"Thank you God for such a great day!" are the words that popped out of my mouth as I got home after work today. I have so many things to write about...my student's test from a month or so ago...my trip home and all that I realized and appreciated...my trip back to Japan and my New Year's here. But, if I don't write about today now, it will soon be added to the list of things I've been meaning to write about. So, I'll write about today for now and then go back to those other topics even though the non-chronological order is, in the back of my mind, driving me crazy. ;D
Today was such a great day. It was much different from my first-day-back-after-break-in-America last year. There wasn't any awkwardness. WELL...actually there was, but not the usual kind. Today's moment of awkwardness came when Nakazatomi Sensei (a.k.a. Super Man) asked if Shimoda Sensei and I went to a such and such place for lunch. I repeated the such with a questioning intonation, "goukan?" Nakazatomi Sensei and the other 9th grade teachers instantly burst into laughter. Oh no! I obviously didn't hear him correctly, and what I did hear is apparently inappropriate to be questioning out loud in the staff room. OhNoOhNo! What did I say?! I instantly reach for my electronic dictionary. Nakazatomi Sensei repeats, "gouka", but at this point I'm much more concerned with finding the meaning of the word I said. Next to me, Shimoda Sensei (the 9th grade English teacher) is bent over in laughter. This is embarrassing. When the definition of goukan comes up on the screen, I'm shocked and more embarrassed. I turn to the 9th grade teachers, bow, and-- through laughter-- say, "sheetsureishimashita" -- I'm sorry...Excuse my mistake. "Goukan" means "rape". Oh no! Next I look up what Nakazatomi Sensei said and found that "gouka" means "luxurious", "deluxe", etc. "Did you go to a fancy restaurant?", is what he was asking. Wow! That was awkward. YET, yet, far less so than the usual awkwardness I experience here...especially on a first day back after break when the typical lack of interaction with the coworkers I sit merely feet from all day is even more shocking after having been in friendly and free America. There is much more to tell about this day, but not enough time now (as is always the case)...To be continued...
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