The one word in the Japanese language that is the most mystifying for me to understand is the word “Ne” (pronounced “Neh”). It is used almost exactly the same as the Canadian “eh”, and used in all the same places. It is almost like asking for confirmation of a fact, but in reality, you don’t wait for the confirmation and push on.
“How’s it going, ne?” “Cold weather today, ne?” “You are a smart guy, ne?”
I’m trying to get it into my vocabulary more. It is in common usage here in the Kansai area, but I just feel like I’m pretending to be Canadian when I use it.
Today in school the students are gearing up for examinations. I’m looking forward to wrapping everything up – my workload will drop about 90% in two weeks, and then a week later I’ll be in Australia in shorts and flip-flops.
The school staff is pushing hard for me to make my decision on recontracting, and they ask just about every other day. The decision isn’t an easy one, but I’m hoping to spend some time this week thinking about it. There are a lot of positives, but some pretty strong negatives. A tough decision.
