It was an Otaku heaven. Or hell. Depending

[elfs]

I went to meet Omaha at the Westlake Center food court prior to a meeting we had scheduled than afternoon, and while I was there I saw the most astounding sight imaginable:

Dozens of Japanese high school girls, all between the ages of 15 and 19, wandering around the mall. All of them dressed in knee-length grey pleated skirts, white blouses, black school blazers, knee-high socks and black shoes. It was like a bad otaku fantasy come to life. Some of them wore grey vests; others wore black V-necked sweaters with white trim. And they were all accessorized: mostly the bags, from Gucci, Urban Outfitters, and American Eagle. Some big and gaudy, some small and elegant.

Later, Omaha and I went over to See's Candies, where while Omaha was ordering I took a step back from the line and ran into one of them, along with two of her friends. I didn't see who I'd stepped into at first so I turned and said, "Excuse me. Ah, sumimasen."

She nodded, looking embarrassed. I said, "Ano, Eigo ga wakarimasu ka??" (Um, do you speak English?)

Her eyes widened. "A... a little."

"Skoshi?"

"Yes." She laughed.

"Gakuen wa, doko desu ka?" (Where is your school?)

"Saito International, near Tokyo."

"Thanks," I said. I don't know what impression I made. She smiled nicely and wandered off. Rather ordinary kid. In fact, that was the main vibe I got, just how ordinary they all were. Giggly high school girls, playing one-up games as to their findings and their gossip. I later learned from the woman behind the counter at See's that there were 400 of these girls set loose on Seattle: the entire upper class of a private high school. They'd been coming through Westlake every day for the past week.

And they're going home tomorrow.

Comments

[athelstan.livejournal.com]

You asked them if they understand English. Is that more correct than asking 'eigo go hanshi desu ka?" あの、英語　話　ですか？

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't it be hanashimasu ka?.

Yeah, I know the difference. I tend to be lazy, and it's been my experience that wakaru is far more common than hanasu in conversation.

[athelstan.livejournal.com]

I'm sure it hanashimasu... Thank you for the commonality of wakaru (wakrimasu). I've been doing book studies and I don't get common usage much.

Also it sounds like a dream land with those girls. Though I would want bishy school boys in my dream.

[rhonan.livejournal.com]

Wow, we must have crossed paths today. I saw the whole lot of them while I was waiting for my connection to SSCC in the morning. At that time they were clearly headed to Pike Place Market as a group. Then, when I was heading back home after my one class today, I saw a number of them scattered around Westlake.

I am a bad man. I saw all those cute uniforms, and all I could think of was tentacle rape.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

*snort* you ARE a bad man!

(Bet they never expected round-eyes to speak Japanese.... :)

"Skoshi"?? this is a loan-word?

[gromm.livejournal.com]

What I understand of easterners, they never do. The ones that emigrate here, but especially the ones that visit. I suspect that the embarrassment is in no small part due to the fact that you might have understood some of what they just said. Which might not be so flattering.

[rhonan.livejournal.com]

My former house mate had a kitten years ago she named skoshi. This was when she was the only American in the Seattle office of a Japanese company. I believe that skosh, as in small, was brought back from the occupation after the war.

[sianmink.livejournal.com]

skoshi is the origin for our loan word, skosh.

The More You Know --==*

[shaterri.livejournal.com]

I saw them yesterday over lunch while trekking down to the ID to grab some ramen; I smiled made the 'V' gesture with one hand but I'm pretty sure none of them noticed. Ironically, I was playing Bleach music at the time (wholly coincidentally), but out of their earshot.

[gromm.livejournal.com]

It was like a bad otaku fantasy come to life.

Oh, this is a rare occurrence in Seattle then?

[(Anonymous)]

It could equally be that her illusion of noone being able to understand her while talking Japanese was broken, thus leaving her previously private conversations potentially understood by the locals. A bit like realising your encryption can be broken by anyone who can be bothered to try hard enough.

Either theory works.

[boiwondering.livejournal.com]

I... Wow. I don't know if I should feel amused, delighted or vaguely dirty right now.

I think I'm all three. :)

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

*Giggles* Sorry I missed it.

[nojay.livejournal.com]

I (literally) ran into a bunch of salarymen in Edinburgh a bit over a year ago. They came out of a building just as I was going past and as I dodged around them I bumped into the last one, a woman.

"Ah, gomen." She stepped back a bit to let me through, looking a little surprised. "Arigato." and kept on going. I like to think I weirded her out a little.

[bolindbergh]

When I visited Seattle in 1998, the local tourist industry seemed to be geared to Japanese visitors. Is that still so?

[woggie.livejournal.com]

Wandering through the U District, you can occasionally see large groups of Japanese schoolgirls filtering through. Usually there are no more than fifty, but it's still a sight to behold.

I'm certain 400 of them must have been an astounding sight. :)