Thursday, April 03, 2003
A case of mistaken identity!...
So anywayz, I was in the computer lab yesterday tapping away when a guy with thick glasses approached me. Now, before I go any further, there`s this guy that lives in Hoyu Ryo named Mitsuyoshi that wears thick glasses but that I otherwise find very cute. So I was excited when I saw him approach me. He asked me if I knew Tsveti and if I had seen her around. He said he was going to study abroad in either England or the US, so he was looking specifically for a male English tutor (which I found kinda strange...) and was wondering if she knew of anyone. Tsveti was at work, so I said, "She`s not here, but I`ll have her call you....does she know your phone number?". Apparently she didn`t so he wrote his phone number and the name "Akki". Now, I didn`t know if "Akki" was his nickname or what so I asked him, "Anata no nikuneimu desu ka?" (Is that your nickname?) and he said yes. So he left and I excitedly turned to Don and said, "Oooh! I have his phone number!". Don, who also finds Mistuyoshi cute, was surprisingly unaffected. She was like, "Ah, ok..."
Anywayz, later on that night, Tsveti got back from work. I was practically jumping up and down as I went up to her and said, "Guess what? Mitsuyoshi wants you to call him!" and I went up to my room to get the piece of paper that he had given me. When she read the name "Akki", she hesitated. She said, "Wait a minute....this isn`t the Akki from English Forum is it?" The thing is, last semester, Tsveti worked at the school`s English Forum and apparently there was this guy named Akki who supposedly had a crush on her. Of course, her feelings were far from mutual, so she tried to avoid him. I assured her it wasn`t that guy so she called. Well.....it ends up that it WAS that guy. Tsveti wanted to kill me! "But I swear he said that it was his name!" I told her. I felt so bad because I thought I had misunderstood very simple Japanese. Then I thought perhaps Mitsuyoshi was acting as an "intermediary", giving me Akki`s phone number instead. And then I thought that perhaps Mitsuyoshi had lied, saying that Akki was his nickname. Anywayz, I was mortified so I called Don, explaining the situation. She was like, "Yeah, that was Akki who was in the computer lab and gave you his phone number". And I said, "Wait a minute....Mitsuyoshi`s nickname is Akki, right?" and she said, "NO, that was NOT Mitsuyoshi....that was Akki...they`re two different people!!" I finally put two and two together.....for some reason, I thought that it was Mitsuyoshi in the computer lab....I don`t know how I thought that!! I mean, they both have thick glasses and similar haircuts...but still! No wonder Don hadn`t been as excited as me when seeing him. I was like, "Why didn`t you tell me it wasn`t him!? Why didn`t you tell me it wasn`t him!?" But really, she had no reason to tell me since she didn`t know I thought it was Mitsu. I was so ashamed of myself but at the same time, I was cracking up....the situation was so hilarious! And of course, the new girls, Isabel and Yukiko (the Australian and Ecuadorian girls, respectively) were there to witness the whole unraveling of the situation so they were cracking up. We told the story to Brian and Jojit and later on, Brian was like, "Hey, that`s Mitsu over there! That looks like Mitsu!" Oh my God...I don`t think I`ll be able to face neither Akki nor Mitsuyoshi every again! ;-) LOL!! Now I will no longer be known as the girl who tried to put her camera on her foot on her birthday...now I will be known as the girl who thought Akki was Mitsuyoshi! :-D
So anywayz, I was in the computer lab yesterday tapping away when a guy with thick glasses approached me. Now, before I go any further, there`s this guy that lives in Hoyu Ryo named Mitsuyoshi that wears thick glasses but that I otherwise find very cute. So I was excited when I saw him approach me. He asked me if I knew Tsveti and if I had seen her around. He said he was going to study abroad in either England or the US, so he was looking specifically for a male English tutor (which I found kinda strange...) and was wondering if she knew of anyone. Tsveti was at work, so I said, "She`s not here, but I`ll have her call you....does she know your phone number?". Apparently she didn`t so he wrote his phone number and the name "Akki". Now, I didn`t know if "Akki" was his nickname or what so I asked him, "Anata no nikuneimu desu ka?" (Is that your nickname?) and he said yes. So he left and I excitedly turned to Don and said, "Oooh! I have his phone number!". Don, who also finds Mistuyoshi cute, was surprisingly unaffected. She was like, "Ah, ok..."
