Adventures in English

Every Wednesday five soignee Japanese ladies come over for coffee and conversation. I put on my sensei hat and they become English speakers for 90 minutes. (Five is a good number; four is the equivalent of Western 13.) "I feel so different when I speak English," beams N-san, the bilingual grandmother of three. All have grown children; two lived in the New York metro area as ex pats. All around Tokyo coffee klatsches meet with native speakers for practice.

"We're off to Istanbul. Please take over one of my conversation groups?" asked a YIS (Yokohama International School) mum. "Hai," I automatically replied, without a clue about what this entailed. "Just go on the BBC web site and you will find material," was all she said before she vanished without a trace. Between BBC and a textbook called New Interchange, a year flew by and the group fell into a comfortable rhythm.

"Let's read a book aloud, okay?" I asked at the beginning of our second year. Every Japanese sentence begins with "hai," so it sounded like they agreed. I selected Winnie-the-Pooh. "Pooh-san? Kawaii (cute)!" I told them that Mr. Milne wrote the book for his son and that Mrs. Milne sold the rights to Disney. "What a wonderful family that boy had! These drawings are more charming than the Disney version!"

At each session I discover as much about my native tongue as the group. "What is the English term for the time you spend in a coffee shop before an appointment?" asked N-san. These ladies press the buzzer at 11 AM on the dot. (No wonder Starbucks took off in Tokyo!) "We just say, Sorry I'm early. But more often, we're late." Shocked faces all around.

"What is the the difference between ashamed and embarrassed?" M-san asked me after we read of Piglet's embarrassment. I am ashamed to say that it took a moment, and that I was embarrassed in front of these good women. Feeling inadequate and feeling uncomfortable, that sounds like me on a daily basis in Tokyo. For example, when I tried to buy lice shampoo for my daughter at the local pharmacy.

But I digress: Nine days before Sudoku Fun Day!