Oct 3, 2024 Salon
Guests:
K-san, J-san
Discussion Content:
First, K was by herself. I mentioned that there are 6 new babies at the nursery now, and said that being a nursery teacher is a hard job. K agreed and said “You can’t do the job if you don’t like children”.
I asked her how her “Felted Stones” workshop went, 2 weeks ago. She said she only had 2 customers, and they were other store owners. She said next time she will do some advertising by making and distributing leaflets.
I was curious as to why people would want to put felt around a stone, and she explained that they are used as decorations on clothing. I asked why not use plastic balls instead of real stones, and she said that stones have a heavier weight which makes them useful in fashion.
K saw a Halloween apron in the salon room and asked if we have Halloween in Australia. I said originally we didn’t, but in the last 20 years or so, more and more kids are doing it. I asked her about the origin story of Halloween, and she said that dead souls return to the world of the living, and will attack people. This is why everyone puts on scary costumes – in order to avoid being seen as a normal person.
She then said that Japan’s “Obon” period is similar, in that the souls (or spirits) of the dead return to this world. The difference is that Japan’s spirits stay for 5 days, not just one, and they are not scary.
When J arrived, we talked about the online English lessons he does. He said he likes to use the lessons in order to overcome embarrassment by making sure he corrects any mistakes for the next lesson. I said I don’t feel embarrassed if I make mistakes in Japanese because it’s just funny. My wife often laughs at some things I say (eg “iro-dori-midori), and that helps to remember the correct thing next time.
I mentioned that I saw J’s profile picture on LINE, with him holding his transparent saxophone. He explained to K that “transparent” is the same as “see-through”.
K said she learned her felted-stones craft in the USA, from a Russian woman and a New Zealand woman. I asked if she could understand the Russian woman’s English okay, and I mentioned that I used to work with a Russian lady who always pronounced the letter “V” as a “W”. She’d often say, “I have a lot of invoices to do”, but it sounded like “inwoices”.
Useful phrases:
Fatigue
tolerant
Believe it or not,…
transparent
see-through
But, at the end of the day,…
look down on someone
leaflet/pamphlet/flyer
I’m getting to like cats