A number of years ago I left my wallet at a mall in Ogaki. It fell out while grocery shopping. A Japanese retiree found it, saw my foreigner registration card, and went looking for somebody who should know me. Any other foreigner.
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After 30 minutes he found a Chinese factory worker, who (I later found out) spoke neither Japanese nor English. He hands the worker the wallet, gives him an unintelligible instruction, and walks off. The worker sees my foreigner card and freaks out on my behalf.
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Relevantly: I’m subject to arrest without this document. So spurning the opportunity to do the obvious thing and tell the cops, he walks around for 30 minutes until he finds a white guy. The white guy, a tourist, is incredulous. “As if I’d know random American.”
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The white guy being visited by his foreign friend, though, lived in Ogaki. So of course I was in his address book.
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Thus begins my first and only conversation in Chinese, a language that I speak precisely one word in. Luckily for me, the three words of Japanese the Chinese gentleman understood included “foreigner registration card”, and once he said that I looked for mine and freaked.”
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So here’s a problem for you: how do you communicate “Meet me at the X” without a common language. Answer: “McDonalds?” “McDonalds? MCDONALDS.” “McDonalds shi shi.”
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Very elaborate ad placement. But nice!!
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I'm having a near panic attack just reading this. Glad you got it back.
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Did your friend pay the thank-you gift?
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