The Japanese rock my socks (Or, The Karma Gods are in a good mood)

The eternal lights in the sky take note of the scurrying little 'uns on the pale blue marble. They pull on cosmic drawstrings to effect the most subtle of events and actions that reverberate forward in time like the butterfly's tornado. Divine intervention, karma, probability, call it what you will; however it seems to swoop down from above and smack us in the head when we often least expect it, for good or for naught. And it just so happens that such a spooky event happened to me yesterday.

For the last few days, I've been doing a presentation for one of my classes. We're doing a unit about world peace and what the students can do for world peace. To give them an example, Karen (The other ALT at my school) wrote a story for all the classes involved about the Free Hugs campaign so as to show the students something easy that one person can do for world peace. Last week, with maybe 10 minutes or so before one of these classes, the teacher that I'd be having class with asked me to put together a powerpoint about the subject. 10 minutes. So in a whirlwind, I manage to research some things and slap something quickly together. It works; the class understood it. Me being the perfectionist that I am, I wanted to make it better (A: Because it was going to be used in other classes by other teachers, and B: Because I was going to be using it the following week), so little by I added in pictures, more explanation, etc. Spice it up a bit.

The point of this deluge is that I've had "Random Acts of Kindness" floating around in my head for the last few days. Bear in mind.

Yesterday @ school was a fight as I was feeling sick from the get go. This nagging sore throat was bothering me all day, and it certainly did not help matters that I had to loudly speak in several classes all day. So coming home, being sick and tired - literally - I had of no inclination to make dinner for myself, so I decided to stop in to a place at the station.
Aside: In or around more sizable stations in Japan, there are a plethora of ramen shops, coffee shops, etc., that serve cheap, quick food to travelers in a hurry or businessmen on the way home.

I stopped in front of a small soba shop and when the owner - a middle-aged woman - smiled at me, I took it as an inviting sign and went it, ordered a bowl, and had a seat at the "bar".

Aside: In Japan, if you speak to someone in Japanese off the bat, especially if you look like you know what you're talking about, especially if your pronunciation is good, they'll continue to speak to you in Japanese until such time as you make a mistake (Say something grossly wrong, fail to understand a question, etc.) at which time they'll either switch to English, or speak in very simple Japanese.

So as I ordered in Japanese very quickly, she proceeded to have a conversation with me. This is no more unusual that it is anywhere else - working at or near a train station/airport/port you encounter your fair share of travelers and want to hear their stories, so you talk to them. Same thing here. I told her I was a teacher living nearby and that I was from Canada and such, and we had a conversation about Canadian life and my time in Japan. Out the blue, during a pause in our conversation, she asked if I like "onigiri", to which I replied in the affirmative, and without a word she took one of the ones for sale on the bar and placed it before me with a smile. Floored, I apologized profusely (that's just what you do here when you get something; apologize) and told her that she didn't have to. She said something along the lines of, "It's no big deal", and that it was ok. I thanked her and finished my meal.

When I paid, she handed me my change, and then placed before me a saran wrapped ball of rice, "for second dinner", she said (I had mentioned earlier in my conversation with her that the soba was my dinner for the evening). Again, I bowed myself silly and told that she didn't have to, but she said that she was happy to do it.

Perhaps it was the random act of kindness that I received at the same time that I was preparing the lessons at school. Or perhaps it was just something nice a stranger did on a day that I wasn't feeling so hot. Whatever it is, I felt impelled to share my simple tale. And so I left the soba shop with a full stomach, a full bag, and a full heart.