The Freakshow Runs Every Day

Indeed there's a Hallowe'en party tonight, but I am not in attendance as I don't FEEL LIKE IT. School is difficult these days as my fellow foreigner, Nick, is a raging bull and I have to placate his bullheadedness. He's a Detroit scuzzy mean-talking, bad-rap-loving, mean-to-his-japanese girlfriend, resentful kind of guy. But he's usually ok and he's funny. It's just that two days ago he said, out of the blue and very matter-of-factly, "Pluto is not a planet". Actually I don't think it was entirely out of the blue. I believe the subject of planets had come up. But naturally I was surprised by this claim and I said, with joking fervour "yes it IS!". Good-naturedly. And he's a big joker and he calls his friend Goi sensei a "fuck" just for laughs (this is their humour), so I didn't think this would be taken amiss. But apparently it was, and it continued to be for about 15 minutes of clueless joshing by me, as Nick ever more stubbornly, and without evidence or support, insisted that it was not a planet. We looked it up on the internet and found several websites like "ashleylavigne.com" or something and "kidscience.com" saying it wasn't a planet, but a NASA site saying it was a planet. Then Nick declared that clearly popular opinion meant that it wasn't a planet. Then we talked about whether random websites or NASA are more trustworthy on matters of planetary debate. Apparently if enough people say it's not a planet, it doesn't matter what the scientists say, it's simply not a planet. I was laughing, but then I realized he was pissed off.

The next day the first thing he said to me in the morning was not "good morning!" or "how are you?" it was "Pluto is not a planet,". He became belligerent and said that I was not allowed to ever mention it a again to him. Then he sulked for the rest of the day until I asked what was wrong. He was very angry at me because I had been disrespectful to him. "And," he said "you have to give me more respect, because you depend on me, and I don't depend on you. I speak Japanese, and I don't see you speaking Japanese. So I was thinking 'why would he disrespect me?'. It doesn't make sense. You have to show me more respect than I need to show you, because I don't get anything from you, but you get a lot from me."

I was stunned. I mentioned that I was stunned. I also said he was very bold, and I explained that although I don't speak Japanese, I don't think of human relationships in the same way that he does, and I consider the two of us to be equals. I told him that the day before was mainly a misunderstanding, and that it shouldn't ruin our relationship, which I thought had been pretty good. I attempted to placate him, basically. I had even apologized for being rude even before we got started, but he said "people say 'sorry' a lot, but it doesn't mean anything". I don't even think I was particularly out of line. I was just taking liberties that he had taken with me in the past.

Anyway, the next day he was absent from school due to "illness". I wonder if it was caused by a desire to avoid me. Or maybe he was avoiding cleaning the school bathroom, which is something every teacher has a turn at (crazy, ain't it?) and which he has been avoiding assiduously. Or maybe he was avoiding me and the dirty bathroom. But he came to school today, and didn't say good morning when he came to his desk (right in front of mine). Knowing that I'll be sitting opposite him for another 8 months I tried placating him, and even bought him a dessert bean bun, I forget the name of it, ends in KA and sounds like a place in Japan. And although he refused it, as I suspected he might, he finally seemed to accept that I'm not his enemy and maybe even could be his friend, at least while we're at work. Because frankly I don't like him enough to want to be his friend outside of work.

So I wasn't feeling very sociable at the end of the day and decided not to go to the big JET Hallowe'en party in Omihachiman. I only sort of wanted to go and the idea of having to avoid Nick there was not appealing. Not that that was the deciding factor. Mainly I just don't have the energy for a social occasion tonight. Instead I'll have a good time this weekend in Kyoto at this crazy golden temple that looks like its on stilts in a pond. I'll file a report on it. I asked Veronica, my fellow Kyoto-traveller, to invite Mike, Shannon, Warren and Steffi on the trip. I know it was a disappointment for Veronica that I wasn't coming to the Hallowe'en party. She wanted me to see her costume and I wanted to see her costume - she's a cat and she sewed it herself! And it would have been cool to dress up - I was going to be a green leaf man. But I hope she understands.