The security guards salute me when I arrive at the university in the morning. Makes me feel kind of special. I can imagine them whispering to each other as I walk by, “He’s an English teacher!” I think that’s actually a proper greeting and want to require it at my school when I go back to California. Now if I could just get the students to salute when I come into the classroom.
The picture on this page is pretty cultural. Take a look at it and see if you can figure it out before I tell you its meaning.
It’s actually a six-foot tall warning about flashers, molesters, perverts in general - chikan in Japanese. Somebody told me once that it meant that there had been trouble at the particular places where the signs are posted, but I think it may just be a general warning for certain areas. This sign, for example, is at the entrance to a walking path that goes off through some woods and is rather isolated.
Either way, yow! What can kids be imagining when they see signs like that? You’d think they wouldn’t even dare to come out of their houses. It certainly adds another level to not wanting to go to school. You have to go outside to do that.
Unfortunately, I suppose it’s necessary to educate children about unpleasant things just for their own safety. Still, I’ve never seen the equivalent in the U.S. so it makes me wonder about cultural differences more serious than driving on the left or saluting teachers..
I don’t know how effective the signs actually are, but you can believe you won’t be catching me walking up that path day or night.
