Sept. 6^th

There she was. She was cute in her own way, not at all what I was used to, but…still cute. I mean…back home, there was normally a little more curvature—better forms, ya know? Yep. I guess she was acceptable. I was in a rather desperate situation, anyway, so I really couldn’t be too choosy. A man can only ask so much from a Japanese car, anyway.

I figured I’d name her. She was white and black, like Stormy, but she was nothing like Stormy. But she still needed a name. I’d just put all my luggage into the poor car, without so much as a how-dee-do, so she deserved a name. If only it wasn’t raining, maybe I’d be able to think better. Wait…that’s it! Not quite Stormy… Okay, kid…your name from here on out, is Rain.

Rain and I had very little time to bond before I had to push her to her limits. She had to get used to me, and I had to get used to her…and Japanese traffic…all at once. Once I got out on the road, I realized that…walking to Trust School and driving o Trust School were two different things. Calm down, David, calm down. It’s just a road. Maybe some music will calm you down! So…I turned on the radio. Christina Aguilera?! Can I never escape this woman?! But, she helped me drive, so I can’t hate her too much.

Once I’d managed to park outside of Trust School, Atsuko came bouncing out, smiling brightly.

“Good morning!”

“…Morning.”

“Are you ready? Oh…the car is so small next to you!”

Ya know…you can’t fault people for stating the obvious in a second tongue. Until you master a language, you’re not quite as good at the subtle nuances of double entendres and the like, so…Atsuko got away with it. This time.

“Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”

After packing a few things into Atsuko’s car, since mine was filled to the brim, we started on our way. I made sure to stay RIGHT behind her the whole time, because…I couldn’t even tell which way was north, let alone read the street signs. The sun was hidden behind a blanket of grayish clouds, just how I like it, but…man, I really needed a compass in this place if I couldn’t at least see the sun. I had to resort to memorizing as many landmarks as possible during the drive, so that I could remember what looked like some cool places to visit.

Regardless of those setbacks, we made it to my apartment, even though my knees were killing me afterward. And ya know, when I first saw the outside of the place, I was terrified. It just…looked like a bunch of lockers. You step inside, lean against a wall, and fall asleep. And I’d seen video of Matt’s place. I figured I’d ended up with a place even smaller than his. But once Atsuko opened the door, all worries washed away. “Wooden” floors, high enough ceilings, lots of storage space…I mean it wasn’t huge, but man, considering what was expecting? This place was amazing! I had a TV, internet, a well functioning air conditioner, a clothes washing machine…basically everything Matt told me NOT to expect.

“He’s gonna kill me,” I thought. “He’s really…really gonna kill me.”

Atsuko walked around the room and made an “inspection” of the place, then briefly explained the appliances whose instructions were unfortunately written in Kanji.

“Okay…is this place good for you?”

I laughed. “Oh, yeah…this is fine.”

“Okay…at 1:30, be at the Board of Education Building. I pointed it, remember? And I’ll stand outside and wait for you so you’ll recognize it.”

“Sure thing.”

“Okay…um…then…s…see you later!” And with that, she awkwardly walked out the door and closed it behind her.

Two hours later, after unpacking and totally forgetting to eat, I walked out of that place and headed for the Board of Education. As promised, Atsuko was waiting outside, and escorted me in. There, I met Natto-sensei…cool dude of the BoE. Natto-sensei and Atsuko drove me around to all of my schools, telling me to remember as best as I could how to get there. Oh, they gave me a map, but…lemme tell ya. Japanese maps? Useless. No streets are named, only prominent streets can actually be seen on the map, and…well…the other streets look like they were drawn, erased, redrawn, erased, washed in a washing machine, redrawn and erased again. So, ya know…not so useful. So, every car in Japan has GPS. Oh, except for my car. AND, every single school in Japan looks exactly the same. No distinguishing features. So this was really helping my photographic memory.

BUT, we made it pretty well. Natto-sensei and Atsuko kept complimenting my Japanese (man…at first it felt good, now it feels like patronizing garbage) and every single school principle asked me my height, and if I could slam dunk. Oh, silly Asian people and your shortness.

As we made our way back to the School Board, Natto-sensei suddenly flipped out, because a bunch of his bosses were right outside the door.

“Atsuko…keep driving…let’s go to my house.”

Atsuko floored it, and we eventually made it to Natto-sensei’s house, where he gave us pears, oranges, drinks and a special dish called “natto”, where I just happen to be pulling his pseudonym from. Natto is a strange dish of fermented beans, mixed with soy sauce and mustard. Odd taste, odder texture, but I kinda like it. Except for the stickiness…blech. Note that I enjoyed it this time, though…

Eventually, we made it back to the BoE, and I had to introduce myself to the whole BoE staff…in Japanese…in front of everyone. That was…special. But they all loved me, and offered to take me out drinking some time. Atsuko seemed to enjoy watching me be utterly confused by so very much. Everyone kept complimenting my hair, my clothes, my personality…it was all a bit overwhelming. But, eventually, I met the BIG BOSS.

Now…this was a white-haired, suit wearing, stiff looking old Japanese man. And I had to go into his office to talk to him. Atsuko and Natto-sensei walked with me. He spoke to me in Japanese, and I replied as best as I could in Japanese, which seemed to impress him.

“So, David…how tall are you?”

“About two meters.”

“Really? Maybe you can help our basketball team. And how old are you?”

“23.”

“Well, isn’t that a surprise? So am I!”

I laughed, as did the head of the BoE…Atsuko and Natto-sensei laughed just a second afterward, as if they weren’t sure if it was okay.

“I like your hair!” said the Big Boss. “Can I do that with my hair?”

I chuckled. “Oh, yes. One day, I’ll teach you.”

We both laughed, and…well…that was it. Atsuko and Natto Sensei escorted me out of the building as I waved goodbye to everyone, and walked me to my car. Natto-sensei just bowed and walked back inside. But Atsuko hung around.

“So, did you have fun?”

“Oh yes, very much.”

“That was strange…Natto-sensei’s never invited people to his house like that. And the Board has never been so friendly.”

I just shrugged and smiled.

“So…are you okay?”

“Yep…just fine.”

“Oh, I want you to get your internet working tonight, so I can contact you.”

“You got it.”

“Okay then…I’ll…see you later. Yes. Bye!”

“…Bye!”

Atsuko’s goofy…but she makes me laugh, so it’s okay.

D