Edsonᶜʳᶠ

I lived in Japan for a year. Most of my experiences were exhausting in ways I’d rather not get into, but this one still makes me laugh. I was on the train in Osaka, minding my own business, when I noticed a group of school kids a few seats down. They were whispering, glancing at me, then whispering again. They kept passing a folded piece of paper between them as if they were planning something top secret. I watched this go on for two stops. Finally, one of the kids was pushed forward by the others. He walked over to me slowly, like he was approaching a wild animal that might bite. He stopped right in front of me, bowed politely, and held out the folded paper with both hands. I opened it. Inside was a handwritten note in careful English: “Hello. We think you are a very cool person. We are practicing our English. We hope this note is correct. Please give us a score.” At the bottom, they had drawn a literal grading box, out of ten. I looked up. Seven pairs of eyes were staring at me as if their entire semester depended on my response. I pulled out a pen, wrote “10/10” in the box, and added a note: “Perfect English. Well done.” The boy carried it back to the group. They read it together… and absolutely lost their minds. High-fives, jumping, and one kid even pumped his fist in the air. Their teacher, who had been pretending not to watch from the end of the car, was biting her lip, trying hard not to smile. I rode the rest of the journey grinning to myself. That’s the Japan I always remember.