This morning I decided to take a trip to the University of Jordan, to return a book and a dissertation that I had borrowed from the library. The weather was very pleasant, it was sunny and warm and the trees seemed happy.

While there, I met Kobayashi sensei, my former Japanese teacher. I always enjoy meeting her, but this time I had some explanations to give. I apologized for not going to the JICA Japanese class I had registered for.

It’s funny really how this whole affair happened. If you do not have much to keep you busy for now, read on as I live this rare expressive moment of mine. A little over a month ago, Kobayashi sensei called me upon her return to Amman. She had gone to Japan months earlier and I was under the impression that she would be unable to return.

It was natural, therefore, for me to be ecstatic when she called. She urged me to register for JICA Japanese class, and since I had been intending to do that, I did. I went to the first lesson (after walking 15 minutes aimlessly in Swefeyyeh looking for JICA) and I arrived late. The teacher was not Kobayashi sensei – I knew then that the lesson would be quite a trial.

And I was right. The teacher began by asking us questions that we are supposed to know the answers for. Now this was fun and embarrassing at the same time because I could understand everything but, because I did not study or use Japanese for over a year, I could not put things together on my own.

She asked me a question, and I simply smiled at her. It felt horrible being a bad student but I enjoyed the new sensation. I could not answer a very basic and straightforward question. That inability, that incompetence, was so refreshing.

After class, I realized that I cannot juggle a zillion things in one go. Japanese class requires studying and follow-up, and I felt I would not be able to give it its share of attention and dedication. The residue of my inability forced me to apologize twice to my sensei before leaving: “I need to revise,” “It’s been over a year since I studied Japanese,” and “I am very sorry, next time will be better. I promise.” I declare it is pathetic.

That little episode over, I apologized to Kobayashi sensei (apologizing is not one of my traits, being around Japanese people brings it out it seems) and explained the situation. She gave me a beautiful Origami swan in return: Win-win scenario and Tololy walked away happy and guiltless.

Origami for Tololy

Other things happened today as well: I saw an old friend, I went to some spot on campus where many many memories are buried, I smiled secretly to myself when I saw one particular thing, and I missed the old days.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, January 28th, 2007 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.