the R and L phenomenon - part 2

Another student of mine is Akihiko. He is a funny funny guy. We have so much fun together because he loves to be silly. He loves to learn slang and fun English.

One day I was explaining something to him, and he didn't quite understand. It took about 5 minutes of explaining before I finally gave up. Instead of saying, "never mind", I said, "chole meno", which is a made up word that I love to use. (chole meno is pronounced cho-lay men-no)

As Akihiko reached for his dictionary, he said, "cho..... cho..... huh?" I assured him that "chole meno" wouldn't be in there. So, he asked if "chole meno" had any meaning and I told him that it did. It has many meanings...

I explained, "'chole meno' can mean whatever you want it to. It can mean, 'never mind' in situations like the one before. Or, if somebody asks an incriminating or difficult question, and you want to change the subject, simply say, "chole meno" and start talking about the topic of your choice. Or, if you get a flat tire, you can get out of your car, kick the tire, and simply groan, "choooole!"

He liked the idea of "chole meno"

So, one day Akihiko needed to change his lesson from Wednesday to Thursday. He sent me an email that looked like this:

Dear Niki,

I'm sorry. I cannot have a lesson on Wednesday.
I have to meet a customer.
I'd like to have a lesson on Thursday.
Anytime is Ok.
I'm sorry to trouble you.
Chore meno!!!

Sincerely yours,
Akihiko

awww. Chore meno to you too, Akihiko.

Kyoto Sensei... You crazy!

This new school year brought in a new Vice Principal at my school. In Japan, they refer to their Vice Principals as Kyoto Sensei. I'm not sure what Kyoto Sensei means exactly... that's just what we call him. Each week I try to make time to talk to Kyoto Sensei because... well, he's one of a kind.

One day Kyoto Sensei and I were talking about traveling and I asked him if he had ever traveled to America. He said that he had visited San Francisco once. I excitedly asked him where he had visited and what he did in San Francisco. He told me that he had visited Fisherman's Wharf and had crab (well, he actually said, "clab" and motioned two pinching peace signs as a crab would move his pinchers). He then told me that he got a t-shirt there that said, "I got crabs in San Francisco!" He was so happy when he told me this. He said, "Many people like my shirt. They always laugh and joke."

I bet they do.

So, I said "Kyoto Sensei, that's a great story. But I have a quick question for you, does the shirt say C-R-A-B or C-R-A-B-S?" He quickly responded, "Oh, it says, C-R-A-B-S. I. got. Crabs."

As I'm giggling, he's laughing. While he's laughing, I survey around the room to see if anyone else can hear this.

Nope. I'm officially alone on this one.

Kyoto Sensei then says, "My friend in San Francisco told me to get the shirt. Whenever I wore it, people really liked it. You think this is funny t-shirt, too?"

"Yeah, it's one of a kind, Kyoto Sensei! Just like you."