Paid Off

It's really hard to speak Japanese correctly. Even the Japanese themselves sometimes don't know how to speak properly. It's kind of like you or I saying "I want a room" as opposed to "Hi, excuse me, are there any rooms available?"

Well, how do you shape up, even in English or French? Politesse is politesse.

And it's all the more so in Japanese. I have a book that stays in the bathroom (sorry) called Minimum Politeness, which is designed for people who wish to actually conduct themselves well in Japanese society.

So when I got on the phone to Japan today to reserve my hotel room for my hotel trip, it all paid off. No more "I want a room." More like what I said above. Needless to say, the guy was impressed. He abandoned all hope of struggling in English when I presented him with my FLAWLESS POLITE JAPANESE.

I deserve a medal. Not everyone goes to a different country, lives there five years, learns an alien language, marries an alien, has an alien child, and then needs to learn Polite Alien.