I summoned up the courage to engage in conversation with one of the gas station attendants.
Julie: Oh, hi Uehata-san! Fill 'er up, please.
Gas Station Attendant Uehata Who Wears His Cap Sideways: Oh, hi Julie! Didn't I see you driving somewhere the other day? Going to the Iris Festival?
J: Oh, I was driving to Kumamoto for Aikido, but I went to the Iris Festival on the way back.
U: I see. I'll bet you're coming from Aikido now also? Say, ... ... ... ? Because ... ... ... . Shall I clean the windows now?
J: Uhh, yes, please. (three minutes and several clean windows later, after contemplating the potential of making a friend, and having nothing to lose) Uehata-san, do you like music?
U: Music? What kind of music do you mean?
J: Like Japanese band A or Japanese band B or Japanese band C?
U: Oh, you know, I haven't been getting any sleep at all lately. ... ... ... not listen to music.
J: Whaa?
U: Well, you see, ... ... ... music ... . And you know, also, ... music ... . Almost no sleep, you know.
J: Sounds hard.
U: Hmm..., hard, yeah maybe. I do play the guitar though, and occasionally my band has a show. (gesturing playing guitar)
J: Really?
U: Yeah, sometimes we have a show. ... ... ... guitar ... ... . It's really ... ... .
J: Really?
U: Yeah. (pause) Uhh, that'll be 1626 yen.
J: Here you go. (pause) So, you mentioned you're a black belt in Judo. You know, I just joined the Judo club at Arao #1 Middle School.
U: Is that so?
J: Yeah.
U: ... ... Judo ... ..., you know?
J: Mmm, mmm (i.e., keep talking, maybe I'll understand something)
U: ... ... ..., and that's how it is. Almost no sleep.
J: Mmm, I see. Almost no sleep. (pause) Uhh, here. Maybe you'll like this CD. It's called 'Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'. You can have it. I have another copy. (Very non-commital language, I know.)
U: Oh, are you sure? Thanks! (pause) So, which way are you turning, right or left?
J: Left.
U: Please, let me stop traffic so you can pull out(manditory service).
J: Thank you!
U: Thank you!
My interpretation of events: I think he said that his wife just had a baby and he can't sleep these days. But I know the word for baby, and he didn't say it. But he didn't say the words for 'all-night rock star' either. What do imagine he said?
This is why making friends isn't easy for me. I can't understand 94% of what anyone says. Maybe he'll enjoy the CD, that is, if he's not too busy attending to his wife and newborn infant.
NOTE: Reaching out to anyone is a challenge. I've got Hiro and Etsuko and her family, whom I've known since the beginning, but I want to try to make some more friends before I leave. It's not just that I can't speak Japanese so well, but most people don't seem interested in making friends.
I tell of my day-to-day experiences in a funky Japanese town from my American viewpoint. This blog could also be called 'Bizarro World', 'Notes From Kyushu, a Smaller Island', or 'Teaching English in Japan: Smash Your Ego in 10 Easy Lessons."
Thursday, June 09, 2005
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4 comments:
A conversation with a gas station attendant, that's awesome! I wish I had worked up the courage to talk to people before I was actually able to...Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is an awesome CD. My friend went to London and got me a CD of the that track (Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt.1) done in Japanese and it is super spiffy. Yoshimi did a CD with Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto and I thought it would be good, but it was really boring. Oh, do you know the Boredoms(noise band, Yoshimi is in it...)? Just wondering. I am a bit of a music nut. Right now I am trying to find money to buy the new Porno Grafitti CD and a whiteberry CD. Yeah, I have weird taste...again, spiffy that you chatted and I hope you solve the mystery of no sleep- baby, rock star career, which one?? --Katie
We usually don't say subject in our conversation. And we have a tendency that when we try to speak in English, we say the words with word order that we float through our head. As you know, the word order of Japanese and English is different. So if we say English in Japanese order, the sentence dosn't make sense. Besids we skip the subject. I think,that's why you cannot understand. Although I often make mistakes the word order or skip the subject when I speak to you, you can guess what I want to say. I think your guess helps us to understand each other.
By the way, thank you for your helping for my listening practice. I finished the test, but probably I will fail. There were so many words that I don't know in the test, so I made many many mistakes. Listning comprehension was also difficult. The speakers aspok so naturally and so fast than that I practiced. The next test will be held in October, so I will try again. I have to study harder. がんばります。
Thanks for the encouragement, K! I haven't got CDs from those bands but I want to listen to them! Boredoms sounds interesting(hee hee). I'll talk to the gas station guy tomorrow again. Solve the big rock star/baby mystery and all.
Yoshimi, well, I'm sure you did your best on the test, even if you couldn't pass it. I know you worked hard, so you'll probably be able to pass next time you take it.
As far as the gas station guy goes, I think I mostly couldn't understand because I don't have enough grammar. I don't know have a big enough vocabulary to understand certain topics of conversation. I'm good at vocabulary that has to do with the classroom because I can practice it almost every day, i.e., scissors, desk, ruler, blackboard, 'Be quiet!' etc. Unfortunately, it's all nearly useless outside of school.
I keep a notebook and I write down new words I hear, but it is a very slow way to learn. Little by little, I'll be able to understand more easily. Just like you and English.
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