Live in a Box

Well it happened again. A teacher couldn't understand that I have a job.

Some background:

I'm kind of a freelance teacher. I have a main place of work, let's call it Acme School, and sometimes I go to other places and teach as well. Like a piano teacher. You might work a few days at one school, a few days at another, help out a the university even, and fill it out with home lessons, yours or the pupils'.

Ok, so I visit a certain public high school once a week.Let7s call it Kitty Chan High. You might remember it from an earlier blog where teachers who just returned froma long holiday to southeast asia told me that I work like a Japanese because I didn't take a holiday like them, the Japanese teachers. Do you follow? If so, that's good because I don't.

So basically the same thing happened at the same school. It wasn't just a slip or silly small talk. This person who I've worked with for a couple of years, still hasn't figured out that when I don't come to her school, I might actually be doing something else. There's a common perception in Japan that foreigners who live here and teach
1. work about 4 hours a week
2. earn huge sums of cash
3. do this reclining on a nice sofa while one young maiden feeds grapes and another fans with a palm frond.

The reality is it's a pretty good job and I like it, but I don't have insurance, there's zero job security, no bonuses and so on.

So, last week I didn't go to this school because it was test week. The students at Kitty Chan high had one week straight of tests. Ok, so from this other teacher's perspective "Last week was a week of tests." I didn't go to the school for a week. Actually I just didn't go on one wednesday. I only teach there on wednesday morning, so I missed one wednesday, but from this teacher's point of view "This foreign guy had last week off."

Ok, so I came in about 830 wed morning and said hi to the teacher. The first period hadn't begun yet. She said:
"Where did you go?"
I thought she had been looking for me a few minutes before perhaps and thought I might have gone to the bathroom or something. But I didn't understand because I had just gotten there and it was the first time we met that day.
"Sorry, where did I go?"
"Mmm, yes. Where did you go?"
"Just now? I just got here."
"No, before."
"I just got here. I didn't go anywhere before. I just arrived."
"No, no, no, last week. Where did you go?"
Ok, so I figured maybe she was wondering why I didn't come to the school the week before. Maybe she had wanted to discuss something with me.
"Oh, last week? I didn't come here because of the tests."
"Right. So where did you go?"
"Where did I go? I didn't go anywhere. "
She was surprised. "You didn't go back to America or anything?"
That's another thing. It's not a big problem, but while I'm at it, no matter how long you live in Japan, people thing every time you get a day off you rush back to your place of birth.
I thought she was kidding.
"America? Ha, nooo. Why would I do that?"
"Oh well you had last wek off."

See? I didn't enter her world on Wednesday morning so I must have had a holiday. I teach there 3 hours a week and the other 165 hours I'm wrapped up in a coccoon.

So I said "Uh, no last week I didn't go anywhere because I worked. So I went to Acme school and the University."

Actually I teach with her husband at the University and she knows this. I've been doing this for years. Also, Acme school and Kitty Chan High have been working together for 15 years or so. For example, if she needs to contact me she calls or faxes Kitty Chan high. So she knows that such a place exists and maybe that's where they keep me in deep freeze on days other than wednesday.

Now maybe she was tired or had a bad morning I don't know. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for the 3rd or 4th time that conversation. If she had just said "Oh yeah, that7s right." we both would have had a laugh.

Instead, she made a certain face that Japanese people are prone to do. It's the "Does not compute face" If you've lived here a few weeks you know what it looks like. The forhead crinkles, the eyes get glassy and wisps of smoke drift out of the ear canal. Then the flowchart requires them to try again.

"You didn't go anywhere?"
"No, I have a job. I didnt come here but I taught at the other schools."
"No trip?"

Does not compute. I gues she figured she had just phrased it wrong or I was being difficult. But I can guarantee you that the next time this situation arises in a few months she'll ask me again.

She thinks I live in a bos and I think she lives in a box.

memos for later.
-hs students
- blind friend