My first　brush　with　all　things　Japanese　involved　an　obaasan　talking　to　me　in　Japanese　at　the　airport yesterday.　We’ve　already　checked　in　and　were　one　of　the　first　few　at　the　gate,　and　from　what　remnants　of　Japanese that I could remember or muster, I gathered that what she was really asking was whether we were waiting there at the final room before the gate opened or not. Initially I couldn’t understand her at all and replied in English, “Sorry?”, and then finally with the Japanese “Aa hai hai”. lol. [...]