05/13 - With Age

To be an old man

is to be free and act,

as one sees fit

Today I saw a couple of amazing things. Not standard tourist attraction sort of things. Not beautiful scenery. Not great architecture. Not incredible performances. But amazing nonetheless.

On my way to work with Aykut, we walked into our local station and took the escalator up to the main area. We take that escalator at least two times a day, but this will most certainly be the most memorable ride up the 5-10 second distance. All because there was an old man dressed in business attire riding up, chin pointed up to the sky, while another old man shaved his face for him with an electric shaver. On the escalator! Aykut and I lost it laughing. It was hilarious. How pressed for time are these gents that they need to get that done on an escalator ride. Also, why would you need help shaving from your friend. It was priceless.

Later in the day I went on a break and headed to Starbucks to buy a tea. In a small square alcove area tucked in the alley between some buildings, an old man was staring up into the air and holding a piece of paper up to read. I didn’t know what he was doing, I thought maybe he was reading directions. I stayed at Starbucks for about half an hour, capitalizing of the luxury of free Wifi, which is rare in Japan. On my way back, the old man was still in the square, and had gotten more into his activity in the time I was away. Turns out he was reading directions. That is, directions on how to do some sort of ballroom dance. He was reading the steps off the paper and practicing by himself. It was really quite sweet, but I have absolutely no idea why he chose to practice in such a weird spot.

After work I told Aykut about the ballroom dancing old man, as we walked past the spot. Aykut found the location amusing as well. Then, as we continued to walk we saw two old men sitting on the street in front of a shop drinking beer and one of them made a hilarious, long, interjectory sound before starting to say something. We couldn’t help but smile.

Checking out what the old fellas are up to is definitely a lot of fun in Japan. Though I enjoy doing the same in Canada. The only thing that doesn’t really amuse me is the old men picking their noses on the train here. It is really common to see an old guy going to town in the “Courtesy Section”.

No pictures from today. I wish I could’ve snapped one of the guys on the escalator, but it couldn’t be done. While we’re on the topic I should also mention that I have a 62 year old man in my last class of the day. He’s fantastic! Full of energy, full of life and dying to improve his English. He’s a pleasure to teach, even when he really struggles with the material. This week  he stopped me and said “Teaaa-cher! I…….am……QUESTION!” I look forward to seeing him at the end of each workday.