*smack!*

That was the sound of my hand striking my forehead. I just got back from Aeon, the local Wal-Mart clone in Odate, and they were playing...Christmas music! And they have a big freaking decorated 5 meter tall Christmas tree right in the front entrance! And the damn thing's been there since before Halloween! I'm living in a country in which less than 1% of the population celebrate Christmas for religious reasons, so I'm not sure if I find this to be nauseating commercialization or brilliant marketing. Or just funny, perhaps. In any case, Japanese businesses have successfully assimilated a foreign holiday to send revenue through the ceiling around this time of the year. I applaud their ambition, at least...what are the chances of something like Day of Respect for the Elderly or The Emperor's Birthday catching on in America? I eagerly await "Kurisumasu Engrish," and will be sure to post it here when I find a suitable sample.

...I feel like there's something profound I was going to add to this, but I was sick recently and that has no doubt robbed my brain of whatever genius prose I had intended...

So, you get more nicknames.

Mix
Mix is the ringleader of ninensei class 2's Tensai Row. She's a regular participant in Kosaka International Society's (KIS; not the best acronym, I know) town events, and actually speaks pretty decent English (despite her claims to the contrary), so she wins the culture "mix" award here at KJH. And her name sounds an awful lot like the word "mix," so it's only appropriate.

Barnacle
Barnacle is an ichinensei boy who...could perhaps use a little counseling in social etiquette. He's always happy to join English class even though he doesn't say much then, but any time he talks to us teachers afterward he tries to cling to us, just like his namesake would to a poor, unsuspecting boat. I don't think he's deliberately being obnoxious, but he's still met with a margin of success so far.

Yokozuna
No, I didn't create this nickname just to be mean to the fat kid. Yokozuna is a sannensei who actually is training to be a sumo wrestler. Yes, this means he's big (I'd guess he has at least 20kg on me, and he's 15!), but it also means he's ridiculously strong. I've seen him carry two of his classmates at once on several occasions. He's nearly as tall as me, too, which means that as the Japanese define it, he's fast approaching Godzilla-status.


And to wrap this up, a little random silliness. Mrs. Freckles, my coworker who studied abroad and actually understands English nuances and such, was teaching a ninensei class with me one day. It's been my mission to teach a few American colloquialisms to this and any other class that expresses interest, and they've pretty well mastered, "What's up?" So, a few of them try it out on Mrs. Freckles at the beginning of class one day, and she responds with a Scary Movie-esque "Whazuuuuuuuuup!" and flashes something that could have been a gang symbol at them.
...Yet another one of those moments when I just wasn't sure whether I wanted to burst out laughing or weep bitterly.