The Kids on the Bus Go......

I'll start with an e-mail I wrote a couple months ago about how I get to school:

September 20: The school bus….has a seating chart. I accidentally sat in the wrong seat the other day. Oh no! (I ride the school bus to school/work). No one talks on the way to school. Each student thanks the bus driver when getting off the bus. Every single student in the school rides the bus to and from school. Yesterday the bus was pretty full and no one wanted to sit in the seat next to me. They were teasing each other saying, “sit by the teacher, sit by the teacher” and the other kids were like, “no, no!” They'd rather stand. They’re afraid I’ll start a conversation with them in English or something?

Today I got on the bus a little late and most of the seats were taken (there's no seating chart some days (it's complicated)), so I decided to sit in the seat next to a student. But when I sat down, my tushy hit the arm rest thingy or something cuz it really hurt (yes, I said "itai"). She asked me if I was okay and I was really surprised because I don't think I've ever heard her talk before. Anyway, we headed out on the snow highway and I was planning on just sitting there thinking about what to make for dinner, but then I was like why don't I talk to this girl? She is one of those quiet people who only has a few friends, if any. What if no one ever talks to her at school? I could brighten her day by showing some interest in her. But what if she doesn't want me to talk to her? She might be afraid of me. What if I ask her a question and can't continue the conversation? SO WHAT?!?! I have to stop caring what 13 and 14 year olds think of me. So what if my Japanese isn't perfect and they make fun of my accent or something?

Anyway, I muster up some nerve and start by asking Natsumi if she has any younger brothers or sisters that I might know from my elementary visits. No, she doesn't. She doesn't have any brothers or sisters at all (yappari!). Does she get lonely? No, she's fine. I sometimes get lonely living by myself. She thinks she would like living alone. She lives with her grandmother. Where are her parents? She doesn't know where her mom is and her dad works in Chiba (near Tokyo). Not only does the conversation continue, but she initiates some topics and opens up to me a lot more than I expected, especially being Japanese. Yappari she seemed to appreciate having someone to talk to. And so did I. The bus rides are usually quiet for me. I'm really glad I got up the nerve to talk to her. Hopefully she will feel more comfortable talking to me in the future. Of course this whole conversation was in Japanese. I asked her if she liked English, but she gave me the face that said, "no, but I don't want to be impolite." I don't think I'd like English either if I was in her class. The teacher almost puts me to sleep. I love her as a person but...

Anyway, I hope I was able to make Natsumi's day a bit brighter. If not, it made my day brighter! Is there someone in your life that you could go out of your way to spread some joy to?

I always feel sorry for girls like Natsumi who are almost too shy to talk above a wisper. They remind me of extreme versions of myself. There is one kid in 9th grade that everyone always makes fun of. He reminds me of my cousin Jonathan actually. He really tries hard in English, but he really doesn't have the knack for it or something, so I feel bad when I have to tell him his answer is wrong or something. And now that it's snow season he always gets pelted with snowballs. I wish there were something I could do for these kids. I try to encourage them as much as possible and show them extra attention, but sometimes it seems like they are afraid of me, so less attention might be the better way to go? I don't know. At least I can pray for them.