but the japan three day march was a fine substitute for a saturday morning. the march, which now that i`ve typed that word twice seems like it should be something much more ultra-nationalistic, is a yearly event held in the city where i went to high school here, but today was my first time being in attendance. i vaguely remember excusing myself for fencing practice when i was first here.
march participants can choose a 5, 10 or 20 km course, each of which walks them through the forests and foothills of what is best understood as the northwest border of the tokyo mega-region, 60 km from the nearest transportation hub actually in the city. i didn`t walk, other than to the start line, that is. i walked there and then walked across the event space (the athletic grounds of the central elementary school) to where the rotary club had its tent and started my greetings and introductions. i came to higashimatsuyama for the first time eleven years ago as a youth exchange student, and i owe the rotarians a significant debt for their hospitality. luckily, the hospitality was flowing freely from the tap this morning, too, and even if i can`t make it to any of the remaining races of this year`s cross crusade, i got the next best thing during my first experience of the three day march. plus, the coffee, food and beer were free.
it`s no use scolding myself for being so out of practice, because that doesn`t make the words come any easier. but i think that`s beside the point when talking about my conversations with members of the higashimatsuyama rotary club, because i don`t think that i was really able to understand them even at the height of my ability. i stumble over words in english and ask people to repeat themselves all the time. it should be no indication of a failure in my japanese communication skills that i can`t correctly grab what some older japanese men happen to be saying from time to time. what`s that? maybe i just never cleared that important hurdle to begin with and am now only re-encountering my real challenge? what do you know? the rotarians tell me i`m perfect and haven`t lost a thing. i don`t believe them, because any japanese will tell you something similar if you can passably communicate hello. we`ll just have to agree then that they`re no proper gague. they feel the same way about each other, maybe, so let`s just all stuff our mouths.
i knew the first person i saw at the tent, a woman i mistook for the club secretary but who turned out to be the wife of the rotarian that took me on a tour of shikoku during the first month of my year here. she made the appropirate references before i had a chance to make the regrettable mistake. i correctly remembered the secretary once i saw her, and the two women saved me from being grilled by the rotarians on my social advancement for the first hour of my audience. they introduced me to a third woman, the wife of a newer member of the club whose son had gone to art school in california. in that hilly place near los angeles. you know, san francisco. she was a peach. they all want to find me a pretty wife.
what`s more to say? i shouldn`t have made such a public appearance so early. now the word is out, and i have to start planning to break promises. that`s something you learn if you`ve known the right people in japan. and those same people will think the world of you if it takes them until they arrive home to know that they`ve been rejected. so don`t worry. i`ll know how to deal with any proposals.
in the news: murakami ryu started an ebook company but, even so, failed to fall from my esteem. you can`t access wifi in japan -- even at a free hot spot (i.e. a starbucks or a mcdonalds) -- without a pre-existing wireless contract. you can`t make a short term wireless contract in japan. the dragon hasn`t left shinjuku ni-choume; it just moved. christopher merkel, looking good in pants, was spotted at the dragon, shinjuku ni-choume, on friday november 19, 2010. he appreciates all of your gifts.
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