It Seems Like Everyone Knows Me

We live in a town with about 25 foreign residents. We can’t just blend in.  I walk a lot and frequently have people ask me or even email me things like – “I saw you walking near the post office, where were you going?”, or “I saw you coming out of the store, what did you buy?”  I’ve even been stopped by the police because I don’t look Japanese.

At the Mushroom Party last week, I met someone who said to me – “I know you.  You take Japanese lessons where my sister-in-law teaches and I often see you walk by my house in Higashiyama.” Even though this kind of thing often happens, I was still surprised.  The sister-in-law was my teacher last year and Higashiyama is a section of town near the section I live in and I do walk in that area!

Sapporo is the largest city in Hokkaido and the fifth largest in Japan and many foreigners live there. Last week I went to a post office in Sapporo that I used to go to frequently, but I hadn’t been there in a few months.  When I walked in the door, there were two men clerks at the counter, but a woman ran from the back, saying osashaburi desu (something like - long time no see). She knew my packages were airmail, small packet, to Amerika.  I was amazed.  She must see a lot of foreigners and she remembered me.

Sugoi desu ne!