Nice Things Japanese People Have Done For Me

This post is one that I intended to write long ago. I also intended to make a running list out of it. Now I suppose my memory will have to suffice. At the present moment, my memory is a bit shot, but here are the first few that pop to mind:

1. I decided to take some laundry to the laundromat to use the dryer. I loaded up my bicycle basket with the wet clothes and took off pedaling. Shortly after I arrived at the laundromat and had loaded a dryer, I realized that my wallet had fallen out of my bicycle somewhere along the way. I vaguely remembered jostling my basket around right as I left my apartment, and as I stood there contemplating what to do, a woman who had been curiously observing me all the while approached me, and after a series of silly miming and broken Japanese, she popped some coins into the dyer, started it, and indicated that she would give me a ride back to my apartment to get my wallet. I hopped into her car, petted her lap dog and tried to make small talk along the way. She chattered on in a lot of Japanese that I completely missed. By the time we got back to the apartment, I was just getting out of the car, when my cell phone rang. It was my boss, calling to say that someone had found my wallet and had already taken it to English Network, which, incidentally, is along the same road as the laundromat. Sooooo, I attempted an explanation to my "driver" and we headed back towards English Network. I picked up my wallet (everything was inside of course, and I wouldn't have been surprised if there was MORE money!), paid her back and she drove me back to the laundromat to conclude my coin laundry adventure.

Only in Japan would my wallet be returned before I even realized it was gone!

2. Recently, I went for a run on a hot day with quite high humidity. I ran up 386 stairs (yes, I counted) to a shrine that I often run to, and then walked down the other side of the hill to run on the beach. I felt my nose running, so I reached up to sort of blow my nose into the ground, but as I pulled my hand away, it was covered in blood! Luckily, I happened to be very close to a bathroom, so I started walking there. A Japanese woman and her daughter were on the playground, and saw me--the foreigner--and started waving and saying "hello! hello!" to which I responded "chotto matte, chotto matte," (just a moment, just a moment). I could tell by the shocked look on their faces that they had suddenly seen my face and hands covered in blood. I hurried into the bathroom and pressed a wad of toilet paper up against my nose. Several minutes later, the woman came into the bathroom and gave me a tissue pack and asked me if I was okay. Several minutes later, she came back in, asked if I needed a ride home (I didn't because my bike was at the foot of the stairs) and gave me a sports drink! Awww. :)

More to come as I recall the innumerable kind acts I have been privy to here in Japan!