Mother and Motherland are Greater Than Heaven, Pt. 2

In front of me and Yusuke was a junior high school student. He must’ve been 2nd year or something. 13 - 14 years old. Also, he did seem skinny, but otherwise looked healthy and his skin was glowing. I need to talk to him about skincare!

I’m honestly terrified. I don’t know how smooth communication is going to be. Tateishi-sensei said that he’s essentially fluent in Japanese, but I’m not sure until we speak. I’m sure Yusuke shares a similar sentiment. He was silent. And not Yusuke silent, where he’s comfortable and choosing to be silent - he was silent. That might be the most times anyone on planet Earth had those words close together. Silence density.

Finally, the young man broke the ice.

“My name is Ram Gharti. I have a decent knowledge of Japanese, I think.”

You know what? It wasn’t bad. Maybe a bit accented, but honestly understandable. He spoke with clarity, but his pronunciation was a bit off I suppose.

Yusuke… he spoke a bit patronisingly. His next words were slow and it was like he was speaking to a child.

“Hi, Ram-kun! My name is Yusuke! What is your family and given name? Where do you live? How long have you been in Japan?”

That was great, Yusuke. If he had poor Japanese skills, you would’ve scared him off. At least he’s being kind. His tone was definitely soft.

Ram responded.

“My given name is Ram, and my family name is Gharti. I’m Nepali, and I live in Hoshocho. I’ve been in Japan since I was 10, and I’m turning 14 this year.”

I gave one quick side glance to Yusuke. Next, I took over.

“Hoshocho? I’ve heard of that place before. One of my acquaintances is from there, do you know him? His name is Minoru Kikuchi.”

Ram froze. He shook his head, but if I were to gander - I think he did know who he was.

Anyways. This is not the time for chatter, although one could argue casual conversation leads to more native Japanese, we needed to go through the criteria.

I let Yusuke take over for this one again.

“Ram, do you know your numbers?”

“Yes.” Ram nodded.

“Can you read out this list of numbers?”

Ram said all of them correctly. Well, there was one number, but he corrected himself. Then, we discussed specific counters such as birds or people. He got all of them right.

Then, feeling Yusuke’s displeasure at not actually helping, I took the initiative again.

“So, Ram, how confident are you in giving directions and telling the time? Give me an example of you going to a place and the time right now.”

He aced it. Pronunciation, no. Actual words and grammar? The skill level expected of a student his age.

“Look, Ram. What are you doing here, then? You’re better than I was at your age! Sadly, I don’t think we could help anymore since we’re only two years older than you.”

Ram shook his head and waved at us. It was kind of funny, almost like he was embarrassed.

“I’m here because I’m trying to get my parents to learn Japanese. They got by, here in Nagoya, since they were speaking to the other Nepalis who knew Japanese, plus me and my sister. Although, I don’t mind just talking for a bit and I might ask you for help with schoolwork.

Smart kid.

Next, I spoke to him in a more understanding manner.

“Sounds tough. As long as you’re enjoying life here. By the way, my name is Fukaze Honzo. I don’t mind if you call me Honzo.”

I then looked at Yusuke, who seemed to be slightly off in his own inner world. Maybe worse than me? He noticed me.

“Oh sorry! My name is Okawa Yusuke. Both I and Honzo are from a high school. High school! The school is called Aisaihashi High School!”

I nudged Yusuke’s shoulders.

“You know Yusuke, Ram’s basically fluent. No need to repeat or speak things so slowly. He gets it.”

Ram gave a small laugh. I’m glad he’s enjoying it.

As I look around me, I saw all the tables and people conversing and the lessons. The third-year duo had their handful with an elderly Nepali couple. I overheard their conversation, and it seems they moved in with their children. Sora and Sayako had a teenage girl from… I think Bangladesh? She wasn’t as good as Ram, but serviceable and they’re going through the lessons. Tateishi-sensei and Sakura? They had to teach basic pronouns and numbers to a 20-something-year-old man from Laos. I hope he becomes fluent soon, look at all that motivation. Two girls teaching me nursery stuff!

