A regular day at school today as far as classes, but the whole schedule was abbreviated so that we could prepare for Sports Day tomorrow. There was some last minute work to do out on the field, and I found myself with a sledge hammer at one point pounding in metal stakes to separate the spectators from the participants.
I was accompanied by a small posse of students that were supposed to help me out. We walked around for a while until we had completed the task, and then we were free to go. An easy job, really.
On the way home I was waiting for my train at the station and some kids on the platform across the way were calling out names and trying to get my attention. I was surprised to hear some bad stuff coming out of their mouths. The kids were smoking and generally being “bad kids”. They looked like college age, but I’m guessing they don’t go to college.
They kept calling at me, and when I looked over and smiled they didn’t stop, they seemed to get bolder. I kept looking, they kept talking trash.
So I walked around to their platform to say hello.
As soon as I started in their direction they freaked out. They must have thought that I wouldn’t come over – after all I was on another platform. When they say me coming up the steps they ran to the end of the platform and were behaving like I was carrying a chainsaw. Their train came before I could go over and introduce myself, so I just smiled and waved goodbye to them as they crouched down low in their seats.
I don’t think anyone appreciates being called names, but my plan was just to go over there and say hello. I can’t say much more than hello in Japanese, but I thought it might embarrass them a little bit and maybe they’d think twice about harassing people. I don’t know if I’ll see them again but I hope they are a little more polite next time.
At home I got a strange phone call from a student that wanted me to teach her English. She asked me if I had called her, but I hadn’t, anyway, not since the first time I called her about a week ago.
I also heard from the master at the yakitori. He said that I had called him. It was a different phone number, he said, but he called it back and got me. Strange, I told him. Lately my portable phone has made some weird noises when it’s charging on the cradle, and I fear that it is making some weird connection and redialing numbers that I’ve called before. This is just lately, so I’ll keep an eye on it. I might need to get a new phone, though. Meanwhile, my new student probably thinks I’m a stalker or something. The master didn’t seem to care.
Well, I’m off to bed. A day out in the sun and a night out drinking combined to make me a very tired guy today. I’m hoping to get a full night’s sleep because tomorrow is the big Sports Day and also the grand opening of Ito Yokado.
