WGO's

I don’t want anyone to think that I am complaining all the time. However, what stands out to me usually has some type of culture shock value. The more I am here the more I realize how American I am.

For instance, a Japanese person will complain about the heat while wearing long gloves that go up to their elbows. But they sacrifice temperature to make sure they don’t tan. So different from America where most people try to take advantage of any sun available. I remember this summer I tried so hard to get tan (with little result), but in Japan women want to be paler. Women in particular apply bleach creams and wear sleeves in order to look sexier for member of the opposite sex. From my point of view I think it is crazy because I associate pale with sickly, but they associate pale with beauty. Well I guess many Japanese men will find me sexy because I can’t get tan even if I want to. One point on the Japanese attractiveness scale for Adriene, but many points deducted for not being petite. Don’t worry I am not calling myself “fat” but honestly even the bigger Japanese girls are smaller than me.

So about this week. Well, how should I put it…I feel like a blind person being led by a group of mutes who point to things but forget about my condition: I can’t see the direction they’re pointing. I don’t understand what happens most of the time and no one really takes time to fill me in. One mute, not hard to guess, is Toki-san, and the others are my colleagues at school. Toki-san (god bless his soul) still hasn’t been able to fully inform me about events. Either he forgets or assumes I know, but none-the-less there’s lots of miscommunication. For instance, he failed to tell me about a meeting I had yesterday. So, I had made plans to take a day of summer vacation and scuba dive. But, he called on Wednesday to “remind” me. Well Nakamura-sensei tried to help and asked to cancel it, but apparently it couldn’t be. Something something about my elementary school teachers? They would come to my school? And Nakamura sensei was also surprised I didn’t know and thought that she had told me. Furthermore they tried to blame it on me by saying that it said “clearly” (in complicated Japanese characters) on a sheet that I had an appointment. How was I supposed to figure that out? Toki-san, seriously, inform me! In the end Nakamura sensei apologized and told me that I should have been told in advance. So I rescheduled with Nice Buddy for next week, but I still felt horrible about cancelling so suddenly.

Yesterday when I expected to be greeted by the principles at my school, a BOE (board of education) member came to pick me up. Huh, what? And when I got to the BOE Kelly, Shinju, and Robin were all waiting. They had the same questions as me, “What are we doing here? Where are the principles?” Soon we found out it was literally a five minute meeting. The “meeting” of the elementary school principles ended being an introduction in front of all the principles of not just my school but all of the others as well. So no meeting. It looked like a UN conference the way the tables were set up in this gym. Individual tables were lined up in three columns and each table had a name plate of the school. Arikawa elementary school principle happened to be seated right in front of where I was told to stand. We all stood in a line (the four of us ALTs) and each stepped forward to give our introduction. My day of scuba cancelled for, “Hello, My name is Adriene, I like sports, I studied linguistics in college, thank you very much.” But, Japanese are very much into ceremony so it makes sense why this was so important. To me, it seemed unnecessary, but I have a lot to learn about the importance of self introductions. I have given but each time Toki-san reads our information first so why do we have to repeat everything?

The same thing happened when meeting the board of education and the mayor. The BOE meetings basically reflected the principle meeting (but the BOE meeting happened first). Like I described earlier, when all of us ALTs gather we couldn’t predict what to expect. Toki-san never told us to prepare a self-introduction. Metaphorically, my blindness prevented the sight to see his mute gesturing. Toki-san might have told me beforehand, but when he gets nervous he starts speaking in really fast Japanese. Fast complicated Japanese that I just don’t understand yet. Funny enough he even does this to Kelly even though he knows that she can’t understand any Japanese.

I am going to title my unknowing moments as WGO’s (what’s going on?). Well another WGO just happened sitting at my desk writing my blog. All of a sudden students flooded in an all the teachers told me to clean. Cleaning time! What? And this morning when I walked into another WGO when all the teachers rushed out of the teacher’s lounge and they told me there was a school assembly. Why can’t I get a schedule? I am so confused. Yesterday I was getting ready to leave when all the teachers walked outside and told me it was time to pick grass on the brick driveway in front of the school. WGO? Mind you, I had dressed nicely that day in preparation of my meeting the principles and so my outfit was hardly suited for gardening. They gave me a bent thick wire and set me to work using this wire to dig weeds out of the cracks. Any heard of weed killer? I guess not. During this weed hooking I almost got bit by a mukade! Dangerous and poisonous, mukades are the Japanese centipede.

No gloves and without regard, I reached for a small weed. As soon as I touched a leaf a mukade about four inches long furiously scurried out from its hiding place! I screamed, and everyone of course turned towards me. I yelled, “MUKADE!” And several teachers ran over asking if I had been bitten. Luckily I escaped the poisonous bite. My brave JTE Takase sensei crushed the mukade with her foot. But that thing wouldn’t die. She had to step on it at least five times with powerful blows before it stopped moving. My life had flashed before my eyes and my heart started beating out of my chest. I wish I could explain how much I fear the mukade. Even though that was the first time I saw one, I don’t want to be bitten. I live in fear of them and as such I shake out my shoes every morning and I shake out my sheets. Better safe than sorry. But, I had not expected the mukade to come charging from under a small weed. I have to be even more careful than I thought. I live in fear.


Meeting the mayor was formal, but relaxed. He had us sit down, gave us delicious tea and presents. Cute little whale key chains and his card. Each card had a different place on the island with Catholic significance. I think he told us that he would take us by boat to a place called Saint Maria cave on the island. Missing my opportunity to ask about where I can go to church, I hope he does take us by boat so I can ask him again.

One more WGO. Preface- toki-san told us all to dress formally for the day’s events. After the two meetings on Wednesday we had our enkai (party). Usually this takes place at a restaurant, so we didn’t feel the need to change out of our clothes. Toki drove us to a place I am calling nowhere. At this nowhere we got out of the car and he handed us things from his trunk. OH, a BBQ! Finally we understood why we drove away from civilization, our enkai was a BBQ not at a restaurant. So at nowhere we climbed a steep staircase and ended up on the most beautiful hill and the perfect time of day when the sun cast a beautiful warm glow over everything. Dragon flies darted around our heads and we could see all the way to the neighboring island Ojika. Beautiful, but wrong. Are you surprised that Toki-san couldn’t get us to the right place? Soon he herded us back down the mountain and this time made it to the BBQ area.

Soon all the other BOE people showed up. And they all wore casual clothes and jeans. It was a BBQ of course. Oh Toki-san. Outside in formal wear was not my idea of a good time. I didn’t want to ruin my pants! Well I guess we couldn’t have changed if we wanted to because Toki-san didn’t tell us to bring an extra change of clothes.

My life continues to be one big WGO right now, constantly. Maybe I’ll catch on, but I feel like things will continually happen that I don’t expect. Either people don’t bother explaining because they feel like we won’t understand or they assume that our American social pragmatics match Japanese ones.