Japanese Lesson

We got some snow yesterday and last night. Whenever it snows here, it is complete chaos as the parking lot is being plowed. People have to move their cars to make way for the plow-truck, but there are never enough plowed spaces to move them to. So it's always kind of a headache. Today, I decided I'd just leave and let everyone sort out the hassle without me. So I went and did my usually-Sunday grocery shopping a day early. And I did something else a little unusual for me.

I don't think I've mentioned on this blog that I have been studying the Japanese language since last spring. Since I spend so much of my free time watching anime, I thought it would be fun and cool if I could learn enough Japanese to understand the dialog without reading subtitles. And perhaps one day do my own fansubs. So to that end, I searched YouTube and found a set of videos produced in the 80's called Let's Learn Japanese. Slowly, I have been learning more and more.

Now back to today's story. There is a newly-opened Japanese restaurant in town, and since I wanted to vacate my condo for an hour or so, I figured today would be a good day to try out the food, and my Japanese conversations skills. So I went in with an enthusiastic "Konichiwa! (Good day!)", approached the waiter and said "Ichi (one)." I have no idea if that's the proper way to ask for a table for one, but this was an opportunity to learn, right? I nodded when he asked "one person?", and I said "Tsumetai soto ni desu ne! (It's cold outside!)" as I removed my jacket. When they barely gave any response to that at all, I wondered if I had said it right. Next I said "Nihongo o benkyou shimasu (I study the Japanese language)", to which the man behind the sushi bar gave me a nod. I sat down and studied the menu for several minutes.

I haven't eaten a whole lot of sushi in my life, so I have no idea what to order or how to eat it. So instead, and since it was freezing cold outside, I thought it would be best to order the Pork Noodle Soup. When the waiter brought it out, I said "Oishisou desu! (Looks delicious!)" to which he replied "thank you." The soup was okay, but a little bland. It was certainly nothing like a cup of instant ramen. I really have no idea how Japanese soup is supposed to taste, so I just ate it. It was a big, honking bowl, and it really filled me up. However, the entire time I was eating, the place was very quiet. No other customers came in. And the staff didn't seem like they wanted to talk with me, so I didn't get as much of a chance to practice my Japanese as I had hoped. When I was done, I said "Oishikatta desu! (That was delicious!)" and again the waiter replied "thank you."

As I got up to leave, I went to try to converse with the sushi chef. I said "Dono sushi arimasu ka? (Which sushi do we have here?)" I'm pretty sure that sentence was not properly structured, but I was only trying to start a conversation. He seemed really confused when I said that, so I asked him if he was Japanese, and lo and behold, he was in fact Chinese! He said he hadn't understood anything I said earlier! The other guy behind the sushi bar was clearly not even Asian, so I said "You don't look Japanese either," and he managed to convey in broken English that he was Mexican! So I used a few of my stock phrases in Spanish: "Buenas tardes, como estas? No hablo Espanol muy bien, pero estoy aprendiendo." I learned further that none of them there were Japanese! They were all Chinese with one Mexican guy! What the hell kind of Japanese restaurant was this? Clearly I would be getting no Japanese conversation practice today!

And so I left, shaking my head with a big smile on my face. And drove home to my freshly plowed out parking space.

Part Asian 100% Hapa

On the Newshour tonight, they had a video essay about multiraciality in America, and it centered on an exhibit called The Hapa Project at the de Saisset museum at Santa Clara University. The exhibit features portaits of hapas (multiracial, part-Asian people) along with each subject's handwritten response to the question "What are you?"

What a magnificent idea! I can tell you first hand that growing up straddling the line between races is very confusing, alienating, and lonely in a way, feeling so unlike everyone else around you. Looking through the samples in the exhibit, it makes me so proud to see the faces of my beautiful brothers and sisters, and read the myriad ways they answer that perplexing question. If I were to answer that question right now, I'd say this:

What I am changes from day to day. Sometimes I am a confused and anxious introvert, wondering where he belongs. Other times, I am the melting pot, the embodiment of diversity, the essence of a unified world. But most of the time, somewhere in between.

I applaud artist/creator Kip Fulbeck for conceiving such a brilliant idea! There's a book too. I'm buying it. I'm curious to see each and every page!