gaijin hunting

To recap,

saturday morning- ran the 英語で遊ぼう booth at the children's festival with 4 of the english teachers here. We did the hokey pokey with the kids, and I read ちびゴリラのちびちび. It was really, really fun, and interacting with the kids is one of my favourite parts of this job. Unfortunately, in my contract there is this neat little clause (a など） which basically means my contracting organisation can have me do anything they want. Which is why we spent the majority of the time constructing the tent/gazebo, hauling hugely heavy mats/amplifiers/cd players around, etc, etc, all in the unseasonably hot weather. Also, when my friend got whacked in the head by a falling pole, my supervisors simply stood there sucking their teeth and telling her she'd better find some ice from somewhere. Um... thanks for the help.

Later on I was on my way to the station to meet friends in Sanjo, when I was stopped by two policemen. They asked me my name, address, where I was going, what I was doing, what airport did I enter Japan from, and did I have my gaijin card? (luckily, yes... I ALWAYS have my gaijin card and so should you.) They started off talking to me in English, but I kind of realised これがやばいよ so I switched to Japanese, mentioned I work at City Hall, and oh yes, I went to Waseda University, and then they did a 180 and started being all smiley and friendly- asking me if I have a boyfriend, do I have anyone I like, and how about going to a bar with them in Sanjo sometime?

It was pretty funny, but it still kind of upset me that in Japan you can be stopped by the police for no other reason than being a gaijin. If I hadn't had my gaijin card on me... When they finally let me escape, they said 同じ公務員で頑張りましょうね！ heh.

This weekend has involved shopping for my halloween costume (akihabara maid outfit) a yakiniku tabehodai with friends, and a super-intense cleanup of my apartment. I've also just ordered some books from amazon.co.jp. They let you pay cash on delivery, but I am never home, so I went for payment by conbini slip instead.