In Japan!

[nattybumppo]

We have arrived in the land of the rising sun! Our flight was long but not unbearable; we had a very nice seatmate named Yukari with whom Dori chatted (in Japanese) quite a bit, and the flight attendants were friendly and very helpful. Dori made friends with all of them, as she is wont to do, and she even ended up using her teacherly powers to make

Comments

[shihtzu]

うわ～、日本無事到着か、お疲れ！懐かしいな～

[nattybumppo]

うん、ありがとう！When's the last time you went?

[shihtzu]

I taught at AEON for a year until June 2004. Haven't been back since :(

[nattybumppo]

Yeah, you don't realize how much you miss it until you come back, I think. I'm wondering how I'm going to leave now.

[kitsune714]

[nattybumppo]

What exactly did you do when you were in Japan? You didn't write a full blog entry on this, did you? If so, I missed it.

[kitsune714]

[nattybumppo]

Sweeeeet.

[drxcapio]

Have the citizens been addressing you in Japanese? I've heard that it's common for them to assume that white people can only speak English.

[nattybumppo]

I think that most Japanese people are a little afraid of speaking English, and while they often looked surprised and perhaps a little apprehensive when they see me walking up to them to ask them a question, say, they tend to relax when I ask it in Japanese. If I address people in Japanese, they usually respond in Japanese as well and treat me as a (more or less) equal. But if they're drunk or especially racist (not as much a problem in Tokyo) it's anybody's guess.

[anamuan]

how's the awesome going?

hi, dori!

[nattybumppo]

The awesome is awesome! We've been having a great time in Japan. Everything's 超懐かしい！

Dori says hi back, and 「久しぶり！」.

[anamuan]

懐かしいでしょね。When was the last time you were back?

チョウ久しぶりだね！元気元気?

[nuange]

dude, Igor has a house in Japan?? I haven't heard his name since high school.

[nattybumppo]

Yep. He's a professional race car driver (see?), and he lives in Yokohama. He's being super-nice and letting us stay in his place. :o)