One thing I definitely love about living here is the ability I have to communicate with some of my co-workers even though we don't speak the same language. Take Rika sensei for example. She is one of my favorite people to work with. The two of use can talk for quite a while, and through gestures and lots of guessing around the subject, we have a blast. Having her by my side in the office is super helpful and hopefully she gets something out of it, too. She is kind and loves to laugh, which is great, because even if we can't get our message across, we sure can have a great laugh about whatever we thought the other was trying to say.
Rika recently moved from Hyakuna, but lucky for me she moved to Chinen Sho, so I will see her just as much. Yay! Other teachers at Hyakuna always watched us talk (at lunch, mostly), and commented on how amazed they were we could have conversations when Rika doesn't speak much English and I don't speak Japanese. Now that the Chinen teachers have seen us (at lunch today) talk, they said the same thing! They would listen and follow along and nod their heads during our conversation. Sometimes, Rika will translate what I've said into Japanese for them. It's really funny and interesting. Personally, I think this sort of situation is exactly why I am here. Not that I don't wish I spoke more Japanese, but this is the next best thing: A fearless co-worker who is willing to try to speak to me. And I think between the two of us we have achieved a friendship.
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