Fast Cars, Fast Women

In my year 11 Environmental Science class at Nelson College, my teacher, Mr David Tinker, would say the same thing to us at the end of the last period for the week. That was 'No smoking, no drinking, no fast cars, no fast women.' That little saying saw me through year 11 and year 12, though now, as a NZ year 13, and in Japan, I see that being in potential jeopardy.


First, about Japanese cars. Japan makes most of our cars in NZ, that is, Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan, etc., etc. And if any of you have seen Fast And Furious, Tokyo Drift, you'll see many fast cars with acid green paint schemes and flame decals, etc. Tearing through the streets of Tokyo, burnouts a plenty, racing here, there, and everywhere. Before I left to go to Japan, the friends of mine who are 'car' people, said 'Troy keep an eye out for cars like on Tokyo Drift. Well, here is what I could do to satisfy your desire for fast steel.

Glorious, aren't they? I can imagine myself turning up to an underground illegal street race in downtown Tokyo, and the Yakuza who run the races saying 'hell Troy, that is one MEAN ride you got going on there, gonna go burn some rubber in this beautiful machine?'  And of course, I would, and then the police would get involved, I'd be in a lengthy car chase, in a sleek, speedy, stylish, yet surprisingly economical and low carbon emitting machine such as this. This would culminate in a few guns being fired, a fireball or ten, and then I'd get the girl. As the credits roll, you think, 'man I want a car just like that, but in Orange. Or maybe Khaki.'


Unforutnately, this is not the reality, the only cars I've seen thus far that I would class as being 'fast' are those that were manufactured in Europe. Maybe there are some Japanese speed machines hiding somewhere, but I am yet to hear even a whisper of them.

So, in conclusion, Mr Tinker's wise words are still being followed, 'No fast cars', but this is possibly because we as AFS students are not allowed to drive whilst on exchange (plus the driving age is 20 here), but also there is a complete lack of anything worth driving at speed, in a race, with fireballs.


I come now to the second part of Mr Tinker's proverb. "No Fast Women"


Arriving at school on Thursday last week to see the classes and meet some teachers, I was shown around and came across on group of girls in the 'dance club'. Lots of screams after I said (Konnichiwa) later, several of them came up to me to ask lots of questions, a rather overwhelming experience for me, who's Japanese was rapidly deteriorating as my mind was somewhat frazzled by the information overload of school times, dates, names, places etc. Then coming into class on Friday, my first real day, and I was mobbed by girls asking where I was from, asking my name, telling me theirs (I've forgotten probably 90% of them) asking my hobbies, and, surprisingly (or not), if I have a girlfriend. Their response to that last question when I answered 'no', was one that can only be described as 'Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!' 

Several of them have asked for my cell number, and asked me the same questions through text message. (They may well be different people to the ones who asked me the questions in the flesh, I truly do not know....) I was asked by one girl, Aiaka, whom I met at the train station near my house, which she also uses to get to school with her friend Nonoka, if I thought she (Nonoka) was cute, and if I wanted to marry her. Far out, this coming from a girl I didn't know 72 hours earlier!

At lunchtime yesterday I was sitting with my guy friends in homeroom, and hordes of girls kept looking at us through the window in the door, waving, coming in, saying 'hi', going all shy and then running away. To this I said in Japanese to my guy friends, 'Japanese girls are little crazy, don't you think? Very noisy.' This produced laughter of such a volume that everyone else in the class who was eating their lunch looked at us in alarm. Japanese girls are 'totemo abunai' <---very crazy.

So a similar situation occurred today in the 10 minute break between classes, (no interval/morning tea at Tsurumine, but a 10 minute break between each class) I was making my way to biology, when Aiaka and two girls who told me their names but I cannot remember them, ~Just as I wrote that sentence, my cellphone buzzed saying I had a new message from Aiaka~ and they simultaneously asked me in fast high pitched Japlish (a combination of English and Japanese) which one I thought was the cutest, as well as saying that the other two had boyfriends, but that they did not, and wanted one. They were all refuting each other, but I deduced that one had a boyfriend, one did not, and one did, but didn't like him anymore and wanted to separate. This put me in a difficult situation, I couldn't say one was cuter than the others, plus I didn't want an angry Japanese boyfriend on my case for flirting with his girlfriend. So I played the dumb foreigner card, pretending not to understand, so when they asked me again in perfect English, I was well and truly screwed. Could I pretend to be French? No, one of them probably studied it for 10 years and could quite happily ask me the same thing in French too. So I replied 'you're all cute', which got a slightly heated response, 'YOU CANNOT LIKE MORE THAN ONE GIRL IN JAPAN" Wow. I think they meant like as in romantically, but cripes, still. Thankfully I was saved by the proverbial bell, never have I been so happy to go to biology.

So, I've been asked by many girls if I have a girlfriend, plenty have asked who I think is cute, some have asked if I think they are cute, and a few have asked if I want to marry one of them. So, Mr Tinker, I find myself breaking the last part of your proverb, but not by my own volition. The fast women are coming to me, and not a lot I can do about it, me being something of a celeb at Tsurumine High School and all.



So, guys, if you ever come to Japan and happen to be tall, have hair that's not black, and have the exotic sex appeal foreign people possess (so pretty much all of you), prepare to be bombarded by female Japanese teenagers.




Otherwise, not much is happening at the mo, Tsurumine is gearing up for its culture festival this weekend, I'll be going to school Sat and Sun, helping my class with its popcorn stall (apparently this is Mexican and American culture, can't quite work that one out but whatever), and will take plenty of pictures! All of the clubs have been practising for hours for their contribution to the festival, there'll be lots of music and dance, an enjoyable weekend I'm sure!

So that's all from me for now, hope wherever you are things are well, and also that you enjoyed reading my blog!

Tata for now from Under the Kanagawan Sun

Toroi :)