I Nihon-gin

We got our latest Japanese student yesterday and I have to say, this one promises to be a real joy. Keisuke is polite, in that understated way that is nearly universal to the Japanese people. He seems to understand English as well or better than any of the other students we have had so far. Truly impressive for a child of 13 years.

As expected, he brought gifts. Lots of them. He was barely able to wait until we arrived home to start the gift giving. All the boys got socks with the separate big toe, for wearing flip-flops. Kitch and Mikayla got English-Japanese readers. They feature some of the simplest of "jokes", but they seem to be overjoyed by the humor.

Speaking of jokes, it never occurred to me how amusing it is that both Kellie and I have names that no Japanese speaker can pronounce. I've been laughing all day at how frustrated Kellie gets when I call her Kerrie.

Yup. I just said it again. Still funny.

Tonight we will see if he can choke down the pot stickers that we tend to call gyoza, but which, in fact, bear little resemblance to the real thing. Keis told me that his prefecture is famous for their green tea. I suspect that he has tea in his suitcase that he wants to gift to someone and is looking for me to show interest. I, unfortunately, missed my cue, and tried valiantly to explain that I like the tea, but I don't drink it frequently. Too late. Nevertheless, I will certainly NOT be subjecting him to the monstrosity that the Lipton company puts in their Green Tea package.