All jokes aside, I can understand how hard it is to be here. I empathise. It certainly isn’t easy to acclimatise to a new nation, let alone a nation with a hard language. New writing system and everything. Plus, it is true that there are some segments of society who see these people as untouchables. My honest opinion? I think we shouldn’t be treating immigrants badly, but we should also… maybe think about who we bring?

I don’t know. At the end of the day, I am a second-year high school student. I am not a bureaucrat. Government administration is terrible. I also recognize things are getting worse in Japan.

We had a good run, anyways.

“Look Ram, do you want to just have a conversation with me and Yusuke?”

“Sure.” He said in a pretty joyful manner.

Yusuke then asked a few more questions. Some are more personal than others.

“Do you have a girlfriend? How’s school? I know that it must be hard for you when doing work. Do you have friends? Out of me and Yusuke, who’s the better-looking one?”

What a vain individual. And I totally don’t want to know the answer to the last question.

I nodded my head towards Yusuke and affirmed what I heard. “What he said.”

Ram pondered. He gave us both a strange look. I hope he’s not homophobic.

“If you want me to be honest… Honzo-san looks better. I think girls would find him handsome. I don’t have a girlfriend, school is good, and I have a lot of friends too.”

I, again, flicked Yusuke on the shoulder. Although, I might just be a hypocrite since I did want to know his answers.

We talked for essentially an hour. It was now 11:20. The head coordinator of the event came to us. To be honest, all three of us pretended to be in a lesson so as to not hurt his feelings. Sadly, it just wasn’t productive for Ram.

Eventually, Yusuke and I enjoyed the boy’s company like he was our kouhai. It was all natural. I offered him one of my drinks, but Ram declined. I offered it thrice, by the way.

A few minutes later, Ram got a text from his parents. I couldn’t read it. Completely different writing. Not in the alphabet or Japanese.

The slightly downcast Ram spoke.

“Sorry, Honzo-senpai and Yusuke-senpai, my parents are finished with their lesson. We have to go early. Do you both have any social media?”

Yusuke gave him his IG. I only gave him my LINE.

Then I gave my goodbyes to him.

“I’m afraid the both of us aren’t going to be regulars here. This was only a one-time thing, but if you’re happy to talk to me, at least, if you need help.”

Ram gave the both of us a bow. What a polite fellow. I’m sure he’ll do well in life.

Yusuke went up to me.

“He’s certainly better than we were in school.” He said light-heartedly.

“Isn’t it obvious? Ram has to be more polite than others, or else people will just pry deep into every negative thing. Since he’s an immigrant, if he were to do one small thing, he would easily face discrimination. Life’s not easy.”

I’m surprised I said that. I don’t think I was that open to other people. But, being surrounded by so many other cultures is kind of nice. It’s pleasant to see people of all backgrounds together. Even though Ram spoke fluently, I’m sure I would’ve held similar views if Ram was bad at Japanese. It’s not hard to click over anything.

That reminds me. Why do I still feel lonely? I’m surrounded by so many people, hell I would consider half of the club my friends, yet I still feel alone. Yusuke maybe my rock, but he’s not the anchor to reality. I wonder what Tatsuya and Saeka are up to. Mai, as well.

Especially Shibuya.

I told myself I’d go talk to her more this year. Nothing’s happened yet. Earlier, Mai even gave me a chance as well.

No use in complaining or moping about it, anymore. A simple mental sigh, and off I go. For a few minutes, me and Yusuke were talking. Same as normal conversations. Everything is so samey. Life is so routine. But it’s funny, is it not? One can want adventure, and yet when they actually do stuff outside their day-to-day activities, they’re too scared. That’s me. I say I want to have a different or more exciting life but I hide behind an imaginary shield. Believe me, I don’t know how I ended up in the Culture Club. Every time I speak to someone, it feels like I’m speaking from the shield. Or that the shield is speaking on behalf of myself. Weird.

One day I will get to the root of my issues. Or maybe the issue itself comes from the methods? Perhaps it’s my nature to overanalyse everything which leads to more negative thoughts, and a cycle of renewable negativity begins. See! I’m literally going backwards in progress.

No use overthinking. Stop overthinking! Don’t be silly, Honzo! Remember your CBT!

Which was barely effective. But then again, I believe that was an attitude problem from yours truly.

