My LOL Collection

Here in Japan, it is perfectly normal to have a favorite "character" -- i.e Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty, Anpanman (a guy with a head made of bean-paste filled bread), or Doraemon (a blue robotic cat from the future without any ears), to name a few. After one claims a favorite character, then it is only appropriate to buy every little possible knickknack festooned with the choice. From toothpaste to pencils to portable hand towels to toilet seat covers to seaweed to you name it, Japan has it!

As I recently reviewed my "collection" I realized that in actuality my favorite "character" is not from anime, but instead consistes of real people. My collection is that of little old ladies (or as my other ALT friend's fondly refer to them -- LOLs). My first group of LOLs are my LOL students, a collection of neighborhood ladies ranging in age from about 80-82. One has an incredibly high level of English and chatters away the entire class period while the others politely grin and nod. Another almost cried the first class when I asked her< "How was your day?". She was sooooo nervous, but by the second class she was prepared as she had diligently looked up and neatly written each word to introduce herself. She spoke in an inaudible whisper and her hands were shaking as she tried to communicate with me.

My second group of LOLs are my random neighborhood friends. From the sweet lady on the bus who says good morning to me everyday and clucks at the bus driver if he doesn't stop for me to the random old ladies walking their dogs, I seem to attract them all. Then there is the LOL who almost sliced my leg off one day as she was wielding a machete to cut down weeds right in the path of my daily bus sprint. And, there is the matriarch of my photographer neighbors who always insists on either feeding me or sending me home with dinner every time I stop by to ask a question (I don't mind her generosity in the least, but I do feel guilty now stopping by!) To the group I can now add the the dry cleaner's wife (see below) and his next door neighbor grocery who enjoyed following me around, grinning, and asking me all kinds of questions in Japanese as I examined her fruits and veggies.

My third group of LOLs are my church LOLs. Although there are two in particular -- Mihoko and Kuniko -- who especially look after me, there are definitely others who want to join in the fun. In fact, at a recent church dinner, several LOLs literally scrambled to see who could sit at the same table as me. Then when I accidentally sneezed, two jumped up to get me a wool shawl, another chided at the men for opening the window, while others bustled off to get me another cup of hot tea. Included in this lovely group of "mother hens" is the pastor's wife who has said that she wishes she wasn't under the rules and regulations of being a Japanese pastor's wife because she would like to join in our merriment (like going to take purikura, visiting a garden on Sunday, and having impromptu ice cream treats). Then, there is the "doctor's wife" who brought me an entire stack of Mother Goose books and tapes each diligently coded so that I could share them with my elementary students (and when she found out I didn't have a tape player, she insisted that her husband buy one for me!) There is also the LOL who enjoys giving me Werther's Original Caramels in church (and reminds me of my own grandma). And there is the LOL who tries to hush her grandson every week only to have him say "Hello, Emily-san" right in the middle of the service. She has also promised to sometimes teach me the Japanese tea ceremony.

My most recent LOL acquisitions include three ladies at the local cultural center who decided that it would be fun to dress up a group of us ALT girls in silk kimonos (remind me to post the pictures sometime!) and then invited us to participate in a Japanese fashion contest for foreigners in July (look for those pictures around the 15th). Additionally, there is a new secretary at school who asks me a new question approximately every three days. I believe she has been mulling over the question all that time, working on how to word it exactly right. She also enjoys looking out for me and readily makes me a cup of coffee every time she sees my eyelids droop around 3:30 in the afternoon.

I have really been blessed with my LOL collection. I am so grateful that God has brought so many wonderfully sweet women into my life here in Japan. I am even more grateful that my powers of attraction are towards the older, fairer sex as my brunette friends continue to collect creepy stalkerish men. Oh, the blessings of being blonde!