Passersby

Its strange to pass by people in the dark.

I'm in Shirakawa right now, for about six days. Its great. The town is a little small but its a nice change of scenery. My temporary roommate is so cute. We met during kids training and got along really well. The apartment here is much nicer. It's newer than mine in Fukushima and a little bigger as well. It seems cleaner but I think thats just because its hard to make an old apartment feel clean.

The Nova branch here is quiet. There are only three teachers, including myself, who teach here. Another is expected to come right after I leave. The students here seem more well behaved than at my branch, SATY, which is a weird thing to say because I'm talking about adults. In Fukushima, they are so nosy and many of them just don't seem to want to participate. That never really makes sense to me because I can't figure why people would spend so much money on lessons they don't want to be at.

My apartment here is much closer to work. Instead of having to ride a bike for thirty minutes, I can walk there in ten. I cut through a little neighborhood to get there and many of the houses have really beautiful, detailed gardens. Unfortunately, because the sun sets between four and five o'clock here, when I walk home I can't see the gardens. I can't see much of anything at all.

Tonight, being a Friday, there were more people out and about. When I cut through the little neighborhood, just behind my apartment building, I passed by four people. There are no lights along the street, and like I said, I can't see much of anything. The figures seemed more like shadows than real people.

The first man had on a bright green jacket and a mask like the ones doctors in the US wear. Many people wear them here when they get sick. I suppose its to keep from getting other people sick and maybe to prevent themselves from getting any sicker. He was coming down the same side of the street I and walking rather rapidly, undoubtedly with a purpose. I had to move over to avoid his swinging elbow. I'm sure he saw me, I'm not sure he cared.

Not far behind, on the other side of the street, two school girls fell over each other, giggling and chattering, as school girls do. Both were wearing the unnecessarily short, pleated skirts that have inspired oh so many anime movies, as well as the high white socks and the andro black shoes. To me they seemed a little drunk. In general, Japanese school girls are quiet, even if they are giggling and whatnot. These two seemed to be screeching. I'm not sure what about. Maybe about the guy behind me, maybe about me, maybe about the fact that they're only sixteen and as wet as two whistles. I couldn't walk by them fast enough.

The second man seemed to be in the same state of mind as I was. He also walked along the same side of the street as I and when we passed, it was as though we had an understanding. I'm not sure what we understood, maybe just that we were both walking down the same street. He was an older gentleman, toting along a small black suitcase on wheels, maybe it could have even been called a briefcase. He wore a suit and tie and walked rather unbothered and in no hurry. The rolling of his luggage along the bumpy asphalt made a familiar sound and it calmed my nerves as I turned the corner to my apartment.

Walking down the back streets of a small neighborhood in a small town in the dark is a little unnerving, even if you're in the safest country in the World. Suddenly, my five pound bag of groceries became a potential weapon. I don't know who I was going to use it against, the sick guy, the little girls, or the old man but at least I was prepared.