The other day we were visited by a pair of pianists from Okinawa. Actually, they are sisters and are originally from Miyako, and while back on the island they decided to drop in at a few schools and play some piano for the students.
Anyway, after several songs they called up volunteers one at a time to play alongside them at the piano. The collective mind of the auditorium's occupants (except that of myself-- the slot in my brain for the Nippon Mental Net Transponder is greedily occupied by an All-American Rugged Individuality Unit) pushed a certain sannensei to the front as the first victim. He played a single repeating, droning note for a bit as one of the professional pianists played a complex pattern. He soon returned to his seat and the show went on.
After the recital, I asked the student (in Japanese) what he thought about the experience. He turned and said "Florida, yes, and California."
Sorry. What?
I stumbled away in hopeless confusion.
Actually, I'm really not confused about this. Many students don't actually listen to what I am asking (whether it is Japanese or English) and simply respond with whatever English words pop into their heads at the moment. Don't get me wrong-- they have absolutely zero regard for meaning, so whatever shit they come up with usually makes me laugh. But it's kind of frustrating too. So, as for me, hopeless, yes, but not confused. It's another reason to never put any effort into connecting with the kids at this school.
But I have to.
-=-=-=-=- For those who are interested, asking 'Was it fun?' (TANOSHIKATTA? 楽しかった？) in Japanese sounds nothing like any English phrase I am aware of, much less any phrase referencing coastal states.
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