Ja-pa-nees Job

My Friday started pretty great and only continued to get better. Mt Fuji was visible on my run with Dina today!

After that, I went to meet my future Ja-pa-nees (how the Japanese prounouce Japanese) employer. I am happy to report, I’m officially employed. All it took was an introduction and a handshake. My “working” hours currently consist of 12:30-2:00 on Friday. With a train commute, add about 30 minutes to each end. I will be teaching conversational English one day week to a group of 4-5 Japanese women. I like to think of it as spending time with 4-5 of my Japanese grandmothers. It’s a pretty sweet deal. I only wish I could have a couple classes!

I accompanied Meghann to the class today. My only job today was to meet Yasuko (the class leader). I put on my biggest smile and my flattest shoes. She still commented on how tall I am. “You have very long legs.” Was the exact comment. So, funny. Trust me when I tell you, the table and chairs we sat around were not designed for my 32 inch inseam that’s for sure! In fact, my feet kept falling asleep. I must have looked like I had ants in my pants I was shifting so much. Plus, I kept hitting the table every time I shifted. Awkwardly, hilarious. And I attempted several times to slide the chair back. But wouldn’t scoot. Ugh. My legs were achy when I finally stood.

Back to the class. They asked all about me. I answered with my standard responses: I moved here from Chicago. I have a stepson (he’s grown) and we two grand boys. In America, I was a Science teacher. Oh! A sensei (teacher in Japanese)!?! Direct quote, “you have pretty smile and smart.” Haha. At this point, my face is bright red. Yasuko continues with “you smile so happy.” Best compliment ever. Yes, she probably meant “your smile” but, I’m taking the other interpretation and ignoring the fact I know the Japanese can’t pronounce “r”.

Since this was Meghann’s last class, they had a surprise lunch for her. Bento box! My favorite!!