Day 69 - Gaijin - Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Day 69 - Gaijin

I learned that there is actually a Pokemon and a Pikachu plane here in Japan...Thats how popular pokemon is here...

I taught grades 1, 2 and 3 today at this school...There is this grade 1 kid who seem to be extremely facinated by the existence of a black person. Every now and again when I am teaching he occassionally run up and grab on to my shirt or try to poke me in the side or something...The class room teachers (3 of them) had to be drawing him away from me every minute. Then after class was finished, a couple of genky (very excited) kids attacked me and blocked off the door entrance, they surrounded me trying to touch my hair and not even the teachers could hold them back...I remembered one of them touching my hair and said "sponge" lol.. Boy I tell you, the many traumas of being a foreigner (especially a black foreigner) in rural Japan...

I realised today that apparently, nose bleeding is a popular sickness or something in Japan, especially when they get too excited it seem...Its even depicted in some of their cartoons.

I saw the guy who live on my apartment complex today riding a bicycle and I shouted "Gaijin"...Then when I was about to park he rode up to me and said Gaijin is actually like a bad word for foreigners.. I had no clue that it was seen as a bad word...Because I actually know the alien registration card as a "gaijin card"...Hmmm well now I know ... anyway I asked him why is he riding and not driving???...He then said because his international driver`s licence expired, our company decided to take away HIS car from him of fear that he might drive it and meet in an accident???...

Now, if your international driver`s licence expire, you are going to have to get a JAPANESE driver`s licence...This takes maybe 2 months or more to process...Luckily, this guy`s schools are nearby...I am wondering what will happen to me on March 8, 2009 which is when my licence expire????...My nearest school is like 20 mins and my furthest is 45 mins away BY DRIVING!!!! And all of them I have to drive through a tunnel... Up until this day, I am yet to see a bicycle riding through a tunnel.....Dem betta cut the crap...

Today I went bed about 9:30 pm instead of the normal 12 midnight and after 1am business... I didnt even go to soccer training...I was invited to come to this meditation thing today as well but I was a little too tired.