A Song and a Dance
Much of what teaching English seems to be is taking up an hour with mindless chatter. My clients all request "free conversation" lessons, which amount mostly to me talking and asking them a variety of questions that result in one word answers. I'd love to be an excellent teacher but I'm more tempted to just continue taking up an hour listening to myself. You know, I still get paid.

I have several students right now. I meet with three older people on Wednesdays for Y4000 or Y3000 an hour, depending how many people show up. They all speak English rather well and pick interesting topics for me to speak about, so that lesson is pleasant and easy except that I'm always late for it. I see the Disney Guy rarely, if at all, which is unfortunate because I think he's a really nice guy. Next to Disney Guy, my best Internet client has been the "Sugar Daddy" guy who wanted to date me. He *was* a nice guy and liked to talk (not just make me talk) but unfortunately had the gall to attempt to date me.

Two weekends ago I met a new client from Hokkaido... another guy in his early thirties who wants to learn English but thinks he also has a chance. Eh well, whatever. I'm not against taking the paycheck for a while and losing him if he gets any ideas. I'm meeting a new client tomorrow, this time a Waseda student who seems to speak English pretty well but wants to practice. I'm hoping that goes well.

Then there's the guy I met today. The one I mentioned before who seemed slightly strange. Well, I've met with him three times now and he still seems strange. Strange but not dangerous. Definitely strange though. Maybe he's just shy but the guy doesn't talk. Not English, not Japanese, nothing. And he's obsessed with black people. What the hell? He stopped referring to them as "negroes" since I told him it was... uh, bad... but every now and then he sneaks in weird questions about "American Culture" that usually have to do with black people.

I can sort of understand his curiosity, as the black population here is really low and extremely varied in origin. But really, the questions he asks are a bit weird. Like, he asked me 1) If I had black friends, 2) what I thought of black people, 3) if black people were good at sports, 3) if they were not good at academics, 4) if there were "black people towns." Yeah, seriously. Seems like he hasn't escaped some stereotypes. I did my best to tell him, in what limited language he can understand, that I have seen race problems and race division (and lived in places with different city, sports and academic demographics) but I tend to think that differences are based on individuals, not on race. Maybe I'm an idealist (though not certainly free of the occasional mental stereotype or prejudice) but I'd like to think this is the way the world is TRYING to work.

Anyway, weird English client... I don't know what he's thinking. Whatever, he seems to not mind paying me to chat at him and talk about funny things. If I can teach him a thing or two, language, culture or otherwise, my mission is accomplished.

Speaking of weird, today I saw the MYSTEEEERIOUS man coming out of the MYSTEEEERIOUS abandoned house on the corner. Actually, he looked perfectly normal. He was locking up the place like anybody would do. But that still doesn't explain why he lives(?) in a run-down, abandoned house and why, if he lives there, none of the lights are ever on. Gah!

So, today was pretty much awesome. Again, I took on upwards of 200 pictures (most of which are crap) until my camera battery ran out and I realized it was more fun NOT to be taking pictures.

I spent all morning at Hama-rikyu Koen on the Tokyo Harbor walking about and watching incredible cultural demonstrations. First, I saw Japanese-style hawk training. The didn't only fly the hawks in front of us but also hunted with them. Have you ever seen a hawk take down live prey 20 feet in front of you? Neither had I until today. Two of them killed roped pigeons in midair. You wouldn't see THAT in America. As amazing as it was, I was also a bit traumetized. Hearing a pigeon make death noises as its feathers are plucked everywhere (albeit by a beautiful bird of prey) is not my idea of a mid-morning pick-me-up.

Afterwards, I saw the Lion Dance (and later another form of traditional dance) performed by a troupe of dancers led by a comical man who seriously resembed Harry Ziggler from Moulin Rouge in a very Japanese way. I didn't think I'd ever find any form of traditional Japanese anything funny, but this whole group was so merry and hilarious that I laughed the whole time.

I can't believe how great the street and festival performers are here. I've always felt that American street performers are always too forceful and their performances overdone yet unbelievable. But in the last two days here I've seen several street performances that have left me agape and amazed. Because this year is Saru-Doshi (Year of the Monkey) at Yasukuni shrine a kid was performing yesterday with his pet monkey. I know it sounds typical and cheezy but really, this monkey could do anything. And the whole time it looked so grudging and cynical that I laughed my ass off.

On my way out of the park today, I happened upon a performance Chinese balancing acrobatics that also dropped my jaw. This wasn't some cheesy street magic... it took still rather than gadgetry, yet was both beautiful and exciting.

And moreover, a guy Japanese guy wearing camo fatigues, a cobra-skull snake hat and with a set of entirely gold-plated upper teeth stood next to me for a few moments during the performance and upset locals a bit by talking to them. It seems to be a big no-no to chat with strangers in Tokyo. Frankly, he scared me a bit so I can't *imagine* how much he freaked out the Japanese.

As much as the performances amazed and delighted me, they weren't the best thing about Hama-rikyu. It was so quiet and so beautiful that I felt refreshed just to be there. Well worth the Y300 admission. I'm sure that I'll take some of my Spring Break travel guests back there so we can have lunch on the lawn and maybe take a water taxi to Odaiba or Asakusa.

I sat on a bench facing the ocean for half an hour just soaking up the fact that I could, FOR ONCE, hear myself think. There is always someone at home... and when someone is at home, the TV is on. I *hate* Japanese TV. It's more obnoxious than American TV by LEAPS and BOUNDS. I would stay in my room but I already see little enough of my family that this makes me feel guilty. Anyway, my room is not a quiet place. Because of traffic and construction, I have to use earplugs to sleep. Going to the park today made me realize that there is no quiet time in my day and I don't know how to find it. But I do want more.

Well well well. Things are changing, so maybe they will change for the quieter. If not, I'm sure I'll be fine.