My People at LA FIT
For me, going to the gym is a time to workout, relax, and see some of the people that bring me such joy. I would like to introduce you to a few of these people:
* There's a little lady who loves to chat in the locker room while she's naked. There are a few problems with this. First, she is 80 years old. Second, she only speaks Japanese. I mean, I hear that the best way to get good at learning a foreign language is to be immersed in it. But, this is a little too much immersion for me. As she talks, I just listen for key words. This helps me not focus on the fact that she's naked. Then, when she asks a question, I usually give the standard "gomennasai, wakarimasen" (I'm so sorry, I don't understand). This phrase comes in handy. I use it about 5 times during our "conversation". Whenever she hears it though, she just giggles and carries on in Japanese. We'll call her the Senior Streaker.
* There's also a middle aged lady that just loves to chat! She has a heart of gold, and luckily she prefers to chat with her clothes on. BUT, do not get eye contact with this woman if you are running out the door to catch a train. I always try to set aside an extra 20 minutes or so to talk with her. Another warning about this woman is she is very physical. She will sometimes wrestle me to the ground when she sees me. Sometimes she sneaks up from behind and gets me around the neck. Ninja style. At first it came as a surprise to me since the Japanese people aren't usually that physical. I'm slowly getting used to it, and considering getting special padding to protect me. The last case of abuse was when she asked me how my chopstick use is improving... This is a crucial conversation starter for many Japanese people. So, I answered, "oh, the chopsticks are getting better, day by day". Just to be silly, I asked her, "how about you?" And... she... smacked... me... on... the... arm! Hard! And, then she started laughing hysterically. "oh, you're so funny!" A week later she brought me a gift from Kyoto and gave it to me with a big smile. I thanked her and told her how sweet she is. On the ride home I wondered if I was involved in an abusive relationship. First the abuse, and then the gift giving. We'll call her the Karate Chatter
* There's the nice young man that helps me with my Japanese. He speaks English very naturally. So, he's a great teacher because he can explain Japanese phrases in English. One day, I was waving goodbye to him as I was leaving. It was a little wave, just downward bending of my fingers. He runs over to me and so I stopped. Then we looked at each other. No one was saying anything. I was waiting for him to speak, but he was just looking at me. Come to find out, he was waiting for me to speak... In America, the "come here" hand motion is palm up and fingers move back and forth. In Japan, the "come here" hand motion is palm down and fingers move up and down. So, we had a little "lost in translation" moment. We'll call him Silent Sensei
* There is the 70 year old man that loves to practice his English with me. He'll talk about anything as long as its in English. One day he asked if I like the drink, "Pocari Sweat". Now, upon first glance, Pocari Sweat looks like a bottle of cloudy water. And the name... not so appetizing. I kind of hesitated. Nevertheless, he bought me a bottle and I tried it. Let me tell you, once you taste it, you're hooked! It tastes nothing like sweat. In fact, it tastes a lot like gatorade, without a lot of sugar. I told him it was "oishi", which is delicious in Japanese. He was so happy. Now, everytime I see him, he buys me a bottle of Pocari Sweat. And, if he's not at the gym when I'm there, he has a trainer buy me one. What a great guy. We'll call him the Pocari Pimp.
* There are a few fashion police reports to be made at the gym. Here is an example of one... a man that wears biking shorts that are so short and so tight that you think might think he's related to Daisy Duke. Except I don't remember Daisy Duke wearing knee high sports socks. My friend Maria has a problem with this because women are not allowed to wear bikinis in the pool at the gym. She says, "if I can't wear a bikini, why is he allowed to wear a Speedo... in the weight room?" The mysteries in Japan live on. We'll call him Sassy Shorts.
Each visit to LA FIT reminds me that life in Japan is truly a wonderfully unique experience.
* There's a little lady who loves to chat in the locker room while she's naked. There are a few problems with this. First, she is 80 years old. Second, she only speaks Japanese. I mean, I hear that the best way to get good at learning a foreign language is to be immersed in it. But, this is a little too much immersion for me. As she talks, I just listen for key words. This helps me not focus on the fact that she's naked. Then, when she asks a question, I usually give the standard "gomennasai, wakarimasen" (I'm so sorry, I don't understand). This phrase comes in handy. I use it about 5 times during our "conversation". Whenever she hears it though, she just giggles and carries on in Japanese. We'll call her the Senior Streaker.
* There's also a middle aged lady that just loves to chat! She has a heart of gold, and luckily she prefers to chat with her clothes on. BUT, do not get eye contact with this woman if you are running out the door to catch a train. I always try to set aside an extra 20 minutes or so to talk with her. Another warning about this woman is she is very physical. She will sometimes wrestle me to the ground when she sees me. Sometimes she sneaks up from behind and gets me around the neck. Ninja style. At first it came as a surprise to me since the Japanese people aren't usually that physical. I'm slowly getting used to it, and considering getting special padding to protect me. The last case of abuse was when she asked me how my chopstick use is improving... This is a crucial conversation starter for many Japanese people. So, I answered, "oh, the chopsticks are getting better, day by day". Just to be silly, I asked her, "how about you?" And... she... smacked... me... on... the... arm! Hard! And, then she started laughing hysterically. "oh, you're so funny!" A week later she brought me a gift from Kyoto and gave it to me with a big smile. I thanked her and told her how sweet she is. On the ride home I wondered if I was involved in an abusive relationship. First the abuse, and then the gift giving. We'll call her the Karate Chatter
* There's the nice young man that helps me with my Japanese. He speaks English very naturally. So, he's a great teacher because he can explain Japanese phrases in English. One day, I was waving goodbye to him as I was leaving. It was a little wave, just downward bending of my fingers. He runs over to me and so I stopped. Then we looked at each other. No one was saying anything. I was waiting for him to speak, but he was just looking at me. Come to find out, he was waiting for me to speak... In America, the "come here" hand motion is palm up and fingers move back and forth. In Japan, the "come here" hand motion is palm down and fingers move up and down. So, we had a little "lost in translation" moment. We'll call him Silent Sensei
* There is the 70 year old man that loves to practice his English with me. He'll talk about anything as long as its in English. One day he asked if I like the drink, "Pocari Sweat". Now, upon first glance, Pocari Sweat looks like a bottle of cloudy water. And the name... not so appetizing. I kind of hesitated. Nevertheless, he bought me a bottle and I tried it. Let me tell you, once you taste it, you're hooked! It tastes nothing like sweat. In fact, it tastes a lot like gatorade, without a lot of sugar. I told him it was "oishi", which is delicious in Japanese. He was so happy. Now, everytime I see him, he buys me a bottle of Pocari Sweat. And, if he's not at the gym when I'm there, he has a trainer buy me one. What a great guy. We'll call him the Pocari Pimp.
* There are a few fashion police reports to be made at the gym. Here is an example of one... a man that wears biking shorts that are so short and so tight that you think might think he's related to Daisy Duke. Except I don't remember Daisy Duke wearing knee high sports socks. My friend Maria has a problem with this because women are not allowed to wear bikinis in the pool at the gym. She says, "if I can't wear a bikini, why is he allowed to wear a Speedo... in the weight room?" The mysteries in Japan live on. We'll call him Sassy Shorts.
Each visit to LA FIT reminds me that life in Japan is truly a wonderfully unique experience.
posted by niki at 6:58 PM
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