FAINT?! You were with her? Where did it happen? In the bath? At the table? What did uncle Michael say? It hasn’t happened again, right? Don’t withhold information.
And on top of that, flooding? When it ain one ting it is de nex, nuh? My bedroom ain get wash way, I hope. It’s getting cold here again and they’ve covered my apartment building to paint it. I haven’t seen the sun from inside in weeks.
How to make Japanese friends?
Otherwise, there’s the usual semi-depression and anxiety from living in Roboland. It helps that there are ten other foreign English teachers for neighbourly support, but I don’t really have Japanese friends or hope that I will.
There’s the Japanese wife of an English teacher who, along with being chic and able to speak perfect English, is too cool to be real. And there are the Japanese English teachers with whom I work directly, one of whom lived in England and, in a moment of desperation, I had translate a love message to a crush. Otherwise, the Japanese I meet have no time for friendship. You ask to get together and a calendar comes out and you’re marked down for five weeks from now, Sunday. Their associations are with workmates who speak Japanese.
Two Groups
He didn’t make either group
Putting diplomacy aside, the Japanese fall into two groups: those who interact with foreigners, and mice. The former generally respond to ‘gaijin’, as if their goal is to swallow them whole. Their customary Japanese-English comes at you in one breath. It is punctuated with sounds Westerners make during sex. The mice? You think you’ve seen one through the corner of your eye.
I gave up on forging friendships, one night a few months ago, when two Japanese women we did not know joined our table to talk. It was about opening a cafe that would bring young Japanese people and foreigners together.
I Give Up
My life source was spindled from me by every giggle, and the speed at which they spoke made me nauseous. Curling in a corner to protect myself from the pitch of their voices, it occurred that they were it…they were as good as it gets, unless you happen upon someone who has lived overseas; someone who, despite easily identifiable Japanese quirks, has been recalibrated to work on what I’ve come to know as a human frequency.
Midterm exams were last week so I was busy correcting dese dumpsie students’ papers. Next month is classes, then exams at the beginning of December, then vacation (praise Rihanna).
Workout Buddy
I’m working out with a guy from the UK (he built a gym in his apartment…so he maybe a psycho). His girlfriend is a black woman, always saying tings to him like “Martin would understand”. Dese “African Americans” and how they assume unity through their point of view.
Hello Quads!
I don’t want to look like Mark, just to bulk up a bit…part of my coping strategy – not underestimating endorphins and feeling good about your body.
Snake
Snake in the Park
I was in a park recently and a meter long snake slithered in. I was so excited! I never see things like that! It’s always a lucky friend, although you probably don’t think it a lucky thing! It’s the animal’s freedom of choice which usually makes them harmless once there’s distance between you. I took a video, but am unsure if it will play outside my phone. The snake climbed into a trellis under which I used to sit…never more!
Halloween Party
Martin Scissorhands
I’m making a costume for a Halloween party on Saturday. Everybody expecting me to come big! I just might pull it off. I’ll send pictures.
Can’t think of anything else. I’m mentally exhausted from editing my new stories. I’m going to put them down and get back to them in a week or two.
Keep safe. Give sis a kiss for me.
Much love.
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