Where are you going?

So today, I experienced the "I'm afraid of the gaijin" feeling. After lunch, all the children ran away from me when I asked where I should put my tray. I don't know why they were so afraid because I was asking in Japanese. Anyways...I stopped Keita, one of my kids, and I MADE him show me where to put it.

Keita is a cool kid. He looks a lot like Hiro from Heroes. I told my JTE, Keiko, about Heroes. I got her and the rest of the Kenebetsu Jr. High staff really excited about Heroes. It's going to premiere in Japan soon (if it hasn't already).

They asked me with Masi Oka (the actor that plays Hiro). They asked me if Shinzo Abe or Masi Oka was more famous. I told them, unfortuanately, Masi Oka is more famous. They got a good laugh.

Speaking of which...I had my enkai with my HS JTE, Hasakeyama-san. We traded Japanese and American jokes. This is the Japanese joke they told me:

A man goes to a restaurant and gets full. He returns home to his wife. When he returned, his wife had made him a cake.

... ... ...

They looked at me. ... ... ... Waiting for me to laugh.

"That's it? ... That's the joke? ... I don't get it." Something definitly got lost in translation.

So I told them my joke:

Two potatoes are sitting in a frying pan. One potato says to the other, "Man! It's hot in here!" The other potato looks at him, "AAAAAAAH! ANOTHER TALKING POTATO!"

They were ROLLING! I felt like Robin Williams or Whoopie Goldberg. They laughed so hard. I heard them talking to each other in Japanese, "AAH! Potatoes aren't supposed to talk!"

Me: Ah! So so so!

It was great. So to all my American friends that say that joke is lame, "F*ck you! That joke kills in Japan!"

So today, I'm going to enjoy my FIRST onsen! I'm really looking forward to it! Hasakeyama-san (I really need to come up with a nickname for him) is going to take me. Lots of naked time! Wish me luck!