Removing my security pass from teaching at the military base, I got out of my car and met the glance of a Japanese man getting out of his car. He smiled and waved. Pleased to see a friendly face, I waved back at the stranger.
Looking through the convenience store aisles, I found my onigiri and again bumped into the stranger.
Once back in my car I put my seatbelt on and the stranger walks by. He waves. I wave back – this time a little confused.
I leave the Lawson parking lot and head toward my next class at Yawata Bussan. “I hope he doesn't follow me”, I think to myself.
I arrived at Yawata Bussan 30 minutes early and sat in my car eating my onigiri. Seaweed, rice and salty smoked salmon is a fantastic combination. After I'm done eating I pick the remnants of seaweed out of my teeth in the rear view mirror and pull out my date book to look at my classes for the week.
I hear a tap-tap on the window.
I look over and there's a large white car parked next to me – the stranger smiling through the glass.
He rolls down his window. With hesitation, I roll mine down too. He begins talking to me in rapid-fire Japanese. Wakarimasen nihon-go, I say. He mentions Yamaguchi – the place my license plates are from. No, Yonago, I say in English. I glance back down at my date book, thinking our conversation is over. Anata wa kawaii desu, he says through his window pointing at his face. I thank him for the compliment. I think I'm cute too.
He realized this was going nowhere and waved goodbye. I didn't wave back this time.
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