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"Suimasen, gakushuujuku wa doko desu ka?" [Excuse me, where is the English language school?] The receptionist fires off her reply, in Japanese, declining to look up to see who asked the question. Of course, I miss most of what she says. I'd practiced that one sentence over and over, trying to get the accent just right, but I wasn't far enough in my studies of Nihongo to comprehend a reply. I stammer, "Eigo o hanashimasu ka?"[Do you speak English?] She looks up, startled to see a gaijin standing in front of her, wondering where the Japanese man who had just spoken had gone. I take it as high praise. In Japan, blending in is a cultural goal, and while I could never look like a Nihonjin, at least I could sound like one.
Her directions get me as far as the next building, which is quite a feat in Shinjuku, one of the more built-up areas of Tokyo. The bedrock is very stable here, I was told. Good for making earthquake-resistant skyscrapers. I noticed they said earthquake- resistant, not earthquake- proof. There, on the ground floor, I find a friendly-looking custodian and try my sentence out on him. I get exact directions this time, and, as told, take the elevator to the 2nd floor, take a left, then a right, and head for the door at the end of the hall. And there it is, as promised. It's only as I'm opening the door to Takeda English Language School that I realize the custodian's directions were in Japanese. I guess I'm learning a bit faster than I thought!
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