I'm living and working as an ALT in Japan. I teach English, survive earthquakes and Typhoons, and try everything I encounter. I'll use this space to collect blogs, photos and other awesome artifacts of my adventure along the way. (which is largely populated by Chinese, Thai, and South American women) - I was asked about my hobbies. I answered that I liked surfing (because 1 - I do, and 2- It’s easy to say in Japanese). No one believed me though, because even though I have a nice tan, I am far too white to be considered a legitimate surfer.
Only in this country is my skin tone considered pale. I was always described as “olive” back home. The choruses of “But you are so white!!!” were funny. Maybe it’s because I am a westerner, that my skin tone is perceived to be whiter than it actually is just because my features are supposed to match… Either way, I need to hit the beach this weekend to prove ‘em wrong.
It was awful though! For some reason, the teacher is convinced I belong in the advanced Japanese group because I’ve lived here a year, but my Japanese is so so terrible. I’m going to bee struggling like mad if he doesn’t let me jump down to the beginner class next week! It wouldn’t be so bad if it were being taught using bits of English - but because none of us speak a common language- when i don’t understand, he just repeats it again slower! Quite frightening when you’ve got zero clue what’s going on.
