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キャー！

I saw a bug. While I was reading, a period sized insect materialized on the page in front of me, triggering a fasian moment. I screamed, “怖い～ (scary!!)”and tossed the book into the distance. I don’t like bugs.

Japanese comes out when I’m startled? English is my native language and I’m supposed to be studying Korean – my brain’s automated response to frightful things shouldn’t be in Japanese. So, what’s to blame for this outburst?

Anime? No, I hate don’t watch anime. An internal desire to become Asian? No. Yearnings from a past life? Nope. Recent events? Perhaps. I’ve been thinking about Japan a lot. Lately, Abe and other ministers have been getting quite a bit of attention from the press. Last week, three of my dear friends moved to Japan. I’ve been working on song translations and a J-pop review. I’ve also been watching way too much Japanese stuff on veoh. These things surely bumped “怖い～ (kowai)” up a few spots on my brain’s list of how to immediately react to bugs. But-

I blame this particular fasian outburst on a pretty Japanese girl who loves to imitate rabbits (うさちゃんピース)　and yet, can’t hop to save her life （モー娘。の一番かわいい女の子：道重さゆみ）. 　While jumping rope, she chanted “kowai” like a slightly panicked and very frustrated child reading a ton of write offs from a blackboard. Jumping rope is scary? I suppose it can be – you never know when someone twirling the rope will mess up and smack you in the face, right? Anyway, if she didn’t repeat the word incessantly and in such a quiet (at first) and hypnotizing fashion, I doubt that I would have screamed it. Instead, I would have reacted in the proper American way, “Ahhh!”

Hmm… As long as I say, “ouch” or “ow” when I get a boo-boo instead of “痛い~” I’ll be okay. But, 　my speech is being corrupted. First, “full stops” instead of “periods” and now, “kowai” instead of “Ah!” No one will believe me when I tell them that I’m an American.

Continue reading to a see a picture of the girl who finds jump roping scary.

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