I went over to the yakitori tonight, and there was some great news from the master. His wife gave birth to a healthy baby girl two weeks ago. It’s been that long since I’ve been in there, so it was news to me. The funny thing was that he didn’t mention it until about halfway through my meal.
He showed me a picture he took with his cellphone – what a cute baby! The master was definitely proud. Filling in for his wife, the master’s mother quizzed me on all kinds of things, and really put my Japanese to the test. She didn’t seem to mind if I didn’t understand something, she just kept talking. Wow, it was tough. The master interjected every once in a while to help me out, but it was good practice.
That reminds me, Kuniko told me a funny story last weekend. Apparently her students had asked her if she knew how to wink.
For some reason, Japanese people have trouble winking. Maybe it’s just not part of the culture, but winking is pretty rare. A long time ago I taught Kuniko how to wink, and it’s been one of our communication tools that we use, especially when other people are around.
Anyway, she demonstrated her winking technique to her students, and the classfull of girls went nuts (Kuniko teaches at a all-girls high school). She said that the students’ reaction was, “So that’s how you got your boyfriend!”
I’m going to study some flashcards, and then hit the hay early tonight. The bedroom temperature is dropping rapidly, and I’m hoping to have another comfortable night’s sleep.
