Wasn’t Me

I was coming home from Kobe, and because it was late, I decided to take the bus home from my train station instead of walking.  It was a completely normal bus ride, and I got off the bus after putting exact change into the coin receiver as I had done many times before.  I was the only one who got off at the stop, and I started walking away from the bus toward home, but the bus didn’t go on after I had gotten off.  I kept checking behind me as 10, 15, 20 seconds went by and the bus hadn’t left yet.  After about 30 seconds, which is an unusually long interval for Japanese public buses, the bus finally left.  I can’t help but feel that I did something wrong.

(><)

Yesterday, I asked my Japanese friend to help me with my national healthcare application form.  I asked in Japanese, using what I thought was a kiddish/babyish voice.  After I did this for a minute, he said to himself in English, "So slutty."  "Slutty?!?"  Apparently, what would be considered a kiddish voice in America is considered slutty in Japan.  Ugh!!

I was a Baka Gaijin

In my last entry, I complained about a cashier who kept offering me a plastic bag.

Today, my mom laughed in my face as she explained to me that in the Japanese context, you don't say, "No (I would not like a plastic bag)." You say, "I do not need one."

I was confusing the cashier big time because I should have been responding with「いらない。」instead of 「いいえ。」

UGH!!!!!!! I was a stupid gaijin.

Not This Time!!

Today, I went to buy delicious dark chocolate at the 100 yen store by my host house. The cashier lady asked me something, which I didn’t exactly understand, but I assumed she was asking whether I wanted a bag for the chocolate, and I said no. She gave me a questioning look and said, “No?” Thinking that maybe I had misunderstood her, I was all, “Ohwhat?” She again asked me, and I again said nothanks, and she again gave me an odd look and asked, “No?” I gave her another “huh,” and then she asked, “ふくろ？” which I know means bag, and I said ohno. She pulled out a plastic bag to show me, and I said, “No.”

なんとかなんとか？

いいえ。

いいえ？

アッ、ハァ～？

なんとかなんとか？

いいえ。

いいえ？

アッ、えェットォォォ～～～？？？？？

ふくろ？

アッ、いいえ

「プラスチックバッグを見せる」

いいえ、いいえ。

This time, I was NOT a stupid gaijin.

*Follow-up entry

Count the Zeros

Today, I meant to withdraw 9,000 yen ($90ish) from my American bank account. I then went grocery shopping, and my groceries ended up being about 1500 yen. I pulled out a 10,000 yen note from my wallet. …10,000 yen. All my bills were 10,000 yen. I withdrew $900 instead of $90.

I checked my bank account online when I got home, and yuppers, I withdrew $500 more than I had in my account. I transferred in some money from another account and was out of the negative, but I didn’t know if everything was set right.

So I thought, “Ok, call the number that the bank gave you. Hopefully, it’s a 24-hour hotline for study abroaders.” But I couldn’t figure out how to 1) do an international call from my cell phone and 2) do a 1-800 number. I tried a couple things, and then I tried

1-1-800- …

I first noticed something was up when “Emergency call” came up in the caller ID.

I second noticed something was up when a calm, collected, and direct Japanese male answered.

I third noticed something was up when I finally recognized a word the man said: “accident.” I apologized and told him I had dialed the wrong number, and after he confirmed with me that everything was all well, we hung up.

The phone had recognized and called118, which I've just looked up and discovered is the number of "emergency at sea." 110 is for police, and 119 is for fire and ambulance (aka kyuukyuusha, the cutest word ever).

I did eventually figure out how to make international calls, and I did reach my daddy, and everything was all settled, but I had to pay a $22 overdraft fee… which would be 2200 yen…?

On another note, when I reread this entry, I noticed that I was missing some indefinite articles. Slowly, my mind is thinking in Japanese.