Most embarrassing moment in Japan so far...

Thursday and Friday were open house for the two different kindergarten levels. First I watched Sarah's open house. She had about 17 to 18 parents standing in the back of the room watching her teach. Pretty intimidating, but she did an amazing job! Then Friday I watched the five year old kindergarten classes. Everything went really well. Well, except we woke up Friday to about six inches or so of snow. I quickly realized that I need snow boots, all I have are dress boots and those don't quite work well in the snow.

Friday night four of us girls went to dinner and a movie. We went to an all you can eat Italian buffet. The food was pretty good! There was a table full of junior high aged boys who kept daring each other to walk by us and say something..and then they would all laugh. Even their mothers who were at a table next to them. They all just stared at us the whole time. I mean, not the occasional look at us and look away quick, but full on stared. It was awkward, but apparently a very normal thing. When we got up and left, tons of people said, "goodbye" to us. It was funny, but really weird. The movie we went to was in English with Japanese subtitles. They also serve caramel popcorn. Yummy!!

Okay..so on to the most embarrassing moment.. I needed money from the ATM. So, I walked on over there this morning, it's just right down the road. I got there and realized everything was in Japanese, so I just tried pushing buttons and it didn't work. So, I went home and told Sarah and she was supposed to go back with me. Anyway, then I had a meeting. At the meeting they gave us a sheet telling us how to use the ATM. So, after the meeting a few people were going down to the store. The ATM is right beside it, so I decided to be independent and try it on my own. Well....I should have waited for Sarah!

I pressed the right buttons, inserted my card just as it told me. Then it told me to insert my bank book. Which is kind of a log for your banking. Well, the computer screen showed the book opening, closing, and then going in the slot. So, I put the closed book in the slot. Big mistake.. It wouldn't come back out. A little cartoon lady came on the screen saying something, and the speakers inside the atm were saying something, but I had no idea. All I knew was that my book was stuck. So, I contemplated trying to ask someone outside, but really didn't know what to do. I saw a lady and her son walk by. She must have seen my confused face, becuase when I poked my head out the door she was still standing there watching me. She was so sweet and came in and through gestures and a few English words she saw what happened.

There is a help phone in the atm, so she called for help. We somehow managed to communicate to each other enough to tell the dude on the phone what happened. She got off the phone, looked at me, looked at her son, and thought very hard how to tell me what to do. After much thought she said, "Coming. Wait." I gathered that she said someone was coming. Then she said, "I wait." So she waited with me. She was so helpful and sweet! Luckily, Rumi, who is like our translator for anything that we need.. (doctor appointments, travel arrangements, anything really) she found out what was going on and came out to help. So the lady left and Rumi told me it'd be five minutes. Anyway, about this time a bunch of people I knew started coming out and all saw me stuck in the atm. So, this repair man came and had to unlock the back of the machine and get my little book out. Then he showed me that you have to open the book before you put it in. Thanks Mr. Repairman. I gathered as much!

So, I felt like an idiot. Thank goodness for that nice lady, I'm not sure what I would have done without her! People here are so helpful to foreigners. They really are patient with us and go out of their way to help us sometimes.