Anywayz, later on that night, Tsveti got back from work. I was practically jumping up and down as I went up to her and said, "Guess what? Mitsuyoshi wants you to call him!" and I went up to my room to get the piece of paper that he had given me. When she read the name "Akki", she hesitated. She said, "Wait a minute....this isn`t the Akki from English Forum is it?" The thing is, last semester, Tsveti worked at the school`s English Forum and apparently there was this guy named Akki who supposedly had a crush on her. Of course, her feelings were far from mutual, so she tried to avoid him. I assured her it wasn`t that guy so she called. Well.....it ends up that it WAS that guy. Tsveti wanted to kill me! "But I swear he said that it was his name!" I told her. I felt so bad because I thought I had misunderstood very simple Japanese. Then I thought perhaps Mitsuyoshi was acting as an "intermediary", giving me Akki`s phone number instead. And then I thought that perhaps Mitsuyoshi had lied, saying that Akki was his nickname. Anywayz, I was mortified so I called Don, explaining the situation. She was like, "Yeah, that was Akki who was in the computer lab and gave you his phone number". And I said, "Wait a minute....Mitsuyoshi`s nickname is Akki, right?" and she said, "NO, that was NOT Mitsuyoshi....that was Akki...they`re two different people!!" I finally put two and two together.....for some reason, I thought that it was Mitsuyoshi in the computer lab....I don`t know how I thought that!! I mean, they both have thick glasses and similar haircuts...but still! No wonder Don hadn`t been as excited as me when seeing him. I was like, "Why didn`t you tell me it wasn`t him!? Why didn`t you tell me it wasn`t him!?" But really, she had no reason to tell me since she didn`t know I thought it was Mitsu. I was so ashamed of myself but at the same time, I was cracking up....the situation was so hilarious! And of course, the new girls, Isabel and Yukiko (the Australian and Ecuadorian girls, respectively) were there to witness the whole unraveling of the situation so they were cracking up. We told the story to Brian and Jojit and later on, Brian was like, "Hey, that`s Mitsu over there! That looks like Mitsu!" Oh my God...I don`t think I`ll be able to face neither Akki nor Mitsuyoshi every again! ;-) LOL!! Now I will no longer be known as the girl who tried to put her camera on her foot on her birthday...now I will be known as the girl who thought Akki was Mitsuyoshi! :-D
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
Hmmm.....not very inspired to write much, but anywayz, here I am. It`s April now....and the sakura (cherry blossom) trees have bloomed...almost right on schedule. The Soka sakura trees are not quite in full bloom, but there are some, here and there, that have come to full bloom. There is this one tree...its delicate cloud-like blooms look almost white. It`s so beautiful. Yet, they are not quite like trees back home when they are in full bloom. If you drive around my neighborhood, you will see the many different colors from the flowers of the different types of trees. While here, especially in Soka, almost all of the trees are either sakura or ume (plum blossom). Funny how this reflects the social makeup of each country. Back home, the different types of trees, like the people of different cultures. Here, the homogenity (darn, does that word exsist?) of the sakura and ume trees reflect the homogenity of Japan`s population. Both are beautiful.
Ok, enough of my pseudo-philosophy. Speaking of trees....what sticks out in my mind when I think of the trees back home are the dogwood trees. I think of them fondly because growing up in Salisbury, the places I lived in were surrounded by them. Now, I remember hearing that dogwood trees are Japanese and in fact, are very typically Japanese....but since coming here, I haven`t seein a single dogwood tree! Maybe I just have to know where to look....
Also, I have seen several daffodils which really remind me of home because they are the first flowers to bloom in the spring (back home anyway). Here though, they seem to bloom a little later, and you can see them even now in April. Back home, they appear in early March and dissapear by the time April comes around.
So what else? Ah yes, yesterday was Don`s birthday and a good time was had by all :-) Don, Jojit, Brian, Tsveti, and I had lunch at an Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, I was a little late in meeting them because I lost track of time while trying to buy Don`s birthday present, but it was worth it (I hope). And later on, we sat on the banks of the Asa River and had snacks and a little bit of beer and some nice conversation. I am so glad that the weather is getting warmer so we can do stuff like this more often. Yesterday was also the Nyuu-gakku shikki (entrance ceremony) for the new Soka students. We aki-sei (students that came in the fall) didn`t get to go but that`s ok. Don and I were walking around the Soka campus, which was full of people in suits and nice dresses....I felt so underdressed. All the Japanese guys seemed so cute! I do declare, they are growing on me...thanks to Ayumu and Tanaka....but that`s another story which I don`t feel like telling today.
Anywayz....that`s about all for today....I got stuff to do....and soon classes will start! :-o Looking forward to seeing everyone again (as well as the new faces) but not looking forward to being busy and getting up early...
Ok, enough of my pseudo-philosophy. Speaking of trees....what sticks out in my mind when I think of the trees back home are the dogwood trees. I think of them fondly because growing up in Salisbury, the places I lived in were surrounded by them. Now, I remember hearing that dogwood trees are Japanese and in fact, are very typically Japanese....but since coming here, I haven`t seein a single dogwood tree! Maybe I just have to know where to look....
Also, I have seen several daffodils which really remind me of home because they are the first flowers to bloom in the spring (back home anyway). Here though, they seem to bloom a little later, and you can see them even now in April. Back home, they appear in early March and dissapear by the time April comes around.
So what else? Ah yes, yesterday was Don`s birthday and a good time was had by all :-) Don, Jojit, Brian, Tsveti, and I had lunch at an Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, I was a little late in meeting them because I lost track of time while trying to buy Don`s birthday present, but it was worth it (I hope). And later on, we sat on the banks of the Asa River and had snacks and a little bit of beer and some nice conversation. I am so glad that the weather is getting warmer so we can do stuff like this more often. Yesterday was also the Nyuu-gakku shikki (entrance ceremony) for the new Soka students. We aki-sei (students that came in the fall) didn`t get to go but that`s ok. Don and I were walking around the Soka campus, which was full of people in suits and nice dresses....I felt so underdressed. All the Japanese guys seemed so cute! I do declare, they are growing on me...thanks to Ayumu and Tanaka....but that`s another story which I don`t feel like telling today.
Anywayz....that`s about all for today....I got stuff to do....and soon classes will start! :-o Looking forward to seeing everyone again (as well as the new faces) but not looking forward to being busy and getting up early...
