My first days here were pretty overwhelming. Some other faculty folk took me to Kyoto, and showed me the Chion-in Temple area, helped me buy bus and train tickets, and so forth. And yet, when I went to do those things a second time, I needed more help. But now, I'm beginning to get the basics. I understand the train schedule signs, and can buy tickets (at least the ones I'm familiar with). I know where to go to get bus tickets. I can get myself to the drugstore, grocery stores, and around Kyoto a bit.
I was particularly happy yesterday that I was more comfortable walking and taking the bus in unfamiliar areas of Kyoto. And I've learned a few more kanji.
Today, I got a phone call from the local library. Alas, I said that I couldn't speak Japanese, so someone with good English got on the line, and we figured out that I'm not the person they're looking for, and don't know that person. I apologized, and the woman on the other end of the line apologized, and I realized that I'd bowed. Yes, there, alone in my apartment, I bowed to the phone. Weird.
It's no more bizarre than smiling while you're on the phone, is it? Who doesn't do that?
ReplyDeleteI'm smiling right now, thinking of you bowing alone in your apartment.