Margaret...You got so much prettier....why?

Today I spent the morning studying for the JLPT that I'll be taking tomorrow. At around 4 ish I headed to Osaka for the end of the year party being held by my old company, Yubunsha. Miyake-san had invited me the last time we met up for her English lesson in Osaka a few weeks ago.

When I got to the station I went to find the shuttle bus that Ishida-san had told me to look for, but I had no clue where to go. So instead I just grabbed a taxi. It's much easier and I knew from last year that the place was really close to Shin-Osaka station. It only cost about 800 yen for me to get there, which was better than me wandering around for a while and making everyone worry.

They held the party in the same room as the party they had when I left last summer, so it was almost like I had never left, or that I had stepped into a time machine and been transported back to a year and a half ago. Some of the people were new, but most of them knew who I was.

When I got there I was told to draw a slip of paper from a box and on it was written my table and a number. So I was B9. They opened with a toast from the company president, Kihara-san (Miyake-san's husband). It was amazing because last year I couldn't understand half of what he or his son said, but this year they either speak clearer or I just understand them better....When it came time for the kanpai I had to explain to everyone that I was taking a big test the next day so I couldn't drink beer. I think they might think I'm an alcoholic or something because they seemed very shocked that I wasn't drinking a beer. (It's not my fault that Japanese people are all lightweights and I can drink 3 beers without being drunk....) Anyway.....

After we ate, they explained the reason for the numbers. They were having a prize give away and they had about 25 presents and about 35-40 people. They drew numbers from a box and if they drew your number you got a present. They started at 25, and it was all really crappy gag gifts. One guy got fake eyelashes. Another got a weird exercise device (a long pole that if you push down on the sides it bends in the middle), etc. Now, the top 10 people got really nice gifts. Ishida-san got 5,000 yen ($50). Another guy at my table got a really awesome I-Pod Stereo. It was from Yodobashi Camera (a huge electronics store in Osaka). I didn't get anything, but was glad about it. It would have felt awkward to have received a gift when I no longer work at the company.

Miyajima-san (the I-Pod stereo guy) apparently wanted a different prize and tried to switch for it, but the guy who won it wouldn't. I told him he should be happy with what he got cuz it's really cool. He said...."Do you want it?"

Me: "What?"

Miyajima-san: "Do you want it? I don't have an I-Pod. Say you want it and I'll give it to you."

Me: "You've got to be kidding...Seriously? Really? You don't want it?"

Miyajima-san: "Do you want it?"

Me: "I would certainly be happy to get something like that"

Miyajima-san: "Ok. Take it home with you..."

That right there is the difference between Japanese people and Americans. An American would have taken that thing home and either bought an I-Pod or sold it on Ebay.

I couldn't believe that I got that gift. I was so excited but also very concerned about it being improper. Everyone seemed to be happy I got it though. So I was too.

Yone-chan (actually Yoneda-san, who is in his early 30s and married but who has a great sense of humor) came by and told me to go around and talk to people so he brought me around from table to table so I could talk to people (there were a lot of people who I hadn't interacted with much, so it was awkward at first, but I was able to actually talk to them. But, I found, that Japanese men are very...interesting...when they have been drinking.

I sat down at a table with a few of the printers. Both were about the age of an average grandparent or parent with 20 something year old children....

After asking about where I live and what I do for work, the older one looks at me and he says "Margaret, you've lost weight haven't you? You've gotten really skinny, are you ok?"

Me: "Oh yeah, it's just that Japanese food is healthier and I walk everywhere now."

Old guy: "Yeah, but you're really skinny. And you're a lot prettier than you were last year. Really. A lot prettier. What happened?"

Yone-chan "She and her boyfriend broke up, so she's trying to get a Japanese man" (I only just told them about Dan and I breaking up when I got here, they had seen pictures when I was there as an intern)

Old guy: "Oh. of course"

Me: "Yone-chan, don't tell them that. That's ridiculous. I am not."

Another old guy: "But you really are prettier. Take a picture with me...I want to send it to my son, he's single. How old are you?"

Me: "Um...I'm 23."

The first old guy: "No really, why did you get so much prettier."

Shimonaka-san (who just showed up and decided to save me): "She just grew up. She's not in college anymore......"

Me: "Well I think it's time for me to go to another table. Good to see you all again..."

Seriously...I don't think anyone can give a backwards compliment like the Japanese.
None of them could believe that I live alone and like it that way...

After the end of the party I went out to drink with the design crew I used to eat lunch with last year (Ishida-san, Shimonaka-san, Yone-chan, Seki-san). Wada-san, from the business dept. reluctantly joined us (he had spent half the night telling me I have a small face and how cute that is......awkward). Wada-san didn't want to come because he is a business man and would have felt out of place amongst all the designers. I had to remind him that I had worked in the business division during my internship so he wouldn't be all alone (things at Yubunsha are separated by floor and by department and they don't usually mix much).

At first I sat at a table with Wada-san, Ishida-san, and Shimonaka-san. Ishida-san is a 30 something year old single woman...and the men just don't understand that. I got a bit lost in the conversation but the 2 men said something that really upset Ishida-san. Shimonaka-san asked me if I understood. When I said no, he said..."Elton John." ...?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

Ishida-san then had to explain that she had had a boyfriend until September but liked to keep things like that private...She was really upset and it was really awkward so I was glad when Yone-chan again saved me and had me join his table.

Over there it was the usual banter. But at one point Yone-chan said something that really struck me. He asked me if I understood everything that was going on. I told him that for the most part I could keep up, but that I didn't get every single detail. He told me that if I didn't understand something I should ask them. When I told him I was embarrassed, he said..."Margaret, if you spoke English I wouldn't understand a word of what you were saying. But you can keep up with us, so ask. " And he's right. I can keep up. I can understand them, not the other way around. It just made me feel a bit better.

It was also nice to be around old friends who knew my Japanese level a year ago so I could judge my progress. I really feel like I have definitely improved quite a bit since getting here a few months ago.

Yone-chan refused to let me carry my new I-Pod stereo all the way back to Kameoka (an hour or so from Osaka) and promised to send it to me by post (and I made him promise to send it pay on arrival). He wouldn't take no for an answer. So I gave in. I went home with some vague plans to go to a ninja town in January with Yone-chan, his wife, and his friends, and then to see the panda at the zoo in Kobe with everyone in the new year.