The bike story

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All righty, wow… so I realized today that I’ve been here for a while say like 5 weeks or so. Good Golly. I should be fluent by now, huh? Well, I’m not, but I’m trying. Anyways, I’ve accumulated a couple of stories and finally I have time at work to write them down.

The first, actually is the most hilarious event so far… Was riding my bike to the store the other day when the wind caught my long skirt and blew it into the chain. Immediately, I came to a screeching halt and almost catapulted over the front of my bike. (In the process I’m sure that I mooned 1/2 of Japan!) But thankfully, I stayed on and pulled my bike to the side of the curb where I tried unsuccessfully to remove my green skirt from the chain. The end of my skirt had wounded up two or three times inside of the gear changer and wasn’t budging. I must have sat there for 5 minutes before I realized that a man was outside of his house looking at his garden. I called out to him, in horrible Japanese, in what I think meant “excuse me”… in a sad, pathetic voice. He came to my rescues only to realize that the skirt wasn’t coming out. Of course we realized we couldn’t communicate and so there were various pointings and aww’s… and ohhh’s exchanged, but still I was stuck to my bike! Then, and older man, which I presumed was his father came out and more ahhh’s and ohhh’s and more pointings and pullings of the skirt, but still I’m stuck to this bike and beginning to sweat and smell like most foreigners do. Not too much longer, the son came out and tried to help. And I then I realized I had three generations of Japanese men pulling at my skirt, and they must have thought they had to get this skirt out or else they’d have a silly American girl always sitting in front of their house. No wonder they were trying to be so much help. So finally, the international sign language for scissors worked and a little girl brought some out and we cut my skirt free from the grips of the chain. ::phew:: I thanked, and bowed, thanked and bowed, and then bowed some more to show how thankful I really was. Then said goodbye. I think that they then invited me inside for tea or a shower, but I declined and went on to the store to buy food. I’m sure they just laughed about me showing up at their doorstep, just as much as I’ve been laughing at myself since then. I have to be the clumsiest foreigner prone to accidents I’ve ever met.

So what does the clumsiest foreigner do? I went out and bought a road bike to avoid putting on the weight that supposedly all the females put on when they come here!? I thought this was supposed to be the healthiest diet in the world, but all the girls have been telling me that they’ve put more on than anything!? What is that about? So I bought a road bike and have been biking EVERYWHERE now. I biked to the big city which was 26K and then biked back 26 more and the next day I biked to the beach and back 16 K more. And man my ass is sorer than riding a horse all day long! Good Gracious! But I might as well get used to it and get over it. So I’m giving myself an intensive get-that-ass-in-shape or kick it to the curb course training.

The other good news that I have to report on is there is SALSA here! OMG --- this Friday in the big city there will be lots of salsa. I’m just so excited! Ive talked all my girlfriends, and a couple of guy friends into going with me and the owner of the club gave me the instructors cell phone number so that perhaps I could help him teach and find out where else we can dance salsa. I had no idea that salsa would be here. I thought I was giving it up, but now I smile, and am very very very very excited about it. WAHOOO!!! I’m going to teach these Japanese people how to salsa, yeah! Japan won’t be the same. Lol - nah- I doubt that I’ll have that big of an impact, but seriously they’ll see one genki giijin!

All right, enough banters for now. Until next time. Hugs and Lots of Love - Ashley

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Comments

[Lauren H]

Hey!
It sounds like you are having the experience of a lifetime! Embarassing stories are always more fun to recount than stories of everything going smoothly! Your bike encounter is really cute to picture. You sound like you're having a great time and I'm glad to hear it. I'm moved into my first dorm and just finished my first day back at Baylor. It has been great to see all my friends from last year. So anyway I just wanted to say hey and that I'm thinking of you even though I should have said hello sooner. Take care and love you, -Lauren H

[Suzie]

points and laughs.
haha, I'm just glad that hasn't happened to me yet. tehe. ah I'm sorry you had to cut up what was probably a super cute skirt- you got the fashion sense, girl. I'm trying to bike everywhere, but taking the bus is so much easier, esp when public transportation is so friggin cheap here. but you've given me some motivation. I might actually put on that 15 that I skipped out on my first couple of years - there is nothing but bread to snack on at my co-op.