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Obama mania hits Japan
Wow, what a day yesterday! It seems like the entire world was watching and celebrating Obama’s inauguration, the new American Renaissance. Here in Japan is no different. From the hula-dancing “Obama Girls” in the fishing villiage called Obama ( it means “small beach” in Japanese), to the latest bestselling book, a collection of Obama speeches meant to help you study English, the new American president is top of the news. News outlets are doing lots of “person in the street” interviews, and here in Toyama City, a reporter came to my school yesterday afternoon to get the reaction of the American teachers (me and my colleague Susan, who is from Hawaii). After being asked all sorts of Obama questions, the reporter asked if the other foreign staff could join us in a group photo, which you can see below in this article from today’s Toyama Shimbun:
From left to right are: Stephen (from the UK), Kevin (above him, from Canada), me, Susan, Lee (from Canada), and David (from New Zealand). The caption reads, “Here are some local foreign teachers reading about Obama’s inauguration ceremony.” When we saw this photo this morning, we had to laugh because of the way the reporter staged the shot. Of course we don’t read this newspaper! Still, it was a goof. We were having a good time cracking jokes about how contrived the situation was. Here is a rough translation of the article. The headline says, “Chance to change history- Happiness spreads as President Obama begins his term in office”. That centered vertical title says, “Teachers from America and other countries based in Toyama ponder the impact on the economy and foreign affairs.” The first part of the story mentions comments from teachers working in Toyama. Then the good part:
An instructor at TCFL, Gerald Talandis Jr., watched the ceremony live on TV at 2 am. “Obama’s message is one of empowerment- that people can do anything they want if they work together”, he said. “His inaugural speech was very positive. People accept Obama because he comes across as a sincere, passionate person. I expect him to rebuild America like before.”
So that’s a rough translation. I actually said a lot more than that, and more eloquently (I thought), but most of it got lost in translation, I guess. I’m not totally sure if this translation is spot on or not, but it’s close enough. Anyway, just thought you’d find this interesting. Oh, and one more thing: My sister Vi, who lives in DC, attended the historic event. Here is a link to the photos she took. I had a great time showing these to my students today in class! They really enjoyed seeing a real participant’s point-of-view on the entire thing. Great job, Vi!
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