What is IN this water...?

Somebody pinch me; I think I've gone off the deep end. Maybe I've accidentally been drinking drugged apple water (that's the closest thing to juice here. Weep.)

Last weekend we had a mandatory training meeting. I dreaded it because I expected it to be less than useless--and I was right--but it also gave me a chance to compare myself with other Interac employees. Favorably. Don't look at me like that! Stop it!!

Anyway, most of the other employees don't speak Japanese at all, and they are struggling to integrate themselves into the communities. Well, scratch that; they feel so opposed to trying Japanese that they are alienating themselves from the communities. It made me feel really lucky and...well okay let's just be honest here...a little too proud. I can't hold a coherent conversation but I can muster the interaction skills of a 5-year-old, and I'll be danged if that small accomplishment doesn't make me feel like a champion each and every time. My conversations usually go something like this (translated for your convenience!):

Kind Japanese Person : "How are you doing? Do you need anything? Do you like it here?"
Me: "Oh! Uh! It's pretty! And you are nice! ...Um. Um. UM. ....I like snakes!"
KJP: "...Oh, really? That's interesting! haha"
Me: "Do you like movies? UM. I like movies. I like Johnny Depp! Everyone likes Johnny Depp! Um...mm...He's cool!"
KJP: "Right! Let's go eat something!" (followed by something I can't understand that probably translates to, "...so your mouth will be too full to keep flapping like that of a over-stimulated chimp."
Me: *claps with over-stimulated glee and throws in a few "Um!"'s for good measure*

So clearly we're not talking about award-winning language skills here. And yet I flush with pleasure after even the most mundane attempts at communication--and I've used those minor skills to make a few friends, whereas most of the other employees are more comfortable interacting with English-speakers only. On top of that, none of them seem all that pleased with teaching as a job. A lot of them feel disinterested  and upset because the pay is less than they would be making in a more permanent career. Over on the other side of the fence, I'm making more money than I ever have--not that that means much--and I love teaching and interacting with the kids. In short, I am starting to feel like I have a place in this crazy corner of the world. I've been here long enough for people to recognize me; kids wave hello on their way to and from school and occasionally a teacher will invite me to their home to meet their family. It's nice to feel a part of Iide, even though I'm more of a pet than a capable citizen. And I'm starting to have more fun with the kids, too. Today I taught them how to fist bump (all it earned me was a lot of confused looks but I enjoyed myself regardless). But as fun as the community is, I have just as much fun interacting with perfect strangers.

...that may be the creepiest, most misleading sentence my fingers have ever crafted, on the internet no less...

Let me attempt to explain. As I've mentioned before, Japanese people are gorgeous. Their flawless skin and endlessly versatile hair gives them the power to pull off ethereal fashions or hard-core David Bowie-style dandelion mullets without a hitch. I imagine that, next to them, I come off looking like a wide-eyed turnip girl: roundish and bumpy in odd places, and pale except for random blotches of red and purple on my cheeks and arms (thanks, Irish/English heritage. What the HECK, Evolution? You owe me.). You wouldn't think that would be a good thing, but it turns out to be pretty useful: I can stare at everyone with wild abandon while they are distracted by my oddness. Rendered equals and instant comrades by the power of curiosity, we can safely approach each other and have a baby-talk session without preamble. The social codes don't apply as strongly to me, so nobody thinks it's creepy or annoying if I approach them in the mall and ask where they bought their shoes or how they get their hair to have so much lift. They just blush furiously and stammer, and I blush furiously and stammer, and eventually we both realize how inadequate our language skills are and just laugh instead. Then we part ways, no harm done. It's pretty intoxicating, finding that people are just as interested in you as you are in them, and especially so when they are beautiful enough to shame Angelina Jolie into changing her name and making a designer, eco-friendly paper bag to wear over her face.

I just can't get enough of it! But I just know that eventually people are going to realize that it is rather odd for a grown woman to act so enthusiastic, even if she is an odd specimen from the West, and then I will have to re-learn how to be mature. Dang.