More than words...

Tokyo is a large place, a busy place, and so bumping into a familiar face is a rarity. Especially so when you're not from around these parts... So, last Saturday night I was a little surprised when I bumped into an aquaintance I haven't seen since August, and before that since May. Both times were in busy nightclubs downtown. Lot of nightclubs in Tokyo. Lot of people. Chances are slim. I was even more surprised when I bumped into him in the street yesterday; uptown. So he and his friend joined me and my friends for a beer.

He's Japanese. I'm English. He speaks a little English. I speak no Japanese. So we chat. 5 minutes into the conversation, 'So, you still don't speak Japanese?'. 'Still', 'still?'. Cruel word. OK, so I've lived here almost two years, but Japanese is no easy language to learn. I work, I socialise in English-speaking circles, my job is to speak English, and a lot of people speak English in Tokyo. Hence I'm really struggling to learn this language! I study - a little. I listen - a lot. I've picked up a fair few useful phrases and can communicate when necessary, but conversation? Forget it!

So, feeling a little miffed, I turned to his friend (who spoke no English) and said, 'Ano, chotto Nihongo wo shabetai, e toh, oshigoto wa nan desu ka?' (roughly, OK, I wanna speak a little Japanese, er, what's your job?). Good start. Then comes the reply, 'haiisha desu'. At which point I turn to my acquaintance and say, 'What?'. Oh well, I tried... ('haiisha', by the way, means 'dentist').

So this week I've been studying different jobs....

An Introduction

Below I allow you to delve into the depths of my mind (watch your head near the rock pools...), I suppose it would only be proper to introduce myself; I am lady after all. So, as the name suggests, I am lost in translation. Did you see the film? I am Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson). OK, I'm not. I'm me. But I do live in Japan. And I can't speak Japanese. And I do spend most of my time lost.

I'm, actually, lost in Tokyo.

A young lady, early 20's, just doing her thing before the rigours of life set in. Well, as much of my thing as I can manage outside working 10 hours a day. Mind you, you can squeeze a lot out of a weekend if you forgo a little sleep (though it tends to be nothing to write home about)! But unlike Charlotte, I'm happy to be in Japan, and I'm quite happy to be lost. My favourite hobby is aimlessly wandering around strange places (but I'm careful not to wander into strange, creepy places in a Sarah Michelle-Geller-esq style - did you see the Grudge? Terrible, terrible...).

And my job? Well, there are only two things a young, unqualified, mono-lingual being such as myself can do out here: hostess; or English teacher. Pretty similar occupations, really, both involve an endless string of clients, both involve a lot of chit chat, but one is by day, and one is by night, and one is marginally more respectable than the other. I opted for the marginally more respectable occupation, and despite the corporate crap that must be endured, I enjoy my job.

So, that's a brief rundown.

More to come later.