Watashi Wa Nihongo O Benkyo. I Study Japanese.

I had a conversation with a praying mantis the other day. It was the best conversation I had all afternoon. No vague hand gestures. No awkward sound effects. And as it ambled away, there wasn't a fear in my mind that I had unknowingly promised to do something, be somewhere,or confessed to doing something I'd never done.

I've been in Japan for a month and a half, and I am slowly making progress with my Japanese so that I will stop embarrassing myself in public by talking to insects. Now I embarrass myself in other ways. I have reverted to Grade 1 Chloe, reading everything I see out loud, sounding out every character until I come up with something recognizable.

Every now and then I bust out a new phrase that blows everyone away. I get a big round of applause and a "Jozu desu ne! Very good!" (Except last night when I introduced myself to my principal's wife in Japanese. She gave me the old Jozu desu ne! and my principal was like "No really, it isn't." Oh kocho-sensei, there is just no fooling you.)

I've found friends in the 8 year olds I eat lunch with at school. Every day at kyushoku (school lunch) I'm surprised by new foods I've never seen before, which is a great opportunity for me to practice my favourite phrase: "Kore wa Nihon-go de nan desu ka? What is this in Japanese?" Now that we're over the "Oh my word, it speaks!" phase, rewarding conversations have followed.

My absolute favourite day for conversation practice is Friday. I sit next to a woman whose purpose in the office I have yet to figure out. She has no idea I can't speak Japanese. It's like she thinks I've lived here my whole life. She explains hand outs to me, goes over the contents of the office fridge, and she can talk to me for hours without a clue that I don't know what she's talking about. The way she often uses miming hand gestures while dramatically yelling out "cry! cry!" tells me I'm something of a therapist to her.

In other breaking news, the end of summer is around the corner and spider lily season is blooming. Life is good.