11 April 2008

Melt Down at Kansai

Okay, dear reader(s), I know you are waiting with bated breath for the next installment of the Japan Chronicles, or CLU gets a Clue, so here we go.

March 23, 2008:

Please (offering) Dozo. [Ed.'s note: that 1st O is supposed to have a
little
straight line over the top of the it, horizontally, but Ed. hasn't
figured
out to do anything but the most basic stuff on this blogspot.)

Please
Kudasai - asking for

  • Reshito (RAY SHEET O) - receipt
  • Fukuro (FOO KOO DO) - bill

Thank you Arigato Gozaimas

You're Welcome
itashimashte

i t a s h i m a s h t e

Silk - ki-nu

Fabric - nu-no

Cotton - men

Sorry - Gomennasai, sumimasen

Quilt
- Kakebuton

Isn't it? Des ne?

* Ruth - find word or
phrase for "cry of the loon"

Beautiful - utsukushi - person -
thing
*Nihongo wa kirei des
kirei - nature, country,
intangibles

Chot-to matte - wait

Grace before meal -
Itadakimas

It was a long and boring flight.

Cutter-machine man was to my left, and young sarari-man was to my right.



I took an Ambien CR, 12.5 mg. Slept (if you can call it that, and you can't) for 2 hours. Two. Out of the 13 possible hours.

Did I mention it was a long flight?

And boring?

Then I had to live the day ALL OVER AGAIN because I went back in time. I left Sunday, 4/23/08 at 11:00 a.m., flew for 13 hours and got off the plane on Sunday, 4/23/08 at 1:15 p.m. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

And when my daughter was NOT at the airport to meet me (!) I had a meltdown. Crying is not something the Japanese are comfortable with, I gather.

When I couldn't get her on her phone, I went ballistic. And melted some more (tears make me melt all over, what a world, what a world).

There is a legend told now of the 7ft tall gai-koku-jin-jo with the watery face, dragging a huge suitcase called "Buck" up and down the halls of the Osaka Kansai Airport, crying out the name of her long-lost daughter, scaring little children and bugging the information desk ladies with questions they can't answer (EEEEEKKKKKKK).

2 comments:

Ruthie said...

Again, I am SO SORRY I was not there when you arrived. I really wanted to reenact that moment from "Joe VS. The Volcano" and say I'm a flibbertigibit (sp?).

Some editorial notes:
"fukuro" does not mean "bill." It means "bag."
"You're welcome" is "DO itashimashte."
"cotton" is "MOmen"
"kirei" is the word for a beautiful person or thing, "utsukushii" is the word for beautiful scenery or nature.

I'll send you the phrasebook.

CLU said...

I was copying what I had in my journal - these are things I wrote down BEFORE I got to Japan, and was in a crazed situation. I didn't say they were RIGHT.

You're forgiven