Guest Blogging Japan, by Jen Em:

Whenever I travel somewhere that I don’t speak the language, I feel as if I am somehow being rude--- rude not to know the language, rude not to be able to speak to people when they speak to me. I know French and some Mandarin, but neither is much use here. In addition to many typical Japanese Travel Adventures (crowded subways, yummy food, pretty shrines, big mountains, neon signs, small cars, and fish for breakfast), two less common things happened during my stay.

1. The Craft Store Thug Incident
Kate and I went to Joyful Honda to get supplies for the art class we were teaching at the international school, and as we were getting into the car to leave, a guy in the next car started yelling at Kate that she had dented his door. (She hadn’t. There was no damage on the door at all, other than a pervasive layer of dust.) Kate did the socially appropriate thing of apologizing profusely, regardless of fault. She even called Mike and asked Mike to apologize for her. Unfortunately, this guy was a jerk. The next few minutes involved the guy taking Kate’s phone, refusing to give it back, threatening to snap it in half, putting it out of reach in his car, and a lot of yelling. At this point, I’ve had enough (I had been quietly waiting in the car, watching), so I send Kate to find a policeman while I demanded that our little thug give the phone back. He kept swearing at me and saying “money, money”, and I kept saying “phone, phone” in my most no-nonsense tone. When Kate got back with some witnesses, I had progressed to saying “police, police” with an evil grin, at which point he shoved me back, ripped the cute dog charm off Kate’s phone, and slammed her phone down on top of her car. Sadly, we didn’t get a picture of his license plate as he lurched the car forward as if to hit me. And no, I didn’t at any point hit him--- he was only as tall as my chin…it would have been like beating up a nine-year-old girl.
Kate has refused to go to the craft store anymore, and has renamed it Toilet Honda.

2. My Great-Aunt Baba Would Have Been Proud
Yesterday we spent some time in busy subway cars crossing Tokyo to fulfill my museum quotient. Part of our time was on the Yamanote line; one of the busiest lines, with thousands of people filing in and out of the cars during our 30-minute ride. It took the three of us a while to even get seats. I’ve been trying to learn hiragana, so I was reading subway ads and station signs trying to sound things out, when I noticed an elderly woman who was standing. I offered her my seat, and she took it (much thanking and bowing ensued). I only had to stand for a few more minutes, because we were nearly to our stop, so it wasn’t that big a deal. Besides, my great-aunt would have disowned me if I hadn’t given up my seat, even if I’d been in Chicago instead of Tokyo. The thing that just floored me, however, was that when we got to our stop, and I bowed to the woman as I walked past, she got out of her seat, and gave me a gift. She was completely insistent that I take it, and I didn’t want to offend her, so I thanked her and bowed repeatedly, then rushed off the train before the doors closed. The box ended up being full of Japanese sweets. Wow!