Back in Kawasaki
My annual trip to Anaheim, CA, is over and I'm back in Kawasaki now. It was an easy trip for some reason which I didn't have much trouble looking after my coworkers. Of course, there were certain things that frustrated me during my stay over there but most of them were fairly balanced out because of love, hugs, smiles and good will of those people I met there. Million thanks especially to my lovely friends!! I love you guys!!
The first real meal I had was Mexican. Dave Kurihara, who works for a guitar company and is very kind, took us to a nice Mexican restaurant nearby for lunch. Dave is a Japanese but his smile is more like that of American's. I think it's because he lives there for years. Anyway, that restaurant is pretty good and so was the cute looking waiter of our table. I was still jet-lagged and wasn't really tuned in the American mode so I had to ask him what he had said a couple of times whenever he said something to me. As he said what I ordered was his favorite before it was served, I was looking forward to it. But I was surprised when he brought it to me. It's a chicken burrito and was HUGE! Really! My friend Rob, sitting next to me, grinned knowing I couldn't finish it. I tried my best but that chicken burrito beat me completely! When I got to the half of it, my stomach refused to accept it. It tastes good. Just its portion wasn't right for me. I definitely would have brought it back to my hotel if I didn't have to work in that afternoon. I enjoyed the lunch anyway. Thanks to you, Dave.
I bought a cute black hoodie right after I arrived at my hotel. It was cooler than I thought and I needed something lighter than a sweater to keep me warm. This $21 hoodie worked really well. But at the guitar company, Rob kindly held me under his jacket when we were waiting outside for other people to be back from the restaurant after lunch. Even that hoodie wasn't warm enough that day. Sunny but pretty windy. Thanks, Rob!
A couple of the guitar builders there remembered me because I also went there 3-4 years ago. I was surprised for sure. I told Rob and other friend Ernie about it and they said that I'm sort of unforgettable. Hmm... I wonder why. Actually Ernie said he was going to tell me why later but we only saw each other Thursday evening and didn't have a chance to see again after that. Ernie, you got to tell me why they remember me. Okay?
The funny thing is some security guards at the entrance gate of Convention Center, who confirm the photo ID of each person to enter, said "Hi Cutie" after I showed them my passport. Some even remembered my name! I wonder they didn't see my birthday on it. But it's nice to hear such thing from guys even though I'm a bit too old for being called cutie (^-^)
All the coworkers in my party this year worked really hard, which is great. They tried to communicate with people in English. They sure asked me to walk with them when they needed to ask detailed questions to exhibiters but I think it's a good experience for them to have a difficulty in communication. It grows them up and hopefully help them think about the meaning of communication. It's something I always notice at the winter NAMM show that they just have no expression on their faces when talking to people. I guess they are nervous and a bit scared. I don't blame them for not being able to relax in a foreign country but the key is SMILE. Smile guys! You would be fine and people would be friendly to you, which is the beginning of communication.
Wow! It's snowing now!!!!! All the roofs are covered with snow. No wonder it's very cold this morning. Thank goodness, it didn't snow yesterday evening when I was coming home. Even snow welcomes me! I'm going to take a bath to relax before going to my office now. Will write more about my trip later.
The first real meal I had was Mexican. Dave Kurihara, who works for a guitar company and is very kind, took us to a nice Mexican restaurant nearby for lunch. Dave is a Japanese but his smile is more like that of American's. I think it's because he lives there for years. Anyway, that restaurant is pretty good and so was the cute looking waiter of our table. I was still jet-lagged and wasn't really tuned in the American mode so I had to ask him what he had said a couple of times whenever he said something to me. As he said what I ordered was his favorite before it was served, I was looking forward to it. But I was surprised when he brought it to me. It's a chicken burrito and was HUGE! Really! My friend Rob, sitting next to me, grinned knowing I couldn't finish it. I tried my best but that chicken burrito beat me completely! When I got to the half of it, my stomach refused to accept it. It tastes good. Just its portion wasn't right for me. I definitely would have brought it back to my hotel if I didn't have to work in that afternoon. I enjoyed the lunch anyway. Thanks to you, Dave.
I bought a cute black hoodie right after I arrived at my hotel. It was cooler than I thought and I needed something lighter than a sweater to keep me warm. This $21 hoodie worked really well. But at the guitar company, Rob kindly held me under his jacket when we were waiting outside for other people to be back from the restaurant after lunch. Even that hoodie wasn't warm enough that day. Sunny but pretty windy. Thanks, Rob!
A couple of the guitar builders there remembered me because I also went there 3-4 years ago. I was surprised for sure. I told Rob and other friend Ernie about it and they said that I'm sort of unforgettable. Hmm... I wonder why. Actually Ernie said he was going to tell me why later but we only saw each other Thursday evening and didn't have a chance to see again after that. Ernie, you got to tell me why they remember me. Okay?
The funny thing is some security guards at the entrance gate of Convention Center, who confirm the photo ID of each person to enter, said "Hi Cutie" after I showed them my passport. Some even remembered my name! I wonder they didn't see my birthday on it. But it's nice to hear such thing from guys even though I'm a bit too old for being called cutie (^-^)
All the coworkers in my party this year worked really hard, which is great. They tried to communicate with people in English. They sure asked me to walk with them when they needed to ask detailed questions to exhibiters but I think it's a good experience for them to have a difficulty in communication. It grows them up and hopefully help them think about the meaning of communication. It's something I always notice at the winter NAMM show that they just have no expression on their faces when talking to people. I guess they are nervous and a bit scared. I don't blame them for not being able to relax in a foreign country but the key is SMILE. Smile guys! You would be fine and people would be friendly to you, which is the beginning of communication.
Wow! It's snowing now!!!!! All the roofs are covered with snow. No wonder it's very cold this morning. Thank goodness, it didn't snow yesterday evening when I was coming home. Even snow welcomes me! I'm going to take a bath to relax before going to my office now. Will write more about my trip later.
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