I knew I was in trouble when I saw the teacher that sits next to me sniffling and carrying a towel. He's almost sent me off the deep end before and today I almost hit my breaking point. In Japan, when you have a cold, it is considered very rude to blow your nose in public. So, instead, they make disgusting sucking sounds so that you can hear the sinus matter being tossed about inside the nasal cavities. It is foul. And loud. My iPod on full volume could not block out the sound completely. And then there's the towel which was sometimes being used to dab at any material that escaped the sucking or just balanced over the nose to cover the mouth and chin. I swear if I am sick tomorrow... Oh, and a sidenote: There is an actual commercial on my free American network that discusses how to prevent colds from spreading and the importance of washing your hands. And then it recommends --- and I am not kidding here --- using your sleeve if you can't find a Kleenex. Enough.
But on a more positive note, we had a ladies luncheon today to welcome me and two other teachers. It was held at this luxurious resort/spa on top of a hill and surrounded by the "Beverly Hills" houses. All of the vegetables were organic and this was one buffet that I actually enjoyed. I had to give a minor speech and was presented with some lovely flowers. Had a little creme brulee to finish the meal and called it a day.
5 comments:
woah, i didnt check for blog for like, 2 seconds and then there were a bijillion new articles on it! looks like i missed out bigtime on jenny's last weekend! but had fun on tonaki. sposed to go with yvonne up north and force christina to do all those exact same things you guys did last weekend with me... including jennys! hope i can work it!
ps. uh, yeah. they need to do something about the snot sucking custom here. i have trouble with it too. i watched a kid wipe his nose all over his school uniform today, thought no one could see him. gross.
sounds like you had an eventful weekend - watching parades and drowning out snot sucking noises! :-) Your pictures are amazing, I love all the bright and vivid colors... You'll have to put together a photo book when you come back to the States.
Ick.
I think I'd rather have a sniffler than a man with a hankerchief. Matheiu (the French guy in my lab) uses them. I think they are totally unsanitary. It's like putting used Kleenex in your pocket and reusing it.
Apparently there is a commercial elsewhere in Indiana the suggests coughing into your arm instead of your hands. I guess it makes sense... You don't open doors with your elbow...
I can understand the coughing into the arm bit. In fact, I do that a lot especially if I know I`m going to be touching a lot of other people`s stuff. But blowing your NOSE?!
Thanks, Kimi, for the picture compliment. I like them too! I accidentally deleted my iPhoto library on Sunday. Thankfully had all my pictures backed up here. But missing a bit from the trip last year... Disc is at home. :(
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