After going to the store today and being driven all over town, I have realized what its like to be in my mid twenties and illiterate. The layout of every store is pretty interesting. You see a sign outside with one English word but you go inside and everything is in Japanese. Today I had my first experience buying something at the grocery store because I left my razor at home. First its impossible to understand which aisle is which because you cant read what is said above each aisle. Another thing you can't do is ask for help because most dont seem to understand English outside of the people that work at the Academy. In Japan, most students learn English in middle school. However, it doesn't really get practiced. Although most have some understanding through school. It would be like me taking high school French and trying to help a native French speaker with a question.
Luckily, MeySen has Japanese interpreters that have pretty much taken us everywhere and gotten all of our paper work done. I can't imagine trying to figure all that out on my own. It definitely feels a little embarrassing when a Japanese cashier or waiter is talking to you really fast and asking you a question. I feel like I want to talk to them but have no clue what to say or what they said. The only thing that seems to work is the skill that many married men have aquired...just smile and nod.
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| Yummy Squid. One thing Ive noticed here is that their fish section is HUGE and their beef and other meats section is very small. |
Get a small Japanese-English/English Japanese conversational dictionary. I had a small one I carried in my pocket everywhere. People everywhere will try to help you find the right word and then help you say it right.
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