Unique Conversation: Park

I often wash my bike at a park just outside of my side of town.

Allow me to explain.

Shortly after I purchased the bike I started looking for places to wash it. I used a water source at one of the gas stations a few times (thank you to the folks at Eneos), but it was often occupied and the hose was broken. Zipping around the island one day, I came upon a rarely-used park that had a spigot. Since then, that is where I have been washing the bike. Although I have sighted a self-service car wash-type thing in the city, I continue to use the park because the scenery is pleasant.

I also see random people there.

Sometimes when I roll up there is a man in a jumpsuit sleeping on the table under a nearby pavillion. I don't talk to him because it is clear that he too enjoys the serenity of the park and desperately needs rest after working all night. I also don't talk to the older ladies who are exercising-- the sight of a foreigner washing a motorcycle in a park is aggressively suspect, like a noontime drug deal. The younger people who come to the park merely sit in their vehicles, living the the concept of 'park' with sincere and literal dedication.

The guy who brought his dog to the park yesterday, however, needed to know what was going on, including:
(1) The motorcycle's displacement
(2) My general attitude toward the weather in Miyako
(3) Whether I had to take a test to become an English teacher in Japan

To be fair, he was just making an effort to talk to the foreigner-- the very action that motivated me to start writing this. I am appreciative. I should also note that in return for his friendliness I shared with him such Gems of Brilliant Insight as:
(1) Although it is warm in Miyako, I wear a jacket when I ride the motorcycle.
(2) Miyako doesn't have interstate highways, you know.
(3) Your dog, which looks to be the largest dog in Miyako, causes me to be nostalgic about my home in Tennessee.

My Japanese is spectacular.

Really, light conversations make my day. Ours was broken up by me waxing the bike and him doing stretches in anticipation for something and 'rassling the dog. The dog, a golden retriever of age 5, smartly swiped the yellow towel from my pocket and jauntily pranced about. How adorable.

But, about this dude, he was totally a Miyako person. That is, not a mainlander. I think this mostly because I couldn't understand what he was saying most of the time. Nevertheless, the meaning came through, and this supports something I have been thinking about communication (the general topic and activity) for some time: namely, an idea that the most crucial part of communication is not vocabulary or technical skill but the effort or will to communicate. Maybe there is something nonverbal going on. I have other empirical evidence that is related, but I'll save that for later. Peace.

Nifty Shirt

I received a package from the States the other day. Inside it was nothing less than The Greatest Shirt Ever Manufactured. You ask how I know this-- features:
- Fleece inside/..hhrrrmmm.... non-fleece outside HUZZAH
- Nifty holes for one's thumbs in the event that you want to cover your palms and backs of hands but not your fingers
- Zip collar
- Left shoulder pocket that is a bitch to use but is totally badass. I pulled my cellphone out of it in class and students were like 'KAKKOII' (cool/stylish/good form/totally badass).
- Fits me perfectly
- Green
- From REI

I wish I had three of them because they are so aggressively useful. I can wear it when at work, adventuring in the wilderness, engaging in urban parkour, or playing Fallout 3. Holy crap. And I'll put things in the pocket just because.

It's simple really...

We were about to jump in the water the other day when an ancient man (from Miyako) approached us to see what sort of things we were up to.

He seated himself where the hatch opens at the back of my friend's car and began talking unintelligibly, though at length, about generalities. I mentioned that I like Miyako and enjoy working as an English teacher, and I joked that the students are frightening. He recommended that I strike the students when they are insolent.

I'm glad I don't deal with discipline in the classroom.