On Display

Two weeks ago a friend I met in Prague came for a visit. She arrived in Japan late Friday night and on Saturday afternoon was on 4 trains to find me in a sleepy fishing village. She made it without any problems. On the last train (1) she met some of my former students and they helped her carry her luggage off the train and over the stairs to where I was waiting. It was after 8pm and we were both hungry so we drove 3 blocks to main street and parked. As we got out of my car I saw a man walking toward us and he said “こんばんわ” or "good evening." (2) And then he realized he knew me. He is a retired principal at one of the elementary schools I work at. We used to sit in the same office together during the summer months. He’d been drinking and was happy to chat us up as we walked in the cold rain to the restaurant. After he wished her well on her trip and we said our goodbyes and indulged him in a few drunken handshakes, we stepped inside the izikaya, Japanese style pub. Inside we were greeted by (3 & 4) the waitress whose children I teach and by the owner who also knows me and my crew by now. Instead of taking our order, the waitress just finished all my sentences for me. I would start to say what we (I) wanted and she would finish my sentence down to the special requests for now super small shrimp in the yakisoba. (5) Before we started eating another friend of a friend walked by and sat down and we had a mini-eikaiwa for about 10 minutes. She’s super cute and sweet, but there were more than a few pauses in the conversation and I thought she would take the hint to go enjoy her meal, but she stayed and we kept up the chit-chat for awhile. When she finally did leave, it wasn’t for good. She came back to visit us 2-3 more times before we left and walked us to the door at the end of the night. In the course of 2 hours, from the train to my apartment, we met about five people who knew me and could help me welcome her to a small Japanese fishing village!

Last weekend I went to the grocery store with two friends (male…what a scandal) to buy food for our camping trip. I can’t remember the last time I shopped without running into someone I know. On this particular day at this particular grocery store, (6-8) I saw three students, (9) the owner of the aforementioned restaurant, and (10) a secretary at one of my schools. Both boys were a little surprised by all the people I knew. It is a little embarrassing to be recognized by so many people.

Later that night the camping group left camp and went into town, only 5 minutes by car, to an onsen, or hot spring bath. We had barely walked in the door (11) when my Vice Principal walked in right behind us. Oh my! Seriously, was this necessary? The VP in Japanese schools is up in everyone’s business and knows what’s happening with everyone at any given time. At least mine does! We have a love/hate relationship. I never really knows if he likes me, but he doesn’t show affection or give praise. He did, however, give me an international room and $300 to buy stuff for it. So, I think we’re on pretty good terms. But that doesn’t mean I want him knowing about my weekend adventures hijacking abandon cabins in the forest with a bunch of rowdies. Sitting in the lobby after we had bathed, (12) the Curriculum Coordinator from another one of my schools walked by and sat down and chatted for awhile. I had to laugh. I just can’t hide! I can’t do anything in this town without someone or everyone knowing about it.

This week I was sitting at my desk at one of my schools patiently waiting for my students to come and fetch me for class. There had been two men wandering the school all day to check the electrical system and the fire alarms. They sat down by my desk for a coffee break. Before they got up to get back to work they started asking me questions. (13) It turns out they met my sister, or somehow knew of my sister and remembered her name. What? My sister visited over 20 months ago. They looked vaguely familiar but I have no idea how or why they know my sister.

The examples of living on display go on and on. They happen everyday and they are part of the fun, adventure, and monotony of living in a small fishing village in rural Japan.