Because there isn't anything much to blog about that's happened recently (no funny stories from the Girl Scout Cookie sales) - I've decided to pull a favorite old story out of mothballs for your entertainment.
A true story.
This story takes place near Ginowan, Okinawa. I attended a year of high school and lived in Kakazu, Ginowan for a while circa 1987-1988. I was living with my aunt and uncle and their three very young children. (Even younger than my own children are now.)
This story pre-dates my arrival in Okinawa just a bit, and the birth of the third of my aunt & uncles children. Their oldest daughter, my cousin R, and their son (then a baby) and Aunt and Uncle were on a family outing one weekend to go to Okinawa Expo. It's the old site of an Expo from 1975 that has a great aquarium and some other attractions. It's in the north part of the island, near Nago, on the Motobu peninsula. They took a ferry - I think there is some ferry service also runs from Motobu Port to Ie-jima from Naha port. (Naha is to the south, considerably closer to Ginowan.)
So, the family gets on the sunny ferry and little cousin R, then about age 2, is thirsty. At one of the ever-present (in Japan) vending machines they got the most "child friendly" canned drink they could find - an Orange-y type soda for her. She'd had her sweet orange drink and was sitting on the ferry...feeling very queasy.
Let me pause here to explain something unique about Japanese culture. It is completely socially acceptable, nay, almost encouraged, for folks to sleep or close their eyes and PRETEND to sleep so as not to have to make eye contact, when crammed into public transport (subways, busses, ferries) in Japan. The connotation is that you're so hard working that you're SO tired. Moreover, when crammed into a train near a Gaijin (foreigner) who might - OH NO!- attempt to greet you in English it's always best to avoid eye contact. I tell ya folks, I was like walking valium in the subways of Tokyo. To avoid the chance I might ask them a question like: "Can I change trains to get on the Hanzomon line at Ginza?" (No way I'd ask in English anyhow, but still.. I can imagine their fear of being approached in a language they don't know) - people would promptly put newspapers up in front of their face, or more often instantly appear asleep. Even if it's rush hour and we're crammed in like sardines.. even if folks are standing up in a packed train they would close their eyes and feign sleep. (Now that's a talent! Not only able to sleep standing up, but whilst holding oneself upright and balanced in a jostling train!)
So, back to our story of little cousin R. With her parents on a ferry together with her baby brother. The family is sitting next to a busy Japanese "salaryman" who has, at the outset of the ferry, opened his briefcase to do some work - but then, on finding himself sitting by Gaijin promptly dropped off to sleep. Poor R is feeling more and more seasick and as small children are wont to do - promptly throws up. A DIRECT HIT neatly filling the sleeping salaryman's briefcase with neon orange puke just as the ferry is nearing the dock.
My uncle, thinking quick, gives the top of the briefcase a quick kick shut and they quickly relocate to a seat closer to the door - as the boat will be docking soon and they can slip off of the ferry at the head of the crowd and escape.
Pity the poor man who arrived at his next business appointment and opened his briefcase to discover bright orange puke covered documents.
The kicker here folks: They were MISSIONARIES.
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