Lost in Translation
Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 7:22 pm by Jon
It’s Saturday morning. Mike flew home yesterday morning so I’m on my own now. I worked to get the video conferencing stuff set up yesterday and finally got it working, so I’m VERY happy about that. At least part of this trip was worthwhile.
So since Pete decided to leave for the afternoon and night (WTF?!?!) and since I was busy, I had a late lunch. Coco’s is attached to the building so I went over there. I’d been there earlier in the week, so I at least saw how the place works. They have pictures on the menu, and a lot of the pictures have English descriptions underneath, so ordering wasn’t too big a deal, but when the waitress is asking questions or something, I had no idea what was going on. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so helpless.
I meant to watch Lost in Translation before I left, but got busy. When I think back to that movie, I think I know exactly how Bill Murray feels. I don’t speak a lick of Japanese, I don’t understand the culture, and I miss home. The people here are all VERY friendly and helpful, but I still feel guilty for not knowing the language. I’ve picked up a few things, but nothing more than “thank you”, “good morning”, etc. Useful to be polite, but difficult for anything more complicated.
Yesterday at lunch when I was eating alone in a strange country in a restaurant that was almost completely empty except for one older couple, it was…difficult? I don’t know if that’s the right word or not. It makes you think. I pulled out my phone to try finding some phrases, but couldn’t. Lunch was good, but I didn’t ge the bread I thought I ordered. Oh well.
Work is not going well. I have three days yet, but I’m worried it’s not going to get done and then I’m fucked.