Let’s return to reality. Even if it’s a bit external and superficial. I’ll have to accept how things are for the way they are. No philosophy can change that. Matter of fact, here’s my new philosophy. Stop thinking.

That will probably last for a few minutes. Change is never meaningful for me, you know?

Never mind. That was literally a few seconds.

I noticed Sakura go up to me and Yusuke, mid joke. Strange. Her walk was rather fluid but slow. Big leaps. Looking at it, her gait was like molasses.

“Senpais. Could you help me out by setting the table?”

Oh hey! It’s been a while since I’ve thought like this! I guess she must’ve realized we’ve had nothing to do for ten minutes.

“Sure, Sakura.”

Sakura looked at me in disgust. Severe discontent. That did make me slightly upset, but I’m a stronger person now! I don’t care what people think… to a certain extent.

Then she responded directly to me.

“Please stop calling me Sakura. I would appreciate it more if you referred to me as Suzuki. Thank you for your understanding, Fukaze-senpai.”

I, scratching my head in order to distract myself, responded in a more remorseful manner.

“I am very sorry Suzuki-san.”

“No worries, Fukaze-senpai. I was going to mention that on the train earlier, but I simply forgot. You also called me Suzuki, then.”

Yusuke stood there. Glaringly, I could tell he felt some second-hand embarrassment with that whole interaction. I don’t blame him. Certainly, I was left deeply embarrassed.

One would hope me, and Sora are going to be on better terms.

I’ll just do it and help set out the tables. Might as well, since me and Yusuke were discussing some uncomfortable topics. Definitely not appropriate for an event meant for helping immigrants learn Japanese. Imagine if a child heard what we were saying and repeated that?

Anyways, with a few motions, we manoeuvred the table to face Sakura and Tateishi-sensei. The distance was closed too, so we were now closer. Sensei was still trying to teach the man colours. Blue and green.

Speaking of blue, we were in our prime of youth. When people talk about youth, they always talk about 15 - 18. I don’t know why the term youth is even written like that. They say it’s written with the two kanji characters for blue and spring but what’s so blue about youth? I understand spring because… well it’s like a second awakening or something. I’m not really sure. What’s blue about youth? Depression? Or do they mean green?

You can be in the prime of your youth, but it didn’t feel like that. Instead of having fun, I’m in a dusty hall room. I think it was too late for us to teach another person. We’d be limited in time already, and our collective skills in Japanese are fraught with idiosyncrasies that would make even the most absurd person freak out.

Actually, I just checked on my phone. It says that youth is written that way as a poetic-like term. It’s originally Mandarin? That’s what I’m reading from here. Wait, it's related to the five elements? Chinese influence in Japan really is everywhere, huh.

I just conveniently ignored that we all write in Chinese characters when I was thinking that.

“Honzo. What do you think about the Culture Club? Should I be a full-time member? It’s kind of been fun right now.”

I liked Yusuke’s style of inquiry. He seemed hesitant, but still firm enough that I got it. Unsurprisingly, I would prefer if Yusuke was a full-time member. Obvious, is it not?

“Yeah, please do. I don’t want to be the only 2nd year in the club.”

Suddenly, Yusuke gave a mischievous smile.

“I guess. Might as well quit the going-home club, eh?”

“Please do Yusuke. Imagine that conversation I had with Sakura. But every week. You’ll be saving me from a war crime.”

I got reprimanded.

“It’s Suzuki. Did she not remind you, like three times?”

Then Yusuke gave a small chuckle. Must’ve been proud of himself.

Afterwards, I gave myself a brief pause. The metal chairs were seemingly doing backbreaking surgery on me. Meiji Community Center. I like it. It did look honestly homely. The walls were a weird colour, similar to a log fire in a cabin. Imagine Snow Country. It really felt like a hug but… well in room design form I suppose. Honestly, a lot of the lessons were really just meaningless chatter but it’s not really meaningless because we’re speaking Japanese. It’s not the Aichi accent, but most people don’t really seem to understand how we speak. Standard Japanese reigns supreme. Sorry, people from Osaka. You’re relegated to cheap jokes and punchlines. Well… they don’t seem to mind.

Fun fact, I’ve never been to Osaka or Kobe in my life. I can tell you all about Tokyo, however.

But maybe, that’s another story for another time.

Time for food.