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Thanks to Japan Probe, I came across a YouTube video of a Japanese programme I’d seen on TV. It is about Japanese who marry foreigners.

It was about a slightly ditzy Australian woman who’d been in Japan for 7 years yet still could not speak Japanese. She needs her husband to help her with buying household goods - going as far as calling him up at work and asking him to talk to the salesperson.

7 years is a long time for her to be in a foreign country and not have an adequate understanding of the language but I can sympathize.

I recently called Reiko up to ask her for help in ordering an English textbook not on display. I have a moderate understanding of Japanese but get flustered when put in new situations or when the salesperson treats me as an honourable customer and uses excessively complicated turns of phrase.

Still 7 years.

And I don’t resort to songs about poo.