will take in Australia. I think somebody pointed out to him that I’m working lots of hours – much more than my “part-time” status requires. In a couple of weeks exams start, and he’s going to let me do part of the day, and then leave. Very nice! I’m going to use the time to get my re-entry permit. Once I leave Japan, I will need a permit to get back in. It costs only 6000 yen for an unlimited permit – it makes sense to get that one.
Tonight I’m off to the yakitori with Mel. Tomorrow is Fukuyama. I’m not sure about Sunday – we’ll have to see what pans out.
Finally, a “Happy Thanksgiving” to everyone following along in the U.S. I got a nice phone message on my machine from everyone celebrating in Glen Ellen. It sounded like a serious party to me. I don’t think they have turkey at the yakitori, but I’ll look into it.
