Followers

Monday, September 04, 2000

ESL love

“Never in my life” he said, “never in my life I was drawn to someone this close”

Like all love stories this story had start somewhere. There had to be a meeting somewhere in time, also it is safe to say that when love occurs it’s the lovers time.

For him at that time her backgrounds her being is still a mystery to him. The thing about these Japanese girls is how cute looking they appear, childish low tone speaking.
They met at school in the Midwest in an ESL course, sweet looking girl white pants with sky blue t-shirt, he thought at the time she showed some type interest in him, he knew because she approached him. In his stay something that never happened to him before someone fell in love or liked him for the first time in his stay in the States.
It was a class to improve on foreign students writing skills it was class filled with mostly female East Asian students who always seemed to him at the class at least that they did not get much of what the old woman teaching the class was saying.

She saw him while he was exiting the class she was sitting on the floor near the classroom in the hallway. He wasn’t paying attention on his mind was always financial issues and mother and father and all that.

She looked at him and he noticed she opened the talk between them right away “ what is your name” with a smile, he told her what’s his name was, and he asked her “well what is your name she told him her name, and she told him it means flowers in Japanese”.

Next day was normal day they met and they talked briefly she was interested in him and he was shy plus his background and because of his country back ground and all the gender segregations he knew she was going to be he his friend but not someone to fall in love with.

It is summer and his family are all here, he wanted to invite her sometimes to see his family but no chance, She seems more or less like all the other of Japanese people at the time or at least the ones who were studying in there.

Few days pass the guy contracts flu and couldn’t attend the school he was laying on bed, he was on the bed when she came to his address and gave him some soup and told him you have to get better, he stood up though his bones were hurting and told her I have to take you to your school, he did not want at the time to make her feel that she suffered and he wanted to be nice in return in a instance.
She was riding her bike in front of a Farmers Market looking all busy fighting through the traffic heading to the school, he stopped near her and told her I cant let you come with a bike or anything without taking you back my self its not fair and I have to repay you back, she looked bothered but he did not care, he put her bike in his trunk of his GrandAm and drove her to the school.

Tuesday, May 16, 2000

ESL weed group (1)

Sometimes this summer, this was my hopeful last term at the ESL. My family from Saudi decided to visit, what better my grandmother was coming along too.

My grandmother last time in US was sometime in the 80’s, it was at the time when my grand father was diagnosed with cancer and he had to got to the US for additional treatments.

I wanted to take my grandmother everywhere in this limited city; St. Louis has many to offer.

I was at a class in the morning there was I guy from Japan. I think his name was KO he was a funny guy, looked very optimistic, I think when I saw him he made me think is weed is really hitting Japan, the reason been is that KO had a sign on him some tag of some sort with weed leaf sign.

I was seeing an increase in the number Japanese people on campus. From what learned weed smoking is something never heard of in Japan.

This was interesting to me, and as I learned later not just me but those who are with in class, one day KO was kind enough to share with everyone that in Japan in Tokyo in particular
There are a huge number of homeless people.
I recall when KO mentioned that we had a teacher from Honduras was shocked at the fact.

There is something to be said there, Japan is not really an enigma at all this was a country in my view that basically filters out the information that it needs the world to know about it.