Today was picture day at The Kaisha. Today a photographer showed up to take everyone’s picture. His name was Katsuo, and I amused him (or maybe annoyed him) by taking as many pictures of him as he took of me. Honto, every time he settled down for a moment, I would whip out my camera and take his picture.
Picture taking is probably one of the most annoying things about being a Kaisha employee. In fact, it’s one of the most annoying things about being in Japan.
Here I am with Katsuo-san, the photographer.
Today
Today was Valentine’s Day, the day in Japan when women give men chocolate.
This is clearly wrong and if I do nothing else while I am in Japan, I am going to change this tradition. To that end, I told all my students that this year I expected to RECEIVE chocolates from boys--that I wouldn't be giving out any chocolates because that is not the American tradition!
The woman in this picture is A-chan. She is a student at The Kaisha and she works for one of the premier chocolatiers in Ginza. This box that I am holding is a gift from A-chan, about two kilos of chocolate truffles from her shop. This is probably about 10,000 yen ($100) worth of chocolates.
I was a very popular teacher after A-chan brought me this gift. I also received two boxes of Godiva chocolates and a small box of lesser chocolates from another student. Yes, that's right. I'm changing Japan, one truffle at a time.
Hope your Valentine's Day is equally sweet--and equally revolutionary.
1 comment:
you're looking good!
-Nicole